Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Review: Recent and future advances in the treatment of status epilepticus

Status epilepticus (SE) is one of the most frequent neurological emergencies with an incidence of 20/100,000 per year and a mortality between 3% and 40% depending on etiology, age, SE type and duration. Generalized convulsive forms of SE (GTCSE), in particular, require aggressive treatment. Presently, only 55—80% of cases of GTCSE are controlled by initial therapy. Therefore, there is a need for new options for the treatment of SE. Here we review the current standard treatment including recent advances and provide a summary of preclinical and clinical data regarding treatment options which may become available in the near future. The initial treatment of SE usually consists of a benzodiazepine (preferably lorazepam 0.1 mg/kg) followed by phenytoin or fosphenytoin or valproic acid (where approved for SE therapy). With intravenous formulations of levetiracetam, available since 2006, and lacosamide, which is expected for autumn of 2008, new treatment options have become available, that should be evaluated in prospective controlled trials. If SE remains refractory, the induction of general anaesthesia using propofol, midazolam, thiopental, or pentobarbital is warranted in GTCSE.
Prepartum and peripartum reproductive performance of dairy heifers freshening at young ages.

Reproductive performance of five breeds (81% Holstein or Jersey) in the Florida Agricultural Experiment Station herd was evaluated from data collected over 20 yr. Data represented 1144 parturitions after gestations greater than 250 d with all twin births excluded. Number of services per conception was not affected by age at first insemination. Mean age of exposure to first service was 414 d; mean age at first parturition was 25.8 mo. Overall, 39.7% of heifers calved at 23 mo or less. Intermediate ages, 24 to 27 mo, comprised 33.9% of heifers, whereas 26.4% of heifers calved at greater than or equal to 28 mo. Overall incidences of problems at parturition were retained fetal membranes, 3.6%; dystocia, 3.8%; metritis, 10.5%; and stillbirth, 11.5%. Frequencies of stillbirth and retained fetal membranes apparently were not affected by age, but metritis increased linearly with age at first parturition. Holsteins experience higher incidences of all problems than did Jerseys. Heritability (from paternal half-sib correlation) of birth weights and gestation lengths were . 31 and . 24; genetic correlation was . 14. Heritabilities of occurrence of stillbirth, retained fetal membranes, metritis, and dystocia were negative and considered to be 0. Heritabilities of age at first service, days from first service to conception, number of services, and age at first parturition were . 22, . 11, . 05, and . 43. Dairy producers can consider reducing age at first parturition to at least 22 mo, under environmental and management conditions of this study, without increased frequencies of problems at parturition.
A research agenda for moving early medical pregnancy termination over the counter

Given the overall safety profile and increasing availability of medical pregnancy termination drugs, we asked: would the mifepristone–misoprostol regimen for medical termination at ≤10 weeks of gestation meet US Food and Drug Administration regulatory criteria for over‐the‐counter (OTC) approval, and if not, what are the present research gaps? We conducted a literature review of consumer behaviours necessary for a successful OTC application for medical termination at ≤10 weeks of gestation and identified crucial research gaps. If we were to embark on a development programme for OTC or more generally, self‐use of medical termination, the critical elements missing are the label comprehension, self‐selection and actual use studies.
Impact of Altered Cholinergic Tones on the Neurovascular Coupling Response to Whisker Stimulation

