Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fiberoptic intubation through laryngeal mask airway for management of difficult airway in a child with Klippel–Feil syndrome

The ideal airway management modality in pediatric patients with syndromes like Klippel-Feil syndrome is a great challenge and is technically difficult for an anesthesiologist. Half of the patients present with the classic triad of short neck, low hairline, and fusion of cervical vertebra. Numerous associated anomalies like scoliosis or kyphosis, cleft palate, respiratory problems, deafness, genitourinary abnormalities, Sprengel's deformity (wherein the scapulae ride high on the back), synkinesia, cervical ribs, and congenital heart diseases may further add to the difficulty. Fiberoptic bronchoscopy alone can be technically difficult and patient cooperation also becomes very important, which is difficult in pediatric patients. Fiberoptic bronchoscopy with the aid of supraglottic airway devices is a viable alternative in the management of difficult airway in children. We report a case of Klippel-Feil syndrome in an 18-month-old girl posted for cleft palate surgery. Imaging of spine revealed complete fusion of the cervical vertebrae with hypoplastic C3 and C6 vertebrae and thoracic kyphosis. We successfully managed airway in this patient by fiberoptic intubation through classic laryngeal mask airway (LMA). After intubation, we used second smaller endotracheal tube (ETT) to stabilize and elongate the first ETT while removing the LMA.
Association of obstructive sleep apnea with arterial stiffness and nondipping blood pressure in patients with hypertension

Whether sex influences the association of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) with markers of cardiovascular risk in patients with hypertension is unknown. In this study, 95 hypertensive participants underwent carotid‐femoral pulse wave velocity, 24‐hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, echocardiogram, and polysomnography after a 30‐day standardized treatment with hydrochlorothiazide plus enalapril or losartan. OSA was present in 52 patients. Compared with non‐OSA patients, pulse wave velocity values were higher in the OSA group (men: 11.1±2.2 vs 12.7±2.4 m/s, P=.04; women: 11.8±2.4 vs 13.2±2.2 m/s, P=.03). The proportion of diastolic dysfunction was significant in men and women with OSA. Compared with non‐OSA patients, nondipping systolic blood pressure in OSA was higher in men (14.3% vs 46.4%) and in women (41.4% vs 65.2%). OSA was independently associated with pulse wave velocity (β=1.050; P=.025) and nondipping systolic blood pressure (odds ratio, 3.03; 95% confidence interval, 1.08–8.55; P=.035) in the regression analysis. In conclusion, OSA is independently associated with arterial stiffness and nondipping blood pressure in patients with hypertension regardless of sex.
Maximum power point searching method for partial shaded PV strings

This paper presents two methods aimed to search the global maximum power point (MPP) in conditions of multiple local MPPs. These conditions arise in cases where different photovoltaic (PV) panels in a string may be subject to different conditions of irradiance and/or temperature. The methods are referred as voltage-based global maximum power point searching (G-MPPS) method and current-based G-MPPS method. The former uses the voltage as the variable of control, in the sense that a voltage reference is generated, while the latter generates a current reference. These methods are based on the geometrical characteristics of the iv-characteristic curve. The idea behind the methods is to enlarge the increments of the voltage (or current), by using a set of auxiliary curves. These last are defined as the rectangular hyperboles defining subspaces of constant power. The result is a considerably faster searching process compared to the conventional sweep method. Simulations and experimental results are presented to assess the performance of the proposed method.
Cross-sectional Study to Acknowledge the Independent Association of the Socio-demographic Determinants of Alcohol Use in an Urban Slum of North India

