Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Unplanned reoperation rates in pediatric neurosurgery: a single center experience and proposed use as a quality indicator.

OBJECT The pediatric neurosurgery practice over 2 years was reviewed at a tertiary neurosciences center. The intention was to establish the frequency of unplanned reoperations at the center, investigate the factors responsible, and consider using unplanned reoperations as a quality indicator. METHODS All pediatric neurosurgical operations done between January 2008 and January 2010 were reviewed using data from operation theater logs and hospital records. Data were recorded as per the standard requirements of the Society of British Neurological Surgeons for incorporation into the national database. "Unplanned reoperation" was defined as any unscheduled secondary procedure required for a complication resulting directly or indirectly from the index operation or as an unscheduled return to the operating theater for the same condition. Operations were defined as "urgent" if they had to be performed out of hours (that is, outside the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.), "emergency elective" if they were included on the emergency list but within working hours, and "routine elective" if they were on the scheduled operations list. Both overall and 30-day unplanned reoperation rates were considered. Factors influencing unplanned reoperations were explored using a logistic regression model. RESULTS Four hundred ten operations were analyzed. The overall unplanned reoperation rate was 28%. The median time to an unplanned reoperation was 9 days. Risk factors for unplanned reoperations included a CSF diversion procedure (OR 7, p < 0.0001) and an urgent procedure (OR 2.5, p = 0.02, higher unplanned reoperations for urgent procedures relative to routine electives). The 30-day unplanned reoperation rate was 17%. Urgent cases composed 32% of all operations. Trainees performed 52% of the urgent operations. Forty-four percent of all operations were related to CSF diversion. Sixty-four percent of patients had reoperations during the course of the study period, and 44% of these reoperations were unplanned. CONCLUSIONS An unplanned return to the operation theater is common in the authors' pediatric neurosurgical practice and is procedure specific. Unplanned reoperation rates may be useful for monitoring quality across hospitals and identifying opportunities for quality improvement. The authors propose the use of this index as a quality indicator and advocate its validation in a prospective multicenter study.
Histological validation of cardiac magnetic resonance analysis of regional and diffuse interstitial myocardial fibrosis.

AIM Myocardial fibrosis is fundamental in the pathogenesis of heart failure. Late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) with cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging is commonly assumed to represent myocardial fibrosis; however, comparative human histological data are limited, especially in non-ischaemic cardiac disease. Diffuse interstitial myocardial fibrosis is increasingly recognized as central in the pathogenesis of cardiomyopathy and can be quantified using newer CMR techniques such as T1 mapping. We evaluated the relationship of CMR assessment of regional and diffuse fibrosis with human histology. METHODS AND RESULTS Eleven patients on the waiting list for heart transplantation (43.5 ± 7.6 years, 64% male) and eight patients undergoing surgical myectomy for obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (57.1 ± 8.6 years, 63% male) were recruited and underwent CMR prior to cardiac transplantation or myectomy. Quantification of fibrosis in explanted hearts using digitally analysed Masson-trichrome-stained slides was validated against picrosirius red-stained slides analysed using Image J, with an excellent correlation (R = 0.95, P < 0.0001). Significant correlations were observed between LGE and histological fibrosis across a range of signal intensity thresholds in the explanted hearts (range: 2-10 standard deviations above reference myocardium), with maximal accuracy at a threshold of 6 SD (R = 0.91, P < 0.001). Assessment of interstitial myocardial fibrosis with post-contrast T1 times demonstrated a significant correlation on both segmental (R = -0.64, P = 0.002) and per-patient (R = -0.78, P = 0.003) analyses. CONCLUSION CMR provides accurate, non-invasive assessment of regional myocardial fibrosis using LGE, while diffuse interstitial myocardial fibrosis is accurately assessed with post-contrast T1 mapping.
Computer assisted surgery and endoscopic endonasal approach in 32 procedures.

