Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
CLINICAL PRESENTATION, AETIOLOGY AND COMPLICATIONS OF PANCREATITIS IN CHILDREN.

BACKGROUND Childhood Pancreatitis is an uncommon but serious condition with incidence on the rise. It manifests as acute or chronic form with epigastric pain, vomiting and elevated serum -amylase and lipase. This study was conducted with the aim to determine the clinical presentation, aetiology, and complications of pancreatitis in children. METHODS This descriptive case series was conducted in the Department of Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, The Children's Hospital & the Institute of Child Health, Lahore from 1st January to 31st December 2014. Seventy-two patients up to the age of 15 years having abdominal pain, Amylase >200 IU/L and/or lipase >165 IU/L, with features of acute or chronic pancreatitis on abdominal imaging; were included in study. Data analysis was done using SPSS-20. RESULTS Of the total 72 patients, 43 (60%) had acute pancreatitis, males were 25 (58%) and females 18 (42%) and chronic pancreatitis was diagnosed in 29 (40%), males 10 (34%) and females 19 (66%). Common clinical features were abdominal pain (100%), nausea and vomiting (79%). Common aetiologies were idiopathic (40%) while choledochal cyst 8%, hyperlipidaemia 7%, biliary tract stones/sludge 7% and abdominal trauma 6%. Complications were more frequently associated with acute pancreatitis (60%) than with chronic pancreatitis (34%). Common complications were pseudo-pancreatic cyst (36%), ascites (17%) and pleural effusion (4%). CONCLUSION Abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting were common presenting features of childhood pancreatitis. Common aetiologies were idiopathic hyperlipidemia, biliary tract stones/sludge, choledochal cyst and abdominal trauma. Common complications were Pseudo-pancreatic cyst, ascites and pleural effusion.
Topographic distribution of clear‐sky radiation over the Konza Prairie, Kansas

This research analyzes the topographic distribution of clear-sky incoming solar radiation over the tallgrass Konza Prairie, site of FIFE, the First ISLSCP (International Satellite Land Surface Climatology Program) Field Experiment. Using a two-stream atmospheric radiation model and digital elevation grids of 25-, 50-, and 100-m grid spacing, clear-sky radiation is simulated throughout the day for three dates: December 15, March 15, and June 15. Geostatistical analysis is used to characterize the spatial and temporal variability in modeled radiation at each grid spacing. The variance and spatial autocorrelation of simulated incoming radiation depend on Sun angle and elevation grid spacing. The behavior of the variance as a function of Sun angle, optical depth, and mean terrain slope can be explained by considering direct radiation variability on a simplified terrain model of uniform albedo where slopes are equal and azimuths are distributed uniformly in all directions. For this constant-slope model it can be shown analytically that the solar zenith angle at which variance is maximized is a function of optical depth only and is independent of elevation, slope, and aspect. Results from the two-stream simulations support this conclusion and suggest its applicability to real terrain.
In vitro transcription–translation using bacterial genome as a template to reconstitute intracellular profile

Abstract In vitro transcription–translation systems (TX–TL) can synthesize most of individual genes encoded in genomes by using strong promoters and translation initiation sequences. This fact raises a possibility that TX–TL using genome as a template can reconstitute the profile of RNA and proteins in living cells. By using cell extracts and genome prepared from different organisms, here we developed a system for in vitro genome transcription–translation (iGeTT) using bacterial genome and cell extracts, and surveyed de novo synthesis of RNA and proteins. Two-dimensional electrophoresis and nano LC–MS/MS showed that proteins were actually expressed by iGeTT. Quantitation of transcription levels of 50 genes for intracellular homeostasis revealed that the levels of RNA synthesis by iGeTT are highly correlated with those in growth phase cells. Furthermore, activity of iGeTT was influenced by transcription derived from genome structure and gene location in genome. These results suggest that intracellular profiles and characters of genome can be emulated by TX–TL using genome as a template.
Semirecumbent positioning in ventilator-dependent patients: a multicenter, observational study.