Background: To seek pleasure is man's innate nature. In his search for gratification, man has discovered a world of substances that intoxicated him. Those who fell within its trap, their life changed, their families aggrieved and they shrank from company. The addiction remained alone in the end. To many death was a relief. Methods: A community based cross- sectional study was conducted in the Catchment area of UHTC (Urban Health and training Centre) where all males aged ≥15 years residing in the study area were included. Data was collected by home visit using WHO questionnaire (AUDIT: Alcohol use disorder identification test) Modified Kuppuswamy scale was used to assess the socio-economic status of the families. Data was analyzed by appropriate test using SPSS 20.0 version. Logistic regression was applied to the positively associated results. Results: According to the AUDIT score, Hazardous, Dependent and harmful drinkers were 7.7%, 9.2% and 2.4% respectively. Age, marital status, education of the head of the family, occupation of the respondent, caste, family history of alcohol use had statistically significant association (P < 0.05, 95% confidence interval). Logistic regression was applied and marital status, family history of alcohol use and caste retained their statistical significance (P < 0.05, 95% confidence interval). Conclusions: It can be concluded that being young, being low educated, being married and having a family history of alcohol use are more at risk to it. This indicates the dire necessity to consider the above factors in order to combat with this evil of alcohol use.
Economic Recessions and Recoveries

Economic output may drop for reasons related with supply, such as a fall in the number of the employed factors of production or increases in real costs; and for reasons related with demand, such as an increase in non-productive market power or a fall in aggregate demand, the worst type of recession in the past. Falls in aggregate demand happen when there are economic disruptions such as a savings-investment deficit or a trade-foreign investment deficit and they can be persistent when households, companies and banks’ solvency and liquidity ratios deteriorate. Due to economic rigidities, like the nominal value of paper money, the system needs to avoid a fall in monetary inflows to aggregate supply. Price stability policies cannot guarantee this aim when inflation rises. In contrast, full inflation-indexed economies can avoid or mitigate falls in aggregate demand and they can help governments to overcome recessions and to achieve a sustained growth.
Policy Reforms, General Strikes, and Governmental Re-election in Western Europe

Governments’ decisions on including or excluding labor unions in negotiating policy reforms have had considerable political effects. Union inclusion has resulted in a significant number of social pacts in Western Europe since the 1980s. Yet, at the same time, policy reforms have also resulted in political backlash from unions as they have organized general strikes against governments and their policies. While the immediate function of general strikes is to express widespread protest against unpopular government measures, governments’ refusal to bargain with unions and seek consensus on unpopular reforms prompts the question as to whether such actions yield electoral penalties. We analyze the electoral effects of general strikes for 16 West European countries (EU 15 plus Norway) from 1980-2009. We find that not only do incumbents suffer a significant decline in vote share if a general strike occurs under its tenure, but also that left and right incumbents are equally penalized in vote losses. Indeed, the only party family that does not appear to suffer significant electoral repercussions from a general strike is center/Christian democratic parties. Our results suggest unions, although organizationally weakened, continue to affect politics.
Financialization and commodity prices – an empirical analysis for coffee, cotton, wheat and oil

Abstract Commodity prices have crucial implications for developing countries. The question whether the financialization of commodity derivative markets has contributed to high and volatile commodity prices has been controversially debated. Building on limitations in the empirical literature, we estimate a multivariate Vector Autoregressive (VAR) model to assess the effect of different groups of financial investors (index investors and money managers) as well as fundamental and macroeconomic variables on the prices of coffee, cotton, wheat and oil. We find that, in contrast to index investors, money managers’ net long positions have a large statistically significant effect on commodity prices. This calls for policy interventions as commodity derivative markets may cease to perform their fundamental developmental roles.
Geldanamycin, a Ligand of Heat Shock Protein 90, Inhibits the Replication of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 In Vitro

ABSTRACT Geldanamycin (GA) is an antibiotic targeting the ADP/ATP binding site of heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90). In screening for anti-herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) candidates, we found GA active against HSV-1. HSV-1 replication in vitro was significantly inhibited by GA with an 50% inhibitory concentration of 0.093 μM and a concentration that inhibited cellular growth 50% in comparison with the results seen with untreated controls of 350 μM. The therapeutic index of GA was over 3,700 (comparable to the results seen with acyclovir). GA did not inhibit HSV-1 thymidine kinase. Cells infected with HSV-1 demonstrated cell cycle arrest at the G1/S transition; however, treatment with GA resulted in a cell cycle distribution pattern identical to that of untreated cells, indicating a restoration of cell growth in HSV-1-infected cells by GA treatment. Accordingly, HSV-1 DNA synthesis was suppressed in HSV-1+ cells treated with GA. The antiviral mechanism of GA appears to be associated with Hsp90 inactivation and cell cycle restoration, which indicates that GA exhibits broad-spectrum antiviral activity. Indeed, GA exhibited activities in vitro against other viruses, including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus. Since GA inhibits HSV-1 through a cellular mechanism unique among HSV-1 agents, we consider it a new candidate agent for HSV-1.
Biochemical Sub‐Fractionation of the Mammalian Golgi Apparatus

