Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Benefits of Therapeutic Drug Monitoring of Vancomycin: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background and Objective The necessity of therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) for vancomycin is controversial. The objective of the current review was to evaluate the available evidence for the necessity of TDM in patients given vancomycin to treat Gram-positive infections. Methods Medline, Embase, Web of Sciences, the Cochrane Library and two Chinese literature databases (CNKI, CBM) were searched. Randomized controlled studies and observational studies that compared the clinical outcomes of TDM groups vs. non-TDM groups were included. Two reviewers independently extracted the data. The primary outcome was clinical efficacy of therapy. Secondary outcomes included vancomycin associated nephrotoxicity, duration of vancomycin therapy, length of hospital stay, and mortality. Meta-analysis was performed using the Mantel-Haenszel fixed effect method (FEM). Odds ratios (ORs) or weighted mean differences (WMD) with 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs) were calculated for categorical and continuous outcomes, respectively. Results One randomized controlled trial (RCT) and five cohort studies were included in the meta-analysis. Compared with non-TDM groups, TDM groups had significantly higher rates of clinical efficacy (OR = 2.62, 95%CI 1.34–5.11 P = 0.005) and decreased rates of nephrotoxicity (OR = 0.25, 95%CI 0.13–0.48 P<0.0001). Subgroup analyses showed that TDM group had significantly higher rates of clinical efficacy in both cohort studies subgroup (OR = 3.04, 95%CI 1.34–6.90) and in Asian population subgroup (OR = 3.04, 95%CI 1.34–6.90). TDM group had significantly decreased rates of nephrotoxicity in all subgroup. There was no significant difference in duration of vancomycin therapy (WMD = −0.40, 95%CI −2.83–2.02 P = 0.74) or length of stay (WMD = −1.01, 95%CI −7.51-5.49 P = 0.76) between TDM and non-TDM groups. Subgroup analyses showed there were no differences in duration of vancomycin therapy. Only one study reported mortality rates. Conclusions Studies to date show that TDM significantly increases the rate of clinical efficacy and decreases the rate of nephrotoxicity in patients treated with vancomycin.
Evaluation of the English-Hindi Cross Language Information Retrieval System Based on Dictionary Based Query Translation Method

International communication and multitude of information in several languages require information retrieval systems that can cross language borders. Cross-language information retrieval (CLIR) is defined as the retrieval of documents in another language than the language of the request or query in Anurag Seetha, et al (2004). The language of request is the source language and the language of documents is the target language. Among several approaches to CLIR, we opted for the method of translating queries for English-Hindi language pair based on a bilingual dictionary. This paper describes our first phase experiments with the CLIR system.
Linear phase IIR filter design: a model reduction approach

A method is presented for the design of a linear-phase IIR filter. It involves designing a FIR filter satisfying the given frequency response specifications and subsequently obtaining a significantly lower-order IIR filter using model reduction. The method is illustrated by a design example and is compared with a direct method for the design of linear-phase IIR filters using equalizers. The filter designed using the proposed technique gives a better constant group delay for an almost equal order. <<ETX>>
Paper title : Calibration , Parameter Estimation , and Accuracy Enhancement of a 4 DI Camera Turntable System

The 4DI system, a real time three-dimensional (3-D) imager, is a laser range data sensing system for making continuous geometric measurements of 3-D surfaces. This paper concentrates on the objective of improving the resolution and accuracy of this system using a camera-turntable arrangement. A fast and inexpensive way to capture dense range data for 360 viewing of an object is provided. After the system calibration procedure and parameter estimation operations, the method to improve the data resolution by object rotation is derived. By oversampling the object surface and then using a 3-D smoothing and resampling operation, the accuracy of the data can be improved maintaining a given spatial resolution. The method of removing the low credibility data points is also discussed. Keywords--3-D imaging, range data sensing and enhancement, system calibration, parameter estimation
Data mining of Personal Information : Perspectives and Legal Barriers

