Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The alveolar space is the site of intense inflammatory and profibrotic reactions in the early phase of acute respiratory distress syndrome.

OBJECTIVES To determine the concentrations of proinflammatory mediators, collagenases, and procollagen type III peptides in undiluted pulmonary edema fluids and in plasma obtained in patients with early acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and in control patients with hydrostatic lung edema; and to assess the relationship between these inflammatory and profibrotic markers. DESIGN A prospective, clinical study with measurements of inflammatory markers in pulmonary edema fluids and in paired plasma samples. SETTING A medical intensive care unit. PATIENTS Patients intubated with lung permeability (n = 23) and hydrostatic (n = 8) pulmonary edema were prospectively enrolled in the study. The severity of the disease at the time of intubation was assessed, using the Simplified Acute Physiological Score (SAPS) II and the Lung Injury Score (LIS). INTERVENTIONS Plasma and undiluted edema fluids were obtained at the time of intubation with pulmonary edema requiring mechanical ventilation; and in some patients, a second edema fluid sample was collected a few hours later. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Proinflammatory activity, dependent on the presence of bioactive proinflammatory cytokines, interleukin (IL)-8, and neutrophil matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 were significantly increased in ARDS fluids compared with plasma or control fluids from patients with congestive heart failure. In contrast, MMP-2, originating from lung cells other than phagocytes, was slightly increased in ARDS edema fluids compared with plasma, but similar to levels found in hydrostatic edema fluids. Proinflammatory activity was undetectable in plasma from ARDS patients. Levels of procollagen peptide III, a marker of collagen synthesis, were increased in permeability edema fluids compared with hydrostatic edema fluids or plasma, confirming that alveolar collagen synthesis begins very early and in parallel with acute inflammation in ARDS. Control patients with hydrostatic edema had similar SAPS II and LIS scores compared with ARDS patients. CONCLUSIONS These results strongly support the conclusion that during the early phase of ARDS, the lung is the site of an intense inflammatory process with sequential activation of cytokines, chemokines, and secretion of proteases, as well as concomitant collagen synthesis. The inflammation is mostly limited to the lung, with low levels of inflammatory mediators in the systemic circulation. Unlike clinical scoring systems (SAPS II and LIS), inflammatory markers differentiate patients with permeability and hydrostatic pulmonary edema.
Routine Pathological Analysis of Appendicectomy Specimens — Is it Justified ?

Abstract Appendicectomy for acute appendicitis is one of the most commonly performed surgical procedures. Our unit policy has been to conduct pathological examination of all resected specimens, however this practice has recently been questioned. We therefore sought to analyse the utility of routine histological examination of appendicectomy specimens. A consecutive series of 236 patients who underwent open appendicectomy for clinically suspected appendicitis was reviewed. Examination of the specimens revealed inflammation or necrosis in 175 (74%) of the cases-however unexpected histological findings were seen in 10 (4.2%) specimens. In five of these cases (2.1%), these findings resulted in a change in medical therapy. We conclude that appendicectomy specimens from patients with clinically suspected appendicitis show diversity in their histological characteristics; and that routine histological examination can yield clinically significant information in a significant minority of patients.
On the Approximation of Delayed Systems by Taylor Series Expansion

It is known that stability properties of delay-differential equations are not preserved by Taylor series expansion of the delayed term. Still, this technique is often used to approximate delayed systems by ordinary differential equations in different engineering and biological applications. In this brief, it is demonstrated through some simple second-order scalar systems that low-order Taylor series expansion of the delayed term approximates the asymptotic behavior of the original delayed system only for certain parameter regions, while for high-order expansions, the approximate system is unstable independently of the system parameters.
The Effects of Long-Term Vitamin E Treatment on Gene Expression and Oxidative Stress Damage in the Aging Brown Norway Rat Epididymis1

Abstract The male reproductive tract of the Brown Norway rat is profoundly affected by aging. In the epididymis, the site of sperm maturation and storage, aging results in histological and biochemical changes that are suggestive of oxidative stress. Vitamin E is a potent lipid-soluble antioxidant that ameliorates the oxidative stress load associated with some chronic disease conditions. To determine the effects of long-term (18-mo) vitamin E deficiency and supplementation on aging in the epididymis, we assessed gene expression changes using cDNA microarrays and lipid peroxidation using immunohistochemical detection of 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE) in 24-mo-old rats. Plasma vitamin E levels were significantly lower in vitamin E-deficient animals and higher in vitamin E-supplemented animals compared with age-matched controls. Vitamin E deficiency resulted in increased expression of oxidative stress-related transcripts along the epididymis. This effect was most marked in the corpus epididymidis, where expression of glutathione S-transferases pi, 8, and mu, as well as superoxide dismutase, increased by over 50%. The effect of vitamin E supplementation on the expression of oxidative stress-related transcripts was primarily decreased expression; however, the magnitude of the gene expression changes was smaller than that observed for vitamin E deficiency. 4-HNE immunostaining was present throughout the epididymis in control animals. Vitamin E deficiency both increased the intensity and altered the distribution of 4-HNE staining, while vitamin E supplementation had no observable effect. In summary, we found that long-term vitamin E treatment alters the expression of oxidative stress-related transcripts. Moreover, long-term vitamin E deficiency exacerbates the effects of age on the accumulation of oxidative stress damage in the epididymis.
Small sweat bees (Hymenoptera: Halictidae) as potential major pollinators of melon (Cucumis melo) in the Mediterranean