We have exploited the breakdown of the Golgi apparatus that occurs during mitosis to isolate subfractions using immuno‐affinity methods. Rat liver Golgi stacks were treated with mitotic cytosol from HeLa cells, and the fragments were then incubated with antibodies immobilized on magnetic beads. Antibodies against the cis‐Golgi marker, GM130, bound membranes that were depleted in the trans‐Golgi network marker, TGN38, whereas antibodies against the cytoplasmic tail of TGN38 did the reverse. A range of other Golgi enzymes, SNAREs and tethers were also tested and were found to bind to anti‐GM130 antibodies to an extent that reflected their proximity to cis‐cisternae as determined by other techniques. This method should provide a useful complement to the immuno‐EM methods presently used to map the Golgi apparatus.
Règles de politique monétaire, apprentissage et stabilité: une revue de la littérature récente

This paper presents the literature about econometric learning and its impact on the performances of monetary policy rules in the framework of the new canonical macroeconomic model. Rational expectations which are a building block of the original model can thus be replaced by expectations based on estimation algorithms. The permanent updating of these estimations can be interpreted as a learning proces of the model’s agents. This learning proces induces additional dynamics into the model. The literature in question uses two criteria in order to analyse the ability of monetary policy rules to stabilise the economy: (i) uniqueness of the rational expectations equilibrium in the original model and (ii) stability in regards to learning in the modified model. Taking learning into account enables to detect shortcomings of a rule according to (ii) that would not been seen in a rational expectations model. However, the main message of the surveyed literature is that most of the results found in a rational expectations framework are robust. The paper ends with a discussion on the specific problems met in the introduction of a learning proces in the new canonical model.
Intentional and Non-Intentional Assessments of Emotion Experiences: Comparisons of Old and New Measures

ABSTRACT In two studies, we compared intentional and non-intentional measures of emotional well-being in terms of reliability and validity. In the first study, we expanded on the findings of Şimşek (2011) by showing that an intentional measure of emotional well-being, namely the Emotional Well-Being Scale, accounted for unique variance in both negative and positive mental health indicators above and beyond the variance accounted for by Larsen and Diener's Scales (1992), which measures all dimensions of affect circumplex. The correlated traits-correlated uniqueness model results showed that the original-intentional version of the Emotional Well-Being Scale explained more variance in the measurement model than the non-intentional version. The second study showed that the results were similar for the intentional vs. non-intentional versions of the Positive and Negative Affect Schedules (Watson, Clark & Tellegen, 1988). The intentional version of the Positive and Negative Affect Schedules accounted for more variance in the criteria than the non-intentional version.
MicroRNA Cluster 302–367 Enhances Somatic Cell Reprogramming by Accelerating a Mesenchymal-to-Epithelial Transition*

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are emerging critical regulators of cell function that frequently reside in clusters throughout the genome. They influence a myriad of cell functions, including the generation of induced pluripotent stem cells, also termed reprogramming. Here, we have successfully delivered entire miRNA clusters into reprogramming fibroblasts using retroviral vectors. This strategy avoids caveats associated with transient transfection of chemically synthesized miRNA mimics. Overexpression of 2 miRNA clusters, 106a–363 and in particular 302–367, allowed potent increases in induced pluripotent stem cell generation efficiency in mouse fibroblasts using 3 exogenous factors (Sox2, Klf4, and Oct4). Pathway analysis highlighted potential relevant effectors, including mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition, cell cycle, and epigenetic regulators. Further study showed that miRNA cluster 302–367 targeted TGFβ receptor 2, promoted increased E-cadherin expression, and accelerated mesenchymal-to-epithelial changes necessary for colony formation. Our work thus provides an interesting alternative for improving reprogramming using miRNAs and adds new evidence for the emerging relationship between pluripotency and the epithelial phenotype.
3D trajectory tracking control of quadrotor UAV with on-line disturbance compensation

