Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Antidepressant monotherapy and combination of antidepressants in the treatment of resistant depression in current clinical practice: A retrospective study

Abstract Objectives. The aim of this study was to compare efficacy of antidepressant monotherapies and combinations of antidepressants in the treatment of resistant patients in current clinical practice. Methods. We reviewed chart documents of resistant depressive inpatients treated at least 4 weeks with a new treatment. Depressive symptoms and clinical status were assessed using Montgomery and Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS), Beck Depression Inventory–Short Form and Clinical Global Impression at the baseline, week 2 and in the end of treatment. Results. We identified 81 patients (27 with combinations and 51 with monotherapies) that were suitable for analyses. The combination group achieved higher reduction of MADRS score (14.6 vs 10.2 pts., p=0.02) and response rate (≥ 50% reduction of MADRS, 67% vs 39%, p=0.03). Number needed to treat for response was 4. Conclusions. Based on our results, we suggest that combination of antidepressants might be more effective than monotherapy in clinical practice.
Comparison of S-MAC & TDMA-W Protocols for Energy Efficient Wireless Sensor Networks

Energy efficiency is a major consideration while designing wireless sensor network nodes. Most sensor network applications require energy autonomy for the complete lifetime of the node, which may span up to several years. These energy constraints require that the system be built such that each component consumes minimum possible power. Consequently, the main objective is to devise strategies for energy reduction in different physical components while implementing all layers of the network protocol stack within a node. This paper compares S-MAC (a random access MAC Protocol) and TDMA-W (a scheduled MAC protocol) for wireless sensor networks in terms of their energy efficiency. The network layer protocol is assumed to be fixed for this comparison and is the energy aware routing protocol. This paper presents initial results while comparing different S-MAC and TDMA-W schemes
Volatility Transmission in Crude Oil, Gold, Standard and Poor’s 500 and US Dollar Index Futures using Vector Autoregressive Multivariate Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity Model

This paper examined volatility transmission in the crude oil, gold, S and P 500 and US Dollar Index futures. The data used in this study was the daily data from 2010 to 2015. The four vector autoregressive (VAR)-multivariate generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity models, namely the VAR (2)-diagonal VECH, the VAR (2)-diagonal Baba, Engle, Kraft and Kroner (BEKK), the VAR (2)-constant conditional correlations (CCC) and the VAR (2)-dynamic conditional correlation (DCC), were employed. The empirical results showed that the estimates of the VAR (2)-diagonal BEKK parameters were statistically significant in all cases. Later, the VAR (2)-diagonal VECH parameter were statistically significant in case of returns of crude oil (RCRUDE) with returns of gold futures (RGOLD), RGOLD with returns of Standard and Poor’s 500 (S and P 500) futures (RSP) and RSP with returns of US Dollar Index (RUSD). At the same time the VAR (2)-CCC parameters were statistically significant in only case of RCRUDE with RGOLD. Finally, the VAR (2)-DCC were statistically significant in case of RCRUDE with RGOLD, RGOLD with RSP, RGOLD with RUSD and RSP with RUSD. In addition, we could conclude that the crude oil futures volatility was having an impact on the gold futures volatility, the gold futures volatility was having an impact on S and P 500 futures volatility, the gold futures volatility was having an impact on US Dollar Index futures volatility and S and P 500 futures volatility was having an impact on US Dollar Index futures volatility
Autonomic Function in Adolescents with Orthostatic Dysregulation Measured by Heart Rate Variability

