Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A comparative double-blind randomized study on the effectiveness of Duloxetine and Gabapentin on painful diabetic peripheral polyneuropathy

Background: The most common cause of polyneuropathy is diabetes mellitus. Neuropathic pain is seen in 26% of diabetic population. Therapeutic techniques for this disease can become challenging. Method: This study was a prospective comparative double-blind randomized study which was conducted during an eight-week period. Totally, 104 painful diabetic peripheral polyneuropathy (PDPP) patients who had a minimum Visual Analog Scale (VAS) of 40 millimeters, received no pain-controlling medication, and had no other severe disease at its final stage were randomly assigned to two groups (n=52) through the four block method. One group received Duloxetine and the other received Gabapentin. The effectiveness was measured through primary effectiveness (VAS scale) and secondary effectiveness (Sleep Interference Score, and Clinical Global Impression of Change (CGIC)). Medication compliance was assessed by enumerating the number of patients who refused treatment because of side effects. The Fisher’s exact T-test and ANOVA were used for data analysis. This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Jundishapur, University of Medical sciences Ahvaz, Iran, under reference number: IR.AJUMS. REC.1395. 78. In addition, this study was registered and approved in the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT ID: IRCT20161023030455N2) (http://irct.ir/). Results: VAS, Sleep Interference Score, and CGIC were significantly improved (P<0.05) through time in both groups, [For GBP: VASBaseline=64±20.03, VASweek1=55.32±18.76, VASweek4=44.68±15.82, VASweek8=39.43±14.32; For DLX: VASBase-line=62±21.18, VASweek1=58.76±20.37, VASweek4=45.84±16.21, VASweek8=36.78±15.62] while a significant difference between the two groups was not observed (P<0.05). However, such significant improvements were not observed in the Duloxetine group at the end of the first week (P=674). Improvement in Sleep Interference Score and CGIC were similar to the results for the VAS scale. Side effects in the Duloxetine group (n=2) compared to the Gabapentin group (n=9) were significantly less (P<0.001). As a result, medication acceptance in the Duloxetine group (n=47) was significantly better than the Gabapentin (n=41) group (P<0.001). Conclusion: Both Duloxetine and Gabapentin are effective for the treatment of PDPP. On the one hand, Gabapentin shows the effect earlier while has more side effects. Conversely, Duloxetine has better medication compliance. Trial registration: The method of this study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran, under reference number: IR.AJUMS. REC.1395. 78. In addition, this study was registered and approved in the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT ID: IRCT20161023030455N2) (http://irct.ir/).
Layout-driven area-constrained timing optimization by net buffering

With the advent of deep sub-micron technologies, interconnect loads and delays are becoming significant, and layout-driven synthesis has become the need of the day. However, given the tight constraints imposed by the layout (e.g., area availability, congestion), only those synthesis transforms can be made layout-driven that are local and layout-friendly. Examples of such transforms are net buffering, gate resizing, and gate replication. In this paper, we address the problem of minimizing the delay of a mapped, roughly placed, and globally-routed design by buffer insertion and/or deletion without violating the local area constraints imposed by the layout and without overloading any buffer/cell pins. We believe that this is one of the most fundamental problems in layout-driven buffer optimization. To the best of our knowledge, no technique has been established to date that solves this problem. The concept of local (or block) area constraints we use in this paper is more powerful than that of the total design area traditionally used in logic synthesis.
Functional imaging of the retinal layers by laser scattering: an approach for study of spreading depression in intact tissue

A special optical approach for the study of spreading depression in isolated retina is presented in this article. The method allows to register the laser light scattered, in a dark field configuration, by each layer of the tissue producing a functional imaging during spreading depression. The layers can be seen maintaining the tissue intact without any histological cut. The method seems to be useful for the measurements of different variables, like extracellular potential, simultaneously with the functional image in a high spatial resolution. The positioning of the microelectrode tip is easily monitored. An image processing method was used to compact in a single image the information about the layers scattering and temporal evolution. The technique allows the visualization of the light scattered by the inner plexiform layer, which is the most prominent scatter layer, during spreading depression.
Evaluating the differences between 1D, 2D, and 3D occupying ratios in reflecting the JOA score in cervical ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament.