In the current scenario of a general decline of the honeybee worldwide, studies on the potential of alternative bee species in pollinating cultivated plants are important. Although melon, Cucumis melo, is a crop with great commercial importance, there is very little information on its pollinating fauna in Europe, and none from the southern Mediterranean area. In a locality in central Spain, using both pan‐traps and net collections, we found that melon flowers are visited by 31 species of bees spanning four families, though only four were both dominant and constant. These four species belonged to the family Halictidae (sweat bees) and mostly (three species) to the genus Lasioglossum. Five other species could be defined as accessory: honeybee, Apis mellifera, and four other halictids. Individuals of the dominant species were smaller, on average, than those from all the other species. Observations on the frequency of pollen and nectar foraging and on flower visit duration further suggested L. malachurum as the potential key pollinator. Females of this species started to forage on melon early in the flowering season and exhibited two activity peaks in summer, thus covering the whole season. Although in other sites across continents melon seems to be more heavily pollinated by honeybees, this seems to be not the case in the Mediterranean, where sweat bees seem to be the major pollinators of this crop.
Optimal Design of Three-Dimensional Structures with Hysteretic Braces

Current seismic codes incorporate well-established simplified approaches to protect and mitigate the response of structures under extreme events using hysteretic passive devices. Nevertheless, a systematic and well-establish methodology for the topological distribution and properties of these devices in three-dimensional structures does not exist. In this paper, we develop a computational framework to evolve optimal brace configurations for complicated three-dimensional regular and irregular structures within a given seismic environment consisting of four synthetic ground motions (5% exceedance in 50 years). Non-linear transient dynamic analyses, based upon a Mixed Lagrangian Formulation, are used to evaluate the structures, while the optimization is accomplished with a compact Cellular Automata-based Genetic Algorithm. As a result of the evolutionary process, the optimal placement, strength and size of the dampers are obtained for regular and irregular eight-story steel frame buildings. Interesting brace patterns evolve from the discrete optimization process.
RAINFALL INTERCEPTION AND PARTITIONING IN AFROMONTANE RAIN FORESTS OF THE EASTERN ARC MOUNTAINS, TANZANIA: IMPLICATIONS FOR WATER CONSERVATION

water conservation. The aboveground components of the hydrologic cycle of rain forest are important processes that determine the hydrologic hehavioiir and dynamics of these ecosystems. Precipitation, throughfall, stem flow, canopy interception atid streamflow were tneastued and tiiodetled in two afromontane rain forests of the Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania. Meastirements were made daily for 50 months in the Ulugurus and 56 months in the Usamharas. Throughfall was 76% of the gross rainfall in the Usamharas and 79% in the Ulugurus. Stemflow was less than 2% of rainfall. Both parameters were correlated with gross rainfall (r'^ = 0.97, 0.99, 0.86 and 0.94). Canopy interception was 22% of rainfall for the Usambaras and 20% for the Ulugurus. Streamflow was hest modelled using five months running mean rainfall iti the Ulugurus (r = 0.67) and three to four months in the Usarnbaras (r = 0.72). A high proportion of the gross rainfall is delivered as net precipitation. There is effective partitioning of rainfall on the forest canopy providing reasonable dumping effect of rainstorms. The slow response in streamflow to rainfall events shows the efficiency of the forests to mitigate storm water impacts and thus ensuring continuous water stipply. Further studies in effects of forest harvesting on water yield are pertinent to enable adequate planning of forest utilization.
Arrhythmogenic right ventricular remodelling in endurance athletes: Pandora's box or Achilles' heel?

