Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Covalent Polymyxin B Conjugate with Human Immunoglobulin G as an Antiendotoxin Reagent

ABSTRACT Polymyxin B (PMB) is a cyclic decapeptide antibiotic which also binds and neutralizes endotoxin. Unfortunately, PMB can be considerably nephrotoxic at clinically utilized doses, thereby limiting its utility as a therapeutic antiendotoxin reagent. We sought to change the pharmacokinetics and toxicity profile of PMB by covalently linking it to a human immunoglobulin G (IgG) carrier. Conjugates of PMB with IgG were prepared by EDAC [1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide]-mediated amide formation. Analysis by dot enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with an anti-PMB monoclonal antibody showed that the purified conjugate contained bound PMB. The IgG-PMB conjugate reacted with lipid A and J5 lipopolysaccharide in Western blot assays in a manner comparable to that of whole antiserum with anti-lipid A reactivity; unconjugated IgG had no reactivity. The PMB bound in the conjugate retained its endotoxin-neutralizing activity compared to that of unbound PMB as evidenced by its dose-dependent inhibition of tumor necrosis factor release by endotoxin-stimulated human monocytes in vitro; unconjugated IgG had no activity. By this assay, the PMB-IgG conjugate was determined to have approximately 3.0 μg of bound functional PMB per 100 μg of total protein of conjugate (five molecules of PMB per IgG molecule). The PMB-IgG conjugate was also bactericidal against clinical strains of Escherichia coli,Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Klebsiella pneumoniae relative to unconjugated IgG with MBCs of <4 μg of conjugate per ml for each of the tested strains. The conjugate appeared to be nontoxic at the highest doses deliverable and provided statistically significant protection from death to galactosamine-sensitized, lipopolysaccharide-challenged mice in a dose-dependent fashion when administered prophylactically 2 h before challenge. However, neither free PMB nor the PMB-IgG conjugate could protect mice challenged with endotoxin 2 h after administration. This suggests that these reagents can play a role in prophylaxis but not in therapy of sepsis. These experiments demonstrated that the PMB-IgG conjugate retains bound yet functional PMB as evidenced by its endotoxin-neutralizing activity both in vitro and in vivo. Further work is required to define the role that this or related conjugate compounds may play in the prophylaxis of endotoxin-mediated disease.
Neuropsychological Testing for Assessment of Treatment Effects: Methodologic Issues

ABSTRACT Neuropsychological (NP) testing is now recognized as an important method for evaluating treatment effects. However, there are limitations to how these tests are currently used in most drug treatment protocols. Changes in cognition are typically defined in statistical terms, with little knowledge as to whether the observed differences are meaningful in any other sense. Methods for assessing changes in test scores need to account for test-retest reliability, practice effects, regression to the mean, and the impact of initial performance. All of these factors may vary according to the individual characteristics of the subject. This article reviews two methods from the NP literature that have attempted to account for these sources of test-retest bias. The reliable change index provides a confidence interval for predicted change by taking into account the test-retest reliability of the measure. Standardized regression-based measures use a more sophisticated statistical approach that enables them to better account for other potential sources of confound. Use of this methodology has been limited to studies of epilepsy surgery and sports-related concussion. These methods have the potential for enhancing the interpretation of NP test data in drug treatment protocols by providing an empirically based definition of clinically meaningful change.
Comparative study on phytochemical, antimicrobial and antioxidant activity of Sapindus mukorossi Gaertn. and Rheum emodi Wall. ex Meissn.: In vitro studies

The work designed to investigate the phytochemical evaluation, in vitro antimicrobial and antioxidant activity of Sapindus mukorossi Gaertn. and Rheum emodi Wall. ex Meissn. The preliminary Phytochemical analysis demonstrated the presence of alkaloids, carbohydra tes, glycosides, phenolic compounds, flavonoids, proteins, amino acids and lipids/fats simultaneously. Thin layer chromatography (TLC) also performed and confirmed based on the Rf values reported in the literature. Antimicrobial activity carried out for Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus cereus, Proteus valgaris, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumonia by agar diffusion method, using ciprofloxacin as standard, respectively. Both the extracts showed a broad spectrum antimicrobial activity by inhibiting the growth of test microorganisms. At the concentration of 10 µg/ml Rheum emodi and 10 µg/ml S. mukorossi extracts were showed significant rate of inhibition aga inst a ll microorganisms. The antioxidant activity of the plant extra cts were determined by DPPH assay method, using rutin as standard, respectively. IC 50 values were also calculated. In conclusion, the results indicate that, the S. mukorossi and R. emodi can be used as a potential source of natural antimicrobial compound possessing strong antioxidant potential.
Comparisons of Noninvasive Methods Used to Assess Exercise Stroke Volume in Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction

