Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Campath‐1H Use in Pediatric Renal Transplantation

Campath‐1H is a humanized, monoclonal antibody directed against CD52 determinants on the surface of human B‐ and T‐cells and monocytes. Reports of Campath‐1H use as induction in adult renal transplantation have been encouraging with low rejection rates and minimal adverse events. We report four high risk pediatric kidney transplant patients who received Campath‐1H for unique indications with variable results. Children ranged in age from 20 months to 16 years. Immunosuppression regimens varied. Three of four patients experienced acute rejection, two of which were C4d positive. Serial flow cytometry was performed on all four patients. The patient who received only Campath‐1H has an absolute lymphocyte count that remains less than 50% of baseline at 12‐months post‐transplant. In addition, in this patient CD3, CD4, CD8 and CD20 remain less than 50% of baseline. From this initial experience using Campath‐1H in pediatric renal transplantation we conclude that; (1) the use of Campath‐1H does not prevent recurrence of FSGS, (2) as seen in adults, lack of calcineurin inhibition when using Campath‐1H may increase the risk of antibody‐mediated rejection and (3) prolonged lymphocyte depletion remains even after a single dose of Campath‐1H in children.
Quality of life and seeking help in women with urinary incontinence

Background. The aims of this population‐based study were to compare the quality of life (QoL) in; (a) women with urinary incontinence (UI) and women without urinary incontinence (wUI) in relation to age, (b) women with stress incontinence and women with urge incontinence, and (c) women who had vs. women who had not consulted a health care service because of UI.
Fetal head size and effect of manual perineal protection

Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate whether a previously identified modification of Viennese method of perineal protection remains most effective for reduction of perineal tension in cases with substantially smaller or larger fetal heads. Methods A previously designed finite element model was used to compare perineal tension of different modifications of the Viennese method of perineal protection to "hands-off" technique for three different sizes of the fetal head. Quantity and extent of tension throughout the perineal body during vaginal delivery at the time when the suboccipito-bregmatic circumference passes between the fourchette and the lower margin of the pubis was determined. Results The order of effectiveness of different modifications of manual perineal protection was similar for all three sizes of fetal head. The reduction of perineal tension was most significant in delivery simulations with larger heads. The final position of fingers 2cm anteriorly from the fourchette (y = +2) consistently remains most effective in reducing the tension. The extent of finger movement along the anterior-posterior (y-axis) contributes to the effectiveness of manual perineal protection. Conclusion Appropriately performed Viennese manual perineal protection seems to reduce the perineal tension regardless of the fetal head size, and thus the method seems to be applicable to reduce risk of perineal trauma for all parturients.
Multicenter Study To Evaluate the OptiMAL Test for Rapid Diagnosis of Malaria in U.S. Hospitals

ABSTRACT More than 1,000 cases of malaria are diagnosed each year in the United States. Reported numbers, however, may be artificially low because many clinicians fail to consider the diagnosis on presentation, U.S. hospital laboratory technologists have very limited experience in detecting and identifying malaria parasites, and reporting of malaria to state health departments is sporadic in many states. In this study, a rapid malaria diagnostic test, the OptiMAL test (DiaMed; under license from Flow Inc., Portland, Oreg.) was evaluated in six U.S. hospitals and compared with results of microscopy. The OptiMAL test is a 15-min rapid immunochromatographic test that both identifies and differentiates Plasmodium falciparum from non-P. falciparum malaria parasites on the basis of the detection of parasite lactate dehydrogenase in a drop of patient blood. A total of 216 specimens from patients suspected of having malaria were tested. Results indicated that 43 samples (20%) were positive for malaria parasites by microscopy (32 P. falciparum, 11 non-P. falciparum) while 42 (19%) were positive by OptiMAL (31 P. falciparum, 11 non-P. falciparum). The sensitivity of the OptiMAL test was 98%; its specificity was 100%, with positive and negative predictive values of 100 and 99%, respectively. Participating hospital physicians and laboratory directors independently reported that the OptiMAL rapid malaria test was accurate, easy to use, and well accepted by those working in their diagnostic laboratories. The overall conclusion was that integration of the OptiMAL rapid malaria test into the U.S. health care infrastructure would provide an important and easy-to-use tool for the timely diagnosis of malaria.
Specific detection of Aspergillus parasiticus in wheat flour using a highly sensitive PCR assay

