Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Persistent abnormal liver fibrosis after weaning off parenteral nutrition in pediatric intestinal failure

The aim of this study was to evaluate the long‐term effects of pediatric intestinal failure (IF) on liver histology. Altogether, 38 IF patients (median age: 7.2 years; range, 0.2‐27) underwent liver biopsy, gastroscopy, abdominal ultrasound, and laboratory tests. Sixteen patients were on parenteral nutrition (PN) after 74 PN months (range, 2.5‐204). Twenty‐two had weaned off PN 8.8 years (range, 0.3‐27) earlier, after 35 PN months (range, 0.7‐250). Fifteen transplant donor livers served as controls. Abnormal liver histology was found in 94% of patients on PN and 77% of patients weaned off PN (P = 0.370). During PN, liver histology weighted with cholestasis (38% of patients on PN versus 0% of patients weaned off PN; P = 0.003) and portal inflammation (38% versus 9%; P = 0.050) were found. Fibrosis (88% versus 64%; P = 0.143; Metavir stage: 1.6 [range, 0‐4] versus 1.1 [range, 0‐2]; P = 0.089) and steatosis (50% versus 45%; P = 1.000) were equally common during and after weaning off PN. Plasma alanine aminotransferase (78 U/L [range, 19‐204] versus 34 [range, 9‐129]; P = 0.009) and conjugated bilirubin (43 μmol/L [range, 1‐215] versus 4 [range, 1‐23]; P = 0.037) were significantly higher during than after weaning off PN. Esophageal varices were encountered in 1 patient after weaning off PN. Metavir stage was associated with small bowel length (r = −0.486; P = 0.002) and number of septic episodes (r = 0.480; P = 0.002). In a multivariate analysis, age‐adjusted small bowel length (ß = −0.533; P = 0.001), portal inflammation (ß = 0.291; P = 0.030), and absence of an ileocecal valve (ß = 0.267; P = 0.048) were predictive for fibrosis stage. Conclusion: Despite resolution of cholestasis and portal inflammation, significant liver fibrosis and steatosis persist after weaning off PN. Extensive small intestinal resection was the major predictor for liver fibrosis stage. (Hepatology 2013;58:729–738)
Punding in Parkinson's disease: Its relation to the dopamine dysregulation syndrome

Punding is a term that was coined originally to describe complex prolonged, purposeless, and stereotyped behaviour in chronic amphetamine users. A structured interview of 50 patients with higher dopamine replacement therapy requirements (>800 levodopa equivalent units/day) from 123 unselected patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) from a PD clinic identified 17 (14%) patients with punding. Punding was acknowledged as disruptive and unproductive by the patients themselves, but forcible attempts by family to interrupt the behaviour led to irritability and dysphoria. Punding was associated with very high doses of dopamine replacement therapy often related to a pattern of chronic inappropriate overuse of dopaminergic medication. We believe that this is an underreported, socially disabling phenomenon that is commonly associated with the syndrome of dopamine dysregulation and is phenomenologically distinct from both obsessive‐compulsive disorder and mania. © 2004 Movement Disorder Society
3D Thermal Monitoring and Measurement using Smart-phone and IR Thermal Sensor

Continuous and on the fly heat monitoring in industries like manufacturing and chemical is of compelling research nowadays. The recent advancement in IR thermal sensors unfold the possibilities to fuse the thermal information with other low cost sensor (like optical camera) to perform area or volumetric heat measurement of any heated object. Recent development of affordable handheld mobile thermal sensor as a smart-phone attachment by FLIR encouraged the researcher to develop thermal monitoring system as smartphone application. In pursuit of this goal we present a light weight system with a combination of optical and thermal sensors to create a thermal dense 3D model along with area/volume measurement of the heated zones using smart-phone. Our proposed pipeline captures RGB and thermal images simultaneously using FLIR thermal attachment. Estimates the poses for RGB and depth images, 3D models are generated by tracking the features from RGB images. Back-projection is used to colour the 3D points to represent both in RGB as well as an estimated surface temperature. The final output of the system is the detected hot region with area/volumetric measurement. Experimental results demonstrate that the cost effective system is capable to measure hot areas accurately and usable in everyday life.
Arboreality has allowed for the evolution of increased longevity in mammals