UNLABELLED Computer aided surgery (CAS) is now routinely introduced in the ENT surgical field especially in endoscopic endonasal surgery. OBJECTIVE Using a frameless computer aided surgery for endoscopic endonasal approach (SurgiGATE ORL TM), we tried to evaluate the practical use of such a system, to calculate supplementary installation time of the procedure, to determine the number of matching attempt (referencing) before starting optonavigation and to determine its clinical accuracy. PATIENTS AND METHODS Thirty two patients underwent endoscopic endonasal surgery with the help of CAS; 13 revision cases (2 nasal polyposis, 7 paranasal sinus mucoceles, 4 frontal recess stenosis) and 19 primary cases (16 inflammatory diseases, 3 benign tumor removal). Paired points matching was used as referencing before optonavigation. Clinical accuracy of CAS was calculated at two confidence points during optonavigation and measured in multiples of the pixel size on CT Scan. RESULTS Number of matching attempts before starting optonavigation was; mean 1.8 (1-4). Supplementary installation time of the system was; mean 15 minutes (10-40). Clinical accuracy at two confidence points was always between 0.5 mm and 2 mm. (6 < 0.5 mm, 16 < 1 mm, 10 < 2 mm). There was no major complication during surgery neither no side effect due to the use of the CAS except for one case who presented a slight tongue edema due to a wrong position of the dynamic reference base (maxillary splint) during the procedure. CONCLUSIONS CAS and optonavigation using the surgiGATE ORL TM is safe and efficient in endoscopic endonasal surgery. The accuracy of the system is sufficient and its use appropriate for primary either revision rhinologic procedures.
Cancer risk in women exposed to diethylstilbestrol in utero.

CONTEXT The association between in utero exposure to diethylstilbestrol (DES) and clear cell adenocarcinoma (CCA) of the vagina and cervix is well known, yet there has been no systematic study of DES-exposed daughters to determine whether they have an increased risk of other cancers. As many as 3 million women in the United States may have been exposed to DES in utero. OBJECTIVE To determine whether women exposed to DES in utero have a higher risk of cancer after an average of 16 years of follow-up. DESIGN A cohort study with mailed questionnaires and medical record review of reported cancer outcomes. PARTICIPANTS A cohort of 4536 DES-exposed daughters (of whom 81% responded) and 1544 unexposed daughters (of whom 79% responded) who were first identified in the mid-1970s. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Cancer incidence in DES-exposed daughters compared with population-based rates and compared with cancer incidence in unexposed daughters. RESULTS To date, DES-exposed daughters have not experienced an increased risk for all cancers (rate ratio, 0.96; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.58-1.56) or for individual cancer sites, except for CCA. Three cases of vaginal CCA occurred among the exposed daughters, resulting in a standardized incidence ratio of 40.7 (95% CI, 13.1-126.2) in comparison with population-based incidence rates. The rate ratio for breast cancer was 1.18 (95% CI, 0.56-2.49); adjustment for known risk factors did not alter this result. CONCLUSIONS Thus far, DES-exposed daughters show no increased cancer risk, except for CCA. Nevertheless, because exposed daughters included in our study were, on average, only 38 years old at last follow-up, continued surveillance is warranted to determine whether any increases in cancer risk occur during the menopausal years.
Was the Earl of Oxford the true Shakespeare

A process for reducing a metal from a metal halide characterized by the steps of feeding into the arc heated stream of an arc heater a quantity of a reactant metal such as an alkali or alkaline-earth metal, feeding into the arc stream a quantity of a metal halide, which metal has a melting point higher than the boiling point of the co-product salt formed by reduction of the metal, the co-products being a liquid elemental metal and a gaseous salt, projecting the co-products into a reaction chamber tangentially to cause the liquid metal to separate centrifugally from the lighter, gaseous salt, and depositing the liquid metal in an associated receptacle.
Stable Expression of Recombinant AMPA Receptor Subunits: Binding Affinities and Effects of Allosteric Modulators