Aspergillus parasiticus is one of the most important aflatoxin-producing species that contaminates foodstuffs and beverages for human consumption. In this work, a specific and highly sensitive PCR protocol was developed to detect A. parasiticus using primers designed on the multicopy internal transcribed region of the rDNA unit (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 rDNA). The assay proved to be highly specific for A. parasiticus when tested on a wide range of related and other fungal species commonly found in commodities, and allowing discrimination from the closely related A. flavus. Accuracy of detection and quantification by conventional PCR were tested with genomic DNA obtained from wheat flour artificially contaminated with spore suspensions of known concentrations. Spore concentrations equal or higher than 106 spore/g could be detected by the assay directly without prior incubation of the samples. The assay described is suitable for incorporation in routine analyses at critical points of the food chain within HACCP strategies.
Sensorless control for a three-phase PWM rectifier-inverter system with single-chip micro-controller

A three-phase PWM rectifier-inverter system for a PMSM drive with a single-chip micro-controller is presented. To reduce the cost of the system, the input/output currents and dc-link voltage are detected only using resistors. With the proposed sensorless control, neither an ac voltage/phase sensor nor a rotor speed/position sensor is needed in the system. All of the proposed control schemes can be realized by a single-chip micro-controller (SH7149, Renesas Tech.). The experimental results from a 5-kW prototype confirmed that the proposed system worked well.
The first association of a primary amebic meningoencephalitis death with culturable Naegleria fowleri in tap water from a US treated public drinking water system.

BACKGROUND Naegleria fowleri is a climate-sensitive, thermophilic ameba found in warm, freshwater lakes and rivers. Primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), which is almost universally fatal, occurs when N. fowleri-containing water enters the nose, typically during swimming, and migrates to the brain via the olfactory nerve. In August 2013, a 4-year-old boy died of meningoencephalitis of unknown etiology in a Louisiana hospital. METHODS Clinical and environmental testing and a case investigation were initiated to determine the cause of death and to identify potential exposures. RESULTS Based on testing of cerebrospinal fluid and brain specimens, the child was diagnosed with PAM. His only reported water exposure was tap water; in particular, tap water that was used to supply water to a lawn water slide on which the child had played extensively prior to becoming ill. Water samples were collected from both the home and the water distribution system that supplied the home and tested; N. fowleri was identified in water samples from both the home and the water distribution system. CONCLUSIONS This case is the first reported PAM death associated with culturable N. fowleri in tap water from a US treated drinking water system. This case occurred in the context of an expanding geographic range for PAM beyond southern states, with recent case reports from Minnesota, Kansas, and Indiana. This case also highlights the role of adequate disinfection throughout drinking water distribution systems and the importance of maintaining vigilance when operating drinking water systems using source waters with elevated temperatures.
Facial Canal Dehiscence: Histologic Study and Computer Reconstruction