This In recent years nearly all companies, agents and organisations use data warehousing systems in order to imprint their clients transactions. Consequently central repositories are build for all significant parts of data that the various business systems collect. Data from a wide range of online transaction processing applications and other sources are selectively extracted and organized on the data warehouse database for use by analytical applications and user queries. This information in many aspects involves records of personal data (sometimes widely available or even seemingly harmless data that are particular to a person, e.g. addresses, telephone numbers, date of birth, family members etc.) or even confidential information (such as sexual preference, political inclinations and health records). Such personal and confidential data, though sometimes seemingly harmless (e.g. food habits) can be combined and processed in such a way as to form personal profiles that can be of great commercial value, e.g. for marketing purposes. In view of the value of such information and the need to protect citizen’s rights, EC Directive 95/46/EEC set up an administrative control mechanism aimed not only at safeguarding the use of such records, but also at controlling the transfer of personal data between individuals or companies. The directive goes even as far as to virtually ban the transfer of personal data to third countries, especially those countries that do not possess a comparable system of administrative control of the flow of personal data. Nevertheless, such efforts to erect barriers in order to stem the flow of information, even that of personal and privileged nature, seem futile. In general, there is an anticipated risk that the datagrams of information flow involving in particular the Internet, will lead in information dissemination. The pool of this kind of information will be spontaneous, redundant, unstructured and incomplete, but under exhaustive data mining methods the outcome can consist of refined clusters containing crucial information of the underlying knowledge base. One can expect that as it has already happened with MP3 (MPEG-1 Layer 3) audio signals that circulate massively on the Internet violating Intellectual Property legislation and ethics, it will be feasible to access freely and redundantly personal information about people around the globe. Key-Words: Personal Data, Data Mining and disclosure of information; cross-frontier data flow; Directive 95/46/EEC; rights of the individual & protection of privacy.
Complete loss of ischaemic preconditioning-induced cardioprotection in mice with partial deficiency of HIF-1 alpha.

AIMS We investigated whether hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha (HIF-1 alpha) plays a role in the acute phase of ischaemic preconditioning (IPC). METHODS AND RESULTS Hearts from wild-type (WT) mice and mice heterozygous for a null allele at the locus encoding HIF-1 alpha (HET) were subjected to IPC (10-min ischaemia/5 min reperfusion, or two cycles of 5 min ischaemia/5 min reperfusion), followed by 30 min ischaemia and reperfusion. Left ventricular-developed pressure, heart rate, and coronary flow rate were measured continuously. Apoptosis and infarct size were assessed by TUNEL assay, cleaved caspase 3 immunohistochemistry, and triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining. Production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in isolated cardiac mitochondria was measured by a chemiluminescence assay. The phosphatase and tensin homologue (PTEN) and AKT (protein kinase B) were analysed by immunoblot assay. IPC improved functional recovery and limited infarct size and apoptosis after prolonged ischaemia-reperfusion in WT hearts, but not in HET hearts. Mitochondrial ROS production, PTEN oxidation, and AKT phosphorylation were impaired in HET hearts. WT and HET hearts were protected by adenosine, which acts via an ROS-independent mechanism. CONCLUSION HIF-1 alpha is required for IPC-induced mitochondrial ROS production and myocardial protection against ischaemia-reperfusion injury.
Molecular Pharmacology of ABCG2 and Its Role in Chemoresistance

