Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Telemedicine Versus Face-to-Face Evaluations by Respiratory Therapists of Mechanically Ventilated Neonates and Children: A Pilot Study

BACKGROUND: Mechanical ventilation is one of the most important therapeutic interventions in neonatal and pediatric ICUs. Telemedicine has been shown to reliably extend pediatric intensivist expertise to facilities where expertise is limited. If reliable, telemedicine may extend the reach of pediatric respiratory therapists (RTs) to facilities where expertise does not exist or free up existing RT resources for important face-to-face activities in facilities where expertise is limited. The aim of this study was to determine how well respiratory assessments for ventilated neonates and children correlated when performed simultaneously by 2 RTs face-to-face and via telemedicine. METHODS: We conducted a pilot study including 40 assessments by 16 RTs on 11 subjects (5 neonatal ICU; 6 pediatric ICU). Anonymously completed intake forms by 2 different RTs concurrently assessing 14 ventilator-derived and patient-based respiratory variables were used to determine correlations. RESULTS: Forty paired assessments were performed. Median telemedicine assessment time was 8 min. The Pearson correlation coefficient (r) was used to determine agreement between continuous data, and the Cohen kappa statistics were used for binary variables. Pressure control, PEEP, breathing frequency, and FIO2 perfectly correlated (r = 1, all P < .001) as did the presence of a CO2 monitor and need for increased ventilatory support (kappa = 1). The Pearson correlation coefficient for VT, minute ventilation, mean airway pressure, and oxygen saturation ranged from 0.84 to 0.97 (all P < .001). kappa = 0.41 (95% CI 0.02–0.80) for patient-triggered breaths, and kappa = 0.57 (95% CI 0.19–0.94) for breathing frequency higher than set frequency. kappa = −0.25 (95% CI −0.46 to −0.04) for need for suctioning. CONCLUSIONS: Telemedicine technology was acceptable to RTs. Telemedicine evaluations highly correlated with face-to-face for 10 of 14 aspects of standard bedside respiratory assessment. Poor correlation was noted for more complex, patient-generated parameters, highlighting the importance of further investigation incorporating a virtual stethoscope.
The Eocene-Oligocene ( E / O ) boundary interval marks one of the largest and most rapid changes in climate during the last 50 Myr

[1] The Eocene-Oligocene (E/O) boundary interval marks one of the largest and most rapid changes in climate during the last 50 Myr. Because of a very shallow calcium carbonate compensation depth in the Eocene, as well as the reworking of sediments and hiatuses in the boundary zone, it has also been one of the most difficult stratigraphic boundaries to study in deep water marine sections, especially in the Pacific Ocean. Recently, three drill sites have recovered complete sections of the E/O boundary interval in the tropical Pacific. A detailed study of these sections shows a series of pulses of reworked older radiolarians in the upper Eocene and lowermost Oligocene. The two largest pulses are coincident with the two sharp steps in carbon and oxygen isotope values that bracket the E/O boundary. Several smaller peaks in reworked material precede these two maxima. It is proposed that immixing of the older radiolarian species results from erosion and redeposition, possibly linked to pulses of new bottom water formation and the formation of a deep pycnocline.
A single-layer CPW-fed active patch antenna

A single-layer CPW-fed active patch antenna oscillator at 2.76 GHz is presented. The patch antenna acts both as a resonator and a radiator. Electromagnetic coupling is utilized for providing the appropriate closed-loop positive feedback. The active antenna is built around a commercially available GaAs MMIC on a low-permittivity /spl epsiv//sub r/=2.33 Duroid 5870 substrate. The measured effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP) is 20 dBm, whereas the front-to-back ratio is about 12 dB with the cross-polarized fields better than -15 db. The measured phase noise is -87.5 dBc/Hz at a 100-kHz offset away from the carrier. The structure only requires a single substrate, is compatible with uniplanar technology, and results in a low-component count.
Hyaluronic Acid Suppresses the Expression of Metalloproteinases in Osteoarthritic Cartilage Stimulated Simultaneously by Interleukin 1β and Mechanical Load

