Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Therapeutic Use of Endoscopic Ultrasonography in Pediatric Patients is Safe: A Case Series

Background/Aim: Despite the safety and high diagnostic yield of endoscopic ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration (EUS FNA) for the evaluation of gastrointestinal diseases in adults, literature discussing the therapeutic use of EUS FNA in pediatrics remains limited. This study reports our experience with the use of EUS in children with pancreaticobiliary disorders. Patients and Methods: A retrospective study was conducted to evaluate safety, clinical utility, and impact of therapeutic EUS on the management of children (<18 years) at a tertiary referral center. Data were collected from January 1, 2011, to April 30, 2014. Patient demographics, clinical characteristics, and EUS procedure data were reviewed. Continuous variables were described using the mean and standard deviation. Categorical variables were described using frequencies and percentages. Results: A total of 6 therapeutic EUS procedures were performed in 5 children (3 F/2 M). The mean age was 13 years (range 6–17) with a mean body mass index of 28.2 (range 18.5–38.8). The indications for EUS procedures were abdominal pain with chronic pancreatitis (3) and management of symptomatic pancreaticobiliary cysts/pseudocysts observed on previous imaging (3). All procedures were performed under general anesthesia. The 6 therapeutic procedures performed were celiac plexus block (3), cyst gastrostomy with stents placement (2), and cyst aspiration using EUS FNA (1). A celiac plexus block effectively relieved abdominal pain in 2 patients with chronic pancreatitis. Cyst gastrostomy successfully resulted in pseudocyst resolution in the follow up imaging of 2 patients (up to 6 months after the procedure). Cyst aspiration with EUS guided FNA resulted in cyst resolution and confirmation of the benign nature of the cyst in 1 patient. All the procedures were successfully completed with no reported complications. Conclusion: The therapeutic use of endoscopic ultrasound in the pediatric population is safe and has a high success rate.
The Neuroprotective Marine Compound Psammaplysene A Binds the RNA-Binding Protein HNRNPK

In previous work, we characterized the strong neuroprotective properties of the marine compound Psammaplysene A (PA) in in vitro and in vivo models of neurodegeneration. Based on its strong neuroprotective activity, the current work attempts to identify the physical target of PA to gain mechanistic insight into its molecular action. Two distinct methods, used in parallel, to purify protein-binding partners of PA led to the identification of HNRNPK as a direct target of PA. Based on surface plasmon resonance, we find that the binding of PA to HNRNPK is RNA-dependent. These findings suggest a role for HNRNPK-dependent processes in neurodegeneration/neuroprotection, and warrant further study of HNRNPK in this context.
Performance analysis of MIMO wireless with spatially-correlated channels. Part II. Separate-decoding

For pt.I, see ibid., p.3504-8 (2004). In Part I of this paper, we analyzed the asymptotic mutual information of the joint-decoding MIMO systems. Here in Part II, we focus on the performance analysis of the MIMO systems with various separate decoding schemes, i.e., with various suboptimum spatial equalizers followed by a bank of temporal decoders. Among the suboptimum spatial equalizers, under the proposed framework, we cover both 1) linear spatial equalizers such as linear MMSE spatial equalizer, linear zero-forcing spatial equalizer, and matched-filter equalizer, and 2) nonlinear spatial equalizers such as individually optimal spatial equalizer and marginal optimal spatial equalizer. Closed-form solutions are derived for all the possible combinations of 1) various transmit-side arbitrary input distributions and 2) the receive-side decoding schemes listed above. Important physical meanings revealed though the closed-form solutions to those more practical combinations, as how the input-output mutual information is affected by the transmit-side and the receive-side channel spatial correlations, are highlighted along our derivation.
Business Sustainable Competitiveness a Synergistic, Long-Run Approach of a Company's Resources and Results

