Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Migration and Coiling of Peritoneal Catheter into the Subgaleal Space: A Very Rare Complication of Subgaleoperitoneal Shunt

Upward migration of the peritoneal catheter of a subgaleo-peritoneal (SP) shunt and coiling into the subgaleal space is an extremely rare complication of a SP shunt. A 32-year-old male patient visited our hospital presenting with a large skull defect due to a prior craniectomy performed elsewhere. The patient underwent a cranioplasty with methylmetacrylate, but subsequently developed progressive pseudomeningocele and subgaleal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) collection. The patient underwent CSF diversion via a SP shunt. After SP shunting, the pseudomeningocele disappeared completely. Six months later, the patient presented with progressive scalp swelling. Skull X-ray showed migration and coiling of the distal catheter of the SP shunt. The patient was treated by removing the entire shunt catheter and the dura was covered with a subgaleal flap. We would like to report our experience with a very rare complication of subgaleo-peritoneal shunting.
A 0.13-/spl mu/m CMOS 5-Gb/s 10-meter 28 AWG cable transceiver with no-feedback-loop continuous-time post-equalizer

A 5-Gb/s 10-meter 28 AWG cable transceiver is developed with 0.13-/spl mu/m CMOS technologies. A continuous-time post-equalizer with the novel high-speed analog amplifiers can handle up to 9 dB of frequency-dependent attenuation in cables, and an 18 dB of improvement in the attenuation (27 dB in total) can be also achieved with the novel optimization technique using the pre-emphasis and the post-equalization.
of the 23 rd Annual EMBS International Conference , October 25-28 , Istanbul , Turkey MOTOR CONTROL OF A LIMB SEGMENT ACTUATED BY ARTIFICIAL MUSCLES

Abmacl-En this article we present a biologically inspired motor control scheme based on sensorymotor interaction modalities within the Central NCNOUS System, and its application to the control ofa single joint limb segment actuated by two pneumatic hlcKibben muscles. The embedded Artificial Neural Network (ANN) module‘s architecture, whose functioning is regulated by reinforcement learning, is similar to the connectivity of cerebellar cortex. Various biologically plausible learning schemes, which enable functional plasticity in the cerebellar cortex, are discussed. The simulation and experimental results are then reported. Keyw~rds Motor control, brain models, artificial neural networks, reinforcement learning, artificial muscles.
Doctors' and Nurses' Explanations for Racial Disparities in Medical Treatment

Racial inequality in medical treatment is a problem whose sources are not fully understood. To gain better insight into how race may affect treatment, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 26 doctors and nurses. Using an open coding scheme, the explanations of racial inequality in treatment were coded by two people. Four major categories of responses emerged to explain why Black patients are less likely to receive the same levels of medical care as Whites: access to care, physician bias, Black patients' perceived shortcomings, and White patients' demands. Interviewees commonly cited access and patient factors before naming physician bias. The majority questioned the validity of studies reporting disparities. Educational campaigns should emphasize evidence that racial disparities persist even after controlling for factors such as insurance and patient characteristics. Educational programs should also address subconscious racial bias and how it may operate in a clinical setting.
Software defined antenna

The aim of this work was to investigate the feasibility of a single re-configurable structure comprising multiple radiating sections, described as a “Software Defined Antenna. ” These sections would allow the frequency of operation, polarisation and radiation patterns to be varied to suit different radio systems. In addition, with multiple input feeds, simultaneous operation of several radio systems could be achieved from the one unit. This in turn could lead to a reduction in the number of installed antennas on a given platform. A concept demonstrator for a ‘Software Defined Antenna’ containing multiple radiating sections, has been designed, modelled, constructed and tested.
ZntB Is a Novel Zn Transporter in Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium

A Zn transport system encoded by the zntB locus of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium has been identified. The protein encoded by this locus is homologous to the CorA family of Mg transport proteins and is widely distributed among the eubacteria. Mutations at zntB confer an increased sensitivity to the cytotoxic effects of Zn and Cd , a phenotype that suggests that the encoded protein mediates the efflux of both cations. A direct analysis of transport activity identified a capacity for Zn efflux. These data identify ZntB as a zinc efflux pathway in the enteric bacteria and assign a new function to the CorA family of cation transporters.
The Etiology of Pyogenic Vertebral Osteomyelitis and Evaluation of Biopsy Specimen Cultures in Hospitalized Patients

Identifying the causative pathogens in patients with pyogenic vertebral osteomyelitis is important for optimizing antibiotic therapy. Thus, we examined patient characteristics and investigated the efficacy of the combined use of blood culture and image-guided biopsy culture for identifying the causative pathogens of pyogenic vertebral osteomyelitis. A case series study was conducted in hospitalized patients who were diagnosed with pyogenic vertebral osteomyelitis using electronic medical records. Twenty-three patients who had undergone both blood culture and image-guided biopsy to determine the causative pathogens were identified. Detailed patient characteristics were identified, and the detection rate of a causative pathogen was 57% using either blood or biopsy specimen culture. By combining the results of each culture, the detection rate was increased to 83%. We described the detailed characteristics of patients with pyogenic vertebral osteomyelitis from whom both blood and biopsy specimen cultures were obtained. We found that the combined use of blood culture and biopsy specimen culture is useful for enhancing the detection of causative pathogens in patients with pyogenic vertebral osteomyelitis.
Cloning, Characterization, and Functional Expression of the Klebsiella oxytoca Xylodextrin Utilization Operon (xynTB) in Escherichia coli

ABSTRACT Escherichia coli is being developed as a biocatalyst for bulk chemical production from inexpensive carbohydrates derived from lignocellulose. Potential substrates include the soluble xylodextrins (xyloside, xylooligosaccharide) and xylobiose that are produced by treatments designed to expose cellulose for subsequent enzymatic hydrolysis. Adjacent genes encoding xylobiose uptake and hydrolysis were cloned from Klebsiella oxytoca M5A1 and are functionally expressed in ethanologenic E. coli. The xylosidase encoded by xynB contains the COG3507 domain characteristic of glycosyl hydrolase family 43. The xynT gene encodes a membrane protein containing the MelB domain (COG2211) found in Na+/melibiose symporters and related proteins. These two genes form a bicistronic operon that appears to be regulated by xylose (XylR) and by catabolite repression in both K. oxytoca and recombinant E. coli. Homologs of this operon were found in Klebsiella pneumoniae, Lactobacillus lactis, E. coli, Clostridium acetobutylicum, and Bacillus subtilis based on sequence comparisons. Based on similarities in protein sequence, the xynTB genes in K. oxytoca appear to have originated from a gram-positive ancestor related to L. lactis. Functional expression of xynB allowed ethanologenic E. coli to metabolize xylodextrins (xylosides) containing up to six xylose residues without the addition of enzyme supplements. 4-O-methylglucuronic acid substitutions at the nonreducing termini of soluble xylodextrins blocked further degradation by the XynB xylosidase. The rate of xylodextrin utilization by recombinant E. coli was increased when a full-length xynT gene was included with xynB, consistent with xynT functioning as a symport. Hydrolysis rates were inversely related to xylodextrin chain length, with xylobiose as the preferred substrate. Xylodextrins were utilized more rapidly by recombinant E. coli than K. oxytoca M5A1 (the source of xynT and xynB). XynB exhibited weak arabinosidase activity, 3% that of xylosidase.
Possible association between genetic variants at the GRIN1 gene and schizophrenia with lifetime history of depressive symptoms in a German sample