Purpose In patients with osteoarthritis (OA), intraarticular injection of hyaluronic acid (HA) frequently results in reduced pain and improved function for prolonged periods of time, i.e. more than 6 months. However, the mechanisms underlying these effects are not fully understood. Our underlying hypothesis is that HA modifies the enzymatic breakdown of joint tissues. Methods To test this hypothesis, we examined osteochondral cylinders from 12 OA patients. In a bioreactor, these samples were stimulated by interleukin 1β (Il1ß) (2 ng/ml) plus mechanical load (2.0 Mpa at 0.5 Hz horizontal and 0.1 Hz vertical rotation), thus the experimental setup recapitulated both catabolic and anabolic clues of the OA joint. Results Upon addition of HA at either 1 or 3 mg/ml, we observed a significant suppression of expression of metalloproteinase (MMP)-13. A more detailed analysis based on the Kellgren and Lawrence (K&L) OA grade, showed a much greater degree of suppression of MMP-13 expression in grade IV as compared to grade II OA. In contrast to the observed MMP-13 suppression, treatment with HA resulted in a suppression of MMP-1 expression only at 1 mg/ml HA, while MMP-2 expression was not significantly affected by either HA concentration. Conclusion Together, these data suggest that under concurrent catabolic and anabolic stimulation, HA exhibits a pronounced suppressive effect on MMP-13. In the long-run these findings may benefit the development of treatment strategies aimed at blocking tissue degradation in OA patients.
Opposite Translational Control of GLUT1 and GLUT4 Glucose Transporter mRNAs in Response to Insulin

Prolonged exposure of 3T3-L1 adipocytes to insulin increases GLUT1 protein content while diminishing GLUT4. These changes arise in part from changes in mRNA transcription. Here we examined whether there are also specific effects of insulin on GLUT1 and GLUT4 mRNA translation. Insulin enhanced association of GLUT1 mRNA with polyribosomes and decreased association with monosomes, suggesting increased translation. Conversely, insulin arrested the majority of GLUT4 transcripts in monosomes. Insulin inactivates the translational suppressor eukaryotic initiation factor 4E-binding protein-1 (4E-BP1) through the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR). Hence, we examined the effect of rapamycin on GLUT1 mRNA translation and protein expression. Rapamycin abrogated the insulin-mediated increase in GLUT1 protein synthesis through partial inhibition of GLUT1 mRNA translation and partial inhibition of the rise in GLUT1 mRNA. 4E-BP1 inhibited GLUT1 mRNA translationin vitro. Because phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) and protein kinase B (PKB), in concert with mTOR, inactivate 4E-BP1, we explored their role in GLUT1 protein expression. Cotransfection of cytomegalovirus promoter-driven, hemagglutinin epitope-taggedGLUT1 with dominant inhibitory mutants of PI3K or PKB inhibited the insulin-elicited increase in hemagglutinin-tagged GLUT1 protein. These results unravel the opposite effects of insulin on GLUT1 and GLUT4 mRNA translation. Increased GLUT1 mRNA translation appears to occur via the PI3K/PKB/mTOR/4E-BP1 cascade.
Dynamic Ontology Co-Evolution from Texts: Principles and Case Study

As claimed in the Semantic Web project, a huge amount of physically distributed interacting software agents could find the semantic of available resources and answer more relevantly to users' requests if the content of these resources would be represented with formal semantic concepts defined in ontologies. Because Web information sources are highly dynamic and conceptually heterogeneous, one of the most challenging problems in the Semantic Web research is the proper and frequent ontology updating in keeping with knowledge changes. To tackle this problem, we have developed a self-organizing multi-agent system -Dynamo- able to create an ontology draft from automatic text processing. Because it is well-known that only a part of a domain description is explicitly described in texts, Dynamo enables an ontology coconstruction with a domain expert in a fully interactive way. In this paper, we present the principles of this approach and related experiments.
A Review of Bovine Tuberculosis in the Kafue Basin Ecosystem

