Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Tuberculosis revisited: Cytological perspective

Tuberculosis is a major public health problem, especially in developing countries. The clinical manifestations of tuberculosis are very nonspecific and may mimic many other conditions. An accurate diagnosis is extremely important as the disease is treatable with antituberculous therapy. Cytological examination can provide useful diagnostic material for routine and ancillary techniques for rapid and accurate diagnosis of tuberculosis. Here we review the different morphological patterns of tuberculosis, challenges, and application of ancillary techniques for cytological diagnosis of tuberculosis. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2014;42:993–1001. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Time-varying Wind Speed Identification from Structural Responses by Modified Iterative Method

The aim of this study is to try to identify the time-varying wind speed in longitudinal direction at the referenced level from structural responses. The random fluctuating wind speed process was simulated by spectral representation method and FFT method, together with the power law used to calculate wind load. Based on the vibration equation of system in state space and regularization technique, the wind speed at referenced level can be identified from structural responses. The modified iterative method is proposed to reduce the identified errors induced by the difference of the fluctuating wind speed at different level. A 50 m tall guyed mast is selected as an example, and used to check the validation and effectiveness of the proposed method. Simulated numerical results indicated that the proposed method can be used to identify wind speed values from structural displacement responses or strain responses accurately and effectively. Displacement or strain responses obtained in two orthogonal directions at a reference level only are required for an accurate identification and modified iterative method can improve the identified results obviously.
The behavioral economics of driving after drinking among college drinkers.

BACKGROUND Driving after drinking (DAD) among college students is a significant public health concern, yet little is known about specific theoretical risk factors for DAD, beyond drinking level, among college student drinkers. This study had the following aims: (i) to examine the associations between elevated alcohol demand and DAD, (ii) to determine whether demand decreases in response to a hypothetical driving scenario, (iii) to determine whether drivers who report DAD in the past 3 months would show less of a reduction in demand in response to the hypothetical driving scenario, and (iv) to determine whether delayed reward discounting (DRD) is associated with DAD. METHOD Participants were 419 college students who reported at least 1 day of past-month alcohol use. Participants completed 2 alcohol purchase tasks (APTs) that assessed hypothetical alcohol consumption across 17 drink prices with and without a driving scenario, a delay-discounting task, and a series of questions regarding DAD. RESULTS In logistic regression models that controlled for drinking level, demographics, and sensation seeking, participants reporting higher demand intensity (95% confidence interval [95% CI] [1.04, 2.34]), breakpoint (95% CI [1.23, 2.28]), Omax (95% CI [1.03, 1.53]), and lower elasticity (95% CI [0.15, 1.02]) were more likely to report DAD. Additionally, in analyses of covariance, DAD(+) participants exhibited significantly less of a reduction in demand between the standard and the driving APT (intensity, p < 0.01, breakpoint, p = 0.05, and Omax , p < 0.01). A binary logistic regression model with identical covariates revealed that DRD is not associated with DAD. CONCLUSIONS DAD is associated with elevated/inelastic demand and less sensitivity to a hypothetical driving scenario. Drinkers with elevated demand should be prioritized for DAD intervention efforts.
Leukocyte integrin αLβ2 headpiece structures: The αI domain, the pocket for the internal ligand, and concerted movements of its loops

Significance αI integrins have 13 extracellular domains in two subunits; communication between these domains is key to regulating affinity. Structures of integrins that contain a special ligand-binding domain, the αI domain, reveal it is linked in a highly flexible manner to the β-propeller domain. Differences among αI integrin β-propeller domains concentrate at the interface with the αI domain and the binding pocket for an internal ligand that relays allostery between αI and βI domains. We reveal in many integrins a mechanism by which allostery can be communicated by concerted motions of two loops that form the interface in the βI domain for both internal and external ligands. The motions markedly increase complementarity for ligands. High-resolution crystal structures of the headpiece of lymphocyte function-associated antigen-1 (integrin αLβ2) reveal how the αI domain interacts with its platform formed by the α-subunit β-propeller and β-subunit βI domains. The αLβ2 structures compared with αXβ2 structures show that the αI domain, tethered through its N-linker and a disulfide to a stable β-ribbon pillar near the center of the platform, can undergo remarkable pivoting and tilting motions that appear buffered by N-glycan decorations that differ between αL and αX subunits. Rerefined β2 integrin structures reveal details including pyroglutamic acid at the β2 N terminus and bending within the EGF1 domain. Allostery is relayed to the αI domain by an internal ligand that binds to a pocket at the interface between the β-propeller and βI domains. Marked differences between the αL and αX subunit β-propeller domains concentrate near the binding pocket and αI domain interfaces. Remarkably, movement in allostery in the βI domain of specificity determining loop 1 (SDL1) causes concerted movement of SDL2 and thereby tightens the binding pocket for the internal ligand.
Coordination of Health Behavior Counseling in Primary Care

