Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Endoscopic Surveillance and Primary Prophylaxis Sclerotherapy of Esophageal Varices in Biliary Atresia

Objectives: Evidence-based recommendations on endoscopic screening and prophylactic treatment of esophageal varices in patients with biliary atresia (BA) are scarce. We assessed the efficiency of endoscopic surveillance and risk factors of esophageal varices and associated upper gastrointestinal bleeding. Methods: A total of 47 consecutive children with BA and portoenterostomy underwent yearly endoscopies and prophylactic injection sclerotherapy of esophageal varices between 1987 and 2009. The median follow-up was 1.7 years (range 0.5–18.9) and overall 2-year survival 71%. Disease characteristics, clearance of jaundice, laboratory tests reflecting liver function and hypersplenism, as well as sonographic signs of portal hypertension were related to endoscopic findings and bleeding episodes. Results: Grade 2 to 3 varices developed with similar frequency after failed (18/28, 64%) and successful portoenterostomy (10/19, 53%) in 28 patients. Following failed portoenterostomy, esophageal varices were encountered significantly earlier (8 [4–23] vs 19 [4–165] months, P = 0.004), and they reappeared after eradication more often (16/16 vs 4/10, P = 0.001). Varices bled only after failed portoenterostomy (13/28 vs 0/19, P < 0.001). Increased serum bilirubin concentration >40 &mgr;mol/L at 3 months after portoenterostomy was a risk factor of upper gastrointestinal bleeding (odds ratio [OR] 17, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.7–175, P = 0.017). Conclusions: In future studies as well as clinical surveillance of BA patients’ varices, successful and failed portoenterostomy patients should be approached as separate groups with divergent prognoses. After failed portoenterostomy, surveillance should start early, for example, at 6 months.
Integrating Aerobic Training Within Subacute Stroke Rehabilitation: A Feasibility Study

Background Aerobic activity positively affects patients recovering from stroke and is part of best practice guidelines, yet this evidence has not been translated to routine practice. Objective The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of a model of care that integrated aerobic training in an inpatient rehabilitation setting for patients in the subacute stage of stroke recovery. Key elements of the program were personalized training prescription based on submaximal test results and supervision within a group setting. Design This was a prospective cohort study. Methods Participants (N=78) completed submaximal exercise testing prior to enrollment, and the test results were used by their treating physical therapists for exercise prescription. Feasibility was evaluated using enrollment, class attendance, adherence to prescription, and participant perceptions. Results Overall, 31 patients (40%) were referred to and completed the exercise program. Cardiac comorbidities were the main reason for nonreferral to the fitness group. Program attendance was 77%; scheduling conflicts were the primary barrier to participation. The majority of participants (63%) achieved 20 minutes of continuous exercise by the end of the program. No adverse events were reported, all participants felt they benefited from the program, and 80% of the participants expressed interest in continuing to exercise regularly after discharge. Limitations Cardiac comorbidities prevented enrollment in the program for 27% of the admitted patients, and strategies for inclusion in exercise programs in this population should be explored. Conclusions This individualized exercise program within a group delivery model was feasible; however, ensuring adequate aerobic targets were met was a challenge, and future work should focus on how best to include individuals with cardiac comorbidities.
The effect of single use laryngoscopy equipment on illumination for tracheal intubation *

Summary We measured the illumination generated by all 30 Macintosh size 3 laryngoscopes in our department with a lux‐meter and a standardised laryngoscope holding tube. We found a large range in illumination generated (65–3130 lx). We then measured the effect on the illumination for each laryngoscope by covering the blade with a cover (LaryGard). In every case, the illumination was reduced by the LaryGard, the mean (SD) reduction was 67 (19)%. When we compared the illumination generated by a disposable laryngoscope blade with the same power source, we found that the illumination was reduced less than with the standard Macintosh covered by a LaryGard.
Notice of RetractionEffects of Betaine on Growth Performance and Carcass Characteristics in Jinhua Barrows