Brain imaging techniques that use vascular signals to map changes in neuronal activity rely on the coupling between electrophysiology and hemodynamics, a phenomenon referred to as “neurovascular coupling” (NVC). It is unknown whether this relationship remains reliable under altered brain states associated with acetylcholine (ACh) levels, such as attention and arousal and in pathological conditions such as Alzheimer's disease. We therefore assessed the effects of varying ACh tone on whisker-evoked NVC responses in rat barrel cortex, measured by cerebral blood flow (CBF) and neurophysiological recordings (local field potentials, LFPs). We found that acutely enhanced ACh tone significantly potentiated whisker-evoked CBF responses through muscarinic ACh receptors and concurrently facilitated neuronal responses, as illustrated by increases in the amplitude and power in high frequencies of the evoked LFPs. However, the cellular identity of the activated neuronal network within the responsive barrel was unchanged, as characterized by c-Fos upregulation in pyramidal cells and GABA interneurons coexpressing vasoactive intestinal polypeptide. In contrast, chronic ACh deprivation hindered whisker-evoked CBF responses and the amplitude and power in most frequency bands of the evoked LFPs and reduced the rostrocaudal extent and area of the activated barrel without altering its identity. Correlations between LFP power and CBF, used to estimate NVC, were enhanced under high ACh tone and disturbed significantly by ACh depletion. We conclude that ACh is not only a facilitator but also a prerequisite for the full expression of sensory-evoked NVC responses, indicating that ACh may alter the fidelity of hemodynamic signals in assessing changes in evoked neuronal activity. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Neurovascular coupling, defined as the tight relationship between activated neurons and hemodynamic responses, is a fundamental brain function that underlies hemodynamic-based functional brain imaging techniques. However, the impact of altered brain states on this relationship is largely unknown. We therefore investigated how acetylcholine (ACh), known to drive brain states of attention and arousal and to be deficient in pathologies such as Alzheimer's disease, would alter neurovascular coupling responses to sensory stimulation. Whereas acutely increased ACh enhanced neuronal responses and the resulting hemodynamic signals, chronic loss of cholinergic input resulted in dramatic impairments in both types of sensory-evoked signals. We conclude that ACh is not only a potent modulator but also a requirement for the full expression of sensory-evoked neurovascular coupling responses.
Internet Use by Researchers: A Study of Annamalai University, Annamalainagar

In the IT era, academic libraries and information center have radically changed the information environment higher education institution started subscribing to Electronic resource to meet the users expectation the paper discussed on impact of internet on the Annamalai University Library. The main aim of this survey was to understand more about research scholar usage of electronic resources and technology, their experience with technology and their aptitudes and expectation about technology resources and identify areas for improvement of services.
Familial and environmental risk factors in Parkinson's disease: a case–control study in north‐east Italy

Background and objective– The aetiology of Parkinson's disease remains unknown, although both genetic susceptibility and environmental factors are considered putative contributors to its origin. We performed a case–control study to investigate the association of familial and environmental risk factors with Parkinson's disease (PD). Methods– We studied 136 patients with neurologist confirmed PD and 272 age‐ and sex‐matched controls, affected by neurological diseases not related to PD. The risk of developing idiopathic PD associated with the following familial and environmental factors: positive family history of PD, positive family history of essential tremor (ET), age of mother at subject's birth, rural birth, rural living, well water use, farming as an occupation, exposure to pesticides, head tremor, exposure to general anaesthesia and to ionizing radiations, food restriction, concentration camp imprisonment and smoking has been assessed by using univariate and multivariate statistical techniques. Results– In the conditional multiple logistic regression analysis, positive family history of PD (OR 41.7, 95% CI 12.2–142.5, P < 0.0001), positive family history of ET (OR 10.8, 95% CI 2.6–43.7, P < 0.0001), age of mother at subject's birth (OR 2.6, 95% CI 1.4–3.7, P=0.0013), exposure to general anaesthesia (OR 2.2, 95% CI 1.3–3.8, P=0.0024), farming as an occupation (OR 7.7, 95% CI 1.4–44.1, P=0.0212) and well water use (OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.1–3.6, P=0.0308) exhibited a significant positive association with PD, whereas smoking showed a trend toward an inverse relationship with PD (OR 0.7, 95% CI 0.4–1.1, P < 0.06). Conclusions– We conclude that both familial and environmental factors may contribute to PD aetiology.
Operational Risks in Context to Corporate Governance Practices in India