In this paper, we propose a revisited form of the so-called Model-Free Control (MFC). Herein, the MFC principle is employed to deal with the unknown part of the plant only (i.e. unmodeled dynamics, disturbances, etc.) and occurs beside an Interconnection and Damping Assignment-Passivity Based Control (IDA-PBC) strategy that is used instead of the PID structure as done in the classical MFC form. Using the proposed formulation, it is shown that we can significantly improve the performance of the control and its robustness level. This problem is studied in the case of Multi-Inputs Multi-Outputs (MIMO) system with an application to a small Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) vehicle where a stability analysis is also provided. The numerical simulations have shown satisfactory results where an in-depth discussion with respect to the control performance is highlighted by considering several scenarios and using several metrics.
High-Power Low-Noise Nd:YAP/LBO Laser With Dual Wavelength Outputs

A high-power single-frequency Nd:YAP/LBO laser with stable dual wavelength outputs is designed and built. The laser resonator satisfying optimal coupling condition for second-harmonic generation is in a configuration of a figure “8” shaped ring cavity consisting of two convex mirrors and two concave mirrors. An additional wedge YVO4 crystal is inserted in the resonator to act as a polarizer, so that the stability of the laser operation is improved. The maximum output powers of 4.5 W at 540 nm and 1.5 W at 1080 nm are simultaneously achieved. The measured power stabilities of the fundamental wave and the second-harmonic wave are ±0.32% and ±0.6% for 3 h, respectively.
Enhancing the Anticoagulant Potency of Soluble Tissue Factor Mutants by Increasing their Affinity to Factor VIIa

Summary Complexation of factor VIIa (FVIIa) and tissue factor (TF) initiates the extrinsic pathway of blood coagulation. Inappropriate triggering of this pathway has been linked to thrombotic disorders. We have previously shown that a mutant form of soluble tissue factor (sTF, residues 1-219) having Lys165 and Lys166 replaced with alanine residues (hTFAA) gave an antithrombotic effect in a rabbit model of arterial thrombosis. Here we have improved the potency of hTFAA by incorporating amino acid substitutions that increase the affinity of sTF for FVIIa. Phage display has been used to select consensus sequences at two FVIIa-contact regions on sTF, segments 44–50 and 130–140, that individually showed modestly increased (∼2-fold) FVIIa-affinity. These consensus sequences have been combined with other previously selected mutations to generate a series of variants (hTFAA-2, hTFAA-3, and hTFAA-4) having 4 to 10-fold increased FVIIa-binding affinity. Surface plasmon resonance measurements indicate that the increased affinity results mostly from an increase in the association rate constant. All of these variants displayed increased inhibitor potency relative to hTFAA in an assay of Factor X activation catalyzed by the complex of FVIIa with membrane TF. In addition, these affinity improved hTFAA variants are more potent anticoagulants and have increased antithrombotic activity relative to hTFAA in an ex vivo flow chamber model of thrombosis. The potency trend parallels increases in FVIIa-binding affinity; however, the absolute fold increases in potencies are greater than increases in binding affinity, consistent with kinetic studies of the FVIIa-binding event. Through incorporation of 10 amino acid substitutions (hTFAA-3) we have increased the antithrombotic activity of hTFAA by 20-fold.
Universal Primers for the Amplification and Sequence Analysis of Actin-1 from Diverse Mosquito Species