The ATP-binding cassette, subfamily G, isoform 2 protein (ABCG2) is an important member of the ABC transporter superfamily, which has been suggested to be involved in multidrug resistance (MDR) in cancer. Its diverse range of substrates includes many common chemotherapeutics such as imatinib, doxorubicin, and mitoxantrone. Physiologically, ABCG2 is highly expressed in areas such as the blood-brain barrier and gastrointestinal tract, where it is thought to play a role in protection against xenobiotic exposure. High ABCG2 expression has also been found in a variety of solid tumors and in hematologic malignancies and has been correlated with poorer clinical outcomes. Furthermore, ABCG2 expression is a characteristic feature of cancer stem cells, which are able to self-renew and differentiate. These cancer stem cells have been postulated to play an important role in MDR, where their inherent ABCG2 expression may allow them to survive chemotherapy and repopulate the tumor after exposure to chemotherapeutics. This observation raises the exciting possibility that by inhibiting ABCG2, cancer stem cells and other cancers may be targeted and eradicated, at which point conventional chemotherapeutics would be sufficient to eliminate the remaining tumor cells. Inhibitors of ABCG2, such as tyrosine kinase inhibitors, phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors, and the fumitremorgin-type indolyl diketopiperazine, Ko143 [(3S,6S,12aS)-1,2,3,4,6,7,12,12a-oct\x{200b}ahydro-9-methoxy-6-(2-methylpropyl)-1,4-dioxopyraz\x{200b}ino[1′,2′:1,6]pyrido[3,4-b]indole-3-propanoic acid 1,1-dimethylethyl ester], could potentially be used for this purpose. However, these agents are still awaiting comprehensive clinical assessment.
Byproducts of the University of New South Wales Extrasolar Planet Search

We report on the current status of the University of New South Wales Extrasolar Planet Search project, giving details of the methods we use to obtain millimagnitude precision photometry using the 0.5 m Automated Patrol Telescope. We use a novel observing technique to optimally broaden the PSF and thus largely eliminate photometric noise due to intra-pixel sensitivity variations on the CCD. We have observed 8 crowded Galactic fields using this technique during 2003 and 2004. Our analysis of the first of these fields (centred on the open cluster NGC 6633) has yielded 49 variable stars and 4 shallow transit candidates. Follow-up observations of these candidates have identified them as eclipsing binary systems. We use a detailed simulation of our observations to estimate our sensitivity to short-period planets, and to select a new observing strategy to maximise the number of planets detected.
Substitutes or complements: another step forward in recommendations

In this paper, we introduce the method tagging substitute-complement attributes on miscellaneous recommending relations, and elaborate how this step contributes to electronic merchandising. There are already decades of works in building recommender systems. Steadily outperforming previous algorithms is difficult under the conventional framework. However, in real merchandising scenarios, we find describing the weight of recommendation simply as a scalar number is hardly expressive, which hinders the further progress of recommender systems. We study a large log of user browsing data, revealing the typical substitute complement relations among items that can further extend recommender systems in enriching the presentation and improving the practical quality. Finally, we provide an experimental analysis and sketch an online prototype to show that tagging attributes can grant more intelligence to recommender systems by differentiating recommended candidates to fit respective scenarios.
Anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) as a predictive marker in assisted reproductive technology (ART).

BACKGROUND In women, anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) levels may represent the ovarian follicular pool and could be a useful marker of ovarian reserve. The clinical application of AMH measurement has been proposed in the prediction of quantitative and qualitative aspects in assisted reproductive technologies (ART). In men AMH is secreted in both the serum and seminal fluid. Its measurement may be useful in clinical evaluation of the infertile male. METHODS The PubMed database was systematically searched for studies published until the end of January 2009, search criteria relevant to AMH, ovarian reserve, ovarian response to gonadotrophin stimulation, spermatogenesis and azoospermia were used. RESULTS AMH seems to be a better marker in predicting ovarian response to controlled ovarian stimulation than age of the patient, FSH, estradiol and inhibin B. A similar performance for AMH and antral follicular count has been reported. In clinical practice, AMH measurement may be useful in the prediction of poor response and cycle cancellation and also of hyper-response and ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome. In the male, the wide overlap of AMH values between controls and infertile men precludes this hormone from being a useful marker of spermatogenesis. CONCLUSIONS As AMH may permit the identification of both the extremes of ovarian stimulation, a possible role for its measurement may be in the individualization of treatment strategies in order to reduce the clinical risk of ART along with optimized treatment burden. It is fundamental to clarify the cost/benefit of its use in ovarian reserve testing. Regarding the role of AMH in the evaluation of infertile men, AMH as single marker of spermatogenesis does not seem to reach a satisfactory clinical utility.
Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy with oxaliplatin and without adjuvant chemotherapy in stage IIIC ovarian cancer.

