Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The comparison of the effects of standard 20 mg atorvastatin daily and 20 mg atorvastatin every other day on serum LDL-cholesterol and high sensitive C-reactive protein levels.

OBJECTIVE In this study, we aimed at comparing the effects of standard once daily 20 mg atorvastatin treatment with that of atorvastatin 20 mg administered every other day on serum lipids and high sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels. METHODS Sixty-one patients with serum total cholesterol levels of above 200 mg/dl and low density lipoprotein (LDL)--cholesterol levels of above 130 mg/dl were included in this prospective, randomized study. The patients were randomized into daily treatment of 20 mg atorvastatin (standard treatment) and 20 mg atorvastatin every other day (every other day treatment) groups. Before the treatment and at each visit, serum lipids and hs-CRP levels of all the patients were measured. Statistical analyses were performed Chi-square, unpaired t and two-way repeated measurements ANOVA tests. RESULTS In the every other day treatment group, there was a 36.1% reduction in LDL-cholesterol levels by the end of first month (p<0.01). At the end of three months there was further decrease of 10.2% in LDL-cholesterol levels when compared to 1 month levels (p>0.05). The LDL cholesterol levels of the group receiving 20 mg atorvastatin every day was reduced by %41 by the end of 1 month (p<0.01). At the end of three months, the difference between the changes in the all lipid parameters of the two groups was not found to be of statistical significance. In the group receiving the medication every other day, there was a 21% decrease in hs-CRP levels compared to the basal measurements at the end of first month (p<0.05). In the group, receiving the medication every day the decrease in hs-CRP levels at the end of one month was more striking (37%, p<0.05). However, the effects of both treatment arms on hs-CRP levels, did not differ significantly (p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS Alternate-day dosing of atorvastatin causes a significant lipid-lowering and antiinflammatory effects similar to that of daily administration and yet may provide some cost savings.
Immunogenicity of the group A and group C meningococcal polysaccharides in children.

subcutaneously with 25 tg or 50 tg of purified polysaccharide vaccine prepared from Neisseria meningitidis of group A (22 children) or group C (26 children). There were no significant local or systemic side effects. All children produced humoral antibodies of immunoglobulin classes G, M, and A within three weeks of immunization as determined by indirect immunofluorescence. The antibodies had bactericidal and hemagglutinating activities. Geometric mean concentrations of antibody ( tg of antibody protein/ml), as determined by radioactive-antigenbinding assays, were 10.3 Etg for the group receiving the A polysaccharide and 14.5 gg for the group receiving the C polysaccharide. Elevated levels of specific antibody were found in the sera of children 10-15 months after immunization with the group A or the group C antigen.
Comparative Studies of Three 68Ga-Labeled [Des-Arg10]Kallidin Derivatives for Imaging Bradykinin B1 Receptor Expression with PET