The Kafue basin ecosystem is the only remaining natural habitat for the endangered Kafue lechwe antelope (Kobus leche Kafuensis). However, hydroelectricity power production, large-scale sugar plantations, commercial fishing and increasing livestock production are threatening its natural existence and sustainability. Further, increasing human settlements within and around the Kafue basin have resulted in decreased grazing grounds for the Kafue lechwe antelopes despite a corresponding increase in cattle population sharing the same pasture. Baseline epidemiological data have persistently reported findings of bovine tuberculosis (BTB) in both wild and domestic animals, although these have been deficient in terms of describing direct evidence in the role of either lechwe antelopes or cattle in the reported observations. Despite the current literature being deficient in establishing the casual role and transmission patterns of BTB, a bimodal route of infection at the livestock/wildlife interface has been postulated. Likewise, it is not known how much of (BTB) has the potential of causing disease in humans. This paper, seeks to underline those aspects that need further research and update available data on BTB in the Kafue basin with regards to the prevalence, distribution, risk factors, threats on wildlife conservation, livestock production, public health implications, and possible mitigatory measures.
Perturbation of sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium release and phenol red absorbance transients by large concentrations of fura-2 injected into frog skeletal muscle fibers

Intact single twitch fibers from frog muscle were studied on an optical bench apparatus after micro-injection with two indicator dyes: phenol red, to monitor a previously described signal (denoted delta pHapp; Hollingworth and Baylor. 1990. J. Gen. Physiol. 96:473-491) possibly reflective of a myoplasmic pH change following action potential stimulation; and fura-2, to monitor the associated change in the myoplasmic free calcium concentration (delta[Ca2+]). Additionally, it was expected that large myoplasmic concentrations of fura-2 (0.5-1.5 mM) might alter delta pHapp, since it was previously found (Baylor and Hollingworth. 1988. J. Physiol. 403:151-192) that the Ca2(+)-buffering effects of large fura-2 concentrations: (a) increase the estimated total concentration of Ca2+ (denoted by delta[CaT]) released from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR), but (b) reduce and abbreviate delta[Ca2+]. The experiments show that delta pHapp was increased at the larger fura- 2 concentrations; moreover, the increase in delta pHapp was approximately in proportion to the increase in delta[CaT]. At all fura- 2 concentrations, the time course of delta pHapp, through time to peak, was closely similar to, although probably slightly slower than, that of delta[CaT]. These properties of delta pHapp are consistent with an hypothesis proposed by Meissner and Young (1980. J. Biol. Chem. 255:6814-6819) and Somlyo et al. (1981. J. Cell Biol. 90:577-594) that a proton flux from the myoplasm into the SR supplies a portion of the electrical charge balance required as Ca2+ is released from the SR into the myoplasm. A comparison of the amplitude of delta pHapp with that of delta[CaT] indicates that, in response to a single action potential, 10- 15% of the charge balance required for Ca2+ release may be carried by protons.
OverQoS: An Overlay Based Architecture for Enhancing Internet QoS

This paper describes the design, implementation, and experimental evaluation of OverQoS, an overlay-based architecture for enhancing the best-effort service of today's Internet. Using a Controlled loss virtual link (CLVL) abstraction to bound the loss rate observed by a traffic aggregate, OverQoS can provide a variety of services including: (a) smoothing packet losses; (b) prioritizing packets within an aggregate; (c) statistical loss and bandwidth guarantees. We demonstrate the usefulness of OverQoS using two sample applications. First, RealServer can use OverQoS to improve the signal quality of multimedia streams by protecting more important packets at the expense of less important ones. Second, Counterstrike, a popular multiplayer game, can use OverQoS to avoid frame drops and prevent end-hosts from getting disconnected in the presence of loss rates as high as 10%. Using a wide-area overlay testbed of 19 hosts, we show that: (a) OverQoS can simultaneously provide statistical loss guarantees of 0.1% coupled with statistcal bandwidth guarantees ranging from 100 Kbps to 2 Mbps across international links and broadband end-hosts; (b) OverQoS incurs a low bandwidth overhead (typically less than 5%) to achieve the target loss rate, and (c) the increase in the end-to-end delay is bounded by the round-trip-time along the overlay path.
Kinetics of biofilm formation by drinking water isolated Penicillium expansum