PURPOSE We wanted to examine how coordinated care is implemented in primary care practices to address patients’ health behavior change needs. METHODS Site visit notes, documents, interviews, and online implementation diaries were collected from July 2005 to September 2007 from practice-based research networks (PBRNs) participating in Prescription for Health: Promoting Healthy Behaviors in Primary Care Research Networks (P4H). An iterative group process was used to conduct a cross-case comparative analysis of 9 interventions. Published patient outcomes reports from P4H interventions were referenced to provide information on intervention effectiveness. RESULTS In-practice health risk assessment (HRA) and brief counseling, coupled with referral and outreach to a valued and known counseling resource, emerged as the best way to consistently coordinate and encourage follow-through for health behavior counseling. Findings from published P4H outcomes suggest that this approach led to improvement in health behaviors. Automated prompts and decision support tools for HRA, brief counseling and referral, training in brief counseling strategies, and co-location of referral with outreach facilitated implementation. Interventions that attempted to minimize practice or clinician burden through telephone and Web-based counseling systems or by expanding the medical assistant role in coordination of health behavior counseling experienced difficulties in implementation and require more study to determine how to optimize integration in practices. CONCLUSIONS Easy-to-use system-level solutions that have point-of-delivery reminders and decision support facilitate coordination of health behavior counseling for primary care patients. Infrastructure is needed if broader integration of health behavior counseling is to be achieved in primary care.
Intracranial dural arteriovenous fistula successfully treated by combined open–endovascular procedure

Intracranial dural arteriovenous fistulas constitute a rare though potentially devastating disease. Because the arterial (high-pressure) blood flow drains directly into the low-pressure venous system, there is a high risk of bleeding and associated neurological deficit. The classifications by Borden and Cognard underline the correlation between bleeding risk and venous drainage pattern of the fistula. There are different treatment options for this vascular pathology, which always poses a challenge for the physicians involved to offer the optimal treatment for an individual patient. This case report illustrates how combining forces between the neurosurgical and endovascular team benefits outcome. Simultaneously, this contributes to the growing amount of evidence that a new endovascular technique with transarterial ONYX embolisation enables complete obliteration of the vascular malformation.
A single-phase bidirectional dual active half-bridge converter

A bidirecitonal dual active converter with the power factor control capability is proposed for low-power on-board battery charger application. The source side half-bridge acts as a pulse-width modulation (PWM) converter that maintains the unity power factor. The battery side half-bridge converter acts as a dual active bridge (DAB) together shares the same DC link voltage with the PWM converter. Asymmetric duty cycle technique in which turn-on and -off time duration of primary switches in DAB converter are changed to control the charges of two capacitors is employed to eliminate imbalance voltage phenomenon. Thus, the input current can shape in phase with the voltage source and promising high efficiency of PWM converter. Simulation and experimental results are included to verify theoretical analysis.
In vitro dissection of the membrane and RNP binding activities of influenza virus M1 protein.

Spontaneous proteolysis of influenza virus M1 protein during crystallisation has defined an N-terminal domain of amino acids 1--164. Full-length M1, the N-terminal domain, and the C-terminal part of M1 (residues 165--252) were produced in Escherichia coli. In vitro tests showed that only full-length M1 and its N-terminal domain bind to negatively charged liposomes and that only full-length M1 and its C-terminal part bind to RNP. However, only full-length M1 had transcription inhibition activity. Several independent experimental approaches indicate that in vitro transcription inhibition occurs through polymerisation/aggregation of M1 onto RNP, or of M1 onto M1 already bound to RNP, rather than by binding to a specific active site on the nucleoprotein or the polymerase. The structure/function of influenza virus M1 will be compared with that of the Ebola virus matrix protein, VP40.
Application of biomarkers in the clinical development of new drugs for chondroprotection in destructive joint diseases: a review

Abstract Emerging evidence supports the concept that biochemical markers are clinically useful non-invasive diagnostic tools for the monitoring of changes in cartilage turnover in patients with destructive joint diseases such as osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Epidemiological studies demonstrated that measurements of different degradation products of proteins in the extracellular matrix of hyaline cartilage in urine or serum samples are (1) increased in OA or RA patients compared with healthy individuals, (2) correlate with disease activity, and (3) are predictive for the rate of changes in radiographic measures of cartilage loss. The present review provides an updated list of available biomarkers and summarize the research data arguing for their clinical utility. In addition, it addresses the question whether or not the monitoring of biomarkers during different treatment modalities could be a useful approach to characterize the chondro-protective effects of approved and candidate drugs. Finally, it briefly reviews the in vitro/ex vivo experimental settings — isolated chondrocyte cultures and articular cartilage explants — that can assist in the verification of novel markers, but also studies assessing direct effects of drug candidates on chondrocytes. Collectively, biomarkers may acquire a function as established efficacy parameters in the clinical development of novel chondro-protective agents.
Small-size antenna for seven-band WWAN/LTE mobile handset