This study is an empirical analysis of Operational Risks Management and Corporate Governance Practice followed in developing economies like India. Creation of a sound governance, risk-management, and internal control environment starts by making it part of the strategic-planning exercise. Good Corporate Governance practice provides a way to realize the vision of mitigating risks and optimizing performance simultaneously in today's competitive and regulatory environment. Under this framework, the study evaluates current Indian corporate governance practices in light of Operational Risk Management.
Non-Audit services, auditor independence and earnings management

We predict that the provision of non-audit services by auditors to their audit clients will impair independence more severely for smaller auditors than for large auditors. We report evidence that client earnings management activity to avoid losses and earnings decreases is positively associated with the ratio of non-audit fees to total fees for non-Big 5 auditors but not for Big 5 auditors. Earnings management to meet analysts' forecasts varies positively with the non-audit fee ratio for both Big 5 and non-Big 5 auditors. Further, the difference in the effectiveness of Big 5 and non-Big 5 auditors in constraining earnings management widens as the non-audit free ratio increases. These results suggest that, when the provision of non-audit services is relatively high, smaller auditors are less able to resist aggressive accounting by their clients.
Search for correlation between symptoms and signs of changes in the oral mucosa and presence of fungi

Summary. The aim of the present study was to determine the relationship between the symptoms and signs of oral mucosal changes and the presence of fungi. The investigation comprised 235 subjects. Fungi were detected in the oral cavities of 196 of these subjects. The fungi belonged to different species of the genus Candida. A significant correlation was found between the presence of fungi in the oral cavity and the existence of burning sensation, xerostomia, dysgeusia and non‐idiopathic bleeding from the surface of the oral mucosa. A similar correlation was observed between the fungal colonization and atrophic changes, as well as reddened oral mucosa with lesions, ulceration and keratotic problems.
Malignant Tumors of the Pelvis: An Outcome Study

This is a report of outcomes after a review of the demographic, diagnostic, therapeutic, and survival data for patients with pelvic primary and secondary tumors treated during the past 28 years. Using a computerized system it has been possible to assess the results for 206 patients with bone and soft tissue sarcomas and metastatic carcinomas to define the variation in outcome and the factors which statistically show an effect on survival. The data were compared with data for other anatomic sites. Based on our study, it is apparent that the outcome for all the tumors was approximately 50% survival with only soft tissue sarcomas having a poorer result. There were only minimal to moderate differences in outcome on the basis of gender, age, type of surgery, or adjunctive therapy. Patients who had intralesional surgery did less well as did patients with higher Musculoskeletal Tumor Society stages. Comparing the results for these patients with results for patients with the same stage and diagnosis but with tumors located in other sites showed significant differences. Results for patients with pelvic allograft compared with results of patients who had femoral allografts for the same diagnoses showed a poorer outcome for the patients who had pelvic allografts. Several possible explanations are provided for these variations in results.
Raman spectroscopy of DNA packaging in individual human sperm cells distinguishes normal from abnormal cells

Healthy human males produce sperm cells of which about 25–40% have abnormal head shapes. Increases in the percentage of sperm exhibiting aberrant sperm head morphologies have been correlated with male infertility, and biochemical studies of pooled sperm have suggested that sperm with abnormal shape may contain DNA that has not been properly repackaged by protamine during spermatid development. We have used micro‐Raman spectroscopy to obtain Raman spectra from individual human sperm cells and examined how differences in the Raman spectra of sperm chromatin correlate with cell shape. We show that Raman spectra of individual sperm cells contain vibrational marker modes that can be used to assess the efficiency of DNA‐packaging for each cell. Raman spectra obtained from sperm cells with normal shape provide evidence that DNA in these sperm is very efficiently packaged. We find, however, that the relative protein content per cell and DNA packaging efficiencies are distributed over a relatively wide range for sperm cells with both normal and abnormal shape. These findings indicate that single cell Raman spectroscopy should be a valuable tool in assessing the quality of sperm cells for in‐vitro fertilization. (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Managerial Accounting: Making Decisions and Motivating Performance