Introduction Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) plays an important role in properly phenotyping signs and symptoms of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). The prognostic value of CPET is strengthened when accompanied by cardiac hemodynamic measurements. Although recognized as the “gold” standard, cardiac catheterization is impractical for routine CPET. Thus, advancing the scientific/methodologic understanding of noninvasive techniques for exercise cardiac hemodynamic assessment is clinically impactful in HFpEF. This study tested the concurrent validity of noninvasive acetylene gas (C2H2) uptake, echocardiography (ECHO), and oxygen pulse (O2pulse) for measuring/predicting exercise stroke volume (SV) in HFpEF. Methods Eighteen white HFpEF and 18 age-/sex-matched healthy controls participated in upright CPET (ages, 69 ± 9 yr vs 63 ± 9 yr). At rest, 20 W, and peak exercise, SV was measured at steady-state via C2H2 rebreathe (SVACET) and ECHO (SVECHO), whereas O2pulse was derived (=V˙O2/HR). Results Resting relationships between SVACET and SVECHO, SVECHO and O2pulse, or SVACET and O2pulse were significant in HFpEF (R2 = 0.30, 0.36, 0.67), but not controls (R2 = 0.07, 0.01, 0.09), respectively. Resting relationships persisted to 20 W in HFpEF (R2 = 0.70, 0.53, 0.70) and controls (R2 = 0.05, 0.07, 0.21), respectively. Peak exercise relationships were significant in HFpEF (R2 = 0.62, 0.24, 0.64), but only for SVACET versus O2pulse in controls (R2 = 0.07, 0.04, 0.33), respectively. Standardized standard error of estimate between techniques was strongest in HFpEF at 20 W: SVACET versus SVECHO = 0.57 ± 0.22; SVECHO versus O2pulse = 0.71 ± 0.28; SVACET versus O2pulse = 0.56 ± 0.22. Conclusions Constituting a clinically impactful step towards construct validation testing, these data suggest SVACET, SVECHO, and O2pulse demonstrate moderate-to-strong concurrent validity for measuring/predicting exercise SV in HFpEF.
A low-cost sensor based on Time-Domain Reflectometry for water level monitoring in environmental applications

The implementation of water management techniques in various environmental applications requires the measurement of the level of water stored in artificial storage tanks (e.g. in cities, communities etc.) or natural reservoirs. In this paper, the design of a water-level sensor is presented, which is based on the Time-Domain Reflectometry (TDR) technique. The proposed TDR sensor comprises a sensing probe constructed using low-cost and widely-available multilayer and stainless steel tubes. A simple signal-conditioning circuit has been designed for interfacing the acquired measurements to a digital data-acquisition device through an I2C communication bus. Thus, the manufacturing cost and power consumption of the proposed sensor are relatively low, enabling its incorporation in Wireless Sensor Networks which are power-supplied by Renewable Energy Sources. The operation of the proposed sensor has been tested in a city-scale storage tank of drinking water. The experimental results verify that the proposed sensor achieves equivalent accuracy performance with a commercially available ultrasound water-level sensor, which, however, is of higher cost.
A novel coherent column replacement method in compressed sensing for DOA estimation

