Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A taxonomic revision of the Yasuni Round-eared bat, Lophostoma yasuni (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae).

The Yasuni Round-eared bat, Lophostoma yasuni, was described in 2004 by morphological analysis of the holotype, the only specimen attributed to this taxon to date. A molecular analysis using cytochrome-b sequences and a new morpholo-gical analysis that includes the holotype of L. yasuni and two specimens of L. carrikeri from near the type locality of L. yasuni were carried out. The new molecular and morphological evidence places L. yasuni within the clade of L. carrikeri. We propose that L. yasuni should therefore be considered as a synonym of L. carrikeri. An emended diagnosis for L. carrikeri extending ranges of craniodental measurements for this species is presented.
Long‐term follow‐up of DYT1 dystonia patients treated by deep brain stimulation: An open‐label study

Long‐term efficacy of internal globus pallidus (GPi) deep‐brain stimulation (DBS) in DYT1 dystonia and disease progression under DBS was studied. Twenty‐six patients of this open‐label study were divided into two groups: (A) with single bilateral GPi lead, (B) with a second bilateral GPi lead implanted owning to subsequent worsening of symptomatology. Dystonia was assessed with the Burke Scale. Appearance of new symptoms and distribution according to body region were recorded. In the whole cohort, significant decreases in motor and disability subscores (P < 0.0001) were observed at 1 year and maintained up to 10 years. Group B showed worsening of the symptoms. At 1 year, there were no significant differences between Groups A (without subsequent worsening) and B; at 5 years, a significant difference was found for motor and disability scores. Within Group B, four patients exhibited additional improvement after the second DBS surgery. In the 26 patients, significant difference (P = 0.001) was found between the number of body regions affected by dystonia preoperatively and over the whole follow‐up. DBS efficacy in DYT1 dystonia can be maintained up to 10 years (two patients). New symptoms appear with long‐term follow‐up and may improve with additional leads in a subgroup of patients. © 2009 Movement Disorder Society
Incidental learning from the coding subtest of the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status

ABSTRACT Incidental learning (IL) measures provide complementary assessment data reflecting subconscious encoding of information using methods that differ from the procedures of many traditional memory tests. We examined the concurrent validity of an IL measure based on the coding subtest of the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS). Participants included veterans referred for outpatient neuropsychological testing. Performance on the IL procedures correlated more strongly with memory indices than other indices on the RBANS. Patients with at least four correct responses very rarely had significant memory impairments. Thus, IL appears to contribute to the overall assessment of memory and requires little administration time.
Pediatric Cardiac Surgery

Now, in this thoroughly revised fourth edition, you again get trusted, complete coverage of the field with timely new features and expert reviews of critical topics including heart transplantation, emerging modalities for diagnosing congenital heart and tracheal defects, the surgical technique of Fontan conversion with arrhythmia surgery, the medical challenges of managing adult CHD patients, and more.
An Efficient and Accurate Method for the Estimation of Entropy and Other Dynamical Invariants for Piecewise Affine Chaotic Maps

In this paper, we discuss an efficient iterative method for the estimation of the chief dynamical invariants of chaotic systems based on stochastically stable piecewise affine maps (e.g. the invariant measure, the Lyapunov exponent as well as the Kolmogorov–Sinai entropy). The proposed method represents an alternative to the Monte-Carlo methods and to other methods based on the discretization of the Frobenius–Perron operator, such as the well known Ulam's method. The proposed estimation method converges not slower than exponentially and it requires a computation complexity that grows linearly with the iterations. Referring to the theory developed by C. Liverani, we discuss a theoretical tool for calculating a conservative estimation of the convergence rate of the proposed method. The proposed approach can be used to efficiently estimate any order statistics of a symbolic source based on a piecewise affine mixing map.
An 8-bit 300MS/s Switched-Current Pipeline ADC in 0.18µm CMOS

