Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Early vs late tracheotomy for prevention of pneumonia in mechanically ventilated adult ICU patients: a randomized controlled trial.

CONTEXT Tracheotomy is used to replace endotracheal intubation in patients requiring prolonged ventilation; however, there is considerable variability in the time considered optimal for performing tracheotomy. This is of clinical importance because timing is a key criterion for performing a tracheotomy and patients who receive one require a large amount of health care resources. OBJECTIVE To determine the effectiveness of early tracheotomy (after 6-8 days of laryngeal intubation) compared with late tracheotomy (after 13-15 days of laryngeal intubation) in reducing the incidence of pneumonia and increasing the number of ventilator-free and intensive care unit (ICU)-free days. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PATIENTS Randomized controlled trial performed in 12 Italian ICUs from June 2004 to June 2008 of 600 adult patients enrolled without lung infection, who had been ventilated for 24 hours, had a Simplified Acute Physiology Score II between 35 and 65, and had a sequential organ failure assessment score of 5 or greater. INTERVENTION Patients who had worsening of respiratory conditions, unchanged or worse sequential organ failure assessment score, and no pneumonia 48 hours after inclusion were randomized to early tracheotomy (n = 209; 145 received tracheotomy) or late tracheotomy (n = 210; 119 received tracheotomy). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The primary endpoint was incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia; secondary endpoints during the 28 days immediately following randomization were number of ventilator-free days, number of ICU-free days, and number of patients in each group who were still alive. RESULTS Ventilator-associated pneumonia was observed in 30 patients in the early tracheotomy group (14%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 10%-19%) and in 44 patients in the late tracheotomy group (21%; 95% CI, 15%-26%) (P = .07). During the 28 days immediately following randomization, the hazard ratio of developing ventilator-associated pneumonia was 0.66 (95% CI, 0.42-1.04), remaining connected to the ventilator was 0.70 (95% CI, 0.56-0.87), remaining in the ICU was 0.73 (95% CI, 0.55-0.97), and dying was 0.80 (95% CI, 0.56-1.15). CONCLUSION Among mechanically ventilated adult ICU patients, early tracheotomy compared with late tracheotomy did not result in statistically significant improvement in incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia. TRIAL REGISTRATION clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00262431.
Effect of bone diameter and eccentric loading on fatigue life of cortical screws used with interlocking nails.

OBJECTIVE To test the effects of bone diameter and eccentric loading on fatigue life of 2.7-mm-diameter cortical bone screws used for locking a 6-mm-diameter interlocking nail. SAMPLE POPULATION Eighteen 2.7-mm-diameter cortical bone screws. PROCEDURE A simulated bone model with aluminum tubing and a 6-mm-diameter interlocking nail was used to load screws in cyclic 3-point bending. Group 1 included 6 screws that were centrally loaded within 19-mm-diameter aluminum tubing. Group 2 included 6 screws that were centrally loaded within 31.8-mm-diameter aluminum tubing. Group 3 included 6 screws that were eccentrically loaded (5.5 mm from center) within 31.8-mm-diameter aluminum tubing. The number of cycles until screw failure and the mode of failure were recorded. RESULTS An increase in the diameter of the aluminum tubing from 19 to 31.8 mm resulted in a significant decrease in the number of cycles to failure (mean +/- SD, 761,215 +/- 239,853 to 16,941 +/- 2,829 cycles, respectively). Within 31.8-mm tubing, the number of cycles of failure of eccentrically loaded screws (43,068 +/- 14,073 cycles) was significantly greater than that of centrally loaded screws (16,941 +/- 2,829 cycles). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Within a bone, locking screws are subjected to different loading conditions depending on location (diaphyseal vs metaphyseal). The fatigue life of a locking screw centrally loaded in the metaphyseal region of bone may be shorter than in the diaphysis. Eccentric loading of the locking screw in the metaphysis may help to improve its fatigue life.
Behavioral Therapies for Treatment-Seeking Cannabis Users