The sudden death of a young athlete is a highly tragic event that has major emotional repercussions on society. Efforts to understand and prevent such catastrophes have witnessed half a century of scientific enquiry into left ventricular adaptation and disease in athletes. In contrast, the right ventricle, perceived in the early medical literature to be of little clinical consequence, has been largely neglected in sports cardiology. However, a growing number of persuasive studies have emerged in recent years to indicate that the right ventricle may hold far greater significance for the cardiac health of athletes than has been previously appreciated. Whilst it is well recognized that individuals harbouring cardiac diseases risk fatal arrhythmias during exercise, 1 the idea that intense, repetitive training might promote an abnormal cardiac substrate in a previously healthy heart is relatively novel. A burgeoning body of literature has raised the possibility of irreversible cardiac remodelling, myocardial fibrosis, ventricular arrhythmias, and even sudden death in some former endurance athletes. 2 This notion has been received with caution by the mainstream scientific community, perhaps driven by justifiable fears of generating an erroneous public perception that even modest exercise might be harmful. This controversial topic has become all the more relevant given the paradoxical societal increase in obesity and cardiac morbidity due to lack of habitual exercise, paralleled by a simultaneous increase in the number of individuals participating in gruelling ultra-endurance events which are well in excess of the exercise recommendations for general well-being. Questions relating to the optimal ‘dose’ of exercise for long-term health have therefore become the subject of intense scientific scrutiny. 3 The concept of exercise-induced arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) has been pioneered by a decade of research
Evaluation of gait parameters for gait phase detection during walking

Two gait phase detection systems (GPDS) are evaluated to obtain the most accurate and reliable approach. First system incorporates only kinematic gait parameters (hip, knee and ankle angles), while the second system incorporates both kinetic (foot pressure) and kinematic (knee angle) parameters. The results report the reliability of GPDS based on kinetic and kinematic parameters as 100% in contrast to the reliability of the GPDS based on only kinematic parameters as 67.4%. Furthermore, during stance phase, the foot pressure patterns provided a clear differentiation of the gait phases in comparison to joint angles.
Streptococcus agalactiae in pregnancies complicated by preterm prelabor rupture of membranes

Abstract Objective: The main aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of Streptococcus agalactiae (S. agalactiae) in the vagina and the amniotic fluid in pregnancies complicated by preterm prelabor rupture of membranes (PPROM). The next aim was to evaluate the incidence of S. agalactiae early onset sepsis in newborns from PPROM pregnancies, with respect to the presence of S. agalactiae in the vagina and the amniotic fluid. Methods: Singleton gestations with PPROM between 24 + 0 and 36 + 6 were included. A vaginal swab was obtained, and amniocentesis was performed at admission. The presence of S. agalactiae in the vagina and in the amniotic fluid was assessed by culture and by real-time polymerase chain reaction, respectively. Results: In total, 336 women were included. The presence of S. agalactiae in the vaginal and amniotic fluid was found in 9% (31/336) and 1% (3/336) of women. One woman had S. agalactiae in the amniotic fluid but was negative for the presence of S. agalactiae in the vaginal fluid. Early onset neonatal sepsis developed in one newborn from pregnancies complicated by the presence of S. agalactiae in the amniotic fluid. Conclusion: The presence of S. agalactiae in the vagina and amniotic fluid complicated approximately each 10th and each 100th PPROM pregnancy. Cultivation-negative findings of S. agalactiae in the vagina did not exclude the positivity of the amniotic fluid for S. agalactiae and the development of early onset sepsis in newborns.
Virulence factors of avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC)

ABSTRACT. - Nakazato G. , Campos T.A. , Stehling E.G., Brocchi M. & Silveira W.D. 2009. Virulence factors of avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC). Pesquisa VeterinariaBrasileira 29(7): 479-486. Departamento de Microbiologia e Imunologia, Instituto de Biologia,Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Unicamp), Cidade Universitaria Zeferino Vaz s/n, Cx.Postal 6109, Barao Geraldo, Campinas, SP 13081-862, Brazil. E-mail: wds@unicamp.brAvian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) strains cause a great diversity of diseasesin birds and are responsible for great economic losses in the avian industry. To date,several studies have been carried out to better understand the APEC pathogenesis for apossible development of tools which could prevent the economics losses caused bythese strains. This review discusses the virulence factors described do date to beexpressed by these strains and the advances made to understand and identify virulencedeterminants present in APEC. INDEX TERMS: APEC, avian Escherichia coli
Cultural Values and Economic Growth in Asia: An Empirical Analysis

This paper represents an attempt at measuring the impact of certain cultural factors on economic growths of selected Asian countries . For this purpose, we tested the hypothesis on whether the existence strong cultural traits have had a large impact on people’s life and thus leads to higher growth. Cultural factors are incorporated into baseline endogenous economic growth model analyzed by using the relevant data from the World Values Survey (1995-2007). This model has incorporated both cultural and economic variables and is thus superior to those models which are based on only the economic variables. Ordinary least squares regression is used to test the impact of the culture and economic factors on economic growth. We find evidence those cultural attitudes toward trust; respect and self-determination have positive impact on economic growth. However, cultural attitudes concerning obedience are found to be negatively associated with economic growth of the countries chosen for the analysis.
What's In A Name? Equivalence By Any Other Name Would Smell As Sweet.