In this paper, capabilities of switched-current (SI) circuits are utilized to design a high-speed A/D converter. New methods to improve the performance of the SI circuits are introduced. An 8-bit 300MS/s pipeline ADC is design in 0.18um CMOS technology and an ENOB of 7.3b is obtained from simulations. The ADC consumes 40mW from a 1.8V supply.
The Evidence Base for Interventions Targeting Individuals With Work-Related PTSD: A Systematic Review and Recommendations

The purpose of this study was to summarize the evidence base for interventions targeting individuals with work-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), to make recommendations for clinicians and administrative decision makers involved in their rehabilitation, and to guide future research in this area. Particular attention was given to studies that were conducted in naturalistic clinical settings or in a workers’ compensation claim context. Electronic searches of Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, PubMed, PsycINFO, CINAHL, PILOTS, and EMBASE identified 11 articles. Study populations included railroad personnel, police officers, disaster workers, and individuals with industrial injuries. Interventions included trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing. Several studies specifically targeted workers who had failed to return to work (RTW) after standard PTSD treatment. The results suggest that psychotherapy interventions are beneficial for helping clients recover from PTSD symptoms and RTW. In studies that reported on work status, RTW rates increased over time and generally lay between 58% and 80% across follow-up time points. Narrative impressions were supplemented by calculation of Risk Differences for individuals working at pretreatment versus posttreatment. Clinical consideration, methodological issues limiting the current body of work, and recommendations for future research are discussed.
Staphylococcal alpha-toxin elicits hypertension in isolated rabbit lungs. Evidence for thromboxane formation and the role of extracellular calcium.

Staphylococcal alpha-toxin is known to damage mammalian cell membranes. Studies of erythrocytes indicate that the native toxin generates a discrete transmembrane channel with an effective diameter of 2-3 nm. (Füssle, R., S. Bhakdi, A. Szeigoleit, J. Tranum-Jensen, T. Kranz, and H.J. Wellensiek. 1981. J. Cell Biol. 91:83-94.) In isolated rabbit lungs, perfused with recirculating blood- and plasma-free perfusion fluid, the mediation of a toxin-provoked vascular pressor response by the triggering of the arachidonic acid cascade and its dependence on extracellular calcium were investigated. Dose-dependent pulmonary artery pressor responses were elicited by the injection of 0.5-5 micrograms staphylococcal alpha-toxin into the pulmonary artery. The pressor responses were completely abolished by preincubation of the toxin with neutralizing antibodies or by preformation of alpha-toxin hexamers in vitro. They were accompanied by the release of the arachidonic acid metabolites thromboxane B2 and 6-keto-prostaglandin F1 alpha (stable metabolites of thromboxane A2 and prostaglandin I2, respectively) into the perfusion fluid. They were blocked by inhibitors of thromboxane synthetase, cyclooxygenase, and phospholipase, as well as by substances that interfere with calcium-calmodulin function. alpha-Toxin induced selective release of potassium, but not lactatedehydrogenase into the medium. Calcium depletion of the intravascular space did not suppress the toxin-dependent potassium release but did abrogate the pressor response and the release of the arachidonic acid metabolites. When calcium was reintroduced into the circulation without the application of a second toxin stimulus, marked pressor responses paralleled by the release of arachidonic acid metabolites occurred. The conclusion drawn from these studies is that staphylococcal alpha-toxin provokes pulmonary vascular hypertension which is apparently mediated by thromboxane A2 formation, which surpasses the biological effect of the simultaneously formed prostaglandin I2. The triggering of the arachidonic acid cascade is strictly dependent on extracellular calcium and may be mediated by a nonphysiological calcium bypass through transmembrane toxin channels with subsequent stimulation of phospholipase activity.
Adjuvant Chemoradiation in Gastric Cancer: Long-term Outcomes and Prognostic Factors from a Single Institution