Abstract Business sustainable competitiveness is a very complex concept. This complexity generates a variety of possibilities to define, to measure and to test it. The purpose of the paper is to develop the concept of businessness (for business sustainable competitiveness) by leveraging productivity, profitability, effectiveness and sustainability, at firm level. The interrelations between them, in terms of revenues per employee, return on assets, total assets turnover and Dow Jones Sustainability Index, were integrated into models/functions in order to develop, test and apply businessness. The article is about proposing functions (by using multiple discriminant analysis) in order to measure business sustainable competitiveness (businessness). The hypotheses and functions were tested using a sample of 500 companies (2000 observations) from Global Fortune 500. The results showed that there are direct and positive interrelations between the following items: number of employees, revenues, net income and total assets, but with different degree of correlations between groups. Therefore, it is very important to consider industry/group when conducting an analysis on business sustainable competitiveness.
Venom-based peptide therapy: insights into anti-cancer mechanism

The 5-year relative survival rate of all types of cancer has increased significantly over the past three decades partly due to the targeted therapy. However, still there are many targeted therapy drugs could play a role only in a portion of cancer patients with specific molecular alternation. It is necessary to continue to develop new biological agents which could be used alone and/or in combination with current FDA approved drugs to treat complex cancer diseases. Venom-based drugs have been used for hundreds of years in human history. Nevertheless, the venom-origin of the anti-cancer drug do rarely appear in the pharmaceutical market; and this is due to the fact that the mechanism of action for a large number of the venom drug such as venom-based peptide is not clearly understood. In this review, we focus on discussing some identified venom-based peptides and their anti-cancer mechanisms including the blockade of cancer cell proliferation, invasion, angiogenesis, and metastasis (hallmarks of cancer) to fulfill the gap which is hindering their use in cancer therapy. Furthermore, it also highlights the importance of immunotherapy based on venom peptide. Overall, this review provides readers for further understanding the mechanism of venom peptide and elaborates on the need to explore peptide-based therapeutic strategies.
A wide band millimeter-wave substrate integrated coaxial line (SICL) for high speed data transmission

In this paper, a wide band single-mode substrate integrated coaxial line (SICL) with the coplanar waveguide (CPW) transition is presented, which is capable of working from DC to 40GHz. The proposed SICL is manufactured with low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) process. A vertical via hole is employed to drive the signal from SICL to a coplanar structure with characteristic impedance matching. The measured results of S parameters agree well with the simulated results from DC to 40GHz. Finally, the data rate up to 32Gb/s is achieved with the proposed SICL interconnect, including good eye diagram and low bit error rate (BER).
A comparative study on the effect of promoting the osteogenic function of osteoblasts using isoflavones from Radix Astragalus