Narrative reviews conclude that behavioral therapies (BTs) produce better outcomes than control conditions for cannabis use disorders (CUDs). However, the strength and consistency of this effect has not been directly empirically examined. The present meta-analysis combined multiple well-controlled studies to help clarify the overall impact of behavioral interventions in the treatment of CUDs. A comprehensive literature search produced 10 randomized controlled trials (RCTs; n = 2,027) that were included in the final analyses. Analyses indicated an effect of BTs (including contingency management, relapse prevention, and motivational interviewing, and combinations of these strategies with cognitive behavioral therapy) over control conditions (including waitlist [WL], psychological placebo, and treatment as usual) across pooled outcomes and time points (Hedges’ g = 0.44). These results suggest that the average patient receiving a behavioral intervention fared better than 66% of those in the control conditions. BT also outperformed control conditions when examining primary outcomes alone (frequency and severity of use) and secondary outcomes alone (psychosocial functioning). Effect sizes were not moderated by inclusion of a diagnosis (RCTs including treatment-seeking cannabis users who were not assessed for abuse or dependence vs. RCTs including individuals diagnosed as dependent), dose (number of treatment sessions), treatment format (either group vs. individual treatment or in-person vs. non-in-person treatment), sample size, or publication year. Effect sizes were significantly larger for studies that included a WL control comparison versus those including active control comparisons, such that BT significantly outperformed WL controls but not active control comparisons.
Investigations into Calcium-dependent Membrane Association of 15-Lipoxygenase-1

Among mammalian lipoxygenases the 15-lipoxygenase-1 is somewhat special because of its capability of oxygenating complex lipid-protein assemblies (biomembranes, lipoproteins) and previous investigations have implicated calcium in enzyme/membrane interaction. We investigated the mechanism of calcium-dependent membrane association and obtained the following results. (i) Membrane binding of 15-lipoxygenase-1 involves electrostatic forces as well as hydrophobic interactions of solvent-exposed apolar amino acids (Tyr15, Phe70, Leu71, Trp181, and Leu195) with the hydrophobic core of membrane phospholipids. These sequence determinants of membrane association are clustered at the membrane contact plane of the enzyme that also involves the entrance to the substrate binding pocket. Site-directed mutagenesis of these determinants to negatively charged residues strongly impaired membrane binding. (ii) Calcium at micromolar concentrations (5-50 μm) is required for efficient membrane binding. For direct 15-lipoxygenase/calcium interaction a dissociation constant of 2-5 × 10-4 m was determined (low affinity binding) and we failed to detect high affinity calcium-binding sites at the enzyme. Reversible low affinity calcium binding induces subtle structural alterations of the enzyme, which did not impact catalytic activity. (iii) Increasing calcium concentrations failed to reverse impairment of membrane binding induced by mutagenesis of the sequence determinants indicating the priority of hydrophobic interactions. Taken together these data suggest that 15-lipoxygenase-1 associates to biomembranes primarily via hydrophobic interactions between surface-exposed apolar amino acid side chains and membrane lipids. Calcium supports membrane binding probably by forming salt bridges between the negatively charged head groups of membrane phospholipids and acidic surface amino acids of the membrane contact plane and this interaction might contribute to overcome repulsive forces.
Quality, Equality and Equity in Colombian Education (Analysis of the SABER 2009 Test)

This Technical Note describes the learning inequalities faced by Colombian students and analyzes the equity in the allocation of resources among schools and their relation to learning. Using the SABER 2009database, the analysis demonstrates that there are high inequalities in students' academic results associated with their families' socioeconomic status, the type of school management, and the school's geographic zone. This relation is more important between schools than within a school, denoting a high degree of segregation of Colombian schools according to students' socioeconomic status. In terms of key school resources, there is a high inequity in their distribution with a clear disadvantage against schools with mostly poor students, as well as rural and public urban schools. This inequitable allocation of resources is associated with a greater risk of students achieving unsatisfactory SABER test results. The results of the multilevel model estimations, where the interaction between school factors and test results are jointly analyzed, indicate that better physical conditions, adequate connection to public services, a complete school day, the presence of rules in the classroom, minimal violence in schools, and greater teacher satisfaction are significantly related with higher probabilities of students achieving adequate test results. Improving these school factors, mainly among schools with poor students, has a great potential for increasing quality and equity of learning in Colombia.
Reliability analysis of digital circuits considering intrinsic noise