In this paper, a novel method named as coherent column replacement method is proposed to reduce the coherence of a partially deterministic sensing matrix, which is comprised of highly coherent columns and random Gaussian columns. The proposed method is to replace the highly coherent columns with random Gaussian columns to obtain a new sensing matrix. The measurement vector is changed accordingly. It is proved that the original sparse signal could be reconstructed well from the newly changed measurement vector based on the new sensing matrix with large probability. This method is then extended to more practical condition when highly coherent columns and incoherent columns are considered, e.g. the direction of arrival (DOA) estimation problem in phased array radar system using compressed sensing. Numerical simulations show that the proposed method succeeds in identifying multiple targets in a sparse radar scene, where the compressed sensing method based on the original sensing matrix fails. The proposed method also obtains more precise estimation of DOA using one snapshot compared with the traditional estimation methods such as Capon, APES and GLRT based on hundreds of snapshots.
Quality management in the NHS: the doctor's role--II.

of the Natizonal Radilological 43 National Radiological Protection Board. Board statement on radon in homes. Protection Board, 1991. Documents of the National Radiological Protection Board 1990;1(1). 41 International Commission on Radiological Protection. Lung cancer risk from 44 Department of the Environment. 7'he householder's guide to radon. 2nd ed. indoor exposure to radon daughters. ICRP publication 50. Ann ICRP London: Doh, 1990. 1987;17(No 1). 45 Roscoe RJ, Steenland K, Halperin WE. 1lung cancer mortalitv among non42 Committee on the Biological Effects of lonising Radiation. Health r'sks of'radon smoking uranium miners exposed to radon daughters. JAMA 1989;262: and other internally deposited alpha emitters (Beir 11). Washington, D)C: 629-33. National Radiological Commission, 1988. 46 Bowie C, Bowie SH. Radon and health. Iancet 1991;337:409-13.
Quantification of Islet Loss and Graft Functionality During Immune Rejection by 3-Tesla MRI in a Rat Model

Background Because metabolic markers are not suitable for early diagnosis of islet graft dysfunction, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been used to study islets that were labeled pretransplantation with superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles. However, the relation between graft functionality assessed by glycemia, and MRI signal remains unclear. Methods We transplanted hyperglycemic rats intraportally with 2500 ferucarbotran-labeled syngeneic (n=10) or allogeneic (n=12) islet equivalents or normoglycemic rats with 5000 xenogeneic human islet equivalents. Images were acquired on a clinical 3-Tesla MRI scanner. Results When rejection occurred on days 4 and 8 in xenogeneic and allogeneic recipients, 60% (57–68) and 55% (46–73) of the initial signal remained compared to 93% (71–104) and 82% (59–90) in syngeneic controls (P=0.006 and 0.03). With a cutoff value of 84% on day 4 for the diagnosis of allogeneic rejection, sensitivity of 91% and specificity of 70% were obtained. Based on MRI signal on day 4, treatment with antilymphocytic serum from day 4 allowed graft rescue in 75% of recipients. Conclusions In this model, MRI of pretransplantation superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticle–labeled islet grafts allows timely diagnosis of immune rejection.
Plasma fibrinogen level may be a possible marker for the clinical response and prognosis of patients with breast cancer receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy has been established as standard treatments for advanced breast cancer among multidisciplinary therapies. A simple and instructive biomarker for the postoperative recurrence and metastasis is needed to evaluate the therapeutic effect. Plasma fibrinogen level has been shown to be associated with tumor progression and poor outcomes in breast cancer patients. This study aims to further evaluate the clinical and prognostic value of plasma fibrinogen level as a biomarker in breast cancer patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy. In this study, data of 67 patients were retrospectively collected and analyzed to identify the relationship between the plasma fibrinogen level and the clinical progression and outcome of these patients. Patients with increased plasma fibrinogen level after neoadjuvant chemotherapy had significantly shorter disease-free survival and overall survival (p < 0.001 and p = 0.001, respectively). In a univariate survival analysis, molecular type (p = 0.0004/p = 0.005), clinical response (p = 0.008/p = 0.015), and changes in plasma fibrinogen level (p = 0.012/p = 0.007) were associated with disease-free survival and overall survival, and all of them, molecular type (p = 0.0003/p = 0.005), clinical response (p = 0.027/p = 0.021), and changes in plasma fibrinogen level (p = 0.035/p = 0.025), were associated with disease-free survival and overall survival in a multivariate survival analysis, respectively. The plasma fibrinogen level was found to be a possible biomarker for clinical response to chemotherapy and postoperative metastasis or death in advanced breast cancer patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy.
Left Ventricular Measurements in Black Sub-Saharan Africans and White Maghreb