Background Adjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) improves relapse-free (RFS) and overall survival (OS) in patients with resected gastric cancer. However, difficulties in standardizing an optimal surgical approach and a perceived higher toxicity compared with the perioperative approach have limited its widespread application in Europe. The aim of our study was to assess toxicity and long-term outcomes of adjuvant CRT at our institution. Methods A retrospective review (September 2001-January 2012) was completed of patients with resected gastric cancer who received adjuvant CRT (Macdonald regimen). Adverse events and completion rates, RFS and OS were estimated. Univariate and multivariate analyses of prognostic factors for OS were performed. Results Eighty-seven patients were included. Most had diffuse (52%) and locally advanced tumors (stage III-IV; 66.7%). D2 lymphadenectomy was performed in 80.5%. The most frequent grade 3-4 toxicities were gastrointestinal (28%) and stomatitis (20%), with 78.2% completing treatment. With a median follow-up of 115 months, 58.5% had relapsed, most of them distantly. Median RFS and OS were 9 and 24 months, respectively. Univariate analysis showed that performance status, stage and lymph node burden were significant factors for OS. In the multivariate study, only stage and lymph node burden remained as independent OS predictors. Conclusions Our implementation of the Macdonald regimen achieved worse outcomes than those reported in the INT-0116 trial. The rate of distant relapse remains unacceptably high. Higher rate of positive lymph nodes and of diffuse tumors could explain some differences. The use of perioperative chemotherapy, especially in patients with a poorer prognosis, might improve these results.
Cumulative effects and predictive value of common obesity-susceptibility variants identified by genome-wide association studies.

BACKGROUND Large-scale genome-wide association studies have identified 12 genetic loci that are robustly associated with body mass index (BMI). OBJECTIVES We examined associations and compared effect sizes of these newly identified obesity susceptibility loci with various anthropometric traits and assessed their cumulative effects and predictive value for obesity risk. DESIGN We genotyped 12 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from each locus in 20,431 individuals (age: 39-79 y) from the population-based European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-Norfolk cohort. General linear model and logistic regression were used to examine associations, and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was used to assess the predictive value of these variants for obesity risk. RESULTS Effect sizes of the risk alleles ranged between 0.058 and 0.329 for BMI (in kg/m(2)), between 0.094 and 0.866 kg for weight, and between 0.085 and 0.819 cm for waist circumference, with rs1121980 (FTO locus) showing the largest effect. Risk alleles of rs7132908 (FAIM2 locus) and rs17782313 (MC4R locus) were also associated with taller height. On average, each additional risk allele was associated with increases of 0.149 in BMI (P = 1.54 x 10(-22)), 0.444 kg in body weight (P = 9.88 x 10(-22)), and 0.357 cm in waist circumference (P = 1.10 x 10(-18)) and 10.8% (P = 9.83 x 10(-16)) and 5.5% (P = 3.38 x 10(-10)) increased risks of obesity and overweight, respectively. All SNPs combined explained 0.9% of BMI variation, with an AUC of 0.574 (95% CI: 0.559, 0.590) for prediction of obesity. CONCLUSIONS Common variants for BMI have small effects on obesity measures and show different association patterns with anthropometric traits, with the largest effect shown for the FTO locus. These variants have cumulative effects, yet their predictive value for obesity risk is limited.
Infliximab in moderately severe glucocorticoid resistant ulcerative colitis: a randomised controlled trial