The objective of this study was to investigate effects of dietary betaine supplementation on growth performance, carcass characteristics and serum metabolites in Jinhua barrows. Fifty-four purebred Jinhua barrows weighing about 45 kg were divided into three groups, each group has three replicates with six barrows in each replicate, and fed corn-soybean meal basal diets supplemented with 0, 0.125% and 0.250% betaine for 45 days. At trial termination, two pigs weighing about 67 kg were selected from each replicate and slaughtered for analyses. The results were that increased daily gain, decreased gain/feed ratio were observed in betaine-treated groups (P<;0.05). Carcass lean percentage and Longissimus muscle area were significantly increased, meanwhile, carcass fat percentage and average backfat thickness were significantly decreased in betiane-contamined groups (P<;0.05). Serum urea nitrogen and TG concentrations were significantly decreased, however, total protein and serum FFA concentrations were significantly increased in betaine-treated groups (P<;0.05). These results indicated that betaine of feed could increased growth performance, improve carcass characteristics and serum metabolites in Jinhua barrows.
Interactive Hierarchical Clustering using Bayesian Nonparametrics

A widely-used class of algorithms to understand data is hierarchical clustering, but it is often difficult to reconcile the results of these algorithms with hierarchies constructed by humans. Interaction, or querying humans for constraints on the data, is a popular solution for addressing this discrepancy. In this paper, we propose using leave-one-out interactions to achieve better hierarchies by integrating the interactions into a Bayesian nonparametric posterior distribution over hierarchies.
Análisis experimental de ondas largas en la bocana del puerto de Gijón

En este trabajo se presenta una metodologia basada en el analisis espectral para la determinacion de las caracteristicas de las ondas infragravitatorias en la bocana del Puerto de Gijon. A partir de las mediciones de un sensor de presion colocado en dicha bocana se obtuvo informacion del oleaje, tanto en la banda gravitatoria como en la banda infragravitatoria. Tras una seleccion de los oleajes de tipo swell, respecto de la totalidad de los estados de mar registrados, se ajusto una formula empirica para la determinacion de la energia total de onda larga, a partir de la altura de ola significante y del periodo de onda corta. Los valores del coeficiente de correlacion son altos, tanto para los datos considerados como swell, como para la totalidad de los datos registrados. Para la determinacion del periodo de pico de onda larga se propone tambien una formulacion empirica, aunque el coeficiente de correlacion es inferior.
Model Choice and Size Distribution: A Bayequentist Approach

We propose a new three-step model-selection framework for size distributions in empirical data. It generalizes a recent frequentist plausibility-of-fit analysis (Step 1) and combines it with a relative ranking based on the Bayesian Akaike Information Criterion (Step 2). We enhance these statistical criteria with the additional criterion of microfoundation (Step 3) which is to select the size distribution that comes with a dynamic micro model of size dynamics. A numerical performance test of Step 1 shows that our generalization is able to correctly rule out the distribution hypotheses unjustified by the data at hand. We then illustrate our approach, and demonstrate its usefulness, with a sample of commercial cattle farms in Namibia. In conclusion, the framework proposed here has the potential to reconcile the ongoing debate about size distribution models in empirical data, the two most prominent of which are the Pareto and the lognormal distribution.
Seroepidemiologic studies during a simultaneous epidemic of infection with El Tor Ogawa and classical Inaba Vibrio cholerae.