Genetic variation in glutamatergic signalling pathways is believed to play a substantial role in the aetiology of schizophrenia. The N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor subunit gene GRIN1 has been proposed as a candidate gene for schizophrenia. We tested for a potential association between schizophrenia and four single nucleotide polymorphisms (rs4880213, rs11146020, rs6293, and rs10747050) and one microsatellite marker at GRIN1 in a German sample of 354 patients and 323 controls. We found significant associations in single-marker and haplotype-based analyses (P<0.05). Significance was more pronounced (P<0.01) in the subset of patients with a lifetime history of major depression, a subgroup of schizophrenia described previously as a promising phenotypic subtype in genetic studies of schizophrenia. Although significances did not withstand correction for multiple testing, the results of our exploratory analysis warrant further studies on GRIN1 and schizophrenia.
A novel approach for evaluating singular integrals in electromagnetic integral equations

Solving electromagnetic(EM) problems by integral equation methods relies on the accurate evaluation of singular integrals related to the Green's function. In the widely-used Method of Moments (MoM) with the Rao-Wilton-Glisson (RWG) basis function for solving surface integral equations (SIEs), the gradient operator on the scalar Green's function can be moved onto the basic function and testing function, resulting in a 1/R singularity in the integral kernel, where R is the distance between an observation point and a source point. The singular integrals can be evaluated with the well-known Duffy's method, but it requires a two-fold numerical integration. In this work, we develop a novel approach to evaluate the singular integrals by using a local polar coordinate system. The approach can cancel the singularity and reduce the integrals to a one-fold numerical integration by deriving a closed-form expression for the integrals over the polar coordinate. Numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach.
Internal Learning By Doing And Economic Growth

This paper analyses the consequences for growth during the transitional period of considering the learning-by-doing process proposed by Arrow (1962) as internal, instead of as an externality. To do this, it develops a simple endogenous growth model with human capital accumulation through external and internal learning processes. The calibrated model delivers two features of the Japanese growth experience: slow convergence, and negative correlation between the growth rate of per capita GDP and investment share. The crucial implication of internal learning-by-doing is the double role of physical investment that operates reducing diminishing returns to physical capital.
Patient Outcomes of an International Telepediatric Cardiac Critical Care Program.

BACKGROUND An optimal model for telemedicine use in the international care setting has not been established. Our objective was to describe variables associated with patient outcome during the implementation of an international pediatric cardiac critical care (PCCC) telemedicine program. MATERIALS AND METHODS A retrospective review was performed of clinical records and a telemedicine database of patients admitted to the cardiac intensive care unit (CICU) at the Fundacion Cardiovascular de Colombia, Bucaramanga, Colombia, during the initial 10 months of our program, compared with patients admitted during a previous period. Information collected included demographic data, cardiac diagnosis and associated factors, Risk Adjustment for Congenital Heart Surgery (RACHS)-1 classification, and perioperative events. Primary outcome was composed of CICU and hospital mortality. Secondary outcomes were CICU and hospital length of stay (LOS). RESULTS Of the 553 patients who were included, teleconsultation was done for 71 (12.4%), with a total of 156 encounters, including 19 for patients on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Three hundred twenty-one recommendations were given, and 42 real-time interventions were documented. RACHS-1 distribution was similar between study periods (p=0.427). Teleconsulted patients were significantly younger (44 versus 24 months; p=0.03) and had higher surgical complexity than nonteleconsulted patients (p=0.01). RACHS-1 adjusted hospital survival was similar between study periods. CICU and hospital LOS intervals were significantly shorter in the telemedicine period (10 versus 17 days [p=0.02] and 22 versus 28 days [p<0.001]). In surgical cases, preoperative CICU LOS was significantly shorter (3 versus 6 days; p<0.001). Variables associated with hospital mortality were higher RACHS-1 categories, lower weight, bypass time longer than 150 min, and use of circulatory arrest, as well as the presence of sepsis or necrotizing enterocolitis. Those associated with increased LOS were lower weight, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, and cross-clamp time longer than 60 min. CONCLUSIONS An international telemedicine service in PCCC was associated with lower CICU and hospital LOS. Prospective telemedicine interventions aimed to decrease mortality and LOS should focus on patients with higher RACHS-1 categories, lower-weight infants, and those with prolonged operative time and selective perioperative complications.
Cell wall fermentation kinetics are impacted more by lignin content and ferulate cross-linking than by lignin composition