Abstract: Homomeric AMPA (α‐amino‐3‐hydroxy‐5‐methyl‐4‐isoxazolepropionic acid)‐type glutamate receptors (GluRs) were stably expressed in kidney cells from cDNAs encoding GluR1 flop, GluR2 flip, GluR2 flop, and GluR3 flop subunits. The recombinant receptors were of the expected size and showed functional properties in whole‐cell recording as previously reported. [3H]AMPA binding to all subunits was increased to a similar extent by the chaotropic ion thiocyanate (SCN−). Significant differences were found in the Scatchard plots, however, which were linear and of high affinity for GluR1 and ‐3 receptors (KD values of 33 and 52 nM, respectively) but showed curvature for GluR2 receptors, indicating the presence of two components with distinct affinities. As with brain AMPA receptors, solubilization of GluR2 receptors reduced the number of lower‐affinity sites and correspondingly increased the number of higher‐affinity sites. The sulfhydryl reagent p‐chloromercuriphenylsulfonic acid, which increases binding to brain receptors, produced only minor changes except in the case of GluR2 flip. These results indicate that GluR2, among the subunits examined here, most closely resembles the native AMPA receptors in brain membranes. [3H]AMPA binding was inhibited in a noncompetitive manner by two drugs that change the desensitization kinetics of the AMPA receptor. In agreement with physiological observations, the apparent affinity of cyclothiazide for GluR2 flip (EC50 = 7 µM) was higher than that for receptors made of flop subunits (49–130 µM). In contrast, BDP‐37, a member of the benzamide family of drugs, exhibited a lower potency for GluR2 flip (58 µM) than for any of the flop isoforms (18–40 µM). These results predict that the action of centrally active AMPA‐receptor modulators varies across brain regions depending on their flip/flop composition.
Stretch Activation of Ca2+ Transients in Pancreatic &bgr; Cells by Mobilization of Intracellular Stores

Introduction Nonadrenergic, noncholinergic neurons have been proposed to synchronize pulsatile insulin release from the islets in the pancreas by triggering transient increases of the cytoplasmic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) in &bgr;-cells via an inositol trisphoshate-dependent mechanism. Aims To test whether pancreatic &bgr;-cells respond to stretch activation with similar types of transients and whether these Ca2+ signals propagate to other &bgr;-cells in the presence and absence of cell contacts. Methodology Single cells and small aggregates were prepared from &bgr;-cell–rich islets from ob/ob mice. After 2–5 days of culture, [Ca2+]i was measured with digital imaging and the indicator fura-2 during superfusion with a medium containing 20 mmol/L glucose and 50 &mgr;mol/L methoxyverapamil. Membrane stretch was induced by osmotic swelling or focal touch stimulation. Results Lowering the medium osmolarity with 100–102 mOSM/L by removal of sucrose or by dilution resulted in a 2–3-fold increase in the number of transients during an initial 5-minute period. Sucrose omission was stimulatory also after isosmolar replacement with readily penetrating urea. The intracellular Ca2+-ATPase inhibitor thapsigargin suppressed both the spontaneously occurring transients and those initiated by volume expansion. Touch stimuli induced [Ca2+]i transients, which rapidly propagated to cells within the same aggregate or lacking contact. Conclusion The observations support the idea that &bgr;-cells both receive and regenerate extracellular signals triggering [Ca2+]i transients. Touch stimulation is a useful tool for investigating the propagation of [Ca2+]i signals between pancreatic &bgr;-cells lacking physical contact.
Novel Model for HCI Degradation and Impact of Conventional and Non-Conventional Scaling

We derive an HCI degradation model where bond breaking occurs via multiple local excitations as opposed to a classical carrier injection or single-impact excitation assumption. The model predicts a strong Id/W power-law dependence of HCI in addition to typical 1/Vdd dependence and is used to study the impact of conventional and non-conventional scaling on MOSFET HCI degradation versus the main scaling knobs: a) channel length scaling b) channel compressive/tensile stress, and c) top and side surface orientation
Euk-mPLoc: a fusion classifier for large-scale eukaryotic protein subcellular location prediction by incorporating multiple sites.