The evolutionary theory of aging predicts that species will experience delayed senescence and increased longevity when rates of extrinsic mortality are reduced. It has long been recognized that birds and bats are characterized by lower rates of extrinsic mortality and greater longevities than nonvolant endotherms, presumably because flight reduces exposure to terrestrial predators, disease, and environmental hazards. Like flight, arboreality may act to reduce extrinsic mortality, delay senescence, and increase longevity and has been suggested as an explanation for the long lifespans of primates. However, this hypothesis has yet to be tested in mammals in general. We analyze a large dataset of mammalian longevity records to test whether arboreal mammals are characterized by greater longevities than terrestrial mammals. Here, we show that arboreal mammals are longer lived than terrestrial mammals at common body sizes, independent of phylogeny. Subclade analyses demonstrate that this trend holds true in nearly every mammalian subgroup, with two notable exceptions—metatherians (marsupials) and euarchontans (primates and their close relatives). These subgroups are unique in that each has experienced a long and persistent arboreal evolutionary history, with subsequent transitions to terrestriality occurring multiple times within each group. In all other clades examined, terrestriality appears to be the primitive condition, and species that become arboreal tend to experience increased longevity, often independently in multiple lineages within each clade. Adoption of an arboreal lifestyle may have allowed for increased longevity in these lineages and in primates in general. Overall, these results confirm the fundamental predictions of the evolutionary theory of aging.
Fimbria-specific antibodies in serum and saliva of mice immunized with Actinomyces viscosus T14V fimbriae

Fimbria-specific antibody responses were compared in mice immunized with purified fimbrial adhesins in the region of the submandibular gland (i.e., local site) or at a remote site in the back. One hundred micrograms of fimbriae isolated from Actinomyces viscosus T14V was used as the vaccine. Four subcutaneous injections of the vaccine in the local site induced greater amounts of fimbria-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) in serum and saliva than three injections. However, there was no difference in the response of fimbria-specific IgA in serum and saliva. Fimbria-specific IgG in serum and saliva were first detected 21 days after the primary immunization at both the local or remote sites. Fimbria-specific IgA in serum was first detected 28 days after the primary immunization at both the local or remote sites. However, fimbria-specific IgA in saliva occurred only in mice immunized with the fimbrial vaccine at the local site and was first detected 14 days after the primary immunization. Both serum and saliva from mice immunized 4 times with the fimbrial vaccine in the local site inhibited in vitro adsorption of strain T14V cells to hydroxyapatite beads pretreated with normal mouse saliva, whereas adsorption of strain T14V cells suspended in serum and saliva from sham-immunized animals was not inhibited. Collectively, these data suggest that mice immunized locally in the submandibular gland region with a vaccine composed of purified fimbrial adhesins provide a potential model for evaluating the efficacy of fimbria-specific antibodies in saliva to inhibit strain T14V colonization of tooth surfaces.
Canonical correlation analysis of EEG for classification of motor imagery

The performance of classification of various mental states using Electroencephalography (EEG) is often limited by the lack of information regarding the most discriminative channels and frequency bands. The paper proposes a Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA) of EEG recorded during bilateral imagined hand movement. CCA determines linear transformation of EEG that is maximally correlated with a transformed version of neural response to imagined movement. In the proposed method, the linear weights are identified for the spatial and spectral components of EEG signal. The study investigates how the CCA-based transformation of the signal improves discrimination between two movement classes. Further, two parallel CCA blocks, determine two transformations of EEG, one that maximizes correlation with the corresponding class, and other that minimizes the correlation with the mismatched class. Features derived using this approach are used for single-trial classification of bilateral imagined hand movement. Time-frequency patterns of EEG derived from the proposed approach illustrate their discriminative ability in mu and beta bands. An average classification accuracy of 61.12% (109 subjects) and 73.34% (Best 40 subjects) are obtained. The results indicate the scope of CCA to obtain time-frequency representations of EEG and for single-trial classification of motor imagery (MI).
An Intelligent Rule-Based System For Fault Detection And Diagnosis On A Model-Based Actuator Device

Unmanned aerial vehicles due to their large operational potential may be required to travel over long distances and through various weather conditions, which might lead to potential degradation or even failure of their electrical or/and mechanical actuator parts. Control in trajectory derivations and path following processes is highly dependable on these actuators and sensors. Depending on their efficiency, the outcome will be a near optimum solution to every problem. Consequently, the minor failure can degrade the performance of the process and might drive it to an uncontrollable system. Therefore, an efficient mechanism should be capable of making these faults realizable and act accordingly so that a consistent performance actuator performance qualitative or quantitative index is continuously maintained. In this paper electro-mechanical actuator potential failures are firstly detected and then diagnosed for the application of unmanned aerial vehicles. It includes several scenarios of actuator faults and results which demonstrate the fault conditions and the effectiveness of the detection and diagnosis Kalman based algorithms. It involves the diagnosis strategy to minimizing errors produced due to malfunction in components or inaccuracies in the model. The residuals used are generated using empirical actuator models which are chosen under specific operating regimes.
A novel RFID application for realizing lean services based on customer chain operations reference model

