Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of dexamethasone on tracheal viral load and interleukin-8 tracheal concentration in children with respiratory syncytial virus infection

Background. Lower respiratory tract infection caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is in part an immune-mediated disease. For that reason corticosteroids might be effective, especially in patients with severe RSV lower respiratory tract infection. Our aim was to assess the effect of dexamethasone on tracheal viral load and airway inflammation in patients with RSV infection. Methods. Mechanically ventilated children with proven RSV infection were randomized to receive dexamethasone (0.6 mg/kg/day in four doses for 48 h) or placebo. Daily tracheal aspirates were analyzed for viral load (by quantitative polymerase chain reaction), interleukin (IL)-8 and white blood cell count. Results. The RSV RNA concentrations decreased in a similar manner from baseline in the dexamethasone (9 patients) and in the placebo group (13 patients). IL-8 decreased from baseline in the dexamethasone group but increased in the placebo group during the first 48 h [change from baseline at 24 h, –2.3 vs. 0.9 ln ng/ml (95% confidence interval for difference, −4.2 to 0.3, P = 0.02) and at 48 h, –4.2 vs. 0.4 ln mg/ml (95% confidence interval for difference, −5.3 to –0.3; P = 0.03), respectively], without effect on the tracheal white blood cell count. Conclusion. Dexamethasone does not cause an impaired decline of tracheal RSV but lowers IL-8 of children mechanically ventilated for RSV lower respiratory tract infection, potentially leading to less inflammation and reduced phagocyte activation.
Frequency of cardiac arrest associated with anesthesia in infants and children.

At the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, infants less than 1 year of age have a frequency of cardiac arrest during anesthesia, of 1:700, thought to be due to anesthesia, and a frequency of 1:600 attributed to anesthesia plus unknown causes. Children 1 to 12 years of age have a frequency of cardiac arrest during anesthesia of 1:2,300, thought to be due to anesthesia, and a frequency of 1:1,700 attributed to anesthesia plus unknown causes. The mortality and frequency of cardiac arrest during anesthesia in children (as defined by the number of deaths, and cardiac arrests due to anesthesia, in proportion to the incidence of anesthesia) cannot be determined in most previous reports because the total incidence of anesthesia for children was not presented. At the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, the frequency of cardiac arrest during anesthesia in infants less than 1 year of age was found to be significantly higher than that in children 1 to 12 years of age or in adults 13 years of age or older. The rate for all children, infants plus children 1 to 12 years, is also significantly higher than the rate for adults. However, the rate of cardiac arrest during anesthesia in children 1 to 12 years of age was not significantly different from the rate in adults.
Characterization of Human and Yeast Mitochondrial Glycine Carriers with Implications for Heme Biosynthesis and Anemia*

Heme is an essential molecule in many biological processes, such as transport and storage of oxygen and electron transfer as well as a structural component of hemoproteins. Defects of heme biosynthesis in developing erythroblasts have profound medical implications, as represented by sideroblastic anemia. The synthesis of heme requires the uptake of glycine into the mitochondrial matrix where glycine is condensed with succinyl coenzyme A to yield δ-aminolevulinic acid. Herein we describe the biochemical and molecular characterization of yeast Hem25p and human SLC25A38, providing evidence that they are mitochondrial carriers for glycine. In particular, the hem25Δ mutant manifests a defect in the biosynthesis of δ-aminolevulinic acid and displays reduced levels of downstream heme and mitochondrial cytochromes. The observed defects are rescued by complementation with yeast HEM25 or human SLC25A38 genes. Our results identify new proteins in the heme biosynthetic pathway and demonstrate that Hem25p and its human orthologue SLC25A38 are the main mitochondrial glycine transporters required for heme synthesis, providing definitive evidence of their previously proposed glycine transport function. Furthermore, our work may suggest new therapeutic approaches for the treatment of congenital sideroblastic anemia.
Gene Expressions of Toll-Like Receptor 2, But Not Toll-Like Receptor 4, Is Induced by LPS and Inflammatory Cytokines in Mouse Macrophages1

