Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Higher body mass index predicts need for insulin but not hyperglycemia, nosocomial infection, or death in critically ill surgical patients.

BACKGROUND Strict glycemic control in critically ill patients has been an important advance in surgical critical care, as hyperglycemia is associated with a higher likelihood of death, complications, and nosocomial infections. Insulin resistance is particularly common in obese patients, but the impact of body mass index (BMI) on insulin requirements, ability to achieve euglycemia, and infectious outcomes in critically ill surgical patients has not been studied. We hypothesized that obese patients would not incur a higher likelihood of infection if euglycemia was maintained. METHODS Admissions to the surgical intensive care unit (ICU) from October 1, 2004, to October 31, 2006, were identified. Necessary data were available for 946 patients. The main predictor variable was BMI, which was analyzed as both a continuous and a five-level categorical variable. Data on insulin requirements as well as glycemic control were captured. The main outcome variable was the occurrence of at least one nosocomial infection. Additional outcomes were dysfunction of at least one organ system at any time during surgical ICU admission, quantified using the Multiple Organ Dysfunction Score, as well as the ICU length of stay and death. All statistical analyses were performing using SPSS version 11 for Macintosh. RESULTS Both the need for insulin infusion (p = 0.0001) and the mean insulin units/day among patients receiving infusions (p = 0.03) increased significantly with increasing BMI. However, periods of euglycemia were similar among BMI groups. A total of 152 patients (16.1%) incurred at least one nosocomial infection, for a total of 169 infections. The majority (n = 107; 63.3%) were ventilator-associated pneumonias. Neither infection (p = 0.99), organ dysfunction (p = 0.14), ICU length of stay (p = 0.22), nor mortality rate (p = 0.09) differed significantly by BMI group. The need for an insulin infusion was associated significantly with nosocomial infection (p = 0.0001). Additional predictors of infection were a higher Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) III score (p < 0.0001), age-adjusted APACHE III score (p < 0.0001), and emergency admission (0.001). After controlling for the need for an insulin infusion, BMI was not associated with infection. CONCLUSIONS Increasing BMI was associated significantly with insulin resistance. Despite insulin resistance, however, obese patients did not incur longer periods of hyperglycemia. Outcomes that have been associated consistently with glycemic control, such as nosocomial infection and mortality rate, did not differ according to BMI. These data suggest that BMI is not associated with infection during critical illness, and that this absence of an association may be influenced at least partially by the ability to maintain similar glycemic control in obese and non-obese patients.
Locked-in syndrome

The locked-in syndrome is caused by an insult to the ventral pons, most commonly an infarct, haemorrhage, or trauma. The characteristics of the syndrome are quadriplegia and anarthria with preservation of consciousness. Patients retain vertical eye movement, facilitating non-verbal communication. Ten year survival rates as high as 80% have been reported. Even limited physical recovery can improve quality of life and enable patients to return to live with their families. Early referral to a specialist rehabilitation service for specialist care and technology is therefore important. We gathered information for this article through searches in Medline and Taylor and Francis Health Sciences, identifying relevant case series reviews on the locked-in syndrome and other brain stem strokes. Our own experience is also incorporated. Locked-in syndrome was first defined in 1966 as quadriplegia, lower cranial nerve paralysis, and mutism with preservation of consciousness, vertical gaze, and upper eyelid movement.1 It was redefined in 1986 as quadriplegia and anarthria with preservation of consciousness.2 This redefinition served to clarify that mutism could imply unwillingness to speak.3 Although patients are conscious, attention, executive function, intellectual ability, perception, and visual and verbal memory can be affected.4 Leon-Carrion and colleagues reviewed 44 patients with the locked-in syndrome, of whom eight reported memory problems and six attentional deficits.5 Memory difficulties were more likely when the aetiology was traumatic.5 However, in a report of two patients with chronic locked-in syndrome, neuropsychological assessment showed preserved cognitive abilities.6 A review by Zeman of consciousness indicated that cerebral metabolism, as monitored by positron emission tomography, is only mildly reduced in locked-in syndrome but severely reduced in the vegetative state.7 The electroencephalogram typically shows slow wave activity in the vegetative state but normal activity in locked-in syndrome. Anarthria is due to bilateral facio-glosso-pharyngo-laryngeal paralysis,8 which …
The indirect nature of social motives: the relation of social approach and avoidance motives with likeability via extraversion and agreeableness.