Radix Astragalus has been shown to exert beneficial effects regarding the prevention postmenopausal osteoporosis. However, its mechanism of action remains to be investigated. Calycosin, formononetin, and calycosin‐7‐O‐β‐d‐glucoside are the main isoflavone constituents of Astragalus. In this study, the abilities of these 3 compounds to promote osteogenic function of osteoblasts were compared, and the structure–activity relationships of these osteotrophic isoflavones were determined. Calycosin exhibited a greater effect than formononetin and calycosin‐7‐O‐β‐d‐glucoside regarding improvements in osteogenic function of osteoblasts, as demonstrated by cell proliferation, alkaline phosphatase activity, collagen I and osteocalcin secretion, and the number and area of mineralized bone nodules. This suggests that calycosin may be better than formononetin and calycosin‐7‐O‐β‐d‐glucoside at preserving bone mass. In addition, calycosin, formononetin, and calycosin‐7‐O‐β‐d‐glucoside stimulate the expression of bone morphogenetic protein 2 and runt‐related transcription factor 2 proteins, which indicates that all 3 agents may promote the osteogenesis of osteoblasts via regulation of bone morphogenetic protein 2 expression. In conclusion, calycosin may be the best candidate, with higher osteogenic activity than formononetin and calycosin‐7‐O‐β‐d‐glucoside. The higher osteogenic activity of calycosin could be attributable to the superiority of its chemical structure (a hydroxyl group at position C3 of Ring B and no glucosyl group).
ERA, a novel cis‐acting element required for autoregulation and ethanol repression of PDC1 transcription in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Yeast pyruvate decarboxylase (Pdc) catalyses the reaction at the branch‐point of fermentation and respiration. In this work we have investigated the mechanisms of its transcriptional regulation in response to glucose and the non‐fermentable carbon source ethanol. For this purpose we studied the function of different promoter fragments of PDC1, encoding the major pyruvate decarboxylase enzyme in wild‐type cells, in the basal CYC1 promoter context. Thus, we identified a sequence mediating the response to ethanol and provide evidence showing that transcription of PDC1 is controlled by ethanol repression rather than by glucose induction. Furthermore, we showed that the same sequence is responsible for an autoregulatory process, leading to increased transcription from both the PDC1 and the PDC5 promoters, in strains in which the genomic copy of PDC1 is deleted. In addition, we have confirmed the role of Rap1 binding and have demonstrated that the Gcr1 protein also acts in transcriptional activation. DNA‐protein interactions at the consensus Rap1 ‐binding site and the newly identified ethanol‐repression sequence (5 ‐AAATGC‐ATA‐3, termed 'ERA') were investigated by gel‐shift and footprint analyses. Both DNA‐binding activities were found in extracts from cells grown in media containing glucose or ethanol as the carbon source, indicating that the capacity to bind is not altered by the carbon source used.
Structural and Biochemical Studies of TIGAR (TP53-induced Glycolysis and Apoptosis Regulator)*

Activation of the p53 tumor suppressor by cellular stress leads to variable responses ranging from growth inhibition to apoptosis. TIGAR is a novel p53-inducible gene that inhibits glycolysis by reducing cellular levels of fructose-2,6-bisphosphate, an activator of glycolysis and inhibitor of gluconeogenesis. Here we describe structural and biochemical studies of TIGAR from Danio rerio. The overall structure forms a histidine phosphatase fold with a phosphate molecule coordinated to the catalytic histidine residue and a second phosphate molecule in a position not observed in other phosphatases. The recombinant human and zebra fish enzymes hydrolyze fructose-2,6-bisphosphate as well as fructose-1,6-bisphosphate but not fructose 6-phosphate in vitro. The TIGAR active site is open and positively charged, consistent with its enzymatic function as bisphosphatase. The closest related structures are the bacterial broad specificity phosphatase PhoE and the fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase domain of the bifunctional 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase. The structural comparison shows that TIGAR combines an accessible active site as observed in PhoE with a charged substrate-binding pocket as seen in the fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase domain of the bifunctional enzyme.
Comparison of preoperative rectal paracetamol with paracetamol - diclofenac combination for postoperative analgesia in pediatric surgeries under general anesthesia

Context: Traditionally, pain in children is a topic that has received only minimal attention. However, in the recent times, considerable progress has been made in the field of neonatal and pediatric pharmacology. The concept of preemptive analgesia is important in combating postoperative pain in children. In this study, we sought to compare the effectiveness of preemptive analgesia provided by paracetamol alone and by its combination with diclofenac when administered per rectum. Aims: To compare the efficacy of preoperative rectal paracetamol with paracetamol - diclofenac combination for postoperative analgesia in pediatric surgeries under general anesthesia. Settings and Design: Prospective randomized double-blind study. Subjects and Methods: Sixty children scheduled for various surgeries under general anesthesia were randomly allocated into two Groups A and B, with 30 in each. Children in Group A received paracetamol suppository 20 mg/kg and those in Group B received paracetamol 20 mg/kg + diclofenac 2 mg/kg as suppository immediately after tracheal intubation. All the children were assessed for 24 h from the time of extubation. The pain was measured using numerical rating scale in children above 7 years and face-legs-activity-cry-consolability scale in children below 7 years. The time interval between extubation and the administration of the first dose of rescue analgesic was taken as the duration of postoperative analgesia. Statistical Analysis Used: Descriptive and inferential statistical methods were used to analyze the data. Results: The duration of postoperative analgesia was significantly longer in paracetamol + diclofenac group (21.13 ± 2.68 h) as compared to paracetamol alone group (10.18 ± 2.39 h). Conclusions: The combination of paracetamol and diclofenac administered per rectum preoperatively is more effective than paracetamol alone in providing postoperative analgesia in children.
Line voltage regulation of urban transit systems using supercapacitors