Abstract We report the development of universal primers for the reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) amplification and nucleotide sequence analysis of actin cDNAs from taxonomically diverse mosquito species. Primers specific to conserved regions of the invertebrate actin-1 gene were designed after actin cDNA sequences of Anopheles gambiae, Bombyx mori, Drosophila melanogaster, and Caenorhabditis elegans. The efficacy of these primers was determined by RT-PCR with the use of total RNA from mosquitoes belonging to 30 species and 8 genera (Aedes, Anopheles, Culex, Deinocerites, Mansonia, Psorophora, Toxorhynchites, and Wyeomyia). The RT-PCR products were sequenced, and sequence data were used to design additional primers. One primer pair, denoted as Act-2F (5′-ATGGTCGGYATGGGNCAGAAGGACTC-3′) and Act-8R (5′-GATTCCATACCCAGGAAGGADGG-3′), successfully amplified an RT-PCR product of the expected size (683-nt) in all mosquito spp. tested. We propose that this primer pair can be used as an internal control to test the quality of RNA from mosquitoes collected in vector surveillance studies. These primers can also be used in molecular experiments in which the detection, amplification or silencing of a ubiquitously expressed mosquito housekeeping gene is necessary. Sequence and phylogenetic data are also presented in this report.
Promoter Screening from Bacillus subtilis in Various Conditions Hunting for Synthetic Biology and Industrial Applications

The use of Bacillus subtilis in synthetic biology and metabolic engineering is highly desirable to take advantage of the unique metabolic pathways present in this organism. To do this, an evaluation of B. subtilis’ intrinsic biological parts is required to determine the best strategies to accurately regulate metabolic circuits and expression of target proteins. The strengths of promoter candidates were evaluated by measuring relative fluorescence units of a green fluorescent protein reporter, integrated into B. subtilis’ chromosome. A total of 84 predicted promoter sequences located upstream of different classes of proteins including heat shock proteins, cell-envelope proteins, and proteins resistant against toxic metals (based on similarity) and other kinds of genes were tested. The expression levels measured ranged from 0.0023 to 4.53-fold of the activity of the well-characterized strong promoter P43. No significant shifts were observed when strains, carrying different promoter candidates, were cultured at high temperature or in media with ethanol, but some strains showed increased activity when cultured under high osmotic pressure. Randomly selected promoter candidates were tested and found to activate transcription of thermostable β-galactosidase (bgaB) at a similar level, implying the ability of these sequences to function as promoter elements in multiple genetic contexts. In addition, selected promoters elevated the final production of both cytoplasmic bgaB and secreted protein α-amylase to about fourfold and twofold, respectively. The generated data allows a deeper understanding of B. subtilis’ metabolism and will facilitate future work to develop this organism for synthetic biology.
Ubiquitylated PCNA plays a role in somatic hypermutation and class-switch recombination and is required for meiotic progression

Somatic hypermutation (SHM) and class-switch recombination (CSR) of Ig genes are dependent upon activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID)-induced mutations. The scaffolding properties of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and ubiquitylation of its residue K164 have been suggested to play an important role organizing the error-prone repair events that contribute to the AID-induced diversification of the Ig locus. We generated knockout mice for PCNA (Pcna−/−), which were embryonic lethal. Expression of PCNA with the K164R mutation rescued the lethal phenotype, but the mice (Pcna−/−tgK164R) displayed a meiotic defect in early pachynema and were sterile. B cells proliferated normally in Pcna−/−tgK164R mice, but a PCNA-K164R mutation resulted in impaired ex vivo CSR to IgG1 and IgG3, which was associated with reduced mutation frequency at the switch regions and a bias toward blunt junctions. Analysis of the heavy chain V186.2 region after NP-immunization showed in Pcna−/−tgK164R mice a significant reduction in the mutation frequency of A:T residues in WA motifs preferred by polymerase-η (Polη), and a strand-biased increase in the mutation frequency of G residues, preferentially in the context of AID-targeted GYW motifs. The phenotype of Pcna−/−tgK164R mice supports the idea that ubiquitylation of PCNA participates directly in the meiotic process and the diversification of the Ig locus through class-switch recombination (CSR) and somatic hypermutation (SHM).