The research establishes a structural approach of adopting lean thinking in services by mapping operation processes based on the integration of value stream mapping and customer-chain operations reference (CCOR) model. On this ground, lean services are realized with radio frequency identification (RFID) technology and associated software at customer touch points to improve service level and operation efficiency that eventually increase customer conversion. A case study of an apparel retailer is conducted and the results are satisfactory. The study has practical implications to both retailers and RFID product suppliers that various adoption factors of this emerging technology including ease of use, data privacy, cost advantage, compatibility and time to the market, may influence the implementation of this new initiative.
Advances in the Study of Stem-Cell-Enriched Hair Follicle Bulge Cells: A Review Featuring Characterization and Isolation of Human Bulge Cells

Hair follicles repeatedly regress and reconstitute themselves, suggesting the presence of intrinsic tissue stem cells. Using label-retaining cell technique to detect slow-cycling stem cells, hair follicle stem cells were detected in the bulge region of the outer root sheath, which provides the insertion point for the arrector pili muscle and marks the bottom of the permanent portion of hair follicles. Later studies elucidated important stem cell characteristics of the bulge cells, including high proliferative capacity and multipotency to regenerate the pilosebaceous unit as well as epidermis. Isolation of living bulge cells is now feasible. In addition, microarray analyses revealed the global gene expression profile of the bulge cells. However, most of those studies were performed in mouse hair follicles and our understanding of human bulge cells has been limited. Recently, remarkable progress was made in human bulge cell biology. The morphologically ill-defined human bulge boundary was precisely determined by the distribution of label-retaining cells. Laser capture microdissection enabled accurate isolation of human bulge cells and control cell populations. Microarray comparison analyses between isolated bulge and nonbulge cells elucidated the molecular signature of human bulge cells and identified cell surface markers for living bulge cell isolation. Importantly, isolated living human bulge cells demonstrated stem cell characteristics in vitro. In this review, recent advances in hair follicle bulge cell research are summarized, especially focusing on the characterization and isolation of human bulge cells.
PESETA III: Agro-economic analysis of climate change impacts in Europe

This report presents the agro-economic analysis within the PESETA III project, focusing on the effects of climate change on crop yields and related impacts on EU agricultural production, trade, prices, consumption, income, and welfare. For this purpose the CAPRI modelling system was employed, using a combination of a Shared Socioeconomic Pathway (SSP2) and a Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP8.5). For the climate change related EU-wide biophysical yield shocks, input of the agricultural biophysical modelling of the PESETA III project was used, which provided crop yield changes under water-limited conditions based on high-resolution bias-corrected EURO-CORDEX regional climate models, taking also gridded soil data into account. As agricultural markets are globally connected via world commodity trade, it is important for the agro-economic analysis to also consider climate change related yield effects outside the EU. The analysis, therefore, was complemented with biophysical yield shocks in non-EU countries as provided by the AgCLIM50 project. To simulate and assess the response of key economic variables to the changes in EU and non-EU biophysical crop yields, one reference scenario (without yield shocks) and two specific climate change scenarios were constructed, one scenario with yield shocks but without enhanced CO2 fertilization and another scenario with yield shocks under the assumption of enhanced CO2 fertilization. The projection horizon for the scenarios is 2050.
Creation and persistence of ties in cluster knowledge networks

Knowledge networks are important to understand learning in industry clusters but surprisingly little is known about what drives the formation, persistence and dissolution of ties. Applying stochastic actor-oriented models on longitudinal relational data from a mature cluster in a medium-tech industry, we show that triadic closure and geographical proximity increase the probability of tie creation but does not influence tie persistence. Cognitive proximity is positively correlated to tie persistence but firms create ties to cognitively proximate firms only if they are loosely connected through common third partners. We propose a micro-perspective to understand how endogenous network effects, cognitive proximity of actors and their interplay influence the evolutionary process of network formation in clusters.
Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase Mediates the Ability of Retinol to Decrease Colorectal Cancer Cell Invasion

Previously, we showed that retinol (vitamin A) decreased both colorectal cancer cell invasion and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) activity through a retinoic acid receptor–independent mechanism. Here, we determined if these phenomena were related by using parental HCT-116 cells that harbor 1 allele of wild-type PI3K and 1 allele of constitutively active (ca) PI3K and 2 mutant HCT-116 cell lines homozygous for caPI3K. In vitro, treatment of parental HCT-116 cells with 10 μM retinol reduced cell invasion whereas treatment of mutant HCT-116 cell lines with retinol did not. Treatment with 10 μM retinol also decreased the activity of matrixmetalloproteinase-9 and increased tissue inhibitor of matrixmetalloproteinase-I levels in parental, but not mutant, HCT-116 cells. Finally, parental or mutant cells were intrasplenically injected into athymic mice consuming diets with or without supplemental vitamin A. As expected, vitamin A supplementation tended (P = 0.18) to reduce the incidence of metastases in mice injected with the parental cell line and consuming the supplemented diet. In contrast, metastatic incidence was not affected (P = 1.00) by vitamin A supplementation in mice injected with mutant cells. These data indicate that the capacity of retinol to inhibit PI3K activity confers its ability to decrease colorectal cancer metastasis.
Defining key features of the broad autism phenotype: A comparison across parents of multiple‐ and single‐incidence autism families