In DC electric railway system, when the railcar starts, the electric power is absorbed from the line, and then the line voltage is instantaneously collapsed to provide a large accelerating torque. On the other hand, when the railcar brakes, the regenerative power is created and it increases the line voltage at the pantograph of the railcar. If it is possible to install an energy storage system near the train, the regenerated power can be saved to this system. This paper describes the control of energy storage system which consists of a supercapacitor bank and a bidirectional DC-DC converter. Supercapacitor can be used for storing the regenerative energy and for peak power requirement to increase the efficiency and life cycle of the system. This paper presents a method to identify the parameters of supercapacitor equivalent circuit by using the experimental results. In order to verify the validity of this method, parameters of a Maxwell BCAP 3000F are extracted through the experiments and then the equivalent circuit model using these parameters is implemented for PSiM simulation. And the control strategy of a bidirectional DC-DC converter is described to meet the performance for the initial charging mode and power control mode. Finally the experimental data in laboratory and at Kyoungsan test site for urban light rail road system are provided in detail. From the simulation and experimental results, the validity of this energy storage system using capacitor is verified.
Asymmetric topology control: Exact solutions and fast approximations

We study the problem of assigning transmission power to the nodes of ad hoc wireless networks to minimize power consumption while ensuring strong network connectivity (unidirectional links allowed). We give (1) an exact algorithm based on new integer linear program formulations, solving instances with up to 30 nodes in one minute, (2) a fast variant of a recent greedy approximation algorithm, finishing within 85 seconds on instances with up to 2000 nodes, (3) a comprehensive experimental study comparing new and previously proposed heuristics with the above exact and approximation algorithms, showing tradeoffs between the running time and the quality of the output. Thus we deal with the original power assignment problem introduced by Chen and Huang in 1989, who proved that a minimum spanning tree (MST) based approximation algorithm has ratio of 2. Our experimental results show that the recent 1.98-approximation algorithm improves the MST solution by an average of up to 15%, and comes within 4-16% of optimum, in average, on the instances where we can compute the optimum.
Family health care decision making and self-efficacy with patients with ALS at the end of life

ABSTRACT Objective: Persons with ALS differ from those with other terminal illnesses in that they commonly retain capacity for decision making close to death. The role patients would opt to have their families play in decision making at the end of life may therefore be unique. This study compared the preferences of patients with ALS for involving family in health care decisions at the end of life with the actual involvement reported by the family after death. Methods: A descriptive correlational design with 16 patient–family member dyads was used. Quantitative findings were enriched with in-depth interviews of a subset of five family members following the patient's death. Results: Eighty-seven percent of patients had issued an advance directive. Patients who would opt to make health care decisions independently (i.e., according to the patient's preferences alone) were most likely to have their families report that decisions were made in the style that the patient preferred. Those who preferred shared decision making with family or decision making that relied upon the family were more likely to have their families report that decisions were made in a style that was more independent than preferred. When interviewed in depth, some family members described shared decision making although they had reported on the survey that the patient made independent decisions. Significance of results: The structure of advance directives may suggest to families that independent decision making is the ideal, causing them to avoid or underreport shared decision making. Fear of family recriminations may also cause family members to avoid or underreport shared decision making. Findings from this study might be used to guide clinicians in their discussions of treatments and health care decision making with persons with ALS and their families.
Abnormalities of spatial and temporal sensory discrimination in writer's cramp