Current knowledge on drinking water (DW) biofilms has been obtained mainly from studies on bacterial biofilms. Very few reports on filamentous fungi (ff) biofilms are available, although they can contribute to the reduction in DW quality. This study aimed to assess the dynamics of biofilm formation by Penicillium expansum using microtiter plates under static conditions, mimicking water flow behaviour in stagnant regions of drinking water distribution systems. Biofilms were analysed in terms of biomass (crystal violet staining), metabolic activity (resazurin, fluorescein diacetate and 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide [MTT]) and morphology (epifluorescence [calcofluor white M2R, FUN-1, FDA and acridine orange] and bright-field microscopies). Biofilm development over time showed the typical sigmoidal curve with noticeable different phases in biofilm formation (induction, exponential, stationary, and sloughing off). The methods used to assess metabolic activity provided similar results. The microscope analysis allowed identification of the involvement of conidia in initial adhesion (4 h), germlings (8 h), initial monolayers (12 h), a monolayer of intertwined hyphae (24 h), mycelial development, hyphal layering and bundling, and development of the mature biofilms (≥48 h). P. expansum grows as a complex, multicellular biofilm in 48 h. The metabolic activity and biomass of the fungal biofilms were shown to increase over time and a correlation between metabolism, biofilm mass and hyphal development was found.
Layout-Based Defect-Driven Diagnosis for Intracell Bridging Defects

This paper presents a layout-based methodology to predict the exact physical location of a bridging defect inside a standard cell. It involves a number of techniques. First of all, most likely intracell bridging defects are identified through layout analysis and then converted into equivalent logic models. Next, we use a new defect-oriented formulation to generate test pattern for each candidate defect so as to further enhance the diagnostic resolution. Experimental results indicate that this methodology can remove 90% false defect candidates beyond gate-level diagnosis for four real designs and ISCAS'85 benchmark circuits.
MODEL REFERENCE ADAPTIVE TECHNIQUE FOR SENSORLESS SPEED CONTROL OF INDUCTION MOTOR

This paper describes a Model Reference Adaptive System (MRAS) for speed control of the Induction Motor drive (IM) without a speed sensor. In this scheme an Adaptive Pseudoreduced-order Flux Observer (APFO) is used instead of the Adaptive Full-order Flux Observer (AFFO), an APFO is used for estimate the IM rotor speed and stator resistance, and these are used as feedback signals for the Field Oriented Control (FOC), which is a widely used control method for Induction Motor drive (IM). Simulation results show that the proposed scheme can estimate the motor speed under various adaptive PI gains and estimated speed can replace to measured speed in sensorless induction motor drives, this scheme is more efficient at very low speed, and also observed line currents, torque and speed under no-load and load conditions.
Revised American Thyroid Association management guidelines for patients with thyroid nodules and differentiated thyroid cancer.

BACKGROUND Thyroid nodules are a common clinical problem, and differentiated thyroid cancer is becoming increasingly prevalent. Since the publication of the American Thyroid Association's guidelines for the management of these disorders was published in 2006, a large amount of new information has become available, prompting a revision of the guidelines. METHODS Relevant articles through December 2008 were reviewed by the task force and categorized by topic and level of evidence according to a modified schema used by the United States Preventative Services Task Force. RESULTS The revised guidelines for the management of thyroid nodules include recommendations regarding initial evaluation, clinical and ultrasound criteria for fine-needle aspiration biopsy, interpretation of fine-needle aspiration biopsy results, and management of benign thyroid nodules. Recommendations regarding the initial management of thyroid cancer include those relating to optimal surgical management, radioiodine remnant ablation, and suppression therapy using levothyroxine. Recommendations related to long-term management of differentiated thyroid cancer include those related to surveillance for recurrent disease using ultrasound and serum thyroglobulin as well as those related to management of recurrent and metastatic disease. CONCLUSIONS We created evidence-based recommendations in response to our appointment as an independent task force by the American Thyroid Association to assist in the clinical management of patients with thyroid nodules and differentiated thyroid cancer. They represent, in our opinion, contemporary optimal care for patients with these disorders.
Novel miniature slow-wave resonator filter using multilayer LCP circuit technology