Bradykinin B1 receptor (B1R) is a G-protein–coupled receptor that is overexpressed in a variety of cancers. B1R is not expressed in healthy tissues, making it an attractive cancer imaging marker. Previously, we reported selective uptake of 68Ga-P03034 (68Ga-DOTA-dPEG2-Lys-Arg-Pro-Hyp-Gly-Cha-Ser-Pro-Leu) in B1R-positive (B1R+) HEK293T::hB1R tumor xenografts in mice. In this study, we compare 68Ga-P03034 with 68Ga-labeled P04158 (68Ga-DOTA-dPEG2-Lys-Lys-Arg-Pro-Hyp-Gly-Igl-Ser-D-Igl-Oic) and Z02090 (68Ga-DOTA-dPEG2-Lys-Lys-Arg-Pro-Hyp-Gly-Cpg-Ser-D-Tic-Cpg) derived from 2 potent B1R antagonists, B9858 and B9958, respectively, for imaging B1R expression with PET. Methods: Peptide sequences were assembled on solid-phase. Cold standards were prepared by incubating DOTA-conjugated peptides with GaCl3. Binding affinity was measured via competition binding assays using hB1R-expressing Chinese hamster ovary-K1 cell membranes. 68Ga labeling was performed in N-(2-hydroxyethyl)piperazine-N′-(2-ethanesulfonic acid) buffer with microwave heating and purified by high-performance liquid chromatography. Imaging/biodistribution studies were performed in mice bearing wild-type HEK293T (B1R−) and B1R+ HEK293T::hB1R tumors. Results: P03034, P04158, and Z02090 bound B1R with high affinity, with Ki values at 16.0 ± 2.9, 1.5 ± 1.9, and 1.1 ± 0.8 nM, respectively. 68Ga-labeled P03034, P04159, and Z02090 were obtained in greater than 50% decay-corrected radiochemical yields with more than 99% radiochemical purity. Biodistribution studies showed that all three 68Ga-labeled tracers cleared rapidly from the blood and normal tissues, with excretion mainly via the renal pathway. At 1 h after injection, only the kidneys, bladders, and B1R+ HEK293T::hB1R tumors were clearly visualized in PET images. Uptake values of 68Ga-labeled P03034, P04158, and Z02090 in B1R+ tumors were 2.17 ± 0.49, 19.6 ± 4.50, and 14.4 ± 1.63 percentage injected dose per gram, respectively. Uptake ratios of B1R+ to B1R− tumor, blood, and muscle were 6.23 ± 1.69, 5.72 ± 2.20, and 25.5 ± 13.1 for 68Ga-P03034; 34.5 ± 10.5, 19.2 ± 8.21, and 66.1 ± 17.0 for 68Ga-P04158; and 29.3 ± 9.68, 29.9 ± 5.58, and 124 ± 28.1 for 68Ga-Z02090, respectively. Conclusion: All three 68Ga-labeled B1R-targeting peptides generated specific and high-contrasted images of B1R+ tumors xenografted in mice. With significantly higher tumor uptake and target-to-nontarget ratios, 68Ga-labeled P04158 and Z02090 are superior to P03034 for imaging B1R expression with PET.
Onboard Sensor-Based Collision Risk Assessment to Improve Pedestrians' Safety

Many systems have been designed for pedestrian detection and tracking. However, pedestrians may or may not be in dangerous situations. Signaling every detected pedestrian generates too many false alarms, which could lead the driver not to pay attention to the warnings. The contribution of this paper is to develop a novel approach to assessing the risk of collision with a pedestrian based on the scenario and the behavior of the pedestrian. The risk assessment is based on extensive offline Monte Carlo simulations relying on a simple, yet representative, stochastic model of the pedestrian. The approach has been applied for the design of the Risk Assessment Unit of the PROTECTOR project dealing with pedestrian detection and classification funded by the European Commission.
PARAMETER ESTIMATION FOR CONTINUOUS TIME PROCESSES OBSERVED WITH NOISE

We consider the estimation of a k-dimensional parameter θ that determines the dynamics of an unobserved process {Xt, t ≤ T}. Our observation consists of the integral of Xt plus an additive noise modeled by a Brownian motion, on a continuous time-horizon [0, T ]. A modified version of the Maximum Likelihood Estimator (MLE) will be defined through a discretization of the parameter space, and the weak consistency of this estimator will be shown under certain conditions. An implication of this result is that the (traditional) MLE is weakly consistent under the same conditions provided that the parameter space is finite. It will be shown that in a special case of a Hidden Markov Model (HMM) all conditions are satisfied.
Magnetic field splitting of the spin resonance in CeCoIn5.

Neutron scattering in strong magnetic fields is used to show the spin resonance in superconducting CeCoIn(5) (T(c)=2.3 K) is a doublet. The underdamped resonance (ħΓ=0.069±0.019 meV) Zeeman splits into two modes at E(±)=ħΩ(0)±αμ(B)μ(0)H with α=0.96±0.05. A linear extrapolation of the lower peak reaches zero energy at 11.2±0.5 T, near the critical field for the incommensurate "Q phase. " Kenzelmann et al. [Science 321, 1652 (2008)] This, taken with the integrated weight and polarization of the low-energy mode (E(-)), indicates that the Q phase can be interpreted as a Bose condensate of spin excitons.
Emergence of drug resistance in HIV type 1-infected patients after receipt of first-line highly active antiretroviral therapy: a systematic review of clinical trials.