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are a family of mammalian homologues of Drosophila Toll and play important roles in host defense. Two of the TLRs, TLR2 and TLR4, mediate the responsiveness to LPS. Here the gene expression of TLR2 and TLR4 was analyzed in mouse macrophages. Mouse splenic macrophages responded to an intraperitoneal injection or in vitro treatment of LPS by increased gene expression of TLR2, but not TLR4. Treatment of a mouse macrophage cell line with LPS, synthetic lipid A, IL-2, IL-15, IL-1β, IFN-γ, or TNF-α significantly increased TLR2 mRNA expression, whereas TLR4 mRNA expression remained constant. TLR2 mRNA increase in response to synthetic lipid A was severely impaired in splenic macrophages isolated from TLR4-mutated C3H/HeJ mice, suggesting that TLR4 plays an essential role in the process. Specific inhibitors of mitogen-activated protein/extracellular signal-regulated kinase kinase and p38 kinase did not significantly inhibit TLR2 mRNA up-regulation by LPS. In contrast, LPS-mediated TLR2 mRNA induction was abrogated by pretreatment with a high concentration of curcumin, suggesting that NF-κB activation may be essential for the process. Taken together, our results indicate that TLR2, in contrast to TLR4, can be induced in macrophages in response to bacterial infections and may accelerate the innate immunity against pathogens.
The relation between creeping waves, leaky waves, and surface waves

In this paper, we examine the creeping wave propagation wavenumbers, modal impedance, and field behavior on a dielectric coated circular cylinder. The physical interpretation is assisted by comparing the cylinder's pole waves with the leaky waves and surface waves that occur on a flat, grounded dielectric slab. The propagation wavenumbers and modal impedance are computed in the complex wavenumber plane. The cylinder propagation wavenumbers come from a transcendental equation involving Hankel functions, which are entire functions of complex order, whereas for the slab, branch-point singularities are present. This difference is examined, so that one can better understand how a coated cylinder behaves like a flat slab, when the cylinder radius is large. It is found that for the cylinder, the Stokes line for the asymptotic expansion of the Hankel function plays a role that is similar to the planar slab branch cut.
Passive perception of odors and semantic circuits

The sense of smell has been traditionally assumed to be different from other sensory modalities in that odors are encoded perceptually, without a semantic component. Recent findings of improved odor memory upon encoding with verbal cues question this view. Furthermore, familiar odors are easier to remember and discriminate than are unfamiliar ones, and odor familiarity is reported to predict odor naming. To investigate whether familiar odors are processed by different cerebral structures than those that process unfamiliar odors, 15O H2O‐positron emission tomography (PET) measurements of cerebral blood flow were carried out in 14 healthy men. The task was passive, birhinal, smelling of familiar odors (FAM), unfamiliar odors (uFAM), and odorless air (AIR). Significant activations (P < 0.05) were calculated using the contrasts FAM–AIR, uFAM–AIR, and FAM–uFAM, and deactivations running these contrasts in the opposite direction. In relation to AIR, both FAM and uFAM activated amygdala, piriform cortex, and parts of anterior cingulate cortex. FAM activated, in addition, left frontal cortex (Brodmann's areas 44,45,47), left parietal cortex incorporating precuneus, and right parahippocampus. Clusters covering parahippocampus and precuneus were observed also in FAM–uFAM. The activation of left frontal cortex and right parahippocampus was positively correlated with familiarity ratings. Smelling of familiar but not unfamiliar odorants seems to engage cerebral circuits mediating memory and language functions, in addition to the engagement of olfactory cortex. Already the most elemental form of odor processing, passive perception thus seems to engage semantic circuits. This is achieved by the ability of odorants to immediately elicit associations and judgments of odor characteristics. Hum. Brain Mapping 21:271–278, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Hydrolysis of Picolinylprolines by Prolidase