BACKGROUND Positioning of patients is a modifiable risk factor for ventilator-associated pneumonia. Current guidelines for prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia recommend semirecumbency at 30º, with 45º preferable unless contraindicated. OBJECTIVE To assess the use of semirecumbency for ventilator patients in Australian and New Zealand intensive care units. METHODS In a multicenter, observational study, backrest elevation, mean arterial pressure, use of inotropic agents, enteral feeding, and weaning status were recorded 3 times per day by using a predetermined randomization schedule for 7 consecutive days (maximum 21 observation episodes). Severity of illness was recorded daily by using the Sepsis-Related Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score. RESULTS Measurements (n = 2112) were recorded for 371 ventilator patients in 32 intensive care units. Backrest elevation at ≥45º was noted for 112 of 2112 (5.3%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 4.3-6.3) measurements; elevation ≥30º but <45º for 472 of 2112 (22.3%; 95% CI, 20.6-24.1). Contraindications to semirecumbency were noted during 447 measurements. Increased back-rest elevation occurred during enteral feeding (2.2º, P < .001) and weaning (3.1º, P < .001). Decreased backrest elevation was associated with inotropic support (2.8º, P < .001), decreased mean arterial pressure (0.7º/10 mm Hg, P < .001), and organ failure (0.5º/1-point increment in SOFA(max) score, P < . 001). For measurements recorded with no contraindication to semirecumbency, weaning status (P = .003) and SOFA(max) score (P = .008) remained associated with the degree of backrest elevation. CONCLUSIONS The findings of this multicenter, observational study suggest that backrest elevation was less than recommended and was influenced by clinical practices and patient condition.
Changing your sex changes your brain: influences of testosterone and estrogen on adult human brain structure

Objective: Sex hormones are not only involved in the formation of reproductive organs, but also induce sexually-dimorphic brain development and organization. Cross-sex hormone administration to transsexuals provides a unique possibility to study the effects of sex steroids on brain morphology in young adulthood. Methods: Magnetic resonance brain images were made prior to, and during, cross-sex hormone treatment to study the influence of anti-androgen + estrogen treatment on brain morphology in eight young adult male-to-female transsexual human subjects and of androgen treatment in six female-to-male transsexuals. Results: Compared with controls, anti-androgen + estrogen treatment decreased brain volumes of male-to-female subjects towards female proportions, while androgen treatment in female-to-male subjects increased total brain and hypothalamus volumes towards male proportions. Conclusions: The findings suggest that, throughout life, gonadal hormones remain essential for maintaining aspects of sex-specific differences in the human brain.
Hypoxia Sex and vasodilator responses to hypoxia at rest and during exercise

Casey DP, Shepherd JR, Joyner MJ. Sex and vasodilator responses to hypoxia at rest and during exercise. J Appl Physiol 116: 927–936, 2014. First published July 3, 2013; doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00409. 2013. —In humans, -adrenergic receptor activation causes a substantial portion of hypoxic vasodilation in skeletal muscle at rest and during forearm exercise. Recent evidence suggests that -adrenergic receptors are either more sensitive or upregulated in young women vs. men. Therefore, we examined whether sex influences hypoxic vasodilation in 31 young subjects (15 women/16 men; 26 1 yr). We also examined whether potential sex-related differences existed in a group of older adults (6 women/5 men; 61 2 yr). All subjects performed forearm exercise at 10 and 20% of maximum under normoxic and hypoxic [80% arterial O2 saturation (SO2)] conditions. Forearm vascular conductance (FVC; ml·min ·100 mmHg ) was calculated from blood flow (ml/min) and blood pressure (mmHg). At rest, young women demonstrated a greater vasodilator response to hypoxia compared with men (39 12 vs. 13 6%, P 0.05). The absolute compensatory vasodilator response (hypoxic FVC-normoxic FVC) during exercise was similar between sexes, but the relative change was greater in young women at 10% (28 5 vs. 17 3%, P 0.05) and 20% exercise (29 4% vs. 15 3%, P 0.01). Additionally, the absolute changes in vasodilation after normalizing the response to forearm volume or workload were greater in young women during exercise (P 0.05). Interestingly, the compensatory vasodilator responses between older women and men were similar at 10 and 20% exercise, regardless of whether the response is expressed as absolute, relative, or absolute change normalized for forearm volume or workload (P 0.054–0.97). Our data suggest that the compensatory vasodilator response to hypoxic exercise is greater in young women compared with men. However, sex-specific differences appear to be lost with aging.
Multilingual native language identification