This study examined the frequency of personality, language, and social‐behavioral characteristics believed to comprise the broad autism phenotype (BAP), across families differing in genetic liability to autism. We hypothesized that within this unique sample comprised of multiple‐incidence autism families (MIAF), single‐incidence autism families (SIAF), and control Down syndrome families (DWNS), a graded expression would be observed for the principal characteristics conferring genetic susceptibility to autism, in which such features would express most profoundly among parents from MIAFs, less strongly among SIAFs, and least of all among comparison parents from DWNS families, who should display population base rates. Analyses detected linear expression of traits in line with hypotheses, and further suggested differential intrafamilial expression across family types. In the vast majority of MIAFs both parents displayed BAP characteristics, whereas within SIAFs, it was equally likely that one, both, or neither parent show BAP features. The significance of these findings is discussed in relation to etiologic mechanisms in autism and relevance to molecular genetic studies. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A new tool to assess mechanical and dielectric properties of tissues

In this paper a new tool to assess viscoelastic and dielectric properties of biological samples is presented. Shear horizontal polarized surface acoustic waves (SH-SAW) are used to detect the viscoelastic properties of the extracellular matrix (ECM) expelled by adhering fibroblast cell cultures. Therefore a one-port SAW resonator, with a fundamental mode of 85 MHz was developed. Its electrode structure can be used simultaneously to detect the dielectric behavior of the whole system by impedance spectroscopy (IS) while the frequency ranges from kHz to MHz. The applicability of the combination of both methods appearing as new tool is exemplarily shown by cell adhesion experiments performed with L929 and NIH-3T3 fibroblasts.
Zebrafish as an Alternative Vertebrate Model for Investigating Developmental Toxicity—The Triadimefon Example

Triadimefon is a widely used triazole fungicide known to cause severe developmental defects in several model organisms and in humans. The present study evaluated in detail the developmental effects seen in zebrafish embryos exposed to triadimefon, confirmed and expanded upon previous phenotypic findings and compared them to those observed in other traditional animal models. In order to do this, we exposed embryos to 2 and 4 µg/mL triadimefon and evaluated growth until 120 h post-fertilization (hpf) through gross morphology examination. Our analysis revealed significant developmental defects at the highest tested concentration including somite deformities, severe craniofacial defects, a cleft phenotype along the three primary neural divisions, a rigorously hypoplastic or even absent mandible and a hypoplastic morphology of the pharyngeal arches. Interestingly, massive pericardial edemas, abnormal shaped hearts, brachycardia and inhibited or absent blood circulation were also observed. Our results revealed that the presented zebrafish phenotypes are comparable to those seen in other organism models and those derived from human observations as a result of triadimefon exposure. We therefore demonstrated that zebrafish provide an excellent system for study of compounds with toxic significance and can be used as an alternative model for developmental toxicity studies to predict effects in mammals.
Job stress and burnout in acute and nonacute pediatric nurses.

OBJECTIVE To identify predictors of burnout in pediatric nurses and to compare the incidence of burnout, job stress, anxiety and perceived social support in acute and nonacute care pediatric nurses. DESIGN Prospective correlational-descriptive methodology was used to predict high, moderate or low burnout from length of work experience, perceived work stress and social support and anxiety. SUBJECTS AND SETTING Registered nurses (n = 121) employed full-time in neonatal and pediatric intensive care units and pediatric intermediate care units. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS Measures of job stress, anxiety, experience, social support and burnout were compared in acute and nonacute care pediatric nurses. The overall mean incidence of burnout was in a moderate range for both acute and nonacute care pediatric nurses for the emotional exhaustion and depersonalization subscales and in the high range of personal accomplishment subscales of the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Analysis of variance revealed no differences between groups. However, when nurses were grouped by high, moderate and low burnout scores, chi-square analysis revealed significant differences. More acute care nurses reported high burnout and more nonacute care nurses reported low burnout. Discriminant function analysis revealed that job stress was the strongest significant predictor of burnout, followed by state anxiety, coworker support, trait anxiety and experience on the unit. CONCLUSIONS Even though high burnout levels are more frequent in acute care pediatric nurses, burnout is a problem in both acute and nonacute care pediatric nurses. The pattern of results suggests that efforts directed toward reducing anxiety and job stress and increasing coworker support, particularly for less experienced nurses, might reduce burnout.