Background To compare the differences between the one-dimensional (1D) length, two-dimensional (2D) area, and three-dimensional (3D) volume occupying ratios, and to assess the difference between the central and peripheral types of ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL). Methods In total, 60 patients were included in this study, and 1D and 2D occupying ratios were obtained using Centricity PACS (GE Healthcare), while a 3D model was created using MIMICS® (Materialise, Leuven, Belgium). Clinical symptoms were measured preoperatively by the modified Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) score, short-form health survey (SF-36), and neck disability index. The increased signal intensity (ISI) in T2-weighted MRI was divided into three groups: grade 0, none; grade1, limited to one disc level; or grade2, beyond one disc level. The axial view of spinal canal in CT was vertically divided into three equal parts. Then, the OPLL was categorized by central and peripheral type according to the location of most protruded tip. Results The 1D, 2D, and 3D occupying ratios had a significantly negative relationship with JOA score (r=-0.503; -0.506; -0.516, respectively). There was little difference in the JOA score between the central and peripheral types (17.15 vs. 17.12, P=0.785). The relationship with MR ISI, according to the central and peripheral type, showed no significant difference. In each multiple regression analysis, the 1D, 2D, and 3D occupying ratios were determined to have more influence on the JOA score (Beta: -0.364, -0.411, -0.462, respectively) than age, sex, most severe level, OPLL type, location type, and MR ISI. Conclusions There was no difference between 1D, 2D, and 3D occupying ratios in reflecting the JOA score in cervical OPLL. Also, it is sufficient to reflect the occupying ratio in the clinical outcome without distinguishing between central and peripheral type.
Anaplastic lymphoma kinase tyrosine kinase inhibitors in non-small cell lung cancer

Lung cancer still represents the leading cause of cancer-related mortality. However, the recent advent of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI), pioneering drugs against targetable mutations, have dramatically improved prognosis of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene rearrangements, identified in 3–7% of NSCLC cases, reflects in the constitutive activation of downstream signalling pathways, stimulating tumour cell proliferation, differentiation and survival. To accurately detect the wide spectrum of ALK rearrangements, the introduction of innovative techniques, like reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) or next generation sequencing (NGS) now allows for a more precise detection of variants and a more objective reading assessment, compared to the traditional diagnostic approaches. In some occasions, these new tools may dynamically monitor tumor evolution and even guide the choice of the most appropriate ALK inhibitor. In fact, among ALK TKIs available, crizotinib was the first to receive FDA accelerate approval for ALK rearranged NSCLC patients. Notwithstanding its response rate, ranging from 57% to 74%, the majority of patients progress within the first year of drug administration, due to acquired resistance. Both ALK-dependent and independent mechanisms of acquired resistance to TKIs have been identified. If the activation of multiple bypass signaling pathways constitutes the most common ALK-independent mechanism of resistance and one of the most difficult to overcome, ALK-dependent escape strategy mainly consists of mutations in the kinase domain, where the type of mutation largely depends on the TKI administered. Second and third generation TKIs are now available and are demonstrating high systemic and central nervous system (CNS) efficacy in clinical trials. Even though appropriate timing and sequencing of these compounds are still unclear, the large number of ALK inhibitors is now a precious resource aiming to prolong progression-free survival (PFS) and finally overall survival (OS). Here Authors provide an overview of the current approaches in the clinical management of advanced NSCLC patients harboring ALK rearrangement and discuss future perspectives to address current issues, highlighting the perception that ALK-rearranged advanced NSCLC patients benefit from maintained ALK inhibition for as long as possible.
Donor notification and response rate of sero-reactive blood donors: a challenge and long way to go

Background: Supply of safe blood starts with healthy voluntary non remunerated blood donors. Blood donor screening and testing for TTI has become stringent all over the world. A fundamental part of preventing TTI is to notify and counsel reactive donors which help in preventing secondary transmission of infectious disease.Methods: This observational descriptive study is done to determine the number of contacted TTI reactive donors and their response rate after notification of their abnormal tests. It includes all the sero-reactive donors from July 2015 to June 2016 in the department of IHBT, GGSMCH. Blood donors who were sero-reactive for any TTI were recalled and tested again with ELISA kit of different manufacturer or lot number and by rapid card tests. Donors’ sero reactive on repeat testing were informed, counseled and referred to ICTC (for HIV) or Physician (for hepatitis B and hepatitis C). Confidentiality was maintained at every level.Results: During the study period, numbers of blood donors were 12621, out of which 343 blood donors were found to be sero-reactive. 23 donors were HIV, 230 Hepatitis C, 90 were HBsAg reactive. We could contact 182 out of 343 sero reactive donors telephonically. 161 sero-reactive did not attend blood bank phone call or their contact number was changed. Amongst the 182 contacted donors, 72 donors responded for the notification call and attended counseling.Conclusions: Response rate among reactive donors is quite low and a big challenge. This shows poor health care knowledge and social stigma regarding TTI among donors.
Waist circumference: a better predictor forlung ventilation than body mass index