Abstract We present the first comprehensive study of Native Language Identification (NLI) applied to text written in languages other than English, using data from six languages. NLI is the task of predicting an author’s first language using only their writings in a second language, with applications in Second Language Acquisition and forensic linguistics. Most research to date has focused on English but there is a need to apply NLI to other languages, not only to gauge its applicability but also to aid in teaching research for other emerging languages. With this goal, we identify six typologically very different sources of non-English second language data and conduct six experiments using a set of commonly used features. Our first two experiments evaluate our features and corpora, showing that the features perform well and at similar rates across languages. The third experiment compares non-native and native control data, showing that they can be discerned with 95 per cent accuracy. Our fourth experiment provides a cross-linguistic assessment of how the degree of syntactic data encoded in part-of-speech tags affects their efficiency as classification features, finding that most differences between first language groups lie in the ordering of the most basic word categories. We also tackle two questions that have not previously been addressed for NLI. Other work in NLI has shown that ensembles of classifiers over feature types work well and in our final experiment we use such an oracle classifier to derive an upper limit for classification accuracy with our feature set. We also present an analysis examining feature diversity, aiming to estimate the degree of overlap and complementarity between our chosen features employing an association measure for binary data. Finally, we conclude with a general discussion and outline directions for future work.
Structure of Emotions

Interesting structures emerge in scaling analyses of emotions when stimuli are confined to terms that are relativelyffee of cognitive and behavioral connotations. Study 1focused on 99 such terms, rated on semantic differential scales. It revealed a bimodal distribution of emotions with regard to pleasantness, further distinctions in terms of activation, and a third dimension representing flight-fight. Study 2 obtained dissimilarity ratings for a representative subset of the terms; nonmetric multidimensional scaling replicated the dimensions in Study 1 with a clarijied third dimension. None of the results conform strictly to a circumplex model of emotion. Instead the results suggest that emotions are hedonically polarized feelings. Activation appears to be the main discriminating factor in positive emotions, but activation and a sense of potency combine in discriminating negative emotions. These
An Exploratory Study on Handling Requirements and Acceptance Test Documentation in Industry

With the emergence and spread of agile processes, the practices of writing and maintaining documentation have drastically changed in the last decade. In this work, we performed a qualitative study to explore the current practices for managing two related types of software documentation: requirements and acceptance tests. We interviewed twenty practitioners from seventeen business units in fifteen companies to investigate the companies' practices for writing, maintaining and linking requirements and acceptance test documentation. The study yields interesting and partially unexpected results. For example, we had expected that tests would be more extensively documented than requirements, while we found a strong linear correlation between the number of requirements and tests in our sample. We also found that technical people are usually not involved in the requirements engineering activities, which often results in misunderstood or underestimated requirements. Acceptance tests are written, in many cases, based on requirements that are not necessarily detailed enough. Also, acceptance tests are not regularly maintained, which occasionally results in confusing features and bugs.
Screening for HIV: Systematic Review to Update the 2005 U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation

BACKGROUND A 2005 U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) review found good evidence that HIV screening is accurate and that antiretroviral therapy (ART) for immunologically advanced disease is associated with substantial clinical benefits, but insufficient evidence to determine the effects on transmission or in less immunologically advanced disease. PURPOSE To update the 2005 USPSTF review on benefits and harms of HIV screening in adolescents and adults, focusing on research gaps identified in the prior review. DATA SOURCES MEDLINE (2004 to June 2012) and the Cochrane Library (through the second quarter of 2012). STUDY SELECTION Randomized trials and observational studies that compared HIV screening strategies and reported clinical outcomes, evaluated the effects of starting ART at different CD4 cell count thresholds and long-term harms, or reported the effects of interventions on transmission risk. DATA EXTRACTION 2 authors abstracted and checked study details and quality using predefined criteria. DATA SYNTHESIS No study directly evaluated the effects on clinical outcomes of screening versus no screening for HIV infection. A randomized trial and a subgroup analysis from a randomized trial found that ART initiation at CD4 counts less than 0.250 × 109 cells/L was associated with a higher risk for death or AIDS-defining events than initiation at CD4 counts greater than 0.350 × 109 cells/L (hazard ratios, 1.7 [95% CI, 1.1 to 2.5] and 5.3 [CI, 1.3 to 9.6]). Large, fair-quality cohort studies also consistently found that ART initiation at CD4 counts of 0.350 to 0.500 × 109 cells/L was associated with lower risk for death or AIDS-defining events than delayed initiation. New evidence from good-quality cohorts with longer-term follow-up confirms a previously observed small increased risk for cardiovascular events associated with certain antiretrovirals. Strong evidence from 1 good-quality randomized trial and 7 observational studies found that ART was associated with a 10- to 20-fold reduction in risk for sexual transmission of HIV. LIMITATIONS Only English-language articles were included. Observational studies were included. Studies done in resource-poor or high-prevalence settings were included but might have limited applicability to general screening in the United States. CONCLUSION Previous studies have shown that HIV screening is accurate, targeted screening misses a substantial proportion of cases, and treatments are effective in patients with advanced immunodeficiency. New evidence indicates that ART reduces risk for AIDS-defining events and death in persons with less advanced immunodeficiency and reduces sexual transmission of HIV. PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
Histamine release by suxamethonium

It is generally considered that suxamethonium does not release histamine in the tissues. This impression is conveyed by the pamphlets issued by certain of the drug houses which produce this preparation. Suxamethonium would therefore appear to be the drug of choice for use in patients who are subject to bronchospasm, if a relaxant is indicated. The more commonly used relaxant drugs have all been reported as capable of releasing histamine. Intracutaneous injection of d-tubocurarine chloride produces large wheals and flares which are inhibited by the antihistamine drug tripellanamine2. Curare also releases histamine from skeletal muscle3, and bronchospasm following its exhibition in dogs and in man has been reported4. Gallamine and decamethonium are reported as less potent in releasing histamine than is curare5 6. In large doses suxamethonium can cause histamine release but it is only about one hundredth as likely to do so as d-tubocurarine, and the effect does not seem to be of practical importance' 8. Evidence of significant histamine release by suxamethonium would therefore be of interest, and the following cases suggest that not only may this occur frequently, but that in view of the larger doses used in comparison with curare, bronchospasm may be precipitated. Reactions caused by suxamethonium may hitherto have been ascribed to other drugs (e.g. pethidine) as a result of the common practice of injecting more than one drug through the same needle. In the fist three cases below, suxamethonium was the only drug injected through the needles, and into the area where the skin reactions were elicited.
Validation of eddy current loss models for permanent magnet machines with fractional-slot concentrated windings

