Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Characteristics of the relationship between plasma ketamine concentration and its effect on the minimum alveolar concentration of isoflurane in dogs.

OBJECTIVE To characterize the shape of the relationship between plasma ketamine concentration and minimum alveolar concentration (MAC) of isoflurane in dogs. STUDY DESIGN Retrospective analysis of previous data. ANIMALS Four healthy adult dogs. METHODS The MAC of isoflurane was determined at five to six different plasma ketamine concentrations. Arterial blood samples were collected at the time of MAC determination for measurement of plasma ketamine concentration. Plasma concentration/effect data from each dog were fitted to a sigmoid inhibitory maximum effect model in which MAC(c)= MAC(0) - (MAC(0)-MAC(min)) x C(gamma)/EC(50)(gamma)+C(gamma), where C is the plasma ketamine concentration, MAC(c) is the MAC of isoflurane at plasma ketamine concentration C, MAC(0) is the MAC of isoflurane without ketamine, MAC(min) is the lowest MAC predicted during ketamine administration, EC(50) is the plasma ketamine concentration producing 50% of the maximal MAC reduction, and gamma is a sigmoidicity factor. Nonlinear regression was used to estimate MAC(min), EC(50), and gamma. RESULTS Mean +/- SEM MAC(min), EC(50) and gamma were estimated to be 0.11 +/- 0.01%, 2945 +/- 710 ng mL(-1) and 3.01 +/- 0.84, respectively. Mean +/- SEM maximal MAC reduction predicted by the model was 92.20 +/- 1.05%. CONCLUSIONS The relationship between plasma ketamine concentration and its effect on isoflurane MAC has a classical sigmoid shape. Maximal MAC reduction predicted by the model is less than 100%, implying that high plasma ketamine concentrations may not totally abolish gross purposeful movement in response to noxious stimulation in the absence of inhalant anesthetics. CLINICAL RELEVANCE The parameter estimates reported in this study will allow clinicians to predict the expected isoflurane MAC reduction from various plasma ketamine concentrations in an average dog.
The value of APACHE II in predicting mortality after paraquat poisoning in Chinese and Korean population

Background: The Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) score is used to determine disease severity and predict outcomes in critically ill patients. However, the prognostic significance of APACHE after acute paraquat (PQ) poisoning remains unclear. The meta-analysis was aimed to study the value of APACHE II in predicting mortality in PQ-exposed Chinese and Korean patients. Methods: Databases that included PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure were searched through August 2016. Studies using APACHE II to predict mortality in PQ-poisoned patients were selected. The odds ratio and weighted mean difference (WMD) were used to pool binary and continuous data. Additionally, we aggregated sensitivity, specificity, and other measures of accuracy. Statistical analyses were made using the Stata V.13. 0 software. Results: This study included 29 studies, and 25 studies evaluated APACHE II scores on admission. Pooled data showed that survivors had significantly lower total scores than nonsurvivors (WMD = –7.29, and I2 = 98.2%, both P <.05). The pooled sensitivity of an APACHE II score ≥5 for predicting mortality was 75% and the pooled specificity was 86%. The positive likelihood ratio (PLR) was 5.3 and the negative likelihood ratio (NLR) was 0.29. The pooled sensitivity of an APACHE II score ≥10 for predicting mortality was 88% and the pooled specificity was 84%. The pooled PLR and NLR was 5.5 and 0.15, respectively. Conclusion: This study showed PQ-poisoned nonsurvivors had significantly higher APACHE II score than did survivors. APACHE II scores satisfactorily predicted mortality.
North America and South America (NA-SA) neuropathy project