One of the critical challenges in predicting protein subcellular localization is how to deal with the case of multiple location sites. Unfortunately, so far, no efforts have been made in this regard except for the one focused on the proteins in budding yeast only. For most existing predictors, the multiple-site proteins are either excluded from consideration or assumed even not existing. Actually, proteins may simultaneously exist at, or move between, two or more different subcellular locations. For instance, according to the Swiss-Prot database (version 50.7, released 19-Sept-2006), among the 33,925 eukaryotic protein entries that have experimentally observed subcellular location annotations, 2715 have multiple location sites, meaning about 8% bearing the multiplex feature. Proteins with multiple locations or dynamic feature of this kind are particularly interesting because they may have some very special biological functions intriguing to investigators in both basic research and drug discovery. Meanwhile, according to the same Swiss-Prot database, the number of total eukaryotic protein entries (except those annotated with "fragment" or those with less than 50 amino acids) is 90,909, meaning a gap of (90,909-33,925) = 56,984 entries for which no knowledge is available about their subcellular locations. Although one can use the computational approach to predict the desired information for the blank, so far, all the existing methods for predicting eukaryotic protein subcellular localization are limited in the case of single location site only. To overcome such a barrier, a new ensemble classifier, named Euk-mPLoc, was developed that can be used to deal with the case of multiple location sites as well. Euk-mPLoc is freely accessible to the public as a Web server at http://202.120. 37.186/bioinf/euk-multi. Meanwhile, to support the people working in the relevant areas, Euk-mPLoc has been used to identify all eukaryotic protein entries in the Swiss-Prot database that do not have subcellular location annotations or are annotated as being uncertain. The large-scale results thus obtained have been deposited at the same Web site via a downloadable file prepared with Microsoft Excel and named "Tab_Euk-mPLoc.xls". Furthermore, to include new entries of eukaryotic proteins and reflect the continuous development of Euk-mPLoc in both the coverage scope and prediction accuracy, we will timely update the downloadable file as well as the predictor, and keep users informed by publishing a short note in the Journal and making an announcement in the Web Page.
Design of Reusable Software for USB Host Driver in Embedded System

Based on a test and control platform with CPU intel strong ARM*SA-1110 (ARM7) and real-time operating system (RTOS) with windows CE, this paper analyses and expatiates design and realization method of a universal serial bus (USB) host module based on USB host controlling chip ISP1161BD, including the design scheme of USB host function module, the frames of USB host hardware circuit, the design method of embedded USB host driver procedure, and the realization mode and operation process of this scheme. According to the primary and correlated function of host driver procedure, aiming at the key problems of general USB device driver procedure interface and lower layer data management of host controller driver procedure, the settlement scheme key data structure and concise remarks are given. The actual debugging and running show that as long as load a certain type of USB device drivers, it will be able to achieve the monitoring and control platform with the appropriate USB device to communicate.
Type 1 von Willebrand disease — a clinical retrospective study of the diagnosis, the influence of the ABO blood group and the role of the bleeding history

This clinical retrospective study investigated the difficulties in diagnosing type 1 von Willebrand disease (VWD). A total of 246 patients previously diagnosed with type 1 VWD were reclassified into ‘possible’ type 1 VWD (patients with low levels of VWF adjusted for the blood group and either a significant bleeding history or family history) and ‘definite’ type 1 VWD, requiring low levels of von Willebrand factor (VWF), a bleeding history and inheritance. On reclassification, only 144/246 (59%) patients had low VWF levels adjusted for blood group, 88/246 (36%) patients met all the criteria for ‘definite’ type 1 VWD and 51/246 (21%) patients were ‘possible’ type 1 VWD. A significant proportion of patients, 102/246 (42%), remained an indeterminate group with blood type O, VWF levels between 35 and 50 U/dl and personal and/or family bleeding history. This subgroup might require reclassification as ‘not VWD’. However, a similar bleeding tendency was found in two matched groups of patients of blood groups O and non‐O and VWF levels between 35 and 50 U/dl. These results suggest that the use of ABO adjusted ranges for VWF levels might not be essential for diagnosis, because bleeding symptoms may depend on the VWF level regardless of the ABO type. Of the diagnostic criteria, the bleeding history was of prime importance in the clinical decision to diagnose and treat type 1 VWD. These observations could help in the reconsideration of how the criteria for diagnosing type 1 VWD could be adjusted in order to maximize their clinical relevance.
The SANDHOG criteria and its validation for the diagnosis of DCS arising from bounce diving.