program. These studies were supported in part by research agreement 196802 between the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, and the Pakistan-SEATO Cholera Research Laboratory, Dacca, East Pakistan. The authors wish to express their thanks for the continued assistance of Dr. S. M. Hasan, Professor of Pathology and Vice-Principal, Dr. Syed A. K. M. Hafizur Rahman, Principal and Ex-OfRcio Superintendent, Dr. Md. Hammadur Rahman, Associate Professor of Pathology, Dr. M. A. Mannan, Associate Professor of Medicine, Dr. R. K. Khandakar, Associate Professor of Medicine, and Dr. S. G. M. Chowdhury, Associate Professor of Medicine, Chittagong Medical College; Dr. Md. Sadrul Hasan, Chief Medical Officer, Chittagong District; Dr. K. Zaman, Civil Surgeon, and Dr. S. Ali, Municipal Health Officer, Chittagong Municipality; Lt. Col. S. M. Q. Hoda, Chief Medical Officer, Dr. K. A. Khan, Superintendent, and Dr. S. N. Kamal, Medical Officer, Port Trust Hospital, Chittagong; and Dr. Md. Asiruddin, Director of Health Services, Government of East Pakistan, without whose help and encouragement this study could not have been carried out. * Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer, U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Public Health Service, National Communicable Disease Center, Atlanta, Georgia, assigned to the Epidemiology Division, Pakistan-SEATO Cholera Research Laboratory. Please address requests for reprints to Dr. Kenneth J. Bart, Pakistan-SEATO Cholera Research Laboratory, G.P.O. Box 128, Dacca, East Pakistan. from that of classical Inaba in Dacca [6-8]. These observations, however, have been attributed to differences in the community and locality rather than to the biotype or serotype of the vibrio [9, 10]. The simultaneous appearance of both El Tor Ogawa and classical Inaba cholera in Chittagong, East Pakistan, in 1968 provided an opportunity to study cholera caused by both biotypes in the same community and environment in families of cholera patients.
Positive Feedback Within a Kinase Signaling Complex Functions as a Switch Mechanism for NF-κB Activation

Signaling Dynamics The signaling pathways that activate the transcription factor NF-κB are key regulatory pathways in cells of the immune system, and their dynamic properties are still being elucidated. In B cells, analysis of single-cell responses has shown that the stimulation of the B cell receptor causes a “digital” all-or-none response of cells to a stimulus. Shinohara et al. (p. 760) used a combination of mathematical modeling and experiments to show that this property of the system results from the presence of a positive feedback loop among the signaling components activated in response to the receptor. Studies in cells expressing mutated signaling components resolved key phosphorylation events that provide the threshold responses observed and identified potential molecular modifications that might modify the threshold or other aspects of the dynamic response. The molecular basis of an all-or-none response in B cells is revealed. A switchlike response in nuclear factor–κB (NF-κB) activity implies the existence of a threshold in the NF-κB signaling module. We show that the CARD-containing MAGUK protein 1 (CARMA1, also called CARD11)–TAK1 (MAP3K7)–inhibitor of NF-κB (IκB) kinase-β (IKKβ) module is a switch mechanism for NF-κB activation in B cell receptor (BCR) signaling. Experimental and mathematical modeling analyses showed that IKK activity is regulated by positive feedback from IKKβ to TAK1, generating a steep dose response to BCR stimulation. Mutation of the scaffolding protein CARMA1 at serine-578, an IKKβ target, abrogated not only late TAK1 activity, but also the switchlike activation of NF-κB in single cells, suggesting that phosphorylation of this residue accounts for the feedback.
Ratio of angiopoietin-2 to angiopoietin-1 as a predictor of mortality in acute lung injury patients

Objective:To test the hypothesis that the concentration of angiopoietin-2 relative to angiopoietin-1 may be a useful biological marker of mortality in acute lung injury patients. We also tested the association of concentration of angiopoietin-2 relative to angiopoietin-1 with physiologic and biological markers of activated endothelium. Design:Prospective, observational cohort study. Setting:Intensive care units in a tertiary care university hospital and a university-affiliated city hospital. Patients:Fifty-six mechanically ventilated patients with acute lung injury. Interventions:Baseline plasma samples and pulmonary dead-space fraction measurements were collected within 48 hrs of acute lung injury diagnosis. Measurements and Main Results:Plasma levels of angiopoietin-1 and angiopoietin-2 and of biomarkers of endothelial activation were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Baseline concentration of angiopoietin-2 relative to angiopoietin-1 was significantly higher in patients who died (median, 58 [interquartile range, 17–117] vs. 14 [interquartile range, 6–35]; p = .01). In a multivariable analysis stratified by dead-space fraction, concentration of angiopoietin-2 relative to angiopoietin-1 was an independent predictor of death, with an adjusted odds ratio of 4.3 (95% confidence interval, 1.3–13.5; p = .01) in those with an elevated pulmonary dead-space fraction (p = .03 for interaction between pulmonary dead-space fraction and concentration of angiopoietin-2 relative to angiopoietin-1). Moderate to weak correlation was found with biological markers of endothelial activation. Conclusions:The ratio of concentration of angiopoietin-2 relative to angiopoietin-1 may be a prognostic biomarker of endothelial activation in acute lung injury patients and, along with pulmonary dead-space fraction, may be useful for risk stratification of acute lung injury patients, particularly in identifying subgroups for future research and therapeutic trials.
Using Exit Charts to Develop an Early Stopping Criterion for Turbo Decoding