We evaluated the responses of autonomic nervous system to transient positional changes and daily changes in orthostatic dysregulation (OD) patients in order to clarify the mechanisms underlying the appearance of symptoms. The control group consisted of 16 healthy adolescents (8 males and 8 females), and the OD group consisted of 25 adolescents (13 males and 12 females). Each subject underwent continuous electrocardiographic monitoring during the head-up tilt test, followed by electrocardiographic monitoring for 24 h. Low frequency power (LF) and high frequency power (HF) were calculated as indices of autonomic function. During 0–5 min in the standing position in the tilt test, HF was higher in the OD group than in the control group (180±110 ms2 vs. 42.6±54.1 ms2; p<0.05). The LF/HF ratio during standing for 15–20 min was higher in OD patients than in the controls (4.75±3.45 vs. 1.67±1.21; p<0.05). The 24 h analysis showed that HF during sleep was significantly lower in the OD patients than in the controls (516±290 ms2 vs. 1,290±429 ms2; p<0.05); the LF/HF ratios were consistently higher in the OD patients than in the controls (4.13±3.41 and 2.92±2.00 vs. 2.46±0.89 and 1.35±1.54 in waking and sleeping states, respectively; p<0.05). This study showed that OD patients have less variability of the parasympathetic nervous system as well as hyperactivity of the sympathetic nervous system. This autonomic dysfunction is responsible for the symptoms of OD.
Molecular activity prediction by means of supervised subspace projection based ensembles of classifiers

Abstract This paper proposes a method for molecular activity prediction in QSAR studies using ensembles of classifiers constructed by means of two supervised subspace projection methods, namely nonparametric discriminant analysis (NDA) and hybrid discriminant analysis (HDA). We studied the performance of the proposed ensembles compared to classical ensemble methods using four molecular datasets and eight different models for the representation of the molecular structure. Using several measures and statistical tests for classifier comparison, we observe that our proposal improves the classification results with respect to classical ensemble methods. Therefore, we show that ensembles constructed using supervised subspace projections offer an effective way of creating classifiers in cheminformatics.
Diagnosis and treatment of peripartum bleeding

Abstract Severe peripartum hemorrhage (PPH) contributes to maternal morbidity and mortality and is one of the most frequent emergencies in obstetrics, occurring at a prevalence of 0.5–5.0%. Detection of antepartum risk factors is essential in order to implement preventive measures. Proper training of obstetric staff and publication of recommendations and guidelines can effectively reduce the frequency of PPH and its resulting morbidity and mortality. Therefore, an interdisciplinary expert committee was formed, with members from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, to summarize recent scientific findings. An up-to-date presentation of the importance of embolization and of the diagnosis of coagulopathy in PPH is provided. Furthermore, the committee recommends changes in the management of PPH including new surgical options and the off-label use of recombinant factor VIIa.
An Efficiency Improved Active Power Decoupling Circuit with Minimized Implementation Cost

Active power decoupling techniques are promising solutions for capacitance reduction in single-phase AC/DC or DC/AC systems. This paper proposes a novel circuit topology which can realize the power decoupling function without adding additional active switches into the circuit. Also, the proposed topology does not require additional passive component, e.g. inductors or film capacitors for ripple energy storage because this task can be accomplished by the dc-link capacitors themselves, and therefore its implementation cost can be minimized. Another unique feature of the proposed topology is that the current stress of power semiconductors can be reduced as compared to a conventional single-phase converter under high load operation. Therefore, the conversion efficiency can be improved and this is impossible for other existing active power decoupling circuits. The operational principle of the proposed circuit is discussed, and both simulation and experimental results are presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed circuit concept.
Analysis of the Interaction between the Saccharomyces cerevisiae MSH2-MSH6 and MLH1-PMS1 Complexes with DNA Using a Reversible DNA End-blocking System*

The Lac repressor-operator interaction was used as a reversible DNA end-blocking system in conjunction with an IAsys biosensor instrument (Thermo Affinity Sensors), which detects total internal reflectance and allows monitoring of binding and dissociation in real time, in order to develop a system for studying the ability of mismatch repair proteins to move along the DNA. The MSH2-MSH6 complex bound to a mispaired base was found to be converted by ATP binding to a form that showed rapid sliding along the DNA and dissociation via the DNA ends and also showed slow, direct dissociation from the DNA. In contrast, the MSH2-MSH6 complex bound to a base pair containing DNA only showed direct dissociation from the DNA. The MLH1-PMS1 complex formed both mispair-dependent and mispair-independent ternary complexes with the MSH2-MSH6 complex on DNA. The mispair-independent ternary complexes were formed most efficiently on DNA molecules with free ends under conditions where ATP hydrolysis did not occur, and only exhibited direct dissociation from the DNA. The mispair-dependent ternary complexes were formed in the highest yield on DNA molecules with blocked ends, required ATP and magnesium for formation, and showed both dissociation via the DNA ends and direct dissociation from the DNA.
Expression of a thioredoxin‐related protein‐1 is induced by prostaglandin E2

Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) plays an important role in protection of the gastric mucosa against various damaging agents and growth‐inhibitory activity on tumor cells. However, the precise regulation mechanism of PGE2 in gastric cancer cells is still unclear. In this study, we isolated a gene, which is regulated by PGE2 in SNU‐1, human gastric adenocarcinoma cells, using differential display RT‐PCR (DD RT‐PCR) and characterized the function of the gene induced by PGE2. The full‐length cDNA of the gene was cloned by the rapid amplification of cDNA ends method. The 1659 base pair cDNA consists of a 30‐nt 5′‐noncoding region, an 891‐nt open reading frame and a 738‐nt 3′noncoding region that includes a poly (A) signal. As a result of protein motif search, we found that it has a conserved thioredoxin‐active site, Cys‐Gly‐Pro‐Cys and a Myb‐DNA binding domain repeat signature. Thus, we designated this gene product as thioredoxin‐related protein‐1, TRP‐1. TRP‐1 was expressed in a lower extent in renal, gastric and colon cancer tissues and is translated into 33 kDa protein in nuclear and cytoplasmic fractions. TRP‐1 has a thioredoxin activity, which was detected using the insulin disulfide reduction assay. Another potential role of TRP‐1 is repression of B‐Myb activity through direct binding to B‐Myb, a transcriptional factor induced at G1–S transition. Finally, TRP‐1 overexpression inhibits mammalian cell proliferation and specifically predispose to G0/G1 phase arrest. In conclusion, these results imply that TRP‐1 is a mammalian thioredoxin and plays as a transcriptional repressor through direct binding to the transcription factor B‐Myb. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Biosynthesis of the Common Polysaccharide Antigen of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1: Characterization and Role of GDP-d-Rhamnose:GlcNAc/GalNAc-Diphosphate-Lipid α1,3-d-Rhamnosyltransferase WbpZ

ABSTRACT The opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa produces two major cell surface lipopolysaccharides, characterized by distinct O antigens, called common polysaccharide antigen (CPA) and O-specific antigen (OSA). CPA contains a polymer of d-rhamnose (d-Rha) in α1-2 and α1-3 linkages. Three putative glycosyltransferase genes, wbpX, wbpY, and wbpZ, are part of the CPA biosynthesis cluster. To characterize the enzymatic function of the wbpZ gene product, we chemically synthesized the donor substrate GDP-d-Rha and enzymatically synthesized GDP-d-[3H]Rha. Using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, we showed that WbpZ transferred one d-Rha residue from GDP-d-Rha in α1-3 linkage to both GlcNAc- and GalNAc-diphosphate-lipid acceptor substrates. WbpZ is also capable of transferring d-mannose (d-Man) to these acceptors. Therefore, WbpZ has a relaxed specificity with respect to both acceptor and donor substrates. The diphosphate group of the acceptor, however, is required for activity. WbpZ does not require divalent metal ion for activity and exhibits an unusually high pH optimum of 9. WbpZ from PAO1 is therefore a GDP-d-Rha:GlcNAc/GalNAc-diphosphate-lipid α1,3-d-rhamnosyltransferase that has significant activity of GDP-d-Man:GlcNAc/GalNAc-diphosphate-lipid α1,3-d-mannosyltransferase. We used site-directed mutagenesis to replace the Asp residues of the two DXD motifs with Ala. Neither of the mutant constructs of wbpZ (D172A or D254A) could be used to rescue CPA biosynthesis in the ΔwbpZ knockout mutant in a complementation assay. This suggested that D172 and D254 are essential for WbpZ function. This work is the first detailed characterization study of a d-Rha-transferase and a critical step in the development of CPA synthesis inhibitors. IMPORTANCE This is the first characterization of a d-rhamnosyltransferase and shows that it is essential in Pseudomonas aeruginosa for the synthesis of the common polysaccharide antigen.
The link between high performance work practices and organizational performance