The scaling of digital CMOS circuits into the nanometer region causes an increase in intrinsic device noise. Existing methods to analyze the impact of noise on circuit performance use analytical estimations based on simplified cell models. In this paper we propose a characterization method for the impact of intrinsic noise based on SPICE simulation. The method considers all major noise sources in integrated circuits and is able to determine the effect of intrinsic noise on circuit reliability. Contrary to existing methods, it is general enough to analyze different logic implementation styles and device technologies. Additionally it is shown that previous methods overestimate the influence of intrinsic noise up to a factor of 4.
Predominant Acidilobus-Like Populations from Geothermal Environments in Yellowstone National Park Exhibit Similar Metabolic Potential in Different Hypoxic Microbial Communities

ABSTRACT High-temperature (>70°C) ecosystems in Yellowstone National Park (YNP) provide an unparalleled opportunity to study chemotrophic archaea and their role in microbial community structure and function under highly constrained geochemical conditions. Acidilobus spp. (order Desulfurococcales) comprise one of the dominant phylotypes in hypoxic geothermal sulfur sediment and Fe(III)-oxide environments along with members of the Thermoproteales and Sulfolobales. Consequently, the primary goals of the current study were to analyze and compare replicate de novo sequence assemblies of Acidilobus-like populations from four different mildly acidic (pH 3.3 to 6.1) high-temperature (72°C to 82°C) environments and to identify metabolic pathways and/or protein-encoding genes that provide a detailed foundation of the potential functional role of these populations in situ. De novo assemblies of the highly similar Acidilobus-like populations (>99% 16S rRNA gene identity) represent near-complete consensus genomes based on an inventory of single-copy genes, deduced metabolic potential, and assembly statistics generated across sites. Functional analysis of coding sequences and confirmation of gene transcription by Acidilobus-like populations provide evidence that they are primarily chemoorganoheterotrophs, generating acetyl coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA) via the degradation of carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins, and auxotrophic with respect to several external vitamins, cofactors, and metabolites. No obvious pathways or protein-encoding genes responsible for the dissimilatory reduction of sulfur were identified. The presence of a formate dehydrogenase (Fdh) and other protein-encoding genes involved in mixed-acid fermentation supports the hypothesis that Acidilobus spp. function as degraders of complex organic constituents in high-temperature, mildly acidic, hypoxic geothermal systems.
First Cretaceous fish fauna from Malaysia

ABSTRACT Cretaceous fish fossils are reported from Malaysia for the first time. They were found with dinosaur and turtle remains in nonmarine sediments in the interior of Pahang State, Peninsular Malaysia. This fish assemblage consists mostly of isolated teeth, with minor amounts of noncranial remains, including vertebral centra, scales, coprolites, and hybodont fin spines. Over 100 fish teeth were examined. Nine taxa were confirmed from this fish assemblage: six (identified and unidentified) species of hybodont sharks, Heteroptychodus kokutensis, Isanodus paladeji, Lonchidion aff. khoratensis, Mukdahanodus aff. trisivakulii, Egertonodus sp. , and Hybodontidae indet. , and three species of actinopterygians (ray-finned fishes): ‘Lepidotes’ sp. , Halecomorphi indet. , and Ginglymodi indet. This fish assemblage has strong affinities with Early Cretaceous (Barremian–early Aptian) faunas of Thailand, because the four hybodont species, H. kokutensis, I. paladeji, L. khoratensis, and M. trisivakulii, were previously known only from the Sao Khua Formation (Khorat Group) and equivalent strata of Ko Kut (Kut Island). Egertonodus has been confirmed in Asia for the first time. Overall, this fish assemblage shows a close linkage to Early Cretaceous (Barremian–early Aptian) faunas of Thailand. Based on faunal composition and biostratigraphic correlation, we suggest a Barremian–early Aptian age for this new fauna from Malaysia.
Dual element MIMO planar inverted-F antenna for 5G millimeter wave application