Early stopping criteria are used to determine when additional decoder iterations result in little or no improvement in the bit- error-rate (BER) at the output of a Turbo decoder. This paper proposes a stopping criterion based on Extrinsic Information Transfer (EXIT) charts. The generation and properties of EXIT charts are discussed. Convergence and BER predictions obtained using EXIT charts are compared to results obtained using Turbo decoder simulation. Finally this paper describes the use of convergence and BER predictions obtained from EXIT charts to develop a stopping criterion for Turbo decoding.
Human cytomegalovirus. IV. Specific inhibition of virus-induced DNA polymerase activity and viral DNA replication by phosphonoacetic acid

Phosphonoacetic acid specifically inhibited human cytomegalovirus DNA synthesis in virus-infected human fibroblasts as detected by virus-specific nucleic acid hybridization. Inhibition was reversible; viral DNA synthesis resumed upon the removal of the drug. The compound partially inhibited DNA synthesis of host cells in the log phase of growth but had little effect on confluent cells. Studies of partially purified enzymes indicated that phosphonoacetic acid specifically inhibited virus-induced DNA polymerase and had only a slight effect on normal host cell enzymes. The drug was shown to interact directly with virus-induced enzyme but not with the template-primers.
Flow diverter device for the treatment of small middle cerebral artery aneurysms

Purpose Experience with the endovascular treatment of middle cerebral artery (MCA) aneurysms by flow diverter devices (FDD) is still limited. This study examines the results and complications of FDD for small aneurysms at this location. Methods From February 2010 to December 2013, 14 patients (10 women; mean age 59 years) with 15 small MCA aneurysms were treated with FDD. All procedures were performed with the Pipeline embolization device (PED). Results Complete occlusion was obtained in 12/15 aneurysms (80%) and partial occlusion in 3 (20%). Among 13 aneurysms with a side branch, this was patent at the angiographic control in 4 cases, showed decreased filling in 6, and was occluded in 3 (with neurological deficits in 2). All PEDs were patent at follow-up. Post-procedural ischemic complications occurred in 4 (27%) procedures with permanent neurological deficit (modified Rankin score 2) in 3 (21%). No early or delayed aneurysm rupture, no subarachnoid or intraparenchymal hemorrhage and no deaths occurred. Conclusions Endovascular treatment with FDD is a relatively safe treatment for small MCA aneurysms resulting in a high occlusion rate. The findings of this study suggest that complete occlusion after endovascular treatment with FDD can be delayed (>6 months). Ischemic complications may occur as early or delayed, particularly at clopidogrel interruption.
Is periodontal health a predictor of drug-induced gingival overgrowth? A cross-sectional study