Objective: To evaluate the relationship between waist circumference, as a measure of central fat distribution, and lung ventilation function in both sexes among different weight categories in comparison with body mass index (BMI). Subjects and Methods: One hundred healthy adults from both sexes were volunteered in this observational-cross-sectional study (53 males aged 19-69 years and 47 females aged 19-51 years). Subjects were recruited from Mosul Medical College students, teaching as well as administration staff. After collecting personal and health information necessary for the study, all subjects underwent anthropometric measurements (height, weight, and waist circumference) before spirometry test using computerized spirometer. The study was conducted in the Department of Medical Physiology-Mosul Medical College. Results: All spirometric data were within 80-120% of the normal predicted values, thus excluding the possibility of any asymptomatic airway disease. A consistent negative correlation between, both waist circumference and BMI, with FVC and FEV1 were clearly observed in both sexes. Unlike BMI, waist circumference revealed stronger and significant negative correlation with lung function especially in male subjects. The significant negative correlation between waist circumference and FVC and FEV1 was more evident in overweight and obese subjects. Conclusion: Waist circumference, as a measure of body fat distribution, seems more reliable predictor of poor lung function, secondary to overweight and obesity, than BMI. This might be attributed to the fact that BMI relies only on body weight and height without consideration to the distribution of body fat, muscle and bone mass which might possess a more significant role.
The concept of Librarian 2.0 in Kuwaiti academic libraries

Attempts have been made to explore the impact of Information Communication Technology (ICT) on the entire gamut of the library and information sector and to conceptualise the transformation of conventional libraries into Web 2.0, Library 2.0 and Librarian 2.0, which will bring a changing scenario to the information industry. In the last few years, discussion and debate about the ‘core competencies’ needed by Librarian 2.0 have appeared in the academic environment. This investigation aims to identify the key skills, knowledge and attributes required by Librarian 2.0 in academic libraries in Kuwait. Twenty librarians from four academic libraries in Kuwait participated in a series of focus groups. The five themes discussed as being crucial to Librarian 2.0 include: communication, teamwork, technology, learning and education, and personal traits. This article provides a detailed discussion of each of these themes. The results show that in the age of Web 2.0 librarians in Kuwait academic libraries need more knowledge and awareness of communication and teamwork skills. Furthermore, they need to shift their attitude towards the concept of Librarian 2.0 by developing a clear understanding of the key factors that must be present in any Librarian 2.0. The study findings contribute to providing a framework towards the concept of Librarian 2.0 in academic libraries in the State of Kuwait. This framework will contribute to improving their awareness of and attitude to this topic in the future.
Experimenting with Control in the DVMT

IN ORDER TO OPERATE EFFECTIVELY IN REAL-TIME SITUATIONS, OR TO INTEGRATE INTO A SINGLE CONTROL ARCHITECTURE A VARIETY OF CONTROL REGIMES APPROPRIATE FOR DIFFERENT CLASSES OF PROBLEMS OR STAGES OF A PROBLEM, THE LOW-LEVEL CONTROL LOOP OF A BLACKBOARD-BASED PROBLEM SOLVER MUST CHANGE SIGNIFICANT- LY. FOR EXAMPLE, IN A REAL-TIME SYSTEM THE LOW-LEVEL CONTROL LOOP MUST SUPPORT THE ABILITY NOT TO DO EXHAUSTIVE ANALYSIS OF BLACKBOARD DATA AND NOT TO APPLY ALL APPLICABLE KNOWLEDGE. SIMILARLY, AT DIFFERENT STAGES OF PROBLEM SOLVING, IT MAY BE APPROPRIATE FOR A SYSTEM TO OPERATE WITH DATA-, GOAL-, OR PLAN-BASED CONTROL REGIMES. A MODULAR CONTROL ARCHITECTURE IS PROPOSED TO ANSWER ALL OF THESE NEEDS. ITS APPROACH IS BASED ON RE-ENGINEERING THE BASIC BLACKBOARD CONTROL LOOP TO BE HIGHLY PARAMETERIZED--NOT JUST IN THE AREA OF AGENDA MANAGEMENT, BUT IN EACH AREA OF THE BASIC CONTROL CYCLE. THE DETAILS OF THIS PARAMETERIZA- TION WILL BE PRESENTED ALONG WITH EXAMPLES OF HOW THIS CONTROL ARCHITECTURE ALLOWS THE EXPRESSION OF A RANGE OF CONTROL REGIMES AND THE REDUCTION OF OVERHEAD FOR REAL-TIME PROBLEM SOLVING.
International Journal of Advanced Robotic Systems Design and Characterization of a Novel High-Power Series Elastic Actuator for a Lower Limb Robotic Orthosis immediate