BACKGROUND Resistance to antiretroviral combination therapy is associated with increased mortality. Understanding the relative risks of emerging resistance to first-line therapy is of importance for both resource-rich and resource-poor settings. METHODS We undertook an overview of clinical trials of adults receiving first-line highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), which consisted of dual nucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) combined with a third agent (either a nonnucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitor [NNRTI] or a ritonavir-boosted protease inhibitor [bPI]). The primary outcome measures were incidences of mutations conferring resistance to key drugs (NRTIs, NNRTIs, or bPIs) per trial at week 48. For meta-analysis, inverse-variance weighting was used to create estimates of overall incidences per group, with exact 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). RESULTS The study included 20 clinical trials that comprised 30 treatment arms and 7970 patients. Virologic failure at 48 weeks occurred in 4.9% (95% CI, 3.9%-6.1%) of NNRTI recipients, compared with 5.3% (95% CI, 4.4%-6.4%; P= .50) of bPI recipients. Of failures that were successfully genotyped, the M184V mutation in the HIV reverse transcriptase (lamivudine resistance) occurred in 35.3% (95% CI, 29.3%-41.6%) of patients who started NNRTI-based HAART, compared with 21.0% (95% CI, 14.4%-28.8%; P< .001) for those who received a bPI. For the K65R mutation in the HIV reverse transcriptase (multinucleoside resistance), incidences were 5.3% (95% CI, 2.4%-9.9%) and 0.0% (95% CI, 0.0%-3.6%; P= .01), respectively, in patients treated with non-zidovudine-containing regimens. Resistance to the third agent (an NNRTI or PI) occurred in 53% (95% CI, 46%-60%) and 0.9% (95% CI, 0.0%-6.2%; P< .001) of such patients, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Initial therapy with bPI-based regimens resulted in less resistance within and across drug classes. This finding is of particular significance for the developing world, where rates of resistance to NRTIs and NNRTIs at 48 weeks are much higher than has been seen in both cohorts and clinical trials in well-resourced countries.
A geometrical workspace calculation method for cable-driven parallel manipulators on minimum tension condition

Abstract In this paper, a geometrical expression to delineate the sum of tensions (i.e. minimum 1-norm tensions) of 2-DoF planar cable-driven parallel manipulators (CDPMs) is proposed and proofed, which can be used to reduce calculation time of workspace determination. Furthermore, this paper also presents a systematic analysis on the relation between cable tension and workspace by means of convex analysis. In order to obtain wrench-feasible workspace, a unified and feasible algorithm is adopted in simulation examples of spatial CDPMs with different configurations, which demonstrate that the proposed method is valid and straightforward to calculate workspace.
Auditory working memory in HIV-1 infection

We evaluated auditory working memory in 41 HIV-seropositive (HIV+) and 37 HIV-seronegative (HIV−) male drug users, employing a modified version of the Letter-Number Span Task developed by Gold and colleagues. We added a control condition to the standard task in order to evaluate more directly the contribution of the processing component to the working memory deficits with the effects of storage demands minimized. HIV+ subjects performed significantly more poorly compared to controls on an index of working memory processing derived from raw scores obtained under the two testing conditions. These findings are consistent with our previous reports that HIV-related working memory deficits are evident across multiple informational domains; further, the deficit appears to involve multiple-component functions of working memory. Converging findings from recent working memory studies and from primate and neuroimaging investigations suggest that functional abnormalities of prefrontal cortex should receive greater emphasis in models of neurocognitive aspects of HIV-1 infection, which have typically emphasized “subcortical” deficits. (JINS, 2001, 7, 20–26.)
Three-dimensional structure of diferric bovine lactoferrin at 2.8 A resolution.

The three-dimensional structure of diferric bovine lactoferrin (bLf) has been determined by X-ray crystallography in order to investigate the factors that influence iron binding and release by transferrins. The structure was solved by molecular replacement, using the coordinates of diferric human lactoferrin (hLf) as a search model, and was refined with data to 2.8 A resolution by simulated annealing (X-PLOR) and restrained least squares (TNT). The final model comprises 5310 protein atoms (residues 5 to 689), 124 carbohydrate atoms (from ten monosaccharide units, in three glycan chains), 2 Fe3+, 2 CO32- and 50 water molecules. This model gives an R-factor of 0.232 for 21440 reflections in the resolution range 30.0 to 2.8 A. The folding of the bLf molecule is essentially the same as that of hLf, but bLf differs in the extent of closure of the two domains of each lobe, and in the relative orientations of the two lobes. Differences in domain closure are attributed to amino acid changes in the interface, and differences in lobe orientations to slightly altered packing of two hydrophobic patches between the lobes. Changed interdomain interactions may explain the lesser iron affinity of bLf, compared with hLf, and two lysine residues behind the N-lobe iron site of bLf offer new insights into the "dilysine trigger" mechanism proposed for iron release by transferrins. The bLf structure is also notable for several well-defined oligosaccharide units which demonstrate the structural factors that stabilise carbohydrate structure. One glycan chain, attached to Asn545, appears to contribute to interdomain interactions and may modulate iron release from the C-lobe.
Accumulating Evidence of Benefits From Intensive Blood Pressure Lowering: Are We There Yet?