This paper presents a novel microwave bandpass filter using microstrip slow-wave open-loop resonators and multilayer liquid crystal polymer (LCP) technologies. The new filter has not only very compact size due to the slow-wave effect, but also exhibits a ultra-wider upper stopband resulting from the dispersion property. A five-pole microstrip filter of this type, i.e., a bandpass filter centered at fc=1.18 GHz with −3dB fractional bandwidth of 17%, has been designed and fabricated. No spurious response, which are at least 30-dB rejection, occurs for the frequency up to 10GHz. Moreover, the fabricated filter also has the compact size of 0. 102λg × 0. 081λg and the light weight less than one gram by using multilayer LCP circuit technology. Good agreement can be observed between the simulation and measurement.
Effective notch Ultra-Wideband filter using ring resonator for the rejection of IEEE 802.11a

This paper proposes Ultra-Wideband (UWB) bandpass filters with dual notched band for the purpose of avoiding the interference between the UWB radio system and the existing WLAN system. The 5 GHz WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) IEEE 802.11a exists in 5.15–5.35 GHz and 5.725–5.825 GHz which are called as lower and upper band respectively. The filter is based on ring resonator with interdigital coupling at both sides. The interdigital coupling used instead of direct coupling for the reason of strong coupling and to introduce capacitance effect to obtain flat passband. The notched band can be easily designed to some specific frequency band(s) by tuning the ring size with respect to interdigital coupling. Design of the UWB bandpass and notch filters are proposed and group delay has also been obtained for both filters in this paper. The proposed filters presented both excellent ultra-wide bandwidth from 2.2 GHz to 10.5 GHz and rejection performance about −23 dB and −20 dB with centre frequencies at 5.3 GHz and 5.8 GHz respectively for notched band filter. The proposed filters have also shown good outband performance that is better than FCC's (Federal Communications Commission) mask.
THE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF BEING STOPPED OR ARRESTED: AN EXPLORATION OF THE LABELING MECHANISMS THROUGH WHICH POLICE CONTACT LEADS TO SUBSEQUENT DELINQUENCY

Much debate has taken place regarding the merits of aggressive policing strategies such as “stop, question, and frisk. ” Labeling theory suggests that police contact may actually increase delinquency because youth who are stopped or arrested are excluded from conventional opportunities, adopt a deviant identity, and spend time with delinquent peers. But, few studies have examined the mechanisms through which police contact potentially enhances offending. The current study uses four waves of longitudinal data collected from middle-school students (N = 2,127) in seven cities to examine the deviance amplification process. Outcomes are compared for youth with no police contact, those who were stopped by police, and those who were arrested. We use propensity score matching to control for preexisting differences among the three groups. Our findings indicate that compared with those with no contact, youth who are stopped or arrested report higher levels of future delinquency and that social bonds, deviant identity formation, and delinquent peers partially mediate the relationship between police contact and later offending. These findings suggest that programs targeted at reducing the negative consequences of police contact (i.e., poor academic achievement, deviant identity formation, and delinquent peer associations) might reduce the occurrence of secondary deviance.
Arterial hypoxia in acute pancreatitis

Severe arterial hypoxia while breathing ambient air (Pao2 < 60 mm Hg) was recorded in 38 (45 per cent) of a group of 84 patients with acute pancreatitis when arterial blood gas monitoring was performed during the first week of illness. This contrasted with an incidence of 19 per cent severe hypoxia in a heterogeneous group of 68 patients with acute abdominal pain admitted as surgical emergencies. Clinical evidence of respiratory embarrassment was rarely present in either the patients with acute pancreatitis or the other patients. Arterial hypoxia was related to the prognosis in both groups.
Monitoring Affective and Motivational Aspects of Learning Experience with the Subtle Stone

Providing students with timely and meaningful feedback is an important part of the learning process. In providing formative feedback, it is important that the teacher take the full complexity of the student into account, examining not only what the student learned or failed to learn but also why. There are numerous factors that are associated with why students did learn or fail to learn, and affective and motivational factors are considered especially important. However, these factors are often difficult for teachers to assess in the classroom, and as such can be overlooked in efforts to promote student success. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the need for formative assessments that take affective and motivational factors into consideration. In doing so we introduce a non-commercial tool, the Subtle Stone, that can be integrated into the classroom to make the affective and motivational experience of students more readily available to teachers. We seek to explore whether the addition of such a tool to the classroom can enable teachers to take account of the holistic experience of students in their formative assessment activities.