The velocity of enzymic cleavage of 4-substituted picolinylprolines by swine kidney prolidase approaches that of physiological dipeptides, but depends substantially upon the nature of the pyridine-ring substituent. The pH dependence of k/K for picolinylproline is sigmoidal, with optimum activity on the acidic limb and a delimiting enzymic pK of 6.6, unlike glycylproline (bell-shaped pH profile, maximum at pH 7.7). Productive chelation to an active site metal ion by the N terminus of substrates is indicated, with a water molecule ligated to that hyper(Lewis)acidic center prior to substrate binding supplying the pKof 6.6. The rate-governing catalytic step differs according to the 4-substituent on the picolinyl residue; productive binding is slow in the case of electron-withdrawing groups, but subsequent nucleophilic addition to the metal ion-activated scissile linkage becomes controlling with more basic pyridine rings. Rate constants yield a Br-type correlation with substrate pK, providing a gauge of active-site Lewis acidity. A mechanism is suggested involving the cooperative participation of two especially acidic metal ions positioned adjacently within the active site (situated as in an homologous and structurally characterized aminopeptidase), with both serving to stabilize a bridging carboxamide-hydrate intermediate.
NUMERICAL ANALYSIS OF MEDIUM COMPRESSION AND LOSSES IN FILTRATION AREA IN PLEATED CARTRIDGE MEMBRANE FILTERS

A computer model has been developed to simulate the fluid flow in pleated filter cartridges. This model has been used to evaluate the performance and design of pleated cartridge membrane filters. The effects of medium compression, pleat deformation and pleat crowding are analysed. At higher flow rates, due to the fluid pressure exerted the medium deforms which leads to a reduction in the material permeability. Further, pleating and bending leads to a loss in effective filtration area. The combined effects of compression and reduction in filtration area cause deviations from Darcy’s law. To interpret such deviations, permeability models based on the data obtained from the flat sheets of the filter material used in cartridge fabrication have been developed. The incorporation of the permeability model within the main hydrodynamic model determines the percentage losses in filtration area, percentage medium compression and the pressure drop across the filters. Results in this paper are presented for a fibre glass medium. The simulated results have been compared against experimental data for purposes of model validation. The developed simulation tool offers a robust, cost-effective and user friendly design and analysis tool for pleated cartridge membrane filters, which can be easily used by engineers in industry.
Hemodynamic Features Extraction from a New Arterial Pressure Waveform Probe

In this work, we discuss an algorithm that reliable and accurately identifies the prominent points of the cardiac cycle: the systolic peak (SP), reflection point (RP), dicrotic notch, (DN) and dicrotic peak (DP). The prominent point’s identifier algorithm (PPIA) action is based on the analysis a number of features of the arterial pressure waveform and its first derivative, and is part of the fundamental software analysis pack for a new piezoelectric probe designed to reproduce the arterial pressure waveform from the pulsatile activity taken non-invasively at the vicinity of a superficial artery. The output PPIA is the coordinates (in time and amplitude) of the above referred points. To assess the accuracy of the algorithm, a reference database of 173 pulses from eight volunteers, was established and the values yielded by the PPIA were compared to annotations from a human expert engineer (HEE). The quality of the results is statistically quantified either in time as in amplitude. Average values of 4.20% for error, 99.09% for sensitivity and 96.77% for positive predictive value were found to be associated to time information while amplitude yields averages of 2.68%, 99.08% and 98.22%, respectively, for the same parameters.
A pilot study of tumor necrosis factor inhibition in erosive/inflammatory osteoarthritis of the hands.