Background: Tumour necrosis factor production is increased in the mucosa of patients with active ulcerative colitis. The benefits of infliximab in Crohn’s disease are established. We investigated its efficacy in ulcerative colitis. Methods: We conducted a randomised placebo controlled trial of infliximab (5 mg/kg) in the treatment of glucocorticoid resistant ulcerative colitis. Infusions were given at weeks 0 and 2. Disease activity and quality of life were recorded over eight weeks of follow up. Remission was defined as an ulcerative colitis symptom score (UCSS) of ⩽2 and/or Baron score of 0 at week 6. Patients not in remission were offered open label infliximab 10 mg/kg and reviewed two weeks later. Results: After two weeks, there was no statistically significant difference between the infliximab and placebo groups in the proportion of patients with a Baron score of 0 (13% (3/23) v 5% (1/19) (95% confidence interval (CI) −9% to 24%); p=0.74). After six weeks, remission (UCSS ⩽2) rates were 39% (9/23) versus 30% (6/20) (95% CI −19 to 34%; p=0.76). The median improvement in UCSS was 3 for the infliximab group and 2.5 for the placebo group (p=0.82, Mann-Whitney U test). A Baron score of 0 was likely in either group (26% (6/23) v 30% (6/20) (95% CI −30% to 23%); p=0.96). Improvement in the IBDQ and EuroQol was not significantly different between the groups (p=0.22 and 0.3, respectively, Mann-Whitney U test). Twenty eligible patients were given open labelled infusions. Remission was achieved in 3/11 (27%) patients initially treated with infliximab and in 1/9 (11%) patients treated with placebo. Conclusion: These data do not support the use of infliximab in the management of moderately active glucocorticoid resistant ulcerative colitis.
Target maneuvering estimation algorithm based on target motion characteristics analysis

In this paper, the maneuvering target estimation algorithms is studied based on the near space hypersonic vehicle trajectory. Firstly, we analyze the possible maneuver forms. Basic description of typical target maneuvering scenarios is given such as cross range maneuver, longitudinal skip maneuver and terminal dive maneuver. Then, mathematical models of target maneuver estimation problems are obtained by combining the missile-target relative motion model and target maneuvering models. Moreover, this paper presents a target maneuvering estimation algorithm based on interacting multiple model with unscented Kalman filter (IMM-UKF). Finally, a simulation with different forms of target maneuvering is given to illustrate the effectiveness of the given filtering algorithm.
Real‐time PCR quantification of haematopoietic chimerism after transplantation: a comparison between TaqMan and hybridization probes technologies

This study aimed to compare the sensitivity and accuracy of two methods of quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction (qrt‐PCR), in order to determine haematopoietic chimerism (CH): single nucleotide polymorphisms using TaqMan (TM) probes and insertion/deletion polymorphisms using Hybridization (Hyb) probes. A total of 106 samples from 20 patients who underwent allogenic stem cell transplantation (n = 14) or live‐donor liver transplantation (n = 6) were studied. The mean level of chimerism was 8.37% for the TM method and 7.73% in the Hyb method, which was not significantly different (P = 0.69). The Pearson correlation coefficient between the two methods was r = 0.91 (P < 0.001). The estimation of the regression line, using the Passing and Balbock method was Intercept A −0.0381 [95% confidence interval (CI) −0.1265 to 0.0296) and Slope B: 1.04609(95% CI 0.9349–1.161). Bland–Altman data showed that the standard deviations, which differed between the two methods (%Hyb–%TM), were 0.98 and −1.28. The accuracy and sensitivity of qrt‐PCR chimerism is independent of the method used if the optimization is adequate and satisfies the criteria for adequate study. Real‐time PCR, independent of the method adopted, is a very good tool for study levels of CH.
DEMO: Using NexMon, the C-based WiFi firmware modification framework

FullMAC WiFi chips have the potential to realize modifications to WiFi implementations that exceed the limits of current standards or to realize the implementation of new standards, such as 802.11p, on off-the-shelve hardware. As a developer, one, however, needs access to the firmware source code to implement these modifications. In general, WiFi firmwares are closed source and do not allow any modifications. With our C-based programming framework, NexMon, we allow the extension of existing firmware of Broadcom's FullMAC WiFi chips. In this work, we demonstrate how to get started by running existing example projects and by creating a new project to transmit arbitrary frames with a Nexus 5 smartphone.
Costos de atención y carga de enfermedad de pacientes asmáticos del Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Respiratorias