1. The Manager and Management Accounting 2. An Introduction to Cost Terms and Purposes 3. Cost-Volume-Profit Analysis 4. Job Costing 5. Process Costing and Cost Allocation 6. Activity-Based Costing and Activity-Based Management 7. Pricing Decisions, Customer Profitability, and Cost Management 8. Determining How Costs Behave 9. Decision Making and Relevant Information 10. Quality, Inventory Management, and Time 11. Capital Investments 12. Master Budget and Responsibility Accounting 13. Flexible Budgets, Cost Variances, and Management Control 14. Strategy, Balanced Scorecard, and Strategic Profitability Analysis 15. Transfer Pricing 16. Performance Measurement and Compensation
Has basic research contributed to chronic pain treatment?

Our understanding of nociceptive processing and of plastic changes after persistent noxious input has increased immensely within the last two decades. It is now clear that long‐lasting noxious stimulation or damage to the nervous system give rise to a neuronal hyperexcitability and that this sensitisation of the nervous system plays an important role for development and maintenance of chronic pain. The manifestations of such hyperexcitability are numerous and include among others: increased neuronal response to a suprathreshold stimulus, expansion of the peripheral areas from where a central neurone can be activated and the recruitment of previous non‐responding nociceptive neurones. Furthermore, it has been possible to modulate this neuronal hyperexcitability by the discovery of molecular targets for pain, by sequencing DNA of ion channels and receptors and by development of new molecules that exert their effects on these molecular targets. The changes in responsiveness appear to be partly time and intensity dependent and partly dependent on the cause of injury. Whereas relatively short‐lasting and moderate noxious input leads to reversible plastic changes, more intense and long‐lasting noxious stimulation implies a risk for persistent and more profound alterations in transmitters, receptors, ion channels and in neuronal connectivity. Despite the explosion of new knowledge in pain processing and in molecular background for neuroplasticity, this progress has unfortunately not resulted in a corresponding improvement of our ability to treat chronic pain. The number of patients with chronic unrelieved pain is still high and newer types of treatment have so far not resulted in a substantially better treatment. Nevertheless, there is now an ongoing systematic research in which chronic pain conditions are assessed in a fashion so that mechanisms underlying pain can be dissected. Moreover, controlled clinical trials together with systematic reviews are carried out which in the future should permit formulation of treatment algorithms for chronic pain. Finally, it is likely that the development of new specific types of treatment will show efficacy if they are evaluated and analysed not on the global pain experience, but more specifically on those targets and elements of the pain experience they are aimed to deal with.
The Decreasing Market Value of Variable Renewables: Integration Options and Deadlocks

Wind and solar power are variable renewable energy sources (VRE) in the sense that their output is variable, subject to forecast errors, and that they are bound to certain sites. These three inherent properties reduce the income that VRE generators earn on markets (market value), especially at high penetration rates. The resulting lack of competitiveness could become a major barrier for the transition to renewable energy systems. This chapter explains the mechanisms that cause the decreasing market value, provides quantifications from model and market data, and discusses options to mitigate this value drop. Such integration options can be technological innovations, such as new storage technologies, based on investments of existing technologies, such as a shift in the generation mix from base load to peak load generators, or institutional, such as an appropriate design of spot and control power markets. We also indicate a few deadlocks, decisions that could turn out costly once high VRE penetration is reached.
Thermohaline stratification below the Southern Ocean sea ice