BACKGROUND: We used a biomimetic model system to ascertain how reductions in ferulate – lignin cross-linking and shifts in lignin composition influence ruminal cell wall fermentation. Primary walls from maize cell suspensions with normal or reduced feruloylation were artificially lignified with various monolignols previously identified in normal, mutant, and transgenic plants. Cell wall fermentability was determined from gas production during invitro incubation with rumen microflora and by analysis of non-fermented polysaccharides. RESULTS: Hemicellulose fermentation lag time increased by 37%, rate decreased by 37%, and the extent declined by 18% as cell wall lignin content increased from 0.5 to 124 mg g −1 . Lignification increased lag time for cellulose fermentation by 12-fold. Ferulate – lignin cross-linking accounted for at least one-half of the inhibitory effect of lignin on cell wall fermentation. Incorporating sinapyl p-coumarate, a precursor of p-coumaroylated grass lignin, increased the extent of hemicellulose fermentation by 5%. Polymerizing varying ratios of coniferyl and sinapyl alcohols or incorporating 5-hydroxyconiferyl alcohol, coniferaldehyde, sinapyl acetate, or dihydroconiferyl alcohol into lignin did not alter the kinetics of cell wall fermentation. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that selection or engineering of plants for reduced lignification or ferulate – lignin cross-linking will improve fiber fermentability more than current approaches for shifting lignin composition. c � 2008 Society of Chemical Industry
The effects of NMDA‐induced retrohippocampal lesions on performance of four spatial memory tasks known to be sensitive to hippocampal damage in the rat

Four separate cohorts of rats were employed to examine the effects of cytotoxic retrohippocampal lesions in four spatial memory tasks which are known to be sensitive to direct hippocampal damage and/or fornix‐fimbria lesions in the rat. Selective retrohippocampal lesions were made by means of multiple intracerebral infusions of NMDA centred on the entorhinal cortex bilaterally. Cell damage typically extended from the lateral entorhinal area to the distal ventral subiculum. Experiment 1 demonstrated that retrohippocampal lesions spared the acquisition of a reference memory task in the Morris water maze, in which the animals learned to escape from the water by swimming to a submerged platform in a fixed location. In the subsequent transfer test, when the escape platform was removed, rats with retrohippocampal lesions tended to spend less time searching in the appropriate quadrant compared to controls. Experiment 2 demonstrated that the lesions also spared the acquisition of a working memory version of the water maze task in which the location of the escape platform was varied between days. In experiment 3, both reference and working memory were assessed using an eight‐arm radial maze in which the same four arms were constantly baited between trials. In the initial acquisition, reference memory but not working memory was affected by the lesions. During subsequent reversal learning in which previously baited arms were now no longer baited and vice versa, lesioned animals made significantly more reference memory errors as well as working memory errors. In experiment 4, spatial working memory was assessed in a delayed matching‐to‐position task conducted in a two‐lever operant chamber. There was no evidence for any impairment in rats with retrohippocampal lesions in this task.
Subsarcolemmal and intermyofibrillar mitochondria proteome differences disclose functional specializations in skeletal muscle