The incidence, location, shape, and dimensions of dehiscences in the facial canal to the middle ear space were studied in 160 temporal bones obtained from 129 individuals 24 gestational weeks to 109 years of age at death by means of light microscopy and our computer reconstruction and measurement method. Dehiscences were observed in 95 of the 129 individuals (74%) and in 119 of the 160 bones (74%). The incidence was found to be quite high among fetuses and newborns, lowest in individuals in their twenties and then again quite high in the geriatric population (χ2 test, χ2 = 5.45 and 4.41, p < .05). The most frequent site of dehiscence was the oval window area, particularly in its posterior half (57% of all ears) on the inferior to inferomedial aspects of the canal; these dehiscences were clearly demonstrated in reconstructed images. The incidence of dehiscence in the area of the cochleariform process was 16%, and all these dehiscences were on the lateral to superolateral aspect of the canal. The second genu area and the mastoid portion were sites of dehiscence in 21% and 18%, respectively, of specimens; more than half of the dehiscences in the second genu area and mastoid portion were on the lateral to anterolateral and posterior aspects of the facial canal, respectively. The shape of the dehiscence tended to be oval in the oval window area, but rather irregular in the other areas. The dehiscences ranged from 0.4 to 2.64 mm in length, from 0.12 to 1.59 mm in width, and from 0.03 to 1.87 mm2 in surface area. The proximity of these dehiscences to the field of otologic surgery is stressed.
Multiple binding of methyl‐CpG and polycomb proteins in long‐term gene silencing events

Epigenetic regulation is involved in the maintenance of long‐term silencing phenomena, such as X‐inactivation and genomic imprinting in mammals. Gene repression is mediated by several mechanisms, such as histone modifications, DNA methylation, and recruitment of Polycomb proteins. To understand the mechanistic relationships between these mechanisms for stable gene silencing, we analyzed the mechanisms of X‐ and Y‐inactivation of the PAR2 gene SYBL1, previously showed to be regulated by concerted epigenetic mechanisms. Maintenance of stable repression occurs via the recruitment of both MBDPs and PRC2 complexes to SYBL1 promoter. Their binding is equally sensitive to defective DNA methylation seen in cells derived from ICF syndrome patients. Multiple occupancy is a feature shared within long‐term repressed genes, such as the X‐inactivated PGK1 and the imprinted IGF2. MBD2, MBD3, and MeCP2 occupy SYBL1 promoter simultaneously, as revealed by sequential ChIP. We did not find this co‐occurring binding when looked for members of PRC2 complex together with any of the methyl‐binding proteins. Furthermore, in co‐transfection assays, MECP2 can silence methylated SYBL1 promoter, whereas the mutated protein fails. However, RNA interference of endogenous MECP2 does not induce the expression of the inactive SYBL1 alleles, suggesting that its silencing activity can be replaced by the other methyl‐binding proteins. Our data suggest that maintenance of long‐term silencing involves multiple layers of epigenetic control functionally redundant. PRC2 and MBD proteins could collaborate to different phases of this process, the former possibly recruiting DNMTs to the silenced promoters, the latter dictating the lock of the transcription. J. Cell. Physiol. 210: 711–719, 2007. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Exact Complexity Certification of Active-Set Methods for Quadratic Programming