The end of winter stratification within the cold cyclonic trough of the Weddell gyre near 60°S between 5°E and the Greenwich meridian is resolved with the Mikhail Somov data set. The temperature maximum of the Weddell Deep Water (WDW) is, for the most part, less than 0.5°C, but warmer cells of WDW are found. These warm WDW cells have temperature, salinity, and oxygen properties similar to the WDW characteristic of the Weddell gyre inflow, which is situated to the southeast of the Mikhail Somov study region. The warm WDW cells are accompanied by domes in the pycnocline of 40 m amplitude over the surrounding pycnocline, while deeper isopycnals are depressed. Anticyclonic shear below the 27.83 σ-θ isopycnal within the warm WDW cells is compensated by the cyclonic shear associated with the pycnocline dome. The pycnocline domes are exposed to about 50% greater entrainment by the turbulently active winter mixed layer, relative to the regional entrainment rate. This entrainment can significantly erode the warm cells in a single winter season, introducing excess heat and salt into the mixed layer. While the heat is lost to the atmosphere, the excess salt is not necessarily compensated by increased fresh water introduction. It is hypothesized that the warm WDW cells within the Weddell gyre trough are derived from instability within the frontal zone which extends from Maud Rise to the northeast, separating the Weddell warm regime from the cold regime. Greater than normal injection of warm WDW cells into the Weddell gyre trough would increase the surface salinity, which would tend to destabilize the pycnocline, increasing the probability of deep convection and polynya events.
Implication of anthropometric profile and alimentary consumption on risk for diseases among school children in the 1st to 4th grades

Este trabalho objetivou determinar o perfil antropometrico e o consumo alimentar entre escolares de 1a a 4a series do ensino fundamental de escolas privadas de Maringa - PR. A amostra de estudo foi de 652 alunos. Verificou-se o peso e a estatura e classificados de acordo com o Indice de Massa Corporal proposto por Must et al. (1991). O consumo alimentar foi avaliado por meio de um questionario de frequencia alimentar diaria. A analise estatistica foi realizada pelos testes de associacao e regressao logistica linear, com nivel de significância de 5%. Verificaram-se indices altos de sobrepeso e obesidade, 21,9% e 13,3%, respectivamente, os quais nao mostraram relacao significativa com o consumo alimentar. Os dados obtidos foram: alto consumo de alimentos ricos em energia, como aqueles ricos em acucares e gorduras, e um consumo insuficiente de alimentos pouco energeticos e fonte de micronutrientes, como os vegetais. Para diminuir os fatores de risco do desenvolvimento de doencas faz-se necessario o aumento da promocao de bons habitos alimentares e saude dentro das escolas, alem da necessidade de elaborar e validar um questionario de consumo alimentar para avaliar a populacao infantil.
Effective predictors for surgical decision in antenatal hydronephrosis: a prospective multiparameter analysis.

OBJECTIVE The majority of antenatal hydronephrosis disappears spontaneously. In our study, we have investigated the effective predictors for surgical decision in antenatal hydronephrosis. MATERIAL AND METHODS Forty-four patients found to have renal pelvic anteroposterior (AP) diameter more than 10-mm on antenatal ultrasonograpy were followed after birth. The study groups were divided into two groups: follow-up and surgery group. On follow-up, longitudinal diameter of the kidney, parenchymal thickness of the kidney, AP diameter of renal pelvis, AP diameter of middle calyces on ultrasonograpy, and differential renal function, 20th minute clearance, half-life of radionuclide tracer (T1/2), Tmax, Tmax-T1/2, normalised residual activity (NORA) on diuretic renography were evaluated. Ultrasonograpy and diuretic renography measurements were compared in patients whose hydronephrosis resolve or proceeded to surgery. RESULTS Forty-four patients were diagnosed as antenatal hydronephrosis, spontaneous resolution occurred in 23 (52%), and surgery was performed in 21 patients (48%). Mean age at operation was 8.5±6.5 months (3-24 months). Mean AP diameter of renal pelvis was 29.5±14.2 mm for surgery group, 13.6±4.2 mm for follow-up group (p<0.001). Univariate analyses showed significance for all ultrasonographic measurements and only the differential renal function by diuretic renography. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed significance for AP diameter of renal pelvis (odds ratio 1.37; 95% Cl 1.13-1.66), and differential renal function (odds ratio 1.14; 95% Cl 1.01-1.29). CONCLUSION AP diameter of renal pelvis and differential renal function were the most effective parameters for surgical decision. These parameters can be used for appropriate management of antenatal hydronephrosis.