Peripheral neuropathy is a common neurological disorder. There may be important differences and similarities in the diagnosis of peripheral neuropathy between North America (NA) and South America (SA). Neuromuscular databases were searched for neuropathy diagnosis at two North American sites, University of Kansas Medical Center and University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, and one South American site, Federal Fluminense University in Brazil. All patients were included into one of the six major categories: immune-mediated, diabetic, hereditary, infectious/inflammatory, systemic/metabolic/toxic (not diabetic) and cryptogenic. A comparison of the number of patients in each category was made between North America and South America databases. Total number of cases in North America was 1090 and in South America was 1034 [immune-mediated: NA 215 (19.7%), SA 191 (18%); diabetic: NA 148 (13.5%), SA 236 (23%); hereditary: NA 292 (26.7%), SA 103 (10%); infectious/inflammatory: NA 53 (4.8%), SA 141 (14%); systemic/metabolic/toxic: NA 71 (6.5%), SA 124 (12%); cryptogenic: NA 311 (28.5%), SA 239 (23%)]. Some specific neuropathy comparisons were hereditary neuropathies [Charcot–Marie–Tooth (CMT) cases] in NA 246/292 (84.2%) and SA 60/103 (58%); familial amyloid neuropathy in SA 31/103 (30%) and none in NA. Among infectious neuropathies, cases of human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) neuropathy in SA were 36/141(25%), Chagas disease in SA were 13/141(9%) and none for either in NA; cases of neuropathy due to leprosy in NA were 26/53 (49%) and in SA were 39/141(28%). South American tertiary care centers are more likely to see patients with infectious, diabetic and hereditary disorders such as familial amyloid neuropathies. North American tertiary centers are more likely to see patients with CMT. Immune neuropathies and cryptogenic neuropathies were seen equally in North America and South America.
SOURCE BIOAEROSOL CONCENTRATION AND rDNA-BASED IDENTIFICATION OF MICROORGANISMS AEROSOLIZED DURING AGRICULTURAL WASTEWATER REUSE

Reuse of partially treated domestic wastewater for agricultural irrigation is a growing practice in arid regions throughout the world. A field sampling campaign to determine bioaerosol concentration, culturability, and identity at various wind speeds was conducted at a flooded wastewater irrigation site in Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico. Direct fluorescent microscopy measurements for total airborne microorganisms, culture-based assays for eterotrophs and gram-negative enteric bacteria, and small subunit rRNA-based cloning were utilized for microbial characterizations of aerosols and effluent wastewater samples. Bioaerosol results were divided into two wind speed regimes: (i) below 1.9 m/s, average speed 0.5 m/s, and (ii) above 1.9 m/s, average speed 4.5 m/s. Average airborne concentration of total microorganisms, culturable heterotrophs, and gram-negative enteric bacteria were respectively 1.1, 4.3, and 5.3 orders of magnitude greater during the high wind speed regime. Small subunit rDNA encoding gene clone libraries based on samples from air and the irrigation effluent wastewater during a high wind sampling event indicate that the majority of air clone sequences were more than 98% similar to clone sequences retrieved from the effluent wastewater sample. Overall results indicate that wind is a potential aerosolization mechanism of viable wastewater microorganisms at flood irrigation sites.
Animal models of rheumatoid arthritis

Animal models have been used extensively in studies of rheumatoid arthritis pathogenesis. Despite the inherent limitations of all animal models, several rodent models have significantly progressed our understanding of the fundamental mechanisms underpinning rheumatoid arthritis and contributed to several current major advances in treatment. These models include the induced arthritis models such as collagen‐induced arthritis, collagen‐antibody‐induced arthritis, zymosan‐induced arthritis, and the methylated BSA model, and the genetically manipulated or spontaneous arthritis models such as the TNF‐α‐transgenic mouse, K/BxN mouse, and the Skg mouse. Here, we describe these animal models and discuss their advantages and limitations.
Patient‐controlled analgesia versus continuous infusion of morphine during vaso‐occlusive crisis in sickle cell disease, a randomized controlled trial