In this article, a small-size seven band antenna covering GSM850/900/1800/1900/ UMTS2100/LTE2300/2500 bands for WWAN/LTE mobile handset is presented. The developed antenna only occupies a planar size of 15×25mm2. The capacitive coupling feed is used to generate fundamental resonant λ/8 mode and high-order λ/4 mode to reduce the size. EM coupling between the radiation strips is used to widen the operation band. The antenna consists of a feed strip and two radiation strips(RS1, RS2). RS2 is in the same side of the ground. RS1 is in the other side of substrate. Two λ/8 modes(at 850 and 925MHz) and two λ/4 modes(at 1850 and 2200 MHz) are generated by the capacitive feed. Strip RS1 contributes to 850 and 1850 MHz modes, and strip RS2 contributes to 925 and 2200MHz modes. In the mean time, there exists electromagnetic(EM) coupling between the two radiation strips (RS1, RS2), then dual-resonance mode at 845 and 925 MHz form a wide lower band covering GSM850/900, two high order resonant modes at 1850 and 2200MHz form a wide upper band covering GSM1800/1900/UMTS2100/LTE2300/2500. Design mechanics is analyzed and main parameters are studied. The proposed antenna is fabricated, and the simulated and measured results agree well.
Target Signal Extraction by Adaptive Signal Decomposition Methods

Adaptive signal decomposition method is recently used for the interference reduction and target extraction. Two useful method, the adaptive chirplet decomposition (ACD) and empirical mode decomposition (EMD), are proposed in this paper. Using both simulative and experimental signals, they are compared in terms of Physical meaning, adaptiveness, sensitivity to signal type, interpretation of method, complexity of algorithm and computing time. In most cases, EMD is a better choice.
Berufseintritt und Berufsverlauf: eine Kohortenanalyse über die Bedeutung des ersten Berufs in der Erwerbsbiographie

"Die Studie versucht auf der Grundlage einer Kohortenanalyse drei Fragen zu klaren: Inwieweit ist der spatere Berufsverlauf durch die berufliche Erstplazierung bereits weitgehend vorgezeichnet und gepragt? Wie unterscheiden sich die Berufsverlaufe von Personen, die jeweils zu unterschiedlichen historischen Bedingungskonstellationen in das Erwerbssystem einsteigen? Und: Wie wirkt sich der Wandel der sozialstrukturellen und okonomischen Rahmenbedingungen auf die Erwerbstatigen in unterschiedlichen Karrierephasen aus? Dazu werden Theorien und Ansatze aus der neueren Mobilitatsforschung diskutiert, die anschliesend auf der Basis der Sfb-Lebensverlaufsstudie und dem BIBB/IAB- Bildungs- und Berufsverlaufsdatensatz empirisch uberpruft werden. Es kann gezeigt werden, das sich die verschiedenen Geburtskohorten nach ihren Bildungssressourcen und in bezug auf die Struktur ihrer beruflichen Erstplazierung deutlich voneinander unterscheiden. Je nach dem historischen Eintrittsbedingungssystem in das Beschaftigungssystem findet man ausgepragte Unterschiede in der Erwerbsbiographie von Geburtskohorten. Die dadurch bewirkte Pragung der spateren Erwerbschancen wird auch durch Karrieremechanismen wie Bewahrung und Senioritat sowie durch die Schaffung von neuen Berufsmoglichkeiten im Rahmen des wirtschaftlichen Strukturwandels nicht vollstandig kompensiert. Eine Behinderung, die eine Kohorte beim Eintritt in das Erwerbsleben hinnehmen mus, kann spater kaum ausgeglichen werden, ein Vorsprung, den eine Kohorte in dieser Phase erreicht, bleibt auf Dauer bestehen. Auf der Grundlage dieser Ergebnisse wird die Befurchtung geausert, das die gegenwartigen Arbeitsmarktprobleme der Berufsanfanger nicht nur kurzfristige Deprivationen, sondern eine Benachteiligung auf Dauer sein konnten. " (Autorenreferat)
Plasma leukocyte elastase concentration in angiographically diagnosed coronary artery disease.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the clinical usefulness of leukocyte elastase determination in the diagnosis of coronary artery disease (CAD). BACKGROUND Recent research has shown the important role of elastase, a proteolytic enzyme released by neutrophils, in the pathogenesis of CAD. METHODS 141 patients underwent coronary angiography during investigation of chest pain and/or heart valve disease. Ninety-six had coronary lesions and 45 non-stenotic coronaries. The patients were characterized as regards presence or absence of angina (stable or unstable), family history of CAD, smoking, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, leukocyte counts, and plasma lipid and elastase concentrations. Among CAD-group patients, those with simple atheromatous plaques were distinguished from those with complex plaques. RESULTS Elastase concentrations were greater in the CAD group than in the non-CAD group (49.7 +/- 2.8 micrograms.l-1; as against 29.5 +/- 2.2 micrograms.l-1; P < 0.001), and greater among complex-plaque CAD patients than among simple-plaque CAD patients (65.2 +/- 5.3 micrograms.l-1 as against 38.6 +/- 1.9 micrograms.l-1; P < 0.001). Logistic regression analysis showed (a) that the risk of CAD varied with elastase concentration, angina status, age and sex, increasing by 11% for every 1 microgram.l-1 increase in elastase concentration; and (b) that among CAD patients the risk of complex plaques was greatest for those with unstable angina and high elastase concentration, increasing by 6% for every 1 microgram.l-1 increase in elastase concentration. CONCLUSIONS Peripheral blood leukocyte elastase concentration is a sensitive diagnostic marker of CAD. High values suggest the presence of complex atheromatous plaques.
An integrated spatio-temporal approach to automatic visual guidance of autonomous vehicles