A safe interaction is crucial in wearable robotics in general, while in assistive and rehabilitation applications, robots may also be required to minimally perturb physiological movements, ideally acting as perfectly transparent machines. The actuation system plays a central role because the expected performance, in terms of torque, speed and control bandwidth, must not be achieved at the expense of lightness and compactness. Actuators embedding compliant elements, such as series elastic actuators, can be designed to meet the above-mentioned requirements in terms of high energy storing capacity and stability of torque control. A number of series elastic actuators have been proposed over the past 20 years in order to accommodate the needs arising from specific applications. This paper presents a novel series elastic actuator intended for the actuation system of a lower limb wearable robot, recently developed in our lab. The actuator is able to deliver 300 W and has a novel architecture making its centre of mass not co-located with its axis of rotation, for an easier integration into the robotic structure. A custom-made torsion spring with a stiffness of 272.25 N·m·rad−1 is directly connected to the load. The delivered torque is calculated from the measurement of the spring deflection, through two absolute encoders. Testing on torque measurement accuracy and torque/stiffness control are reported.
Management of chronic myeloid leukemia in children and adolescents: Recommendations from the Children's Oncology Group CML Working Group

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) accounts for 2‐3% of leukemias in children under 15 and 9% in adolescents aged 15‐19. The diagnosis and management of CML in children, adolescents, and young adults have several differences compared to that in adults. This review outlines the diagnosis and management of the underlying disease as well as challenges that can occur when dealing with CML in this patient population.
A cross-sectional study of patterns of adverse drug reactions reported in the department of pharmacology of a tertiary care teaching hospital in North East India

Introduction: Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs) are a great cause of concern to the general public, medical profession, the patients and the pharmaceutical industry. For this reason Pharmacovigilance, which is an evolving science dedicated for reducing medicine related harm to patients, is a good tool for ensuring safe and effective use of medicine. The information may be useful in identifying and minimizing preventable ADRs, while generally enhancing the knowledge of the prescribers to deal with them more efficiently. There are hardly any studies regarding ADR patterns in North East India. Hence a study was undertaken to record and analyze the pattern of adverse drug reaction in a Tertiary Care Hospital of North East India. Materials and Methods: All the ADRs that were collected in ADR monitoring centre of Department of Pharmacology of our Institute during the period of January 2015 to July 2016 were analysed according to demographic distribution, organ system wise distribution, most commonly involved drugs associated with ADRs and causality analysis was done by using WHO causality analysis scale. Results: Only 272 ADRs were reported during the 18 months study period. Females were affected more than males. Skin and subcutaneous tissue was the most commonly affected system followed by GIT and CNS. Among drug classes anticancer agents were responsible for highest number of ADRs followed by 3rd generation Cephalosporin and NSAID Aceclofenac. Conclusion: The ADR reporting rate is very less in our study. So there is an urgent need streamlining of hospital based ADR reporting and monitoring system to create awareness and to promote the reporting of ADR among Healthcare Professionals. Keywords: Adverse drug reactions, Pharmacovigilance, ADR monitoring centre, Causality analysis, North East India
Epstein-Barr virus in Hodgkin's lymphoma - immunohistochemical case series study

Objectives: 1To determine the association between Hodgkin's lymphoma and Epstein-Barr virus. 2To determine if it is related to certain age groups or specific histologic subtypes. 3To compare the pattern with other developing or developed countries. Methods: Biopsies of seventy cases with Hodgkin's lymphoma were collected from the pathology laboratories. The clinical data, including the patient’s age, sex, site of lymph node affected and the histological classification according to the REAL classification, were retrieved from the pathologic reports. Immunoperoxidase stains for LMP-1 were performed on 40 cases. Results: The mean age of all cases was 26.7 years, with a median of 25 years. There were 36 males and 34 females. The largest age group was seen in 15 40 years accounting for 68.5%. The third decade took the peak incidence (21/70, 30%). Nodular sclerosis Hodgkin's lymphoma was the most common subtype representing 58.5% of all the cases, followed by mixed cellularity (37.2% of cases). The lymphocyte depleted subtypes in 2.8%, whereas lymphocytic predominant seen in 1.4% of cases. Latent membrane protein-1 was observed in 37.5% of Hodgkin's lymphoma. The most frequent association was observed in lymphocytic depletion subtype (50%), followed by mixed cellularity subtype (45%). The least frequent association was in nodular sclerosis type (27.7%). The highest rate of EBV expression was seen in the pediatric age group (< 15 years; 66.6%) and the lowest rate was among young adults (15-40 years; 26.9%). Older age group (> 40 years) has a rate of EBV expression (50%) which is higher than the young adult patients, but lower than the pediatric age group. Epstein-Barr virus positive cases were mostly males (73.3%) compared to females (26.7%). Conclusion: Hodgkin's lymphoma in our locality, in comparison with earlier studies, shows changing pattern with a gradual trend to those of developed countries including peak age group and subtypes. Moreover, Epstein-Barr virus is seen in slightly more than one third of cases and mostly seen in childhood, mixed cellularity and lymphocytic depletion subtypes with a male predominance.