Active-set methods are recognized to often outperform other methods in terms of speed and solution accuracy when solving small-size quadratic programming (QP) problems, making them very attractive in embedded linear model predictive control (MPC) applications. A drawback of active-set methods is the lack of tight bounds on the worst-case number of iterations, a fundamental requirement for their implementation in a real-time system. Extensive simulation campaigns provide an indication of the expected worst-case computation load, but not a complete guarantee. This paper solves such a certification problem by proposing an algorithm to compute the exact bound on the maximum number of iterations and floating point operations required by a state-of-the-art dual active-set QP solver. The algorithm is applicable to a given QP problem whose linear term of the cost function and right-hand side of the constraints depend linearly on a vector of parameters, as in the case of linear MPC. In addition, a new solver is presented that combines explicit and implicit MPC ideas, guaranteeing improvements of the worst-case computation time. The ability of the approach to exactly quantify memory and worst-case computation requirements is tested on a few MPC examples, also highlighting when online optimization should be preferred to explicit MPC.
Evaluating physical therapists' perception of empowerment using Kanter's theory of structural power in organizations.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Little is known about physical therapists' perceptions of empowerment. In this study, Kanter's theory of structural power in organizations was used to examine physical therapists' perceptions of empowerment in a large Canadian urban teaching hospital. Kanter's theory, which has been studied extensively in the nursing profession, proposes that power in organizations is derived from access to information, support, resources, opportunity, and proportions. SUBJECTS AND METHODS A convenience sample of physical therapists who had been working in the hospital longer than 3 months was used to determine the scores for the physical therapists' ratings of empowerment using the Conditions of Work Effectiveness Questionnaire. RESULTS Physical therapists' scores were similar to reported staff nurses' scores for access to support, information, resources, and opportunity (mean=2.89, 2.91, 2.62, 3.25, respectively). Physical therapists' scores were higher than the majority of reported staff nurses' and nurse managers' scores for access to sources of informal and formal power structures (mean=2.81 and 3.29, respectively). There was a relationship between the empowerment score and the physical therapists' global rating of empowerment. Unlike studies of nurses, there were no relationships when demographic attributes and empowerment scores were examined. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION Evidence for the validity of Kanter's theory of empowerment was found. Kanter's theory can provide physical therapists and their managers with a useful framework for examining critical organizational factors (access to information, support, opportunity, and resources) that contribute to employees' perceptions of empowerment. A baseline measure for comparing future empowerment scores of this sample is available. Further work to examine the application of Kanter's theory to other samples of physical therapists appears to be warranted.
Regulatory elements of hepatitis B virus transcription

summary. The precise modulation of hepatitis B virus (HBV) gene expression is essential for replication of the virus. HBV sequences are transcribed under the control of the preC/pregenomic, S1, S2 and X promoters. With the exception of S1, all the HBV promoters lack the orthodox TATA box motifs required for the formation of the transcription initiation complex, and as such they represent a unique model of transcription initiation elements. The presence of two enhancer sequences and negative regulatoryelements in the HBV genome further augments thecontrolled synthesis of HBV‐ RNA. All these transcription cis‐elements are embedded within protein coding regions of the genome. This feature demonstrates the remarkable ability of the virus to maximize the function of its small genome. HBV transcription control elements also display a preference for liver‐specific or liver‐enriched trans‐factors, which contributes to the liver tropism of the virus. This review outlines the major HBV transcription regulatory elements and highlights the reliance of accurate HBV gene modulation on the complex interplay between several trans‐acting factors and their corresponding cis‐ motifs in the viral genome.
Docking, scoring, and affinity prediction in CAPRI

We present the fifth evaluation of docking and related scoring methods used in the community‐wide experiment on the Critical Assessment of Predicted Interactions (CAPRI). The evaluation examined predictions submitted for a total of 15 targets in eight CAPRI rounds held during the years 2010–2012. The targets represented one the most diverse set tackled by the CAPRI community so far. They included only 10 “classical” docking and scoring problems. In one of the classical targets, the new challenge was to predict the position of water molecules in the protein–protein interface. The remaining five targets represented other new challenges that involved estimating the relative binding affinity and the effect of point mutations on the stability of designed and natural protein–protein complexes. Although the 10 classical CAPRI targets included two difficult multicomponent systems, and a protein–oligosaccharide complex with which CAPRI participants had little experience, this evaluation indicates that the performance of docking and scoring methods has remained quite robust. More remarkably, we find that automatic docking servers exhibit a significantly improved performance, with some servers now performing on par with predictions done by humans. The performance of CAPRI participants in the new challenges, briefly reviewed here, was mediocre overall, but some groups did relatively well and their approaches suggested ways of improving methods for designing binders and for estimating the free energies of protein assemblies, which should impact the field of protein modeling and design as a whole. Proteins 2013; 81:2082–2095. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Monitoring user position in the GiraffPlus AAL environment