See related article, pp 642–653 In this issue of the journal, Verdecchia et al1 report an important analysis of the accumulation of evidence comparing more versus less intensive blood pressure (BP)–lowering strategies. Their key message is critical for guidelines and practice internationally: with the addition of SPRINT (Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial),2 this set of trials now provides compelling evidence that more intensive BP-lowering reduces stroke and myocardial infarction (MI), and significant reductions are now also seen in cardiovascular death and heart failure. The authors have also assessed sequential monitoring boundaries for each outcome, making the analogy of a hypothetical Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) assessing the accumulation of evidence in the field. Before examining the implications, it is worth reviewing the techniques and aims of the cumulative meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis methods used by Verdecchia et al.1 Cumulative meta-analysis orders trials by publication date and presents updated meta-analysis estimates with each additional trial, with the aim of establishing if and when a treatment effect reaches statistical significance. Cumulative meta-analysis has a long history of providing important insights. Most notably, a highly influential series of cumulative meta-analyses showed that traditional narrative reviews often failed to mention important advances, delayed recommending effective preventive measures, and continued to recommend some treatments long after accumulated evidence had shown them to be ineffective or harmful.3 As such the article was pivotal in the widespread adoption of systematic reviews in recent decades and indeed was one of the seminal articles in the evidence-based medicine movement. Trial sequential analyses add an important dimension and are motivated by the fact that as evidence emerges, chance extreme findings are common. It is generally not intuitive how likely, by chance alone, early data on effective treatments can appear neutral or even harmful; and …
Corrections to “Boundary Fields in Reverberation Chambers” [May 05 281-290]

In the above paper, the plane-wave integral representation for well-stirred fields in reverberation chambers was extended to apply near the chamber walls. Several analytical terms for the mean of squared field magnitudes were derived. The formulas are inaccurate for describing the conditions near the chamber walls and need to be corrected, since they lead to non-physical negative values for the mean of squared magnitudes for small input values kx, ky, or kz.
A method of indoor mobile robot navigation by using fuzzy control

In the design of an autonomous mobile robot (AMR), it is necessary to describe schemes of monitoring the status of the robot and suitable procedures of handling various situations. this paper presents a sensor-based navigation method using fuzzy control, whose purpose is to construct expert knowledge for efficient and better piloting of the AMRs. This method provides a function for tracing a planned path by sensing the distance of an AMR from its planned path and the difference between its angle and that of the planned path, and another function that allows an AMR to avoid stationary and moving obstacles by sensing how far an open area extends ahead of it. Fuzzy control is also used to select suitable rules for tracing a path or avoiding obstacles according to the situation, which is determined from sensor information by using fuzzy control. The effectiveness of the established rules and the effect of fuzzy control on AMR navigation are discussed on the basis of simulations. <<ETX>>
SQUEEZEPOSENET: IMAGE BASED POSE REGRESSION WITH SMALL CONVOLUTIONAL NEURAL NETWORKS FOR REAL TIME UAS NAVIGATION

Abstract. The number of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is increasing since low-cost airborne systems are available for a wide range of users. The outdoor navigation of such vehicles is mostly based on global navigation satellite system (GNSS) methods to gain the vehicles trajectory. The drawback of satellite-based navigation are failures caused by occlusions and multi-path interferences. Beside this, local image-based solutions like Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) and Visual Odometry (VO) can e.g. be used to support the GNSS solution by closing trajectory gaps but are computationally expensive. However, if the trajectory estimation is interrupted or not available a re-localization is mandatory. In this paper we will provide a novel method for a GNSS-free and fast image-based pose regression in a known area by utilizing a small convolutional neural network (CNN). With on-board processing in mind, we employ a lightweight CNN called SqueezeNet and use transfer learning to adapt the network to pose regression. Our experiments show promising results for GNSS-free and fast localization.
Design and control of a robotic system for assistive laser phonomicrosurgery