PURPOSE A three-point scale, the SANDHOG (SAN Diego Diving and Hyperbaric Organizations) criteria, was developed to diagnose DCS (decompression sickness), and then it was validated against a known database of diving related injuries. INTRODUCTION There are currently no universally accepted diagnostic criteria for the diagnosis of DCS. The SANDHOG criteria were developed to address the need for a case definition of DCS. METHODS A point scale and entrance criteria were developed for the diagnosis of DCS. Once the entrance criterion had been met, points were awarded based upon the diver's symptoms and their time of onset. The point system and time limits (SANDHOG criteria) were determined based upon US Navy and Royal Canadian diving reports. The SANDHOG criteria were then applied on a post hoc basis to the Duke Hyperbaric database of diving injuries. Sensitivity and specificity were then calculated using three points as the cut off. The ROC (receiver operating characteristic) analysis was performed to determine the area under the curve (AUC). RESULTS The three point SANDHOG criteria had a specificity of 90.3% and a sensitivity of 52.7%. ROC analysis of the original SANDHOG criteria gave an AUC of 0.72. Using different point values for the diagnosis of DCS will subsequently affect the sensitivity and specificity of the SANDHOG criteria. CONCLUSIONS The specificity of the SANDHOG criteria is good, and demonstrates that the SANDHOG criteria are a useful tool for the diagnosis of DCS.
Involvement of canonical Wnt/Wingless signaling in the determination of the positional values within the leg segment of the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus

The cricket Gryllus bimaculatus is a hemimetabolous insect whose nymphs posses the ability to regenerate amputated legs. Previously, we showed that Gryllus orthologues of Drosophila hedgehog (Gb’hh), wingless (Gb’wg) and decapentaplegic (Gb'dpp) are expressed during leg regeneration and play essential roles in the establishment of the proximal‐distal axis. Here, we examined their roles during intercalary regeneration: when a distally amputated tibia with disparate positional values is placed next to a proximally amputated host, intercalary growth occurs in order to regenerate the missing part. In this process, we examined expression patterns of Gb’hh and Gb’wg. We found that expressions of Gb’hh and Gb’wg were induced in a regenerate and the host proximal to the amputated region, but not in the grafted donor distal to the regenerate. This directional induction occurs even in the reversed intercalation. Because these results are consistent with a distal‐to‐proximal respecification of the regenerate, Gb’wg may be involved in the re‐establishment of the positional values in the regenerate. Furthermore, we found that no regeneration occurs when Gb’armadillo (the orthologue of beta‐catenin) was knocked down by RNA interference. These results indicate that the canonical Wnt/Wingless signaling pathway is involved in the process of leg regeneration and determination of positional information in the leg segment.
Vitamin K antagonists in heart disease: Current status and perspectives (Section III)

Summary Oral anticoagulants are a mainstay of cardiovascular therapy, and for over 60 years vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) were the only available agents for long-term use. VKAs interfere with the cyclic inter-conversion of vitamin K and its 2,3 epoxide, thus inhibiting γ-carboxylation of glutamate residues at the amino-termini of vitamin K-dependent proteins, including the coagulation factors (F) II (prothrombin), VII, IX and X, as well as of the anticoagulant proteins C, S and Z. The overall effect of such interference is a dose-dependent anticoagulant effect, which has been therapeutically exploited in heart disease since the early 1950s. In this position paper, we review the mechanisms of action, pharmacological properties and side effects of VKAs, which are used in the management of cardiovascular diseases, including coronary heart disease (where their use is limited), stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation, heart valves and/or chronic heart failure. Using an evidence-based approach, we describe the results of completed clinical trials, highlight areas of uncertainty, and recommend therapeutic options for specific disorders. Although VKAs are being increasingly replaced in most patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation by the new oral anticoagulants, which target either thrombin or FXa, the VKAs remain the agents of choice for patients with atrial fibrillation in the setting of rheumatic valvular disease and for those with mechanical heart valves.