In Ambient Assisted Living scenarios, elderly people are supported by pervasive and smart environments in their daily mobility and activities, with which they interact by means of a variety of devices and services deployed in the house. These devices, in addition to their particular function, can provide useful context information about the user behavior. In this paper we propose an indoor localization technique that exploits the presence of commercially available devices in the GiraffPlus AAL environment. GiraffPlus is a EU funded project, running in several test sites across Europe, that combines social interaction and long-term monitoring to help people live independently. In this context, the proposed localization algorithm is able to provide the position information in terms of last room visited by the user improving considerably the reaction of a user's caregiver in emergency situations. This paper also aims at providing a performance characterization of the commercially available devices used in the GiraffPlus AAL environments. We prove that, in order to guarantee an high level of reliability, this kind of device show a considerable transmission delay that makes the localization process non-trivial.
Genomic and phenotypic signatures of climate adaptation in an Anolis lizard

Abstract Integrated knowledge on phenotype, physiology, and genomic adaptations is required to understand the effects of climate on evolution. The functional genomic basis of organismal adaptation to changes in the abiotic environment, its phenotypic consequences, and its possible convergence across vertebrates are still understudied. In this study, we use a comparative approach to verify predicted gene functions for vertebrate thermal adaptation with observed functions underlying repeated genomic adaptations in response to elevation in the lizard Anolis cybotes. We establish a direct link between recurrently evolved phenotypes and functional genomics of altitude‐related climate adaptation in three highland and lowland populations in the Dominican Republic. We show that across vertebrates, genes contained in this interactome are expressed within the brain, the endocrine system, and during development. These results are relevant to elucidate the effect of global climate change across vertebrates and might aid in furthering insight into gene–environment relationships under disturbances to homeostasis.
Health Information Science at the University of Victoria: The First Ten Years

Abstract: The University of Victoria has the only program in Canada offering a Bachelor of Science degree in Health Information Science. To meet the requirements of the degree, students must complete 40 courses and 4 CO-OP work terms over 4.3 years. The School admits 30 students each September of which 60% are normally female. Seventy-five percent of the students come from British Columbia, ranging in age from 18 to 42 with the average age being 26 years. In addition to recent high school graduates, over 40% have previous degrees or diplomas, and 65% have over 5 years of work experience. The School’s teaching team consists of 5 full-time faculty, 3 professional staff and 4 part-time faculty. The majority of the faculty have health backgrounds, totalling 135 person-years of practising health care experience. As of November 1992, the School had 113 graduates; 75% are employed in British Columbia, 18% are in other parts of Canada and 7% outside the country. Forty-five percent of the graduates work in government departments including community health agencies; 29% work in hospitals; 26% work in management consulting firms, software houses, or computer hardware firms. They work as systems/project analysts, systems consultants, research assistants, planning analysts, system-support staff, trainers/developers and client account representatives. Some are already in senior management positions.
Anatomically diverse butterfly scales all produce structural colours by coherent scattering

SUMMARY The structural colours of butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera) have been attributed to a diversity of physical mechanisms, including multilayer interference, diffraction, Bragg scattering, Tyndall scattering and Rayleigh scattering. We used fibre optic spectrophotometry, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and 2D Fourier analysis to investigate the physical mechanisms of structural colour production in twelve lepidopteran species from four families, representing all of the previously proposed anatomical and optical classes of butterfly nanostructure. The 2D Fourier analyses of TEMs of colour producing butterfly scales document that all species are appropriately nanostructured to produce visible colours by coherent scattering, i.e. differential interference and reinforcement of scattered, visible wavelengths. Previously hypothesized to produce a blue colour by incoherent, Tyndall scattering, the scales of Papilio zalmoxis are not appropriately nanostructured for incoherent scattering. Rather, available data indicate that the blue of P. zalmoxis is a fluorescent pigmentary colour. Despite their nanoscale anatomical diversity, all structurally coloured butterfly scales share a single fundamental physical color production mechanism - coherent scattering. Recognition of this commonality provides a new perspective on how the nanostructure and optical properties of structurally coloured butterfly scales evolved and diversified among and within lepidopteran clades.