Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Adaptive fault-tolerant H∞ compensation controller design with actuator failures

In this paper, the problem of designing adaptive fault-tolerant H∞ compensation controllers for linear time-invariant continuous-time systems is presented. Linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) are developed with multiple Lyapunov functions to find a stabilizing controller gain such that the disturbance attenuation performance is optimized. Direct adaptive-state feedback control schemes are proposed to estimate the unknown controller parameters on-line for actuator fault and perturbation compensations. Then a class of adaptive robust state feedback controllers is constructed relying on the LMI result and the updated values of these estimations. Base on the Lyapunov stability theory, it shows that the resulting closed-loop system can guarantee to be ε-stable and suboptimal H∞ performances in the presence of faults on actuators and external perturbations. A numerical example of rocket fairing structural-acoustic model and its simulation results are given.
EMLA Cream as a Topical Anesthetic Before Office Phlebotomy in Children

We studied the effectiveness of EMLA cream (2.5% lidocaine, 2.5% prilocaine)in reducing distress, anxiety, and pain associated with phlebotomy in pediatric outpatients. This was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study using EMLA cream or placebo 1 hour before phlebotomy. Distress, anticipatory anxiety, pain, and adverse reactions were measured. Measurements of distress and ease of procedure, as well as changes in heart rate, showed significant improvement with EMLA cream as compared with placebo. Pain was decreased with use of EMLA cream. Anticipatory anxiety levels were equal within both groups. Ratings of cream efficacy by parent/observer scales were in favor of EMLA cream.
Surgical treatment of status epilepticus: A palliative approach

Although status epilepticus (SE) does not resemble a domain for neurosurgical indications in single occasions, a microneurosurgical procedure in patients with catastrophic epilepsy and status epilepticus should be considered as an ultimate ratio‐choice in these patients. From a personal series of >600 epilepsy surgery procedures in a period from August 1, 1993 until March 13, 2013, 22 patients were identified with catastrophic epilepsy and all of them with at least one episode of status epilepticus. Five of the patients had surgery under ongoing status epilepticus. Twelve patients became seizure‐free, two patients had >90% seizure reduction, seven patients >50% seizure reduction, and one patient was unchanged. No surgery‐related complications in terms of permanent morbidity were ascertained in the presented series. In the subgroup of the five patients operated in the acute phase of SE one patient became seizure‐free (Engel class. I), one showed Engel class II, two Engel class III, and one Engel class IV with no worthwhile improvement. Patients with catastrophic epilepsy including status epilepticus can benefit from resective epilepsy surgery, even with incomplete resection of the epileptogenic lesion.
Fast and Secure Chaos-Based Cryptosystem for Images

Non-linear dynamic cryptosystems or chaos-based cryptosystems have been attracting a large amount of research since 1990. The critical aspect of cryptography is to face the growth of communication and to achieve the design of fast and secure cryptosystems. In this paper, we introduce three versions of a chaos-based cryptosystem based on a similar structure of the Zhang and Fridrich cryptosystems. Each version is composed of two layers: a confusion layer and a diffusion layer. The confusion layer is achieved by using a modified 2-D cat map to overcome the fixedpoint problem and some other weaknesses, and also to increase the dynamic key space. The 32-bit logistic map is used as a diffusion layer for the first version, which is more robust than using it in 8-bit. In the other versions, the logistic map is replaced by a modified Finite Skew Tent Map (FSTM) for three reasons: to increase the nonlinearity properties of the diffusion layer, to overcome the fixed-point problem, and to increase the dynamic key space. Finally, all versions of the proposed cryptosystem are more resistant against known attacks and faster than Zhang cryptosystems. Moreover, the dynamic key space is much larger than the one used in Zhang cryptosystems. Performance and security analysis prove that the proposed cryptosystems are suitable for securing real-time applications.
Immune deficiencies , infection , and systemic immune disorders Pioglitazone restores phagocyte mitochondrial oxidants and bactericidal capacity in chronic granulomatous disease