Clinical observations of patients with writer's cramp suggest that abnormalities of the sensory system may be a frequent finding in this disorder. Neurophysiological data from an animal model of focal dystonia have revealed cells in somatosensory cortex with enlarged and overlapping tactile receptive fields. However, psychophysical studies so far have been unable to document a clinical correlate supporting a similar enlargement of receptive fields in humans. We compared the fingertip discrimination of the orientation of fine spatial gratings between writer's cramp and control subjects and found a significant decrease in grating sensitivity in the patients, consistent with the possibility of enlarged tactile receptive fields. In addition, we duplicated previous experiments showing an abnormality of tactile temporal discrimination. The results provide psychophysical measures which may relate to the development of sensory cortical reorganization in patients with writer's cramp. Mov. Disord. 16:94–99, 2001. © 2001 Movement Disorder Society.
Association of maternal anti‐HLA class II antibodies with protection from allergy in offspring

Recent studies have suggested that the birth order effect in allergy may be established during the prenatal period and that the protective effect may originate in the mother. HLA class II disparity between mother and foetus has been associated with significantly increased Th1 production. In this study, we investigated whether production of HLA antibodies 4 years after pregnancy with index child is associated with allergic outcomes in offspring at 8 years.
Genetic Structure and Kinship Patterns in a Population of Black Howler Monkeys, Alouatta pigra, at Palenque National Park, Mexico

We investigated the genetic structure and kinship patterns of black howler monkeys (Alouatta pigra) at Palenque National Park, Mexico. Fecal samples from 49 individuals residing in eight social groups were successfully genotyped for 19 polymorphic microsatellite markers known to be variable in other ateline primates. Overall, genetic diversity was low (Ho = 0.588) with an average of 4.2 alleles per loci (range = 2–8). We found that intergroup genetic variation among adults was relatively high (mean between‐group FST = 0.119), largely due to the genetic divergence of one study group from the others. Intragroup kinship patterns showed that in most social groups, either adult males, adult females, or individuals of both sexes resided with same‐sexed adult kin, suggesting that some black howler males and females may not disperse from their natal group or may disperse with related individuals. Of the six sampled immigrant males, two males joined established groups by themselves, and four males formed two pairs that each took over the social group they joined after evicting the resident males. Males in both these coalitions were genetically closely related, while the two solitary immigrants were not closely related to any of the resident males present in the group they joined. Am. J. Primatol. 74:948‐957, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Treatment of Leg Telangiectasias Using a Long‐Pulse Frequency‐doubled Neodymium:YAG Laser at 532 nm

background. At the present time a large variety of vascular lesion lasers are available for the treatment of both congenital and acquired disorders of blood vessels. Although most vascular lesion lasers are variably effective in the treatment of facial telangiectasias, port‐wine stains, hemangiomas, and other vascular anomalies, their use in the treatment of leg veins has been disappointing. Histologic, anatomic, and other variables have been associated with a poor response of leg veins to currently available vascular lesion lasers. objective. This study examines the use of a new long pulse frequency‐doubled Neodymium (Nd):YAG laser emitting radiation at 532 nm for the treatment of leg veins. methods. Fifty patients with leg telangiectasias of varying diameters were treated using a variable pulse width frequency doubled Nd:YAG laser. This laser delivers energy through a novel water‐cooled chill tip, which appears to limit epidermal damage during laser treatment. results. Sixty‐two treatment sites were evaluated in 50 patients. Seventy‐three percent of patients had greater than 50% improvement after one treatment. Eighty‐three percent were graded with clearances of better than 50% after two treatments, with 63% showing greater than 75% improvement. conclusion. The VersaPulse variable pulse width laser appears to be an effective modality for the treatment of leg telangiectasias. The relative lack of patient discomfort combined with a high degree of patient satisfaction may indicate a fairly high level of patient acceptance of this new form of therapy for the treatment of leg telangiectasias.