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to better understand the relationship between high-performance work practices (HPWP) and organizational performance through a multi-dimensional model of the relationship between HPWP and performance, which conceptualizes HPWP according to the ability, motivation and opportunity (AMO) framework. HPWP are conceptualized as HR practices capable of enhancing the AMO of employees to contribute to organizational performance. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from 118 Jordanian firms operating in the financial and manufacturing sectors. A questionnaire completed by the HR director in each firm assessed HPWP adoption and their influence on organizational performance. Findings – The findings generate support for the link between HPWP and organizational performance and confirm the utility of the AMO model for conceptualizing HPWP and their impact on organizational performance. Research limitations/implications – While this study relies on cross-sectional data, .
Methotrexate: Assessment of In Vivo Clastogenicity and Carcinogenicity

The genotoxic and oncogenic potentials of methotrexate were studied in Sprague-Dawley rats. The rats received 0.1, 0.2, or 0.4 mg/kg of methotrexate as dietary admixtures on a 5 days on, 9 days off, regimen for 23 months. In the females of the high-dose group, there was a significant increase in mortality starting at 18 months. Significant increases in the number of rats with focal pulmonary interstitial fibrosis were seen in both sexes at the high-dose level. At the mid-and high-dose levels of both sexes, there was a significantly increased number of rats with myeloid and erythroid bone marrow hypoplasia. There was no evidence of either early onset or increased incidence of any tumor type in the treatment groups. Therefore, it is concluded that methotrexate does not have oncogenic potential. Also, at terminal sacrifice, bone marrow cells were harvested from selected animals on the last day of the 5-day dosing cycle and cytogenetic evaluation was performed. No significant increase in chromosomal aberrations was seen in any dose group relative to the control group. This observation further substantiates the absence of oncogenic potential due to methotrexate in rats.
Failure analyse of the welding point in flip-chip BGA packages in the drop-free

The failure of plastic ball grid array in vibration and shock under intense dynamic loading will be studied in the project. This paper presents the drop test reliability results for SnPb flip-chip on a standard JEDEC drop reliability test board, the failure mode and mechanism of planar array package in the drop test will be integrated analyzed. High acceleration dropping test method was used to research the reliability of BGA (ball grid array) packages during the drop-free impact process. The model RS-DP-03A drop device was used to simulate the falling behavior of BGA chip packages under the real conditions, dropping from the 650mm high, the drop condition meets the JEDEC22-B111 standards (pulse peak 1500g, pulse duration 0.5 ms). In the testing, based on the real-time changes of dynamic voltage, the relationship between dropping times and different phases of chip failure was analyzed. Solder crack and pad lift failure locations are characterized with the dye-penetrated method and optical microscopy. Stain tests were carried on the expired chip packages, the failure position of solder joints and the internal appearance of cracks were observed; the growth mechanism of solder ball crack under the condition of drop-free was analyzed and discussed.
MicroRNA expression in BRAF-mutated and wild-type metastatic melanoma and its correlation with response duration to BRAF inhibitors

Objective: Currently, the treatment of BRAF V600-mutated metastatic melanoma with BRAF inhibitors gives a response rate of ∼ 50% with a progression-free survival of ∼ 6 – 7 months. In order to identify predictive biomarkers capable of stratifying BRAF-mutated patients at high risk of shorter response duration to anti-BRAF therapy, the authors analyzed the expression of 15 microRNAs (miRNAs) targeting crucial genes involved in melanoma biology and drug response. Research design and methods: A total of 15 miRNAs and target gene expression were investigated in 43 patients (30 BRAF-mutated, and 13 BRAF wild-type). Moreover, 20 BRAF-mutated patients treated with vemurafenib were analyzed for miRNA expression in respect to time-to-progression. Results: All miRNAs except miR-192 showed low expression in BRAF-mutated as compared with BRAF wild-type patients. In particular, miR-101, miR-221, miR-21, miR-338-3p and miR-191 resulted in significant downregulation in BRAF-mutated patients. Moreover, high expression of miR-192 and miR-193b* and low expression of miR-132 resulted in significant association with shorter progression. Conclusion: Three miRNAs were significantly associated with clinical outcome in metastatic melanoma patients. An increased understanding of the molecular assessment of BRAF-mutated melanomas could allow development of specific molecular tests able to predict response duration.
Differences in Medical Referral Decisions for Obesity Among Family Practitioners, General Internists, and Gynecologists