Skeletal muscle is a highly specialized tissue that contains two distinct mitochondria subpopulations, the subsarcolemmal (SS) and the intermyofibrillar (IMF) mitochondria. Although it is established that these mitochondrial subpopulations differ functionally in several ways, limited information exists about the proteomic differences underlying these functional differences. Therefore, the objective of this study was to biochemically characterize the SS and IMF mitochondria isolated from rat red gastrocnemius skeletal muscle. We separated the two mitochondrial subpopulations from skeletal muscle using a refined method that provides an excellent division of these unique mitochondrial subpopulations. Using proteomics of mitochondria and its subfractions (intermembrane space, matrix and inner membrane), a total of 325 distinct proteins were identified, most of which belong to the functional clusters of oxidative phosphorylation, metabolism and signal transduction. Although more gel spots were observed in SS mitochondria, 38 of the identified proteins were differentially expressed between the SS and IMF subpopulations. Compared to the SS mitochondrial, IMF mitochondria expressed a higher level of proteins associated with oxidative phosphorylation. This observation, coupled with the finding of a higher respiratory chain complex activity in IMF mitochondria, suggests a specialization of IMF mitochondria toward energy production for contractile activity.
Quantitative sonoelastography of the uterine cervix by interposition of a synthetic reference material

To develop a reference material that allows quantitative elastography of the uterine cervix using the calculation of the approximate tissue stiffness expressed as Young's modulus (N/mm2). Further, to test the elastography equipment on phantoms from a clinical perspective regarding the distance dependence and the influence of a heterogeneous material.
Comparative Analysis of the Secretome from a Model Filarial Nematode (Litomosoides sigmodontis) Reveals Maximal Diversity in Gravid Female Parasites*

Filarial nematodes (superfamily Filarioidea) are responsible for an annual global health burden of ∼6.3 million disability-adjusted life-years, which represents the greatest single component of morbidity attributable to helminths affecting humans. No vaccine exists for the major filarial diseases, lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis; in part because research on protective immunity against filariae has been constrained by the inability of the human-parasitic species to complete their lifecycles in laboratory mice. However, the rodent filaria Litomosoides sigmodontis has become a popular experimental model, as BALB/c mice are fully permissive for its development and reproduction. Here, we provide a comprehensive analysis of excretory-secretory products from L. sigmodontis across five lifecycle stages and identifications of host proteins associated with first-stage larvae (microfilariae) in the blood. Applying intensity-based quantification, we determined the abundance of 302 unique excretory-secretory proteins, of which 64.6% were present in quantifiable amounts only from gravid adult female nematodes. This lifecycle stage, together with immature microfilariae, released four proteins that have not previously been evaluated as vaccine candidates: a predicted 28.5 kDa filaria-specific protein, a zonadhesin and SCO-spondin-like protein, a vitellogenin, and a protein containing six metridin-like ShK toxin domains. Female nematodes also released two proteins derived from the obligate Wolbachia symbiont. Notably, excretory-secretory products from all parasite stages contained several uncharacterized members of the transthyretin-like protein family. Furthermore, biotin labeling revealed that redox proteins and enzymes involved in purinergic signaling were enriched on the adult nematode cuticle. Comparison of the L. sigmodontis adult secretome with that of the human-infective filarial nematode Brugia malayi (reported previously in three independent published studies) identified differences that suggest a considerable underlying diversity of potential immunomodulators. The molecules identified in L. sigmodontis excretory-secretory products show promise not only for vaccination against filarial infections, but for the amelioration of allergy and autoimmune diseases.
Use of Multiplex PCR To Identify Staphylococcus aureus Adhesins Involved in Human Hematogenous Infections

ABSTRACT We have developed a multiplex PCR procedure to determine the distribution of nine adhesin genes in Staphylococcus aureus isolates. Only genes encoding bone sialoprotein binding protein and fibronectin binding protein B were significantly associated with hematogenous osteomyelitis/arthritis and native-valve endocarditis, respectively, suggesting their involvement in hematogenous tissue infections.
Simulation of the diffusion‐controlled reaction between superoxide and superoxide dismutase. I. Simple models

A Brownian dynamics simulation method is used to study the diffusion‐influenced bimolecular reaction between superoxide and superoxide dismutase (SOD). Using simple models, the details of which are based on the crystallographic structure of SOD, it is found that the electrostatic charge distribution of SOD serves to guide superoxide into the active site and enhance the diffusion‐controlled rate constant by about 40%.