OBJECTIVE To assess the feasibility and efficacy of cytoreductive surgery (CRS) followed by hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) without adjuvant chemotherapy for relapsed or persistent advanced ovarian cancer. METHODS This observational study included stage IIIC ovarian cancer patients due to undergo CRS (interval debulking or recurrent surgery) followed by HIPEC with oxaliplatin (460 mg/m2) for 30 min. RESULTS Twenty-two patients (12 interval debulking procedures and 10 recurrence procedures) were enrolled between September 2003 and September 2007. HIPEC was not performed in four patients because of operative findings. No patient received adjuvant chemotherapy after HIPEC. Patients were followed up routinely until recurrence or death. Median peritoneal cancer index at surgery was 6 (range: 1-18). Before HIPEC, all patients had completeness of cytoreduction scores of 0 or 1. Median length of hospital stay was 21 days (range 13-65). Ten patients (55.6%) had CTCAE grade 3-4 toxicity, including three patients (16.7%) requiring reoperation. No postoperative mortality was observed. With a median follow-up of 38 months (CI 95% 23.8-39.2), median overall survival was not reached. The 3-year overall survival rate was 83% (CI 95% 54-95). Median disease-free survival was, respectively, 16.9 months (CI 95% 10.2-23.2) and 10 months (CI 95% 4.5-11.3) for patients undergoing interval debulking or recurrence surgery. CONCLUSION HIPEC without adjuvant chemotherapy is both feasible and safe, but with a high rate of grade 3-5 toxicity. Survival results are encouraging but should be confirmed in a randomized trial.
Avoidance Maneuver Planning Incorporating Station-Keeping Constraints and Automatic Relaxation

Space debris is a growing concern for the sustained operation of our satellites. The population in space is continually increasing, both on a gradual basis as new satellites are placed on orbit and in sudden bursts, as evidenced with the recent collision between the Iridium and inactive Cosmos spacecraft. The problem is most severe in densely populated orbit regimes, where many operational satellites face a sustained presence of close-orbiting objects. In general, the frequent occurrence of potential collisions with debris will have a negative impact on mission performance in two important ways. First, repeated avoidance maneuvers diminish fuel and thus reduce mission life. Second, excursions from the nominal orbit during avoidance maneuvers may violate mission requirements or payload constraints. It is therefore important to consider both fuel minimization and station-keeping objectives in the avoidance planning problem. In this paper, we formulate the avoidance maneuver planning problem as a linear prog.
Cosmic magnetic fields from velocity perturbations in the early universe

We show, using a covariant and gauge-invariant charged multifluid perturbation scheme, that velocity perturbations of the matter-dominated dust Friedmann–Lemaître–Robertson–Walker model can lead to the generation of cosmic magnetic fields. Moreover, using cosmic microwave background constraints, it is argued that these fields can reach strengths of about 10−28 G at the time the dynamo mechanism sets in, making them plausible seed field candidates.
Flânerie in the dark woods: Shattering innocence and queering time in The Path

Focusing on The Path, this article aims at moving beyond the duality between the concepts of productivity and idleness in order to explore how the practice of gaming can escape heteronormative time. Positioning the gamer as a flâneur, I argue that The Path locates the player in a queer time through the fragmentation of its narrative, but also the shattering of heteronormative imagery – such as the figure of the child as pure and innocent – and its reappropriation in a queer text. Ultimately, this article argues that gaming has the potential to be considered a site of queer practice. In order to perform this reading, I first introduce my critical framework comprised from exploring how queer lifestyles detach themselves from normative time and focusing on the practice of flânerie as queer performance.
Penetration of the blood-brain barrier: enhancement of drug delivery and imaging by bacterial glycopeptides