Background: Evidence that blacks have greater left ventricular mass (LVM) than whites has been demonstrated by large population-based American studies. However, to our knowledge, there is no study to date comparing LVM in Black Sub-Saharan Africans (BSSA) and the Maghreb white population. We compared LVM measured echocardiographically in asymptomatic BSSA and Maghreb. Methods and Results: A total of 100 asymptomatic BSSA and 189 Maghreb, (18 to 55 years old), underwent resting two-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography. LVM and geometry were assessed according to the 2015 American Society of Echocardiography and the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging updated guidelines for cardiac chamber quantification. Crude or indexed LVM to body surface area or height2.7 was similar in BSSA and in Maghreb (132.7 ± 37.0 vs. 134.2 ± 35.7 g; 73.1 ± 17.8 vs. 72.9 ± 16.2 g/m2; 32.1 ± 9.8 vs. 33.6 ± 9.5 g/m2.7). However, the left ventricular posterior wall was thicker in BSSA. Patterns of left ventricular geometry (normal, concentric remodeling, or concentric or eccentric hypertrophy) were equally distributed among the two ethnic groups. Conclusions: Left ventricular posterior wall thickness but not LVM is greater in BSSA than in Maghreb.
XSplat: External Memory Multiresolution Point Visualization

With the popularity of points as graphics primitives, it is important to handle large-scale point sets that exceed available in-core (main) memory. In particular, high-performance level-of-details (LODs) visualization from out-of-core is a challenging problem. In this context we present a novel point-splatting approach, short XSplat, that breaks the main memory barrier. It is based on a paginated multiresolution point hierarchy and virtual memory mapping. The main contributions are a novel block-based sequential multiresolution point hierarchy, an efficient LOD-block paging mechanism and dynamic mapping into video-cache. XSplat is scalable by using sequentialized data structures, and it seamlessly bridges the disk-, mainand video-memory sub-systems. Experiments demonstrate the quality and efficiency that is achieved by XSplat.
Intronic Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms of Engrailed Homeobox 2 Modulate the Disease Vulnerability of Autism in a Han Chinese Population

Background: Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder with a strong genetic background that has been suggested to be associated with a susceptibility gene, engrailed homeobox 2(EN2), which maps to chromosome 7q36. Our study was aimed to explore the association between EN2 intronic single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with autism in an ethnic Han Chinese population. Methods: A total of 193 autism cases and 309 controls were recruited. Five SNPs including rs3824068, rs3824067, rs1861972, rs1861973 and rs3830031 in the intron 1 region were genotyped by using the TaqMan SNP assay. Results: Both the allelic frequencies and genotype distribution of the EN2 intronic SNPs were found to have statistically significant differences between cases and controls, except rs1861972, rs3024067 and rs3824068. According to the constructed linkage disequilibrium plot using genotype data, it was suggested that further haplotypic analyses can be performed on rs3824068, rs1861972 and rs1861973. After completed analyses by the Unphased and Phase programs and logistic regression analysis, one 2-marker haplotype A-C (β = –2.897; p = 0.013; OR = 0.055) and one 3-marker haplotype G-A-C (β = –0.491; p = 0.015; OR = 0.612) were identified that were plausibly associated with autism in the ethnic Chinese population. Conclusions: The haplotype A-C of rs1861972 and rs1861973 is the core element of the observed haplotype association in this study, which plays a role as a protective factor against autism; in addition, the haplotype G-A-C is less frequent in male cases compared to controls (38.64 vs. 52.51%), which plausibly modulate disease vulnerability to autism. However, further evidence of the haplotype association of EN2 intronic SNPs and uncertain transcription factor interaction is warranted for further clarification.
Analysis of higher order thinking skills students at junior high school in Surakarta