This paper presents the design, implementation and control of a novel robotic system for assistive laser phonomicrosurgeries. The goals here are to improve the precision, the controllability, the safety and the ergonomics of traditional transoral laser laryngeal surgeries. Successful steps achieved by the developed system in those directions are presented here, including the design, control and characterization of a novel laser micromanipulator system. Such system is shown to achieve very fast (181mm/s) and accurate (1µm resolution) laser beam aiming within an 11×11mm target area. The design and implementation of a high-level control system for safe operation of the new laser phonomicrosurgery equipment is also described in this paper. This controller runs on a personal computer, offering a comfortable and safe surgical environment for the surgeon. In addition, it implements safe teleoperation by allowing the definition of safe and exclusion zones for surgical laser aiming. Automation of ablation procedures is also implemented on this high-level controller and described here. This feature adds an extra level of safety for phonomicrosurgeries by allowing the precise execution of surgical plans defined by the surgeon.
[Study on value of IHA in diagnosis of schistosomiasis japonica].

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the value of indirect hemagglutination test (IHA) in schistosomiasis diagnosis. METHODS The literature concerned schistosomiasis diagnosis with IHA in the databases of Medline, CNKI, VIP and Wanfang Data from 1982 to 2014 was collected and evaluated. RESULTS Totally 21 articles which were satisfied with the research criteria were analyzed with the Meta-analysis method. The IHA method had high value in schistosomiasis diagnosis, the AUCSROC of IHA in laboratory evaluation was 0.990 6, while in filed evaluation was 0.832 9, and the difference between them was significant (Z = 4.50, P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS The diagnosis value of IHA in field evaluation is less than that in laboratory. In the process of the elimination of schistosomiasis, developing a new and higher sensitive reagent in schistosomiasis diagnosis is needed.
Efficient image sharpening and denoising using adaptive guided image filtering

Enhancing the sharpness and reducing the noise of blurred, noisy images are crucial functions of image processing. Widely used unsharp masking filter-based approaches suffer from halo-artefacts and/or noise amplification, while noise- and halo-free adaptive bilateral filtering (ABF) is computationally intractable. In this study, the authors present an efficient sharpening algorithm inspired by guided image filtering (GF). The author's proposed adaptive GF (AGF) integrates the shift-variant technique, a part of ABF, into a guided filter to render crisp and sharpened outputs. Experiments showed the superiority of their proposed algorithm to existing algorithms. The proposed AGF sharply enhances edges and textures without causing halo-artefacts or noise amplification, and it is efficiently implemented using a fast linear-time algorithm.
Increases in Spinal Cerebrospinal Fluid Potassium Concentration Do Not Increase Isoflurane Minimum Alveolar Concentration in Rats

BACKGROUND:Previous studies demonstrated that MAC for isoflurane directly correlates with the concentration of Na+ in cerebrospinal fluid surrounding the spinal cord, the primary site for mediation of the immobility produced by inhaled anesthetics. If this correlation resulted from increased irritability of the cord, then infusion of increased concentrations of potassium (K+) might be predicted to act similarly. However, an absence of effect of K+ might be interpreted to indicate that K+ channels do not mediate the immobility produced by inhaled anesthetics whereas Na+ channels remain as potential mediators. Accordingly, in the present study, we examined the effect of altering intrathecal concentrations of K+ on MAC. METHODS:In rats prepared with chronic indwelling intrathecal catheters, we infused solutions deficient in K+ and with an excess of K+ into the lumbar space and measured MAC for isoflurane 24 h before, during, and 24 h after infusion. Rats similarly prepared were tested for the effect of altered osmolarity on MAC (accomplished by infusion of mannitol) and for the penetration of Na+ into the cord. RESULTS:MAC of isoflurane never significantly increased with increasing concentrations of K+ infused intrathecally. At infused concentrations exceeding 12 times the normal concentration of KCl, i.e., 29 mEq/L, rats moved spontaneously at isoflurane concentrations just below, and sometimes at MAC, but the average MAC in these rats did not exceed their control MAC. At the largest infused concentration (58.1 mEq/L), MAC significantly decreased and did not subsequently return to normal (i.e., such large concentrations produced injury). Infusions of lower concentrations of K+ had no effect on MAC. Infusion of osmotically equivalent solutions of mannitol did not affect MAC. Na+ infused intrathecally measurably penetrated the spinal cord. CONCLUSIONS:The results do not support a mediation or modulation of MAC by K+ channels.