Permanent magnet (PM) machines with concentrated windings are increasingly used in industry because of their cost-effectiveness and low production time. Eddy current losses in the rotor of these machines are significant due to a large content of space harmonics in air gap MMF. Analytical and finite element (FE) models have been formulated to predict such losses. This paper presents experimental validation for an analytical and a FE model, in which an openslot and a semi-closed-slot fractional-slot PM machine with 27 slots and 18 poles are modeled. The experiments consist of static tests for both the analytical model and the FE model, and rotary tests only for the FE model. The results show the models can to some extent predict the eddy current losses in the rotor but further improvements such as a three dimensional model may help reduce the deviations between models and experiments.
Oestrogen regulates male aggression in the non–breeding season

Extensive research has focused on territorial aggression during the breeding season and the roles of circulating testosterone (T) and its conversion to 17β–oestradiol (E2) in the brain. However, many species also defend territories in the non–breeding season, when circulating T–levels are low. The endocrine control of non–breeding territoriality is poorly understood. The male song sparrow of Washington State is highly territorial year–round, but plasma T is basal in the non–breeding season (autumn and winter). Castration has no effect on aggression in autumn, suggesting that autumnal territoriality is independent of gonadal hormones. However, non–gonadal sex steroids may regulate winter territoriality (e.g. oestrogen synthesis by brain aromatase). In this field experiment, we treated wild non–breeding male song sparrows with a specific aromatase inhibitor (fadrozole, FAD) using micro–osmotic pumps. FAD greatly reduced several aggressive behaviours. The effects of FAD were reversed by E2 replacement. Treatment did not affect body condition or plasma corticosterone, suggesting that all subjects were healthy. These data indicate that E2 regulates male aggression in the non–breeding season and challenge the common belief that aggression in the non–breeding season is independent of sex steroids. More generally, these results raise fundamental questions about how sexual and/or aggressive behaviours are maintained in a variety of model vertebrate species despite low circulating levels of sex steroids or despite castration. Such nonclassical endocrine mechanisms may be common among vertebrates and play an important role in the regulation of behaviour.
Non-contrast second harmonic imaging improves interobserver agreement and accuracy of dobutamine stress echocardiography in patients with impaired image quality

OBJECTIVE To examine the influence of second harmonic imaging during dobutamine echocardiography on regional endocardial visibility, interobserver agreement in the interpretation of wall motion abnormalities, and diagnostic accuracy in patients with reduced image quality. DESIGN Blinded comparison. SETTING Tertiary care centre. PATIENTS 103 consecutive patients with suspected coronary artery disease and impaired transthoracic image quality (⩾ 2 segments with poor endocardial delineation). METHODS Fundamental and second harmonic imaging were performed at each stage of a dobutamine stress echocardiography. Coronary angiography was undertaken within three weeks of dobutamine echocardiography in 75 patients. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Evaluation of regional endocardial visibility (scoring from 0 = poor to 2 = good) and of segmental wall motion abnormalities for both modalities separately. A second blinded examiner analysed 70 studies to determine interobserver agreement. RESULTS Mean (SD) visibility score for all segments was 1.2 (0.4) using fundamental imaging and 1.7 (0.2) using second harmonic imaging at rest (p < 0.001), and 1.1 (0.4)v 1.6 (0.3), respectively, at peak dobutamine dose (p < 0.001). The average number of segments with poor endocardial visibility was lower for second harmonic than for fundamental imaging (0.6 (1.1) v 3.8 (2.6) at rest, p < 0.001; 0.9 (1.3) v 4.3 (2.9) at peak dose, p < 0.001). Improvement was most pronounced in all lateral and anterior segments. The κ value for identical study interpretation increased from 0.40 to 0.69 (p < 0.05). Sensitivity for the diagnosis of coronary artery disease was 64% using fundamental imaging versus 92% using harmonic imaging (p < 0.001), while specificity remained unchanged at 75% for both imaging modalities. CONCLUSIONS Second harmonic imaging enhances endocardial visibility during dobutamine echocardiography. Consequently, interobserver agreement on stress echocardiography interpretation and diagnostic accuracy are significantly improved compared to fundamental imaging. Thus, in difficult to image patients, dobutamine echocardiography should be performed using second harmonic imaging.