Background: Deficient production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by the phagocyte nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADPH) oxidase in patients with chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) results in susceptibility to certain pathogens secondary to impaired oxidative killing and mobilization of other phagocyte defenses. Peroxisome proliferator–activated receptor (PPAR) g agonists, including pioglitazone, approved for type 2 diabetes therapy alter cellular metabolism and can heighten ROS production. It was hypothesized that pioglitazone treatment of gp91 mice, a murine model of human CGD, would enhance phagocyte oxidant production and killing of Staphylococcus aureus, a significant pathogen in patients with this disorder. Objectives: We sought to determine whether pioglitazone treatment of gp91 mice enhanced phagocyte oxidant production and host defense. Methods: Wild-type and gp91 mice were treated with the PPARg agonist pioglitazone, and phagocyte ROS and killing of S aureus were investigated. Results: As demonstrated by 3 different ROS-sensing probes, short-term treatment of gp91 mice with pioglitazone enhanced stimulated ROS production in neutrophils and monocytes from blood and neutrophils and inflammatory macrophages recruited to tissues. Mitochondria were identified as the source of ROS. Findings were replicated in human monocytes from patients with CGD after ex vivo
Biotechnological and biomedical applications of mesenchymal stem cells as a therapeutic system

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are non-hematopoietic, multipotent progenitor cells which reside in bone marrow (BM), support homing of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and self-renewal in the BM. These cells have the potential to differentiate into tissues of mesenchymal origin, such as fibroblasts, adipocytes, cardiomyocytes, and stromal cells. MSCs can express surface molecules like CD13, CD29, CD44, CD73, CD90, CD166, CXCL12 and toll-like receptors (TLRs). Different factors, such as TGF-β, IL-10, IDO, PGE-2, sHLA-G5, HO, and Galectin-3, secreted by MSCs, induce interaction in cell to cell immunomodulatory effects on innate and adaptive cells of the immune system. Furthermore, these cells can stimulate and increase the TH2 and regulatory T-cells through inhibitory effects on the immune system. MSCs originate from the BM and other tissues including the brain, adipose tissue, peripheral blood, cornea, thymus, spleen, fallopian tube, placenta, Wharton's jelly and umbilical cord blood. Many studies have focused on two significant features of MSC therapy: (I) MSCs can modulate T-cell-mediated immunological responses, and (II) systemically administered MSCs home in to sites of ischemia or injury. In this review, we describe the known mechanisms of immunomodulation and homing of MSCs. As a result, this review emphasizes the functional role of MSCs in modulating immune responses, their capability in homing to injured tissue, and their clinical therapeutic potential.
Survival prediction in pancreatic cancer patients with no distant metastasis: a large-scale population-based estimate.

AIM To identify the risk factors for overall survival (OS) of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma patients with no distant metastasis, and formulate a novel nomogram for prognostic prediction. PATIENTS & METHODS Data were obtained from Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma patients with no distant metastasis as the primary cohort, and 127 patients at our institution were enrolled as the validation cohort. The prognostic nomogram integrating all independent risk factors for predicting OS was established to achieve superior discriminatory ability. RESULTS The constructed nomogram showed excellent performance and superior predictive accuracy for OS according to the concordance index and calibration curve. CONCLUSION One more advanced and accurate predictive model will be obtained to assist in risk stratification via the constructed nomogram.
Key Economic Characteristics of Italian Trawl Fisheries and Management Challenges