This study explored variation in the decisions of primary care physicians to refer or not to refer obese patients to an endocrinologist and the principles underlying their decisions. Forty-five physicians—family practitioners, obstetricians, and general internists—made referral judgments on 24 cases and completed a questionnaire. Data indicated a difference among specialties in the number of cases referred (P ≤ 0.01) that was not accounted for by physician characteristics. The number of cases referred ranged from 0 to 19, with a mean of 8. The patient's desire for treatment by an endocrinologist was overwhelmingly the major factor in decisions to refer. Gynecologists differed from other physicians by referring for management and not expecting the patient to return to their care. Referrals were not made primarily to rule out suspected endocrine disease or out of concern for morbidity due to obesity. These referrals are thus not perceived as medically beneficial, but are responses to patient pressure or physicians' desire to transfer management.
Exact mass measurement on an electrospray ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometer: error distribution and selective averaging.

An automated, accurate and reliable way of acquiring and processing flow injection data for exact mass measurement using a bench-top electrospray ionization time-of-flight (ESI-TOF) mass spectrometer is described. Using Visual Basic programs, individual scans were selected objectively with restrictions on ion counts per second for both the compound of interest and the mass reference peaks. The selected "good scans" were then subjected to two different data-processing schemes ("combine-then-center" and "center-then-average"), and the results were compared at various ion count limit settings. It was found that, in general, the average of mass values from individual scans is more accurate than the centroid mass value of the combined (same) scans. In order to acquire a large number of good scans in one injection (to increase the sampling size for statistically valid averaging), an on-line dilution chamber was added to slow down the typically rapid mass chromatographic peak decay in flow-injection analysis. This simple addition worked well in automation without the need for manual sample dilution. In addition, by dissolving the reference compound directly into the mobile phase, manual syringe filling can be eliminated. Twenty-seven samples were analyzed with the new acquisition and process routines in positive electrospray ionization mode. For the best method found, the percentage of samples with RMS error less than 5 ppm was 100% with repetitive injection data (6 injections per sample), and 95% with single injection data. Afterwards, 31 other test samples were run (with MW ranging from 310 to 3493 Da, 21 samples in ESI+ and 10 in ESI- mode) and processed with similar parameters and 100% of them were mass-calculated to RMS error less than 5 ppm also.
An Information Fusion-Based Multiobjective Security System With a Multiple-Input/ Single-Output Sensor

In the framework of sensor fusion, multiple sensors corresponding to the number of physical variables that must be measured are used. In this paper, we propose a novel sensing approach that simultaneously deals with heterogeneous physical variables with a sensor. It is fundamentally different from sensor fusion. The proposed approach takes into consideration the fact that any sensor that detects a certain physical variable is influenced to a degree by other physical variables, which are designated as noise. The objective in conventional sensor design has been the minimization of noise. In contrast, the proposed approach takes advantage of sensors that are easily influenced by many physical variables and makes full use of the multisensing characteristics of these sensors. The system designed using this concept has advantages in terms of cost performance and system simplification compared to existing approaches. This concept can be realized by developing a novel multiple-input/single-output sensor that can detect various variables, including pressure, acceleration, temperature and incandescent light emission, by a single device. We apply the sensor to monitor the symptoms of fire, earthquakes, and break-ins for the purpose of home security. The proposed security system is realized through statistical signal processing and machine learning techniques