The current study tested assumptions derived from the whole-trait theory (Fleeson, 2012), which proposes a connection between personality and motivation. We hypothesized that individual differences in social approach and avoidance motives are associated with personality as observed by others. In addition, we expected that observed personality links social approach and avoidance motives to interpersonal outcomes. The sample was composed of 83 young adults (25.3% males, Mage = 21.66 years) who had recently moved into a shared apartment. Roommates (N = 83; 50.6% males, Mage = 22.83 years) evaluated the newcomers on Extraversion, Agreeableness, and likeability. Approach motives had an indirect positive effect on likeability through other-reported Extraversion and Agreeableness. Although avoidance motives had some negative effects on likeability mediated through low Extraversion, they were positively associated with Agreeableness. These results demonstrate the complexity of social approach and avoidance motives. Moreover, they highlight the importance of motivational factors for observed personality.
Computed tomographic coronary artery calcium assessment for evaluating chest pain in the emergency department: long-term outcome of a prospective blind study.

OBJECTIVE To determine the long-term outcome of computed tomographic (CT) quantification of coronary artery calcium (CAC) used as a triage tool for patients presenting with chest pain to an emergency department (ED). PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients (men aged 30-62 years and women aged 30-65 years) with chest pain and low-to-moderate probability of coronary artery disease underwent both conventional ED chest pain evaluation and CT CAC assessment prospectively. Patients' physicians were blinded to the CAC results. The results of the conventional evaluation were compared with CAC findings on CT, and the long-term outcome in patients undergoing CT CAC assessment was established. Primary end points (acute coronary syndrome, death, fatal or nonfatal non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction, fatal or nonfatal ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction) and secondary outcomes (coronary artery bypass grafting, percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, coronary stenting, or a combination thereof) were obtained when the patient was dismissed from the ED or hospital and then at 30 days, 1 year, and 5 years. RESULTS Of the 263 study patients, 133 (51%) had a CAC score of zero. This absence of CAC correlated strongly with the likelihood of noncardiac chest pain. Among 133 patients with a CAC score of zero, only 1 (<1%) had cardiac chest pain. Conversely, of the 31 patients shown to have cardiac chest pain, 30 (97%) had evidence of CAC on CT. When a CAC cutoff score of 36 was used, as suggested by receiver operating characteristic analysis, sensitivity was 90%; specificity, 85%; positive predictive value, 44%; and negative predictive value, 99%. During long-term follow-up, patients without CAC experienced no cardiac events at 30 days, 1 year, and 5 years. CONCLUSION Findings suggest that CT CAC assessment is a powerful adjunct in chest pain evaluation for the population at low-to-intermediate risk. Absent or minimal CAC in this population makes cardiac chest pain extremely unlikely. The absence of CAC suggests an excellent long-term (5-year) prognosis, with no primary or secondary cardiac outcomes occurring in study patients at 5-year follow-up.
Cell-mediated immunity in periodontal disease; cytotoxicity, migration inhibition and lymphocyte transformation studies.

Cultures of peripheral blood lymphocytes from patients with gingivitis or mild periodontitis were stimulated with ultrasonicates of Veillonella alcalescens to yield an increase of 14C-thymidine incorporation and of cytotoxicity against 51Cr-labelled chicken red cells. The cell-free supernatant from the antigen-stimulated cultures inhibited migration of guinea-pig peritoneal macrophages. In patients with severe periodontitis lymphocytes showed only weak transformation but strong cytotoxic and migration-inhibitory activity. These data suggest that cell-mediated immunity against an oral Gram-negative micro-organism plays some part in the pathogenesis of periodontal disease. The advanced stage of disease, however, revealed a dissociation between lymphocyte transformation and cytotoxicity or macrophage inhibition.
The Structuration of Organizational Learning

Although it is currently common to speak of organizational learning, this notion is still surrounded by conceptual confusion. It is unclear how notions like learning, knowledge and cognitive activities can be applied to organizations. Some authors have tried to unravel the conceptual and ontological problems by giving an account of the role of individuals in organizational learning. However, this has not yet led to an agreed upon analysis. In this article we use structuration theory to overcome the dualism of individual and organization in organizational learning. We support, illustrate and elaborate our structurationist perspective by an ethnographic and historical study of an industrial research laboratory. We show how organizational learning evolves from distributed social practices, creatively realized by knowledgeable individuals, and illustrate how these practices are enabled and constrained by existing structur
Nasopharyngeal carcinoma in alaskan eskimos, indians, and aleuts: A review of cases and study of epstein‐barr virus, HLA, and environmental risk factors

The records of thirty‐one patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) diagnosed from 1966 through 1976 among the Alaskan native population (Eskimo, Aleut, Indian) were reviewed. There were 25 males and six females, which results in relatively high incidence rates per 100,000 of 13.5 for males and 3.7 for females. Clinical and pathologic features were similar to those found among southern Chinese NPC patients. Five‐year survival rate was 48%. Antibodies to Epstein‐Barr virus were higher in NPC patients than in patients with other tumors or matched controls. On histocompatibility testing Sin‐2 was not detected, nor was there significantly increased frequency of A2. Instead, BW40 and a second locus blank occurred more often among NPC patients than among other groups. In response to a questionnaire, NPC patients more often reported use of salt fish in the childhood diet, smoking of cigarettes, and exposure to noxious inhalants than did controls, but the differences were not statistically significant.
Performance of Industrial Communication Systems: Real Application Contexts