This work presents a 28 GHz Dual Element Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) Planar Inverted-F Antenna for millimeter wave 5G mobile terminal. The antenna design employs PIFA design concept as it is a common antenna type use for mobile phone as it provides wide bandwidth and good performance. The antenna design begins with a characterization of the single element PIFA design and then extended to Dual Element MIMO PIFA design. The single element PIFA design is enhanced to MIMO design by extending the ground plane and locate the second PIFA at the other end. Isolation between the antenna elements of the MIMO PIFA is analyzed by varying the gap distance between the antenna elements. The result for Envelope Correlation Coefficient, Diversity Gain and Multiplexing Efficiency is also presented. The simulation computed using Computer Simulation Technology (CST) Microwave Studio software.
Antioxidant System within Yeast Peroxisome

Candida boidinii Pmp20 (CbPmp20), a protein associated with the inner side of peroxisomal membrane, belongs to a recently identified protein family of antioxidant enzymes, the peroxiredoxins, which contain one cysteine residue. Pmp20 homologs containing the putative peroxisome targeting signal type 1 have also been identified in mammals and lower eukaryotes. However, the physiological function of these Pmp20 family proteins has been unclear. In this study, we investigated the biochemical and physiological functions of recombinant CbPmp20 protein in methanol-induced peroxisomes of C. boidinii using thePMP20-deleted strain of C. boidinii(pmp20Δ strain). The His6-tagged CbPmp20 fusion protein was found to have glutathione peroxidase activityin vitro toward alkyl hydroperoxides and H2O2. Catalytic activity and dimerization of His6-CbPmp20 depended on the only cysteine residue corresponding to Cys53. The pmp20Δ strain was found to have lost growth ability on methanol as a carbon and energy source. The pmp20Δ growth defect was rescued by CbPmp20, but neither CbPmp20 lacking the peroxisome targeting signal type 1 sequence nor CbPmp20 haboring the C53S mutation retrieved the growth defect. Interestingly, the pmp20Δ strain had a more severe growth defect than the cta1Δ strain, which lacks catalase, another antioxidant enzyme within the peroxisome. During incubation of these strains in methanol medium, thecta1Δ strain accumulated H2O2, whereas the pmp20Δ strain did not. Therefore, it is speculated to be the main function of CbPmp20 is to decompose reactive oxygen species generated at peroxisomal membrane surface,e.g. lipid hydroperoxides, rather than to decompose H2O2. In addition, we detected a physiological level of reduced glutathione in peroxisomal fraction of C. boidinii. These results may indicate a physiological role for CbPmp20 as an antioxidant enzyme within peroxisomes rich in reactive oxygen species.
Long-term prediction of blood pressure time series using multiple fuzzy functions

Long-term prediction of mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) time series can help clinicians to select a proper treatment based on their diagnosis. In this way, this paper firstly introduces a new prediction method for time series prediction based on fuzzy functions (FF) in multi-model mode and applies it for forecasting MAP time series as a new application. The proposed model consists of three steps. First step is to estimate the missing values in MAP time series by a linear interpolation method and to denoise it by using the empirical mode decomposition (EMD) procedure. Second step is to reconstruct the phase space. Last step is to apply a predictive model based on fuzzy functions (FFs). This model consists of two parts: 1) identifying the model structure by Gustafson-Kessel (GK) clustering and 2) estimating the output of each cluster by multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS). Results show that, the proposed FF-based MARS model is more accurate than ANFIS and FF-based ANFIS, and its results are in the range of standard values. Beside, by using different strategies for long-term prediction, multiple FF-based MARS models has best result in comparison to recursive and multiple-recursive strategies.
In vitro activation of cytotoxic T-lymphocytes by hTERT-pulsed dendritic cells