Intravenous morphine is the treatment of choice for severe pain during vaso‐ occlusive crisis in sickle cell disease (SCD). However, side effects of morphine may hamper effective treatment, and high plasma levels of morphine are associated with severe complications such as acute chest syndrome. Furthermore, adequate dosing remains a problem since no objective measurement of pain severity exists and analgesia should be titrated upon the patient's reported pain. Patient‐controlled analgesia (PCA) may therefore be an interesting alternative since patients can titrate the level of analgesia themselves. In this randomized controlled study, the efficacy of intravenous morphine administration with PCA was compared with continuous infusion (CI) of morphine in patients with SCD during vaso‐occlusive crisis. Twenty five consecutive episodes of vaso‐occlusive crisis in 19 patients with SCD were included in the study. Patients in the PCA‐group had a markedly and significant lower mean and cumulative morphine consumption when compared with the patients in the CI‐group (0.5 mg/hr versus 2.4 mg/hr (P < 0.001) and 33 mg versus 260 mg (P = 0.018, respectively). The mean daily pain scores were comparable (4.9 versus 5.3). The lower mean and cumulative morphine consumption in the PCA‐group led to significant less nausea and constipation during treatment when compared with the CI‐group (area under the curve, respectively, 11 versus 18 (P = 0.045) and 30 versus 45 (P = 0.021). Furthermore, a nonsignificant reduction in the duration of hospital admission of 3 days was observed in the PCA‐group. PCA results in adequate pain relief at a much lower morphine consumption and should considered to be the first choice in morphine administration to sickle cell patients admitted with vaso‐occlusive crisis. Am. J. Hematol. , 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Retraction of paper on maternal diabetes

EDITOR–In a paper in the BMJ three of us (GH, LMI, and RTL) claimed that the excess of birth defects and perinatal deaths among births in women with pregestational diabetes was significantly lower in Norway compared with the northeast of England.1 The analysis of the data from the Medical Birth Registry of Norway was, however, wrong and led to a wrong conclusion. There are codes in the registry for different …
The Collateral Composition Channel

Wholesale financial markets reallocate deposits. Because of incentive problems, these flows are limited by endogenous collateral constraints. The composition of collateral matters. The use of inside collateral creates a "collateral pyramid": cash flows from one loan are pledged to secure another. Outside collateral, such as treasuries, stabilizes the pyramid. Through collateral pyramids the financial sector sustains a large volume of reallocation across banks, but at the cost of systemic panics. During panics, the safe asset creation process stalls, the pyramid collapses, collateral becomes scarce. Markets are more fragile when loans are secured by inside collateral.
Ochratoxin a: Its Cancer Risk and Potential for Exposure

Ochratoxin A (OA) is a naturally occurring mycotoxin known to contaminate a variety of foods and beverages. The cancer risk posed by OA was reviewed as relevant to human exposure, regulatory activities, and risk management efforts occurring worldwide, particularly in Europe. OA moves through the food chain and has been found in the tissues and organs of animals, including human blood and breast milk. Results from the National Toxicology Program's rodent bioassays show significantly increased incidence of mammary gland tumors in female rats and kidney tumors in male and female rats given OA orally. Liver tumors in female mice fed OA in the diet have also been observed. In humans, OA exposure has been most often associated with the kidney disease Balkan endemic nephropathy (BEN), symptoms of which include tumors of the kidney and urinary tract. No epidemiological studies have yet adequately evaluated the cancer risk of OA in human populations. Studies have shown OA to be genotoxic as well as immunotoxic, although its mode of action is not fully understood. Organizations and agencies in many countries are currently promulgating standards for OA in foods and beverages. Increased efforts in farm management and food safety are being made to mitigate the risks to public health posed by OA. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is currently evaluating data on OA levels in domestic and imported commodities but has not established official regulations or guidelines for OA in the U.S. food supply. Funding for this work was provided by the US Department of Agriculture Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service. Any findings, conclusions or recommendations are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Do loan loss reserves behave like capital? Evidence from recent bank failures