The blood-brain barrier restricts the passage of many pharmacological agents into the brain parenchyma. Bacterial glycopeptides induce enhanced blood-brain barrier permeability when they are present in the subarachnoid space during meningitis. By presenting such glycopeptides intravenously, blood-brain barrier permeability in rabbits was enhanced in a reversible time- and dose-dependent manner to agents < or = 20 kD in size. Therapeutic application of this bioactivity was evident as enhanced penetration of the antibiotic penicillin and the magnetic resonance imaging contrast agent gadolinium-diethylene-triamine- pentaacetic acid into the brain parenchyma.
Funny Current Downregulation and Sinus Node Dysfunction Associated With Atrial Tachyarrhythmia: A Molecular Basis for Tachycardia-Bradycardia Syndrome

Background— Sinoatrial node (SAN) dysfunction is frequently associated with atrial tachyarrhythmias (ATs). Abnormalities in SAN pacemaker function after termination of ATs can cause syncope and require pacemaker implantation, but underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. This study examined the hypothesis that ATs impair SAN function by altering ion channel expression. Methods and Results— SAN tissues were obtained from 28 control dogs and 31 dogs with 7-day atrial tachypacing (400 bpm). Ionic currents were measured from single SAN cells with whole-cell patch-clamp techniques. Atrial tachypacing increased SAN recovery time in vivo by ≈70% (P<0.01), a change which reflects impaired SAN function. In dogs that underwent atrial tachypacing, SAN mRNA expression (real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction) was reduced for hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide–gated subunits (HCN2 and HCN4) by >50% (P<0.01) and for the &bgr;-subunit minK by ≈42% (P<0.05). SAN transcript expression for the rapid delayed-rectifier (IKr) &agr;-subunit ERG, the slow delayed-rectifier (IKs) &agr;-subunit KvLQT1, the &bgr;-subunit MiRP1, the L-type (ICaL) and T-type (ICaT) Ca2+-current subunits Cav1.2 and Cav3.1, and the gap-junction subunit connexin 43 (were unaffected by atrial tachypacing. Atrial tachypacing reduced densities of the HCN-related funny current (If) and IKs by ≈48% (P<0.001) and ≈34% (P<0.01), respectively, with no change in voltage dependence or kinetics. IKr, ICaL, and ICaT were unaffected. SAN cells lacked Ba2+-sensitive inward-rectifier currents, irrespective of AT. SAN action potential simulations that incorporated AT-induced alterations in If accounted for slowing of periodicity, with no additional contribution from changes in IKs. Conclusions— AT downregulates SAN HCN2/4 and minK subunit expression, along with the corresponding currents If and IKs. Tachycardia-induced remodeling of SAN ion channel expression, particularly for the “pacemaker” subunit If, may contribute to the clinically significant association between SAN dysfunction and supraventricular tachyarrhythmias.
Nonlinear relationships between atmospheric aerosol and its gaseous precursors: Analysis of long-term air quality monitoring data by means of neural networks

Abstract. The nonlinear features of the relationships between concentrations of aerosol and volatile organic compounds (VOC) and nitrogen oxides (NO x ) in urban environments are revealed directly from data of long-term routine measurements of NO x , VOC, and total suspended particulate matter (PM). The main idea of the method is development of special empirical models based on artificial neural networks. These models, that are basically, the nonlinear extension of the commonly used linear statistical models provide the best fit for the real (nonlinear) PM-NO x -VOC relationships under different atmospheric conditions. Such models may be useful in the context of various scientific and practical problems related to atmospheric aerosols. The method is demonstrated on an example of two empirical models based on independent data-sets collected at two air quality monitoring stations at South Coast Air Basin, California. It is shown that in spite of a rather large distance between the monitoring stations (more than 50 km) and thus substantially different environmental conditions, the empirical models demonstrate several common qualitative features. Specifically, under definite conditions, a decrease in the level of NO x or VOC may lead to an increase in mass concentration of aerosol. It is argued that these features are due to the nonlinear dependence of hydroxyl radical on VOC and NO x .