Multiple myeloma has been considered a weakly immunogenic malignancy that can cause profound defects in the immune system. An important issue for the immunotherapy of myeloma is the identification of appropriate tumor-associated antigens (TAAs). Recently, hTERT (human telomerase reverse transcriptase) was detected on a majority of human malignancies. In the studies reported here, we studied antigen-specific and HLA-A2-restricted cytotoxic activity against an ARH77 myeloma cell line in vitro. An HLA-A2-specific hTERT-derived nonapeptide (540ILAKFLHWL548) was used as a TAA. Myeloma-specific cytotoxic activity of hTERT-reactive cytotoxic lymphocytes (CTLs) was established by repeated stimulation of the CTLs via dendritic cells loaded with hTERT-derived nonapeptide. These studies were able to demonstrate that hTERT-reactive T-lymphocytes can be identified and expanded using relatively simple in vitro techniques consisting of antigen-specific stimulation, immunomagnetic sorting, and then induction of rapid expansion.
Predicting Early Adolescent Gang Involvement From Middle School Adaptation

This study examined the role of adaptation in the first year of middle school (Grade 6, age 11) to affiliation with gangs by the last year of middle school (Grade 8, age 13). The sample consisted of 714 European American (EA) and African American (AA) boys and girls. Specifically, academic grades, reports of antisocial behavior, and peer relations in 6th grade were used to predict multiple measures of gang involvement by 8th grade. The multiple measures of gang involvement included self-, peer, teacher, and counselor reports. Unexpectedly, self-report measures of gang involvement did not correlate highly with peer and school staff reports. The results, however, were similar for other and self-report measures of gang involvement. Mean level analyses revealed statistically reliable differences in 8th-grade gang involvement as a function of the youth gender and ethnicity. Structural equation prediction models revealed that peer nominations of rejection, acceptance, academic failure, and antisocial behavior were predictive of gang involvement for most youth. These findings suggest that the youth level of problem behavior and the school ecology (e.g., peer rejection, school failure) require attention in the design of interventions to prevent the formation of gangs among high-risk young adolescents.
Improving Distributed Representations of Tweets - Present and Future

Unsupervised representation learning for tweets is an important research field which helps in solving several business applications such as sentiment analysis, hashtag prediction, paraphrase detection and microblog ranking. A good tweet representation learning model must handle the idiosyncratic nature of tweets which poses several challenges such as short length, informal words, unusual grammar and misspellings. However, there is a lack of prior work which surveys the representation learning models with a focus on tweets. In this work, we organize the models based on its objective function which aids the understanding of the literature. We also provide interesting future directions, which we believe are fruitful in advancing this field by building high-quality tweet representation learning models.
Ceramide kinase promotes Ca2+ signaling near IgG-opsonized targets and enhances phagolysosomal fusion in COS-1 cellss⃞

Ceramide-1-phosphate (C1P) is a novel bioactive sphingolipid formed by the phosphorylation of ceramide catalyzed by ceramide kinase (CERK). In this study, we evaluated the mechanism by which increased C1P during phagocytosis enhances phagocytosis and phagolysosome formation in COS-1 cells expressing hCERK. Stable transfectants of COS-1 cells expressing FcγRIIA or both FcγRIIA/hCERK expression vectors were created. Cell fractionation studies demonstrated that hCERK and the transient receptor potential channel (TRPC-1) were enriched in caveolae fractions. Our data establish that both CERK and TRPC-1 localize to the caveolar microdomains during phagocytosis and that CERK also colocalizes with EIgG in FcγRIIA/hCERK-bearing COS-1 cells. Using high-speed fluorescence microscopy, FcγRIIA/hCERK transfected cells displayed Ca2+ sparks around the phagosome. In contrast, cells expressing FcγRIIA under identical conditions displayed little periphagosomal Ca2+ signaling. The enhanced Ca2+ signals were accompanied by enhanced phagolysosome formation. However, the addition of pharmacological reagents that inhibit store-operated channels (SOCs) reduced the phagocytic index and phagolysosomal fusion in hCERK transfected cells. The higher Ca2+ signal observed in hCERK transfected cells as well as the fact that CERK colocalized with EIgG during phagocytosis support our hypothesis that Ca2+ signaling is an important factor for increasing phagocytosis and is regulated by CERK in a manner that involves SOCs/TRPCs.