Regulatory capital guidelines allow for loan loss reserves to be added back as capital. Our evidence suggests that the influence of loan loss reserves added back as regulatory capital (hereafter referred to as “add-backs”) on bank risk cannot be explained by either economic principles underlying the notion of capital or accounting principles underlying the recording of reserves. Specifically, we observe that, in sharp contrast to the economic notion of capital as a buffer against bank failure risk, add-backs are positively associated with the risk of bank failure during the recent economic crisis. Furthermore, the positive association of add-backs with bank failure risk is concentrated among cases in which the add-backs are highly likely to increase a bank’s total regulatory capital. The evidence cannot thus be fully explained by accounting principles either, since the role of loan loss reserves according to those principles does not depend on whether the reserves generate a regulatory capital increase. Additional analysis suggests that the observed influence of loan loss reserves on bank failure risk may be an unintended consequence of their regulatory treatment as capital.
Feminist Identity and the Superwoman Ideal

The “Superwoman” ideal is a construct born out of the women’s movement in the 1960’s defined as women who can “do it all and have it all” However, women today may actually be receiving the message that they should have it all and are experiencing stressors as a result of that pressure. Studies have found that girls who endorsed the superwoman ideal were also more likely to experience disordered eating behaviors. In contrast to the concept of the “Superwoman” and the possible negative effects it may have on young women, most research on feminist identity development have shown it to have a positive effect on both men and women. The gap in the literature today is whether there is a relationship between feminist identity and the superwoman ideal. The current study sought to examine a possible relationship between feminist identity and the superwoman ideal. Results indicate a significant inverse relationship between the passive acceptance stage of feminist identity and adherence to the superwoman ideal (r=-. 253, p
The Anchor Model of Musical Culture

In a recent cross-cultural study with participants from an autochthonous African population (Mafa) and Western participants, it was shown that the recognition of several emotional expressions (happy, sad, fearful) in music are likely to be music universals [1]. The Mafa listeners (who were naïve to the Western music) were quite successful at recognizing the emotional expressions in the Western music, although their own music seems not to emphasize, or even comprise this musical feature. Here I propose a model, which is aimed at illustrating how different human musical cultures intersect and “anchor” in a set of musical features that are universally perceived, while also displaying culturally acquired specifics (see Figure 2), that accounts for the Mafa results. It explains also why musical universals cannot simply be determined by specifying the common denominator between the musical features of all cultures, which may actually not exist.
Glyoxalase 1 enzyme activity in erythrocytes and Ala111Glu polymorphism in type 1-diabetes patients

Abstract Aims/hypothesis. The enzyme glyoxalase 1 (GLO1) can inactivate the glycoxidation product methylglyoxal that is thought to be an important contributor to the pathogenesis of vascular complications in diabetes. We aimed to study erythrocyte GLO1 activity and whether the Ala111Glu GLO1 gene polymorphism affected GLO1 activity. Methods. Fasting erythrocyte GLO1 activity was measured spectrophotometrically. The A111G gene polymorphism, assessed in DNA from leucocytes was analyzed in patients with type 1-diabetes and normal kidney function and compared with a control group. Results. Sixty-one patients with type 1-diabetes duration of 26.1 (10.7) years, mean (SD) with a HbA1c of 7.8 (0.9)%, 61.7 (9.9) mmol/mol and normal glomerular filtration rate were compared with 62 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. GLO1 activity was 0.206 (0.183–0.231) median (25–75% percentiles) U/mg Hb in the control group vs. 0.192 (0.165–0.224) in the diabetes group, (p = 0.149). In the diabetes group GLO1 correlated with HbA1c (r = 0.33, p < 0.01) and oxidized glutathione (GSSG) (r = − 0.34, p < 0.01) and in the control group with GSH (r = 0.37, p < 0.005) and fasting glucose (r = 0.26, p < 0.04). In a multiple regression analysis with GLO1 activity as the dependent variable, including the Ala111Glu polymorphism, the significant independent variables were log GSSG (ß − 0.318, p = 0.02) and HbA1c (ß 0.285, p = 0.041) in the diabetes group and log GSH, (ß 0.407, p = 0.004) in the control group. Conclusions/interpretation. Erythrocyte glyoxalase 1 activity did not differ between patients with type 1-diabetes and controls. The Ala111Glu glyoxalase gene polymorphism did not have an effect on glyoxalase 1 activity in either group.
Effects of retrenchment on organizational performance at the Telkom Kenya, Eldoret branch