Two key measures of economic performance are calculated and analyzed for three important Italian trawl fisheries (Northern Thyrrenian Sea, South of Sicily, Northern Adriatic Sea): the Net Economic Returns (NER), which informs on the economic performance and is considered a proxy of resource rent in fisheries and the Return on Fixed Tangible Assets (ROFTA), which is used as an approximation of the Return on Investment (ROI) and is a key financial and performance indicator for a fisherman in order to take a decision to operate in a fishery. The trend of these indicators over the last decade highlights a poor economic performance that is associated with an overall poor condition of the state of resources. The trend of economic performance indicators is put in relation, on a time-based approach, with the different types of management measures applied over the last decade. We show that trends of fishing effort and economic indicators as well as statistical analysis return a coherent interpretation of the main factors affecting the profitability levels of the selected fleets. The study reveals that management measures impacted negatively on the profitability of the sector in the short run. However, economic indicators inverted the trend in the last 3 years. An increasing biomass trend as well as the improvement in fishing mortality of some few stocks, together with the reduction of input costs could be considered as positive drivers which impacted positively on economic profitability of the fisheries concerned. The study argues that even the technical and fishery management provisions in the Mediterranean Sea may have started to reverse the trend in economic profitability of the analyzed fleets. An additional management effort needs, however, to be developed on an urgent basis in order to ensure the achievement of the management goals defined by the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).
ERK1/2 Control Phosphorylation and Protein Level of cAMP-Responsive Element–Binding Protein

cAMP-responsive element–binding protein (CREB) is required for β-cell survival by regulating expression of crucial genes such as bcl-2 and IRS-2. Using MIN6 cells and isolated rat pancreatic islets, we investigated the signaling pathway that controls phosphorylation and protein level of CREB. We observed that 10 mmol/l glucose–induced CREB phosphorylation was totally inhibited by the protein kinase A (PKA) inhibitor H89 (2 μmol/l) and reduced by 50% with the extracellular signal–regulated kinase (ERK)1/2 inhibitor PD98059 (20 μmol/l). This indicates that ERK1/2, reported to be located downstream of PKA, participates in the PKA-mediated CREB phosphorylation elicited by glucose. In ERK1/2-downregulated MIN6 cells by siRNA, glucose-stimulated CREB phosphorylation was highly reduced and CREB protein content was decreased by 60%. In MIN6 cells and islets cultured for 24–48 h in optimal glucose concentration (10 mmol/l), which promotes survival, blockade of ERK1/2 activity with PD98059 caused a significant decrease in CREB protein level, whereas CREB mRNA remained unaffected (measured by real-time quantitative PCR). This was associated with loss of bcl-2 mRNA and protein contents, caspase-3 activation, and emergence of ultrastructural apoptotic features detected by electron microscopy. Our results indicate that ERK1 and -2 control the phosphorylation and protein level of CREB and play a key role in glucose-mediated pancreatic β-cell survival.
Derivation of optimal walking motions for a bipedal walking robot

SUMMARY The problem of determining energy optimal walking motions for a bipedal walking robot is considered. A full dynamic model of a planar seven-link biped with feet is derived including the effects of impact of the feet with the ground. Motions of the hip and feet during a regular step are then modelled by 3rd order polynomials, the coefficients of which are obtained by numerically minimising an energy cost function. Results are given in the form of walking profiles and energy curves for the specific cases of motion over level ground, motion up and down an incline, and varying payload.
Theory of Gaussian variational approximation for a Poisson mixed model

Likelihood-based inference for the parameters of generalized linear mixed models is hindered by the presence of intractable integrals. Gaussian variational approximation provides a fast and effective means of approximate inference. We provide some theory for this type of approximation for a simple Poisson mixed model. In particular, we establish consistency at rate m −1/2 + n −1 , where m is the number of groups and n is the number of repeated measurements.
The development of evidence-based care recommendations to improve the safe use of anticoagulants in children.