Horne and Lowe (1996) argue that our results demonstrating California sea lion Rio’s success on tests of equivalence relations (Schusterman & Kastak, 1993) were likely due to four procedural artifacts (p. 223). However, four lengthy commentaries directly addressed Horne and Lowe’s attempt to devalue and explain away our positive findings, and all of them found the alternative explanations and arguments neither persuasive, compelling, parsimonious, nor even accurate (Fields, 1996, p. 280; McIlvane & Dube, 1996, p. 269; K. Saunders & Spradlin, 1996, p. 306; R. Saunders & Green, 1996; pp. 313–314). It is therefore unnecessary for us to further elaborate on either our procedure or the interpretation of our results. Instead, in this paper, we will concentrate our effort on two points made by Horne and Lowe. First, we will focus on their assumption that thought is dependent on words rather than the other way around. Second, we will address their point that one must be cautious about overinterpreting results from a single study (Horne & Lowe, 1996, p. 330) by reviewing the results of recent work at our laboratory as well as other important studies concerning the cognitive capabilities of nonhuman animals. We believe that Horne and Lowe’s basic premise that naming or verbal reasoning is necessary for the emergence or the formation of equivalence classes in an individual is wrong. In our view, the way some nonhuman animals and preverbal children classify the relations between and within objects and events determines whether and how codes, symbols, or words are acquired and used and not vice versa. Nonlinguistic animals have repeatedly
Smoking on Treatment Outcomes Among Tuberculosis Patients

Background:Smoking is a risk factor not only for the development of cancer and coronary heart disease but also for tuberculosis (TB). The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of smoking in patients with TB, identify demographic and clinical characteristics associated with smoking and to evaluate TB treatment outcomes in the smokers. Method:A retrospective cohort study of patients with TB was conducted at Khyber Teaching Hospital, Peshawar, Pakistan. All patients with pulmonary and extrapulmonary TB and those coinfected with HIV, hepatitis or diabetes mellitus were included in the study. The patients were categorized into smokers and nonsmokers. Treatment outcomes were evaluated by smear testing at the end of the treatment. Results:Of 472 enrolled subjects, 68 (14.4%) were smokers. The prevalence of smoking among male and female patients with TB was 11.8% and 2.5%, respectively. Univariate analysis indicated that the gender, age group and marital status of patients with TB were associated with smoking. The results indicated that patient gender (P = 0.05), age: 15 to 24 years (P = 0.05) and age >55 years (P = 0.004) were risk factors associated with smoking among TB patients. Of the 68 smokers with TB, the treatment outcomes among 54 patients (79.4%) were unsuccessful. The treatment outcomes was statistically significantly associated with smoking (odds ratio: 2.58, P = 0.004). Conclusions:Findings from the current study proved smoking to be one of the main factors associated with the occurrence of TB and significantly reducing the outcomes of TB therapy.
Learning in embedded systems

This dissertation addresses the problem of designing algorithms for learning in embedded systems. This problem differs from the traditional supervised learning problem. An agent, finding itself in a particular input situation must generate an action. It then receives a reinforcement value from the environment, indicating how valuable the current state of the environment is for the agent. The agent cannot, however, deduce the reinforcement value that would have resulted from executing any of its other actions. A number of algorithms for learning action strategies from reinforcement values are presented and compared empirically with existing reinforcement-learning algorithms. The interval-estimation algorithm uses the statistical notion of confidence intervals to guide its generation of actions in the world, trading off acting to gain information against acting to gain reinforcement. It performs well in simple domains but does not exhibit any generalization and is computationally complex. The cascade algorithm is a structural credit-assignment method that allows an action strategy with many output bits to be learned by a collection of reinforcement-learning modules that learn Boolean functions. This method represents an improvement in computational complexity and often in learning rate. Two algorithms for learning Boolean functions in k-DNF are described. Both are based on Valiant's algorithm for learning such functions from input-output instances. The first uses Sutton's techniques for linear association and reinforcement comparison, while the second uses techniques from the interval estimation algorithm. They both perform well and have tractable complexity. A generate-and-test reinforcement-learning algorithm is presented. It allows symbolic representations of Boolean functions to be constructed incrementally and tested in the environment. It is highly parametrized and can be tuned to learn a broad range of function classes. Low-complexity functions can be learned very efficiently even in the presence of large numbers of irrelevant input bits. This algorithm is extended to construct simple sequential networks using a set-reset operator, which allows the agent to learn action strategies with state. These algorithms, in addition to being studied in simulation, were implemented and tested on a physical mobile robot.