Antecedentes: El concepto carga de enfermedad resume mortalidad y morbilidad, cuantificando el impacto de la discapacidad generada, y origina un indicador de expectativa de vida saludable. Objetivo: Determinar la magnitud de la carga de enfermedad generada por el asma en pacientes hospitalizados en el Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Respiratorias entre junio de 2006 y junio de 2007. Metodos: Estudio retrospectivo en el que se eligieron al azar 41 expedientes clinicos, de donde se obtuvieron datos clinicos, factores asociados a las exacerbaciones de asma y datos sobre costos. El analisis estadistico fue simple y bivariado. La probabilidad de exacerbacion se calculo con el metodo de Kaplan-Meier. La carga economica indirecta incluyo anos de vida perdidos, vividos y ajustados por discapacidad. Resultados: El asma causo 9.7% del total de internamientos, la mayoria fueron mujeres de bajo nivel socioeconomico de la zona metropolitana y estados circunvecinos, con promedio ± desviacion estandar de 1.98 ± 1.80 ingresos a urgencias y 1.12 ± 0.33 hospitalizaciones; 9.24 ± 5.62 dias de estancia, y 12 ± 6.33 dias de incapacidad, hubo una perdida de 22.0 anos de vida potencial y 23.49 anos vividos y ajustados por discapacidad. Las exposiciones ambientales fueron a polucion, asbesto e industriales. El tabaquismo pasivo afectaba al 80%. La probabilidad de antecedentes hereditarios positivos fue 16.20 veces mayor en la zona metropolitana, p ‹ 0.01; la mitad de los pacientes presentaron otra exacerbacion en 4.5 meses; los factores que las predispusieron fueron rinitis alergica, obesidad y falta de adherencia al tratamiento. Conclusiones: El asma genero un alto costo institucional, afecto a poblacion de bajos recursos y estuvo asociada a factores controlables: tabaquismo, obesidad, rinitis alergica, falta de autocuidado y adherencia al tratamiento
Inverse Biometrics for mouse Dynamics

Various techniques have been proposed in different literature to analyze biometric samples collected from individuals. However, not a lot of attention has been paid to the inverse problem, which consists of synthesizing artificial biometric samples that can be used for testing existing biometric systems or protecting them against forgeries. In this paper, we present a framework for mouse dynamics biometrics synthesis. Mouse dynamics biometric is a behavioral biometric technology, which allows user recognition based on the actions received from the mouse input device while interacting with a graphical user interface. The proposed inverse biometric model learns from random raw samples collected from real users and then creates synthetic mouse actions for fake users. The generated mouse actions have unique behavioral properties separate from the real mouse actions. This is shown through various comparisons of behavioral metrics as well as a Kolmogorov–Smirnov test. We also show through a two-fold cross-validation test that by submitting sample synthetic data to an existing mouse biometrics analysis model we achieve comparable performance results as when the model is applied to real mouse data.
A novel radical group encoding method for protein secondary structure prediction

In this paper, a new coding method called radical group encoding is used for protein secondary structure prediction. The radical group encoding is used to encode 20 common amino acids, it has 42 features and every feature shows the protein composition. We use the new encoding method to predict the secondary structure. Almost all amino acids can be represented by the coding, it contains the information of stable structure of atoms which exists in amino acids or proteins. The 3 fold cross validation experiments are used with different window length, we will use the Bayes classifier and support vector machine(SVM) to predict the secondary structure of proteins. We will compare the new radical group encoding with the quadrature encoding. After the two experiments, we can conclude that the new radical group encoding method, which contains the information of the internal stable structure of amino acid, has more 1.2% accuracy than the quadrature encoding.
Direct extraction of bacterial plasmids from food for polymerase chain reaction amplification

In this report we describe a simple and rapid technique using DNA affinity columns that permits direct extraction of bacterial plasmids from a variety of foods for polymerase chain reaction amplification. The procedure was used to detect virulent enteroinvasive Escherichia coli in several artificially seeded matrices, including seafoods, greens, dairy products, enrichment media, and water. Polymerase inhibitors present in both foods and enrichment media were removed efficiently.