Background: Gingival overgrowth is a common side-effect of amlodipine regimen on the oral cavity. There is controversy regarding the cause and effect relationship of periodontal health and drug induced gingival overgrowth. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate and to assess the relationship between the periodontal health and the onset and severity of gingival overgrowth in hypertensive patients receiving amlodipine. Materials and Methods: A total of 99 known hypertensive patients on amlodipine regimen were included in this study. Probing pocket depth (PPD) and clinical attachment loss (CAL) were noted on four sites of maxillary and mandibular anterior teeth. Gingival enlargement scores were assessed for each patient by employing the hyperplastic index. Oral hygiene status was evaluated using the calculus index (CI). Patients were divided into H, E and L groups based on their periodontal status and responders and non-responders based on their hyperplastic index scores. Differences in means of different periodontal variables in different groups were tested for significance by using ANOVA and unpaired Student t-test. Pearson's correlation coefficient was calculated to assess the correlation between different variables. For all analyses, P < 0.05 was considered to be significant. Results: All the periodontal parameters were statistically highly significant (P = 0.00) amongst H, E and L groups and between responders and non-responders. Statistically highly significant Pearson correlation coefficients were found between mean PPD and mean hyperplastic score, mean CAL and mean hyperplastic score and mean calculus and mean hyperplastic score. Conclusion: The results of this study indicated a definite association between periodontal health and development and severity of amlodipine-induced gingival overgrowth
Editing status at the Q/R site of the GluR2 and GluR6 glutamate receptor subunits in the surgically excised hippocampus of patients with refractory epilepsy

THE editing status of mRNA at the Q/R site of the glutamate receptor subunits GluR2 and GluR6 modulates channel conductivity and ion selectivity of ionotropic AMPA/KA receptors. Alteration of the editing process may be involved in the debilitating effects of epilepsy. The ratio of unedited/edited (Q/R) forms of GluR2 and GluR6 subunits was examined in conjunction with the expression of two double-standard RNA-specific adenosine deaminases (DRADA) in surgically excised hippocampus from patients with refractory epilepsy compared with that of control samples. In the majority of patients with long histories of epilepsy, the GluR2 transcript was detected in the completely edited form, however, in two (out of 16 tested) hippocampal samples of young subjects (2 and 10 years old) we were able to identify the unedited transcript of GluR2 subunit. The proportion of unedited fraction of GluR6(Q) subunit was decreased to 9% compared to control human hippocampus. We conclude that the editing process in epileptic specimens is selectively affected by seizure activity in the epileptic focus.
Consensus of Multi-agent System with Diverse Communication Delays

In this paper, a protocol is proposed to solve the consensus problem of multi-agent system with diverse communication delays. Sufficient conditions for the convergence to a consensus are obtained based on the frequency-domain analysis and matrix theory. The conditions depend on each agent's self-delay, the weights of the edges to each agent's neighbors, and the interconnection topology of the network. Under the proposed protocol, introducing self-delay can speed up the convergence rate for the system with communication delays. Moreover, the communication delays do not influence the convergence; they prolong the converging time instead. Simulation results illustrate the correctness of the results.
Selective Perturbation of Early Endosome and/ortrans-Golgi Network pH but Not Lysosome pH by Dose-dependent Expression of Influenza M2 Protein*

Many sorting stations along the biosynthetic and endocytic pathways are acidified, suggesting a role for pH regulation in protein traffic. However, the function of acidification in individual compartments has been difficult to examine because global pH perturbants affect all acidified organelles in the cell and also have numerous side effects. To circumvent this problem, we have developed a method to selectively perturb the pH of a subset of acidified compartments. We infected HeLa cells with a recombinant adenovirus encoding influenza virus M2 protein (an acid-activated ion channel that dissipates proton gradients across membranes) and measured the effects on various steps in protein transport. At low multiplicity of infection (m.o.i.), delivery of influenza hemagglutinin from thetrans-Golgi network to the cell surface was blocked, but there was almost no effect on the rate of recycling of internalized transferrin. At higher m.o. i. , transferrin recycling was inhibited, suggesting increased accumulation of M2 in endosomes. Interestingly, even at the higher m.o. i. , M2 expression had no effect on lysosome morphology or on EGF degradation, suggesting that lysosomal pH was not compromised by M2 expression. However, delivery of newly synthesized cathepsin D to lysosomes was slowed in cells expressing active M2, suggesting that acidification of the TGN and endosomes is important for efficient delivery of lysosomal hydrolases. Fluorescence labeling using a pH-sensitive dye confirmed the reversible effect of M2 on the pH of a subset of acidified compartments in the cell. The ability to dissect the role of acidification in individual steps of a complex pathway should be useful for numerous other studies on protein processing and transport.