Evidence-based care recommendations and standardized protocols improve outcomes. In addition, anticoagulant management has been recognized by The Joint Commission (TJC) as an opportunity for improving patient safety. A National Patient Safety Goal requiring a standardized process for patients receiving anticoagulants was established by TJC. This requirement provided an opportunity to apply evidence-based care recommendations to the issue of safe anticoagulant use. To meet TJC requirement, the following searchable clinical question was drafted: "In children receiving anticoagulation therapy, what are the appropriate dosing, laboratory monitoring, timing, and dosing adjustments for warfarin, unfractionated heparin, and low-molecular-weight heparin to prevent coagulation-related complications? " The team used the Appraisal of Guidelines Research and Evaluation Collaboration (AGREE) instrument to evaluate the quality and relevance of identified guidelines in answering the clinical question. Best Evidence Statements (BESts) were developed for each of the medications (warfarin, low-molecular-weight heparin, and unfractionated heparin). BESts provide the format for the presentation of recommendations, discussion, and methods for point-of-care providers seeking synthesized evidence to guide care decisions. The primary goal of developing and implementing these statements was to standardize the use of anticoagulants and to prevent unsafe practices. A secondary goal was to ensure accessibility of the BESts throughout our organization, including the electronic medical record, various internal division home pages, and our organization's external website. The anticoagulant BESts developed at our organization show how an interprofessional approach to patient care results in the development of evidence-based care recommendations. The BESts were developed to standardize care associated with the use of anticoagulants and to provide dosing and monitoring parameters to ensure safe care to all patients receiving these medications. The development of evidence-based care recommendations can be accomplished with a focused interprofessional team dedicated to providing the safest possible care to patients.
Intronic Promoter Drives the BORIS-regulated Expression of FerT in Colon Carcinoma Cells*

Background: Identification of cancer testis antigens (CTA) provides new tools for cancer diagnosis and therapy. Results: Expression of the spermatogenic protein FerT recurred in colon carcinoma (CC) cells via DNA demethylation and activation of an intronic promoter. Conclusion: FerT is a new CTA whose expression is regulated by a novel mechanism. Significance: FerT may serve as a new target for CC diagnosis and therapy. Fer is an intracellular tyrosine kinase that accumulates in most mammalian tissues. A truncated variant of Fer, FerT, is uniquely detected in spermatogenic cells and is absent from normal somatic tissues. Here, we show that in addition to Fer, FerT also accumulates in CC cells and in metastases derived from colorectal tumors, but not in normal human cells. Thus, FerT is a new member of the CTA protein family. Transcription of the ferT gene in CC cells was found to be driven by an intronic promoter residing in intron 10 of the fer gene and to be regulated by another CTA, the Brother of the Regulator of Imprinted Sites (BORIS) transcription factor. BORIS binds to the ferT promoter and down-regulation of BORIS significantly decreases the expression of ferT in CC cells. Accumulation of the ferT RNA was also regulated by the DNA methylation status and paralleled the expression profile of the boris transcript. Accordingly, the intronic ferT promoter was found to be hypomethylated in cancer cells expressing the FerT protein, by comparison with non-expressers. Collectively, we show here that FerT is a new CTA whose accumulation in CC cells, commonly considered low CTA expressers, is controlled by a novel transcription regulatory mechanism.
The Content of Sexual Fantasies for Sexual Offenders

Although the phenomenon of sexual fantasy has been extensively researched, little contemporary inquiry has investigated the content of sexual fantasy within the context of sexual offending. In this study, a qualitative analysis was used to develop a descriptive model of the phenomena of sexual fantasy during the offence process. Twenty-four adult males convicted of sexual offences provided detailed retrospective descriptions of their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors before, during, and after their offences. Using Grounded Theory, a model was developed to elucidate the content and themes of sexual fantasy for sexual offenders, as well as the way fantasy content was used in the process of sexual offending. The Sexual Fantasy Content Model (SFCM) comprises of three higher-order (level 1) and five second-order (level 2) categories that describe the content of sexual fantasy across the offence process. The level 1 categories are general sexual fantasy, nonspecific offence fantasy, and offence-specific fantasy, whereas the level 2 categories included demographic, behavioral, relational, situational, and self-perceptual considerations. The strengths of the SFCM are discussed and its clinical implications are reviewed.
The early prediction of mortality in acute pancreatitis: a large population-based study