The analysis carried out in this article along with the proposed examples, highlighted that the practical(actually measured) performance figures of industrial communication systems are often worse than those expected, as derived from theoretical/simulative models. As could be seen, the causes of such discrepancies are mainly related to the internal behaviors of the employed components as well as to the features of the environments where the networks are deployed.
The impact of research funding on scientific outputs: Evidence from six smaller European countries

We investigate the relationships between the citation impacts of scientific papers and the sources of funding that are acknowledged as having supported those publications. We examine several relationships potentially associated with funding, including first citation, total citations, and the chances of becoming highly cited. Furthermore, we explore the links between citations and types of funding by organization and also with combined measures of funding. In particular, we examine the relationship between funding intensity and funding variety and citation. Our empirical work focuses on six small advanced European economies, applying a zero inflated negative binomial model to a set of more than 240,000 papers authored by researchers from these countries. We find that funding is not related to the first citation but is significantly related to the number of citations and top percentile citation impact. Additionally, we find that citation impact is positively related to funding variety and negatively related with funding intensity. Finally there is an inverse relationship between the relative frequency of funding and citation impact. The results presented in the paper provide insights for the design of research programs and the structure of research funding and for the behavior and strategies of research and sponsoring organizations.
Optimum linear transmission of analog data for channels with feedback

With feedback, the transmission of analog data over a channel can be regarded as a stochastic-control problem. Restricting ourselves to linear receiver operations and an average power constraint, we take this approach to find minimum mean-square error signals for multiplicative and additive noise channels with noiseless feedback and for additive noise channels with noisy feedback. Our solution for the additive Gaussian noise channel with noiseless feedback achieves the theoretical minimum mean-square error. For the noisy feedback problem, we use the result that the optimum signals are the minimum mean-square error estimates of the optimum noiseless feedback signals. This control-theoretic approach requires knowledge of only the first and second moments of all random variables and extends easily to multidimensional cases and to wide-sense Markov noise processes.
Functional outcome following pediatric intensive care: Pediatric Cerebral Performance Category (PCPC) and Pediatric Overall Performance Category (POPC) during a prospective two years follow-up period

The goal of of the present study is to investigate short-term and long-term functional outcome of a 8-bed, multidisciplinary pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) of a general hospital 300 PICU patients were enrolled prospectively in this observational cohort study. Functional outcome was evaluated through Pediatric Cerebral Performance Category (PCPC) and Pediatric Overall Performance Category (POPC) scales at admission (baseline), at PICU and hospital discharge, at 3 and 6 months, and at 1 and 2 years. Delta DPCPC and DPOPC alterations at discharge were related to major diagnostic categories and 2-year survival.Baseline PCPC and POPC scores were normal in 67% and 58.7% of study population, mild disability were recorded in 17.3% and 14.7%, moderate disability at 8% and 14%, severe disability at 4.3% and 9.3% and coma at 3.3% and 3.3%, respectively. At two years, normal PCPC and POPC scores were found in 66% and 47% of patients, mild disability in 17.3% and 30.5%, moderate disability in 9.5% and 13.6%, severe disability in 2.9% and 4.9% and coma in 4.1% and 4.1%, accordingly. Two years after discharge patients reached their PCPC baseline categories but lacked behind in POPC categories (p=0.001). Best functional outcome at discharge was recorded in respiratory and postoperative patients followed by cardiovascular, neurologic and trauma patients. Statistically significant differences were found in 2-year survival according to DPCPC [χ2 (2)=77.77, p<0.001] and DPOPC categories [χ2 (2)=44.66, p<0.001]. In conclusion, we found that two years following PICU discharge functional outcome parameters approached their preadmission values. Therefore, this chosen time period seemed to be adequate for studying long-term outcome of pediatric intensive care. Long-term PICU survivors had satisfactory PCPC (92.8%) and POPC (91.1%) categories to live an independent life. The impact of critical illness was greater on overall performance than in cognitive function.
PATHWAYS OF GLUCOSE DISSIMILATION IN CARROT SLICES " 2