Higher order thinking skills (HOTS) is high level thinking that many abilities includes inside it. HOTS has 3 dimension, namely: analysis (C4), evaluation (C5) and creating ideas (C6). This research aims to analyze the results of test HOTS of students in 3 school categories, namely high, medium and low category schools. The study is descriptive with quantitative approach using 95 students as a sample from three schools. The sample consists of 32 students in high categories, 32 students in mediumcategories, and 31 students in low categories. They are selectedrandomly. The HOTS indicator comes from the revision of Bloom Taxonomy. The dimension of C4 hasthree indicators, there are differentiating, organizing,and attributing. The dimension of C5 has two indicators, there are checking and critiquing. The dimension of C6 has one indicator, there is producing. The results of this research are: 1) students in high school categories has best result in HOTS problems, 2) in middle and low school categories, students have the highest scores on attributing that is indicators at dimension C4, and 3) students at three school levels are still having difficulty taking a conclusions.
Cancer Therapy : Clinical Long-lasting Disease Stabilization in the Absence of Toxicity in Metastatic Lung Cancer Patients Vaccinated with an Epitope Derived from Indoleamine 2 , 3 Dioxygenase

Purpose: To investigate targeting of indoleamine 2,3 dioxygenase (IDO) enzyme using a synthetic peptide vaccine administered to patients with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Experimental Design: In a clinical phase I study, we treated 15HLA-A2–positive patients with stage III– IV NSCLC in disease stabilization after standard chemotherapy. Patients were treated with imiquimod ointment and subcutaneous vaccinations (100 mg IDO5 peptide, sequence ALLEIASCL, formulated in 900 mL Montanide). Primary endpoint was toxicity. Clinical benefit and immunity were assessed as secondary
Network-Level Control of Collaborative UAVs

This dissertation addresses how a single human operator can interactively control a network of collaborative unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). It provides a model of computation for network-level controllers. These network-level controllers enable a single human operator to monitor, order, and supervise the progress of an entire network of autonomous collaborative UAVs. As the human operator observes the network's progress, they may make changes by applying runtime patches to the network-level controller. The resulting network-level controller can be analyzed to verify that it meets required conditions.UAV networks produce significantly more information than any single human can concentrate on. To ease this cognitive burden, the human operator should interact with the UAVs at an appropriately high level of abstraction. They should focus on monitoring what is being done, deciding what should be done, and determining in what order. Other lower-level decisions can be automated by the network. To this end, Petri nets are used as a theoretical basis for stating network-level controllers. Petri nets have a graphical description that is extremely intuitive. They also convey exactly what is being done, what will be done, and in what order using a network-focused perspective. Developing a novel Petri net-based model of computation for network-level control is the main contribution of this work. This includes forming the syntax and semantics for network-level controllers. Other related contributions include identifying invariant and analyzable properties of the network-level controllers, proofs of their correctness, and interpretations of their meanings. These allow a human operator to understand and assert that a proposed controller is indeed correct. A runtime patching language to enable modifications by the human operator is another contribution.The theoretical concepts behind network-level controllers provide a mathematical basis for the more concrete Collaborative Sensing Language (CSL). This formal XML-based language allows a precise specification of network-level controllers for UAVs. This dissertation also describes an implementation that enabled CSL for the UAV fleet at the Center for Collaborative Control of Unmanned Vehicles (C3UV). CSL and its implementation are also original contributions. Previous related research has focused on the detailed off-line specification of individual reactive UAV behaviors. This creates a fixed preprogrammed network which produces a specific but predetermined behavior. The various existing alternatives are not well suited for interactive control of a network by a single human operator. They either suffer from no graphical description (process algebras), excessive information (hybrid systems), an individual component and not network focus (networks of finite state machines), a fixed dimension network, or a static specification that cannot be affected on-line. The novelty and usefulness of this dissertation lies in its ability to address these issues.
Design and Fabrication of ZnO-Based FBAR Microwave Devices for Mobile WiMAX Applications

In this letter, we present the design and fabrication of a novel ZnO-based film bulk acoustic wave resonator (FBAR) microwave devices. The novel FBAR devices employ a new-type of Bragg reflector with very thin chromium (Cr) layer formed between SiO2 and W films. The Cr layer seems to enhance the adhesion between SiO2 and W layers. The novel FBAR devices show good return losses (S11) and high Q-factors at the frequency range of 2.7-3.0 GHz. This approach will be very helpful for mobile worldwide interoperability for microwave access applications.