The Kalman filter approach to recursive state estimation making use of dynamic models for the motion of massive objects has been extended to image sequence processing. This confines image processing to the last frame of the sequence only, and derives a direct spatial interpretation including spatial velocity components by smoothing integrations of prediction errors. Results are presented for road-vehicle guidance at high speeds including obstacle detection and monocular relative spatial state estimation. The corresponding data-processing architecture is discussed; the system has been implemented on a MIMD parallel processing system. Speeds up to 100 km/h have been demonstrated. >
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers in biota and sediments of the Pearl River Estuary, South China

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were analyzed in three invertebrate species, five fish species with different living and feeding habits, and surface sediments collected from the Pearl River Estuary, South China. The concentrations of 10 PBDE congeners (BDEs 28, 47, 66, 99, 100, 85, 154, 153, 138, and 183) ranged from 34.1 to 444.5 ng/g lipid and from 9.88 to 39.0 ng/g organic carbon in biota and sediment samples, respectively. In sediments and some biota samples, BDE 209 was found as the major congener, ranging from nondetectable to 623.5 ng/g lipid in biota samples and from 792 to 4,137 ng/g organic carbon in sediment samples. Different levels of PBDEs in various biota species were attributed to the different feeding habits of the aquatic species or their ability to metabolize PBDE. Different congener profiles between the biota and sediment samples were observed and attributed to the bioaccumulation potential or the ability to metabolize individual BDE congeners. Polybrominated diphenyl ether levels in the biota from the Pearl River Estuary correlated well with lipid contents but did not correlate with the biota lengths. The distribution of biota‐sediment accumulation factors for individual PBDE congeners was consistent with the general pattern predicted from a widely used bioaccumulation model.
IDFraIP:A Novel Protein Identification Algorithm Based on Fragment Intensity Patterns

A Identifying peptides for their fragmentation spectra by database search sequencing method is crucial to interpret LC-MS/MS data, widely used algorithms had not been fully exploited the intensity patterns in fragment spectra, SQID incorporated intensity information and identified peptides significantly more peptides than Sequest and X! Tandem. Although SQID adopted various datasets which based on different platforms to show its robustness and effectiveness, many other characterizes were not considered. This article utilized intensity pattern modeling which had been reported by SQID, proposed a novel scoring model to identify fragment spectra. Compared with SQID and Sequest at 1% False Discovery Rate (FDR), IDFraIP identified more confident peptides and spectra.
Pilot evaluation of venlafaxine hydrochloride for the therapy of hot flashes in cancer survivors.

PURPOSE Hot flashes can be a prominent clinical problem for breast cancer survivors and men who undergo androgen-deprivation therapy. Anecdotal information suggested a low dose of a relatively new antidepressant, venlafaxine, could abrogate this clinical problem. MATERIALS AND METHODS This study included 28 consecutive assessable patients entered onto a phase II clinical trial. Hot flash data were collected by daily diary questionnaires during a 1-week baseline period and then for 4 weeks, during which time patients received venlafaxine 12.5 mg orally twice daily. RESULTS Fifty-eight percent of patients who completed the study had a greater than 50% reduction in hot flash scores (frequency times severity) during the fourth treatment week as compared with the baseline week. Median weekly hot flash scores were reduced by 55% from baseline during the fourth week of venlafaxine therapy. Therapy was generally well tolerated and appeared to alleviate fatigue, sweating, and trouble sleeping. CONCLUSION Venlafoxine appears to represent an efficacious new method to alleviate hot flashes. Further evaluation of this compound for alleviating hot flashes is indicated.