Background: Identification of patients at risk for mortality early in the course of acute pancreatitis (AP) is an important step in improving outcome. Methods: Using Classification and Regression Tree (CART) analysis, a clinical scoring system was developed for prediction of in-hospital mortality in AP. The scoring system was derived on data collected from 17 992 cases of AP from 212 hospitals in 2000–2001. The new scoring system was validated on data collected from 18 256 AP cases from 177 hospitals in 2004–2005. The accuracy of the scoring system for prediction of mortality was measured by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). The performance of the new scoring system was further validated by comparing its predictive accuracy with that of Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Examination (APACHE) II. Results: CART analysis identified five variables for prediction of in-hospital mortality. One point is assigned for the presence of each of the following during the first 24 h: blood urea nitrogen (BUN) >25 mg/dl; impaired mental status; systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS); age >60 years; or the presence of a pleural effusion (BISAP). Mortality ranged from >20% in the highest risk group to <1% in the lowest risk group. In the validation cohort, the BISAP AUC was 0.82 (95% CI 0.79 to 0.84) versus APACHE II AUC of 0.83 (95% CI 0.80 to 0.85). Conclusions: A new mortality-based prognostic scoring system for use in AP has been derived and validated. The BISAP is a simple and accurate method for the early identification of patients at increased risk for in-hospital mortality.
Characterization of Human Cytomegalovirus Strains by Analysis of Short Tandem Repeat Polymorphisms

ABSTRACT Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) strains display genetic polymorphisms, and these polymorphisms can be analyzed to study viral transmission and pathogenesis. Recently, short tandem repeat (STR) length polymorphisms have been identified in the HCMV genome. We assessed the utility of STRs in characterizing HCMV strains and found that a multiplexed PCR assay using primers based upon these STRs accurately maps HCMV strains. Using primers for 10 microsatellite regions, the STR profiles of 44 wild-type and 2 laboratory strains of HCMV were characterized. The results of STR analysis were compared with those for strain characterization using nucleotide sequencing and restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. In each instance, STR analysis accurately and specifically identified strains that were indistinguishable or distinct by conventional molecular analysis. Analysis of short tandem repeats also detected polymorphisms that supported simultaneous excretion of two HCMV strains. These results indicate that STR analysis allows rapid, precise molecular characterization of HCMV strains.
Cerebral blood flow response to hypoglycemia is altered in patients with type 1 diabetes and impaired awareness of hypoglycemia

It is unclear whether cerebral blood flow responses to hypoglycemia are altered in people with type 1 diabetes and impaired awareness of hypoglycemia. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of hypoglycemia on both global and regional cerebral blood flow in type 1 diabetes patients with impaired awareness of hypoglycemia, type 1 diabetes patients with normal awareness of hypoglycemia and healthy controls (n = 7 per group). The subjects underwent a hyperinsulinemic euglycemic–hypoglycemic glucose clamp in a 3 T MR system. Global and regional changes in cerebral blood flow were determined by arterial spin labeling magnetic resonance imaging, at the end of both glycemic phases. Hypoglycemia generated typical symptoms in patients with type 1 diabetes and normal awareness of hypoglycemia and healthy controls, but not in patients with impaired awareness of hypoglycemia. Conversely, hypoglycemia increased global cerebral blood flow in patients with impaired awareness of hypoglycemia, which was not observed in the other two groups. Regionally, hypoglycemia caused a redistribution of cerebral blood flow towards the thalamus of both patients with normal awareness of hypoglycemia and healthy controls, consistent with activation of brain regions associated with the autonomic response to hypoglycemia. No such redistribution was found in the patients with impaired awareness of hypoglycemia. An increase in global cerebral blood flow may enhance nutrient supply to the brain, hence suppressing symptomatic awareness of hypoglycemia. Altogether these results suggest that changes in cerebral blood flow during hypoglycemia contribute to impaired awareness of hypoglycemia.