This paper examines the effect of retrenchment on organizational performance based on a study conducted at the Telkom Kenya, Eldoret Branch over a 5 year period. Telkom Kenya (TKL) started retrenching in May 2006 in preparation for privatization. By end of 2010, a total of 501 employees had been retrenched at Eldoret Telkom. This case study utilised questionnaire as a data collection tool to collect the information. Of the 99 employees targeted, only 50 were interviewed during the study. The data collected was analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The study findings indicated a positive change at TKL with improved service delivery with introduction of new wireless technology and new brands that were competitive in the market in the Kenyan market. A general cultural change in work has been cited in these improvements. Company revenue trend analysis of documentaries indicated that TKL financial performance had generally grown on a fairly upward trend. The results from the study also revealed that the new TKL products had received a substantially good rating (76%) in the market compared to other products and services from competitors such as Safaricom and Airtel. TKL is now ranked as the 3rd in preference by the consumers coming after Safaricom and Airtel. Generally, while retrenchment may generally lead to improved organizational performance in the short-run it is recommended that organizations should first analyze the outcomes of retrenchment on all aspects of the company and the retrenches before embarking on its implementation.
Knowledge for Software Maintenance

Knowledge management is emerging as a promising area to support software engineering activities. The general idea is to use knowledge gained in previous projects to help future ones. We believe this approach is even more relevant when considering software maintenance where maintainers often have to modify a system that they did not develop, that has no documentation, and that nobody knows intimately. Contrasting with this lack of information on the system, maintainers need a lot of knowledge: about the application domain, the organization software maintenance procedures, the system itself, the language used, past development methods, etc. Although one can readily agree with this fact, there is no clear, exhaustive definition of what knowledge would be useful to perform software maintenance. In this paper we describe our research to identify these needs. This research is part of a long term project that aims at building a knowledge management system for software maintenance.
[Inhibition and working memory: effect of acute sleep deprivation on a random letter generation task].

The literature contains inconsistent data on the effects of acute sleep deprivation on the superior cognitive functions. The primary purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of inhibition, one of the functions of the working memory executive centre (EC), over an extended, 36-hour waking period. Inhibition is a cognitive mechanism whereby individuals ignore non-relevant information recorded in their working memory. We also tested the effects of a 36-hour period of acute sleep deprivation on simple reaction time. Twelve young, healthy volunteers (M = 21.5 years, sigma = 2.3) performed a random generation task involving letters and a simple reaction time psychomotor test over four sessions held at 10-hour intervals. Each participant was assigned a "constant routine. " Participants were kept awake in a prone position within a room whose environment was held strictly constant (light, noise, temperature, meals, etc.). This control procedure provided assurance that any variation in participant performance was solely caused by sleep deprivation. The random generation task, nearly two minutes in length, consisted in verbally producing a sequence of 100 letters in a random fashion (i.e. by inhibiting, for example, alphabetical order) and by keeping to a set rhythm. Our assumption was that capacity for inhibition diminished as the number of hours of sleep deprivation increased. The simple reaction test, 10 minutes in length, involved pressing a button as swiftly as possible to cause a black square to disappear from a screen. In this case our assumption was that acute sleep deprivation alters simple reaction time. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) through repeated measures using the "sessions" factor as an intra-subject variable showed no significant changes in randomization indices of the random generation task, contrary to analysis of average simple reaction times. Participants' reaction times deteriorated over the first two minutes of the test during the night they were deprived of sleep. It would seem that the contradictory results of previous studies of the effects of acute sleep deprivation on the inhibition function would be due to errors in factor identification. In conclusion, the inhibition function, as measured during the performance of a brief task, seems to remain intact during an extended, 36-hour waking period. Simple reaction time assessed by means of a brief psychomotor test is affected during a night of sleep deprivation. The working-memory inhibition executive function shows greater resistance to acute sleep deprivation than does psychomotor reaction time for the performance of short tasks.