There is now ample evidence that the pentose phosphate (PP) pathway contributes to the breakdown of glucose in many plant tissues (2, 5). We are ignorant of the precise significance of this sequence and of its exact relationship to the other main route of glucose catabolism in higher plants, the Embden-Meyerhof-Parnas (EMP) sequence. The likelihood of close interplay between the two pathways is recognized since some intermediates and enzymes are common to both. One result of this is the possibility that triose phosphate produced from pentose in the PP pathway is converted to pyruvate by enzymes normally regarded as belonging to the EMP sequence. The extensive metabolism of pentose, which would result from these reactions, and which is commonly overlooked in calculating the contributions of the two pathways, now appears to be of some importance in plant metabolism. Viewed in this way the two sequences differ only in the reactions by which they produce triose phosphate. In the EMP sequence triose phosphates are the only products but in the PP pathway the generation of each mole of triose phosphate is accompanied the reduction of 6 moles of triphosphopyridine nucleotide (TPN), the release of 3 moles of CO. from C-1 and the regeneration of 2 moles of hexose. In the work reported in this paper we have examined the interactions of the two pathways in carrot tissue. Carrots were chosen because there is already good evidence that glucose breakdown occurs by both pathways (6, 14, 21). In the first group of experiments, attempts were made to alter the balance between the two pathways by using the following selective agents, arsenite, 2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP), methylene blue, and iodoacetate. The relative rates of release of carbons 1 and 6 of supplied glucose was the criterion studied in this series of experiments. The relative importance of the two pathways in untreated tissue was investigated next by A: measuring the progress of the release of C14 as C140, from specifically labeled glucoses and pyruvates over long periods and B: determining the contributions of in-
Sleep duration and body mass index in twins: a gene-environment interaction.

STUDY OBJECTIVES To examine whether sleep duration modifies genetic and environmental influences on body mass index (BMI). DESIGN Genotype-environment interaction twin study. SETTING University of Washington Twin Registry. PATIENTS OR PARTICIPANTS A population-based sample of US twins (1,088 pairs, 604 monozygotic, 484 dizygotic; 66% female; mean age = 36.6 yr, standard deviation (SD) = 15.9 yr). INTERVENTIONS N/A. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS Participants self-reported information on height, weight, and sleep. Mean BMI was calculated as 25.3 kg/m² (SD = 5.4) and mean habitual sleep duration was 7.2 hr/night (SD = 1.2). Data were analyzed using biometric genetic interaction models. Overall the heritability of sleep duration was 34%. Longer sleep duration was associated with decreased BMI (P < 0.05). The heritability of BMI when sleep duration was < 7 hr (h² = 70%) was more than twice as large as the heritability of BMI when sleep duration was ≥ 9 hr (h² = 32%); this interaction was significant (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Shorter sleep duration is associated with increased BMI and increased genetic influences on BMI, suggesting that shorter sleep duration increases expression of genetic risks for high body weight. At the same time, longer sleep duration may suppress genetic influences on body weight. Future research aiming to identify specific genotypes for BMI may benefit by considering the moderating role of sleep duration.
Classification of EEG based BCI signals imagined hand closing and opening

Brain-computer interfaces allow people to manage electronic devices such as computers without using their motor nervous system. When the brain is in a function, nerve cells in the brain communicate with each other with electrochemical interactions. Electroencephalogram (EEG) signals are recorded with the aid of electrodes during this function of the brain. These signals enable interaction between people and electronic devices. This interaction forms the basis of brain computer interface (BCI) systems which facilitates lives of paralyzed patients who do not have any problems with their cognitive functioning. Therefore, for high-performance BCI systems, pre-processing technique and classification method applied to these signals and features extracted from these signals are crucial. In this study, we studied a new EEG data set recorded from 29 people during imagination of hand opening/closing movement. While moving-average filter was used a pre-processing technique, the features were extracted by Hilbert Transform and Mean Derivative. Afterwards, extracted features were classified by k-nearest neighbor method. Average classification accuracy (CA) with preprocessing was achieved 82.23%, which was 12.78% higher than the average CA obtained by unprocessed EEG data set and 16.63% greater than the previous works reported in the literature. The achieved results showed that the proposed method has a great potential to be applied general with a high-performance in general.
The main function of IL‐2 is to promote the development of T regulatory cells

Based primarily on vitro studies, interleukin (IL)‐2 has been considered a key growth and death factor for antigen‐activated T lymphocytes. IL‐2 is also essential to maintain self‐tolerance, as IL‐2‐ and IL‐2 receptor‐deficient mice exhibit lethal autoimmunity. The intrinsic death‐sensitizing activity of IL‐2 was thought to be a key mediator for apoptosis of peripheral autoreactive T cells. However, recent in vivo studies strongly favor a model whereby IL‐2 controls autoimmunity through the production of CD4+CD25+ T regulatory (Treg) cells. In this setting, IL‐2 is essential for expansion of Treg cells within the thymus and in peripheral neonatal‐immune tissue. Thus, from being considered the primary growth factor for antigen‐activated T lymphocytes, these new findings redefine the pivotal role for IL‐2 as the major inducer for the developmental production of suppressive Treg cells.