OBJECTIVE To determine if anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) therapy (adalimumab) can safely improve symptoms of erosive/inflammatory osteoarthritis (EOA). METHODS This was an open-label pilot trial in 12 patients with EOA. Patients > 45 years old with EOA of the hands defined by > or = 2 tender and > or = 2 swollen joints (distal interphalangeal, proximal interphalangeal, first carpometacarpal) despite nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug therapy were eligible. Patients were excluded for autoimmune arthritis, recent disease modifying antirheumatic drug use, prior use of anti-TNF therapy, infection, malignancy, or poorly controlled medical conditions. All patients received adalimumab 40 mg every other week for 12 weeks. Safety was assessed 4 weeks after the final dose. Primary endpoints included safety and American College of Rheumatology (ACR) response. RESULTS Patients were predominantly female with a mean age of 60 years and 12 years of arthritis. All patients completed the study and safety followup. Adverse events were mild without necessitating discontinuation of study drug. After 12 weeks, there was a statistically significant improvement in the number of swollen joints compared to baseline (p < 0.01). One patient achieved an ACR20 response and 42% achieved an OMERACT-OARSI response. Although we detected no statistically significant improvement in the number of tender joints, grip strength, disability, pain, or global disease assessments, trends suggested modest improvement in all efficacy measures. CONCLUSION This small open-label study of patients with EOA demonstrated that adalimumab was well tolerated. Treatment with adalimumab for 3 months did not significantly improve the signs and symptoms of EOA and most patients did not achieve an ACR20. Trends suggested improvement and individual patients had some benefit. Factors limiting interpretation of this study include the lack of a control group, outcomes chosen, number of patients treated, and the duration of treatment.
Thromboelastometry Based Early Goal-Directed Coagulation Management Reduces Blood Transfusion Requirements, Adverse Events, and Costs in Acute Type A Aortic Dissection: A Pilot Study

Background: In aortic surgery bleeding complications can be fatal. Therefore, rotational thromboelastometry(ROTEMTM)based coagulation management was introduced. Methods: After 5 cases of acute type A aortic dissection and aortic arch replacement had been treated based on ROTEM findings (ROTEM group; RG), 5 cases without ROTEM were matched as control group (CG). CG treatment was based on conventional tests and clinical findings. Blood component and coagulation factor requirements, ventilation time, duration of stay at intensive care unit (ICU), hospitalization, and thrombotic or bleeding incidents as well as transfusion-associated costs were compared. Results: Administration of blood products and coagulation factor concentrates, ventilation time, ICU length of stay, and hospitalization tended to be lower in RG. Postoperative plasma transfusion (p = 0.038), recognized incidents (p = 0.048), and resulting costs on coagulation treatment (p = 0.049) were significantly reduced. Conclusion: Our data suggest that ROTEM-based coagulation management can reduce transfusion requirements and corresponding costs in patients with aortic arch replacement. These data has to be confirmed by prospective randomized trials.
Contribution of MHC class I region to genetic susceptibility for giant cell arteritis.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to assess the potential contribution of HLA-class I MICA and HLA-B gene polymorphisms towards the pathogenesis of giant cell arteritis (GCA). METHODS Ninety-eight biopsy-proven GCA patients and 225 ethnically matched controls from Lugo, Northwest Spain, were genotyped for the MICA-TM microsatellite polymorphism using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based method. Genotyping of HLA-B was performed using PCR and detection with a reverse sequence-specific oligonucleotide (SSO) probes system. RESULTS A significant difference in the distribution of the alleles of MICA between patient and control groups (P = 0.005) was found. This was due to an increased frequency of the MICA A5 allele in GCA patients compared with controls (26 vs 13.6%; P = 0.0001; P(C) = 0.0005; OR 2.2, 95% CI 1.4-3.4). In addition, the HLA-B*15 allele showed a higher frequency in GCA patients compared with controls (P = 0.004; P(C) = 0.04; OR 2.7, 95% CI 1.3-5.7). Interestingly, the association observed with the MICA A5 allele seems to be independent of linkage disequilibrium with HLA-B, as well as independent of that previously described with HLA-DRB1*04. Remarkably, simultaneous presence of MICA A5 and HLA-B*15 or HLA-DRB1*04 genetic markers leads to an increase in the OR obtained for each individual genetic marker (MICA A5 + B*15 OR 3.2; MICA A5 + DRB1*04 OR 5.8). CONCLUSIONS Our results provide the first evidence that the MICA and HLA-B genes are independently associated with the genetic susceptibility to GCA, and suggest that several genes within the MHC might have independent effects in the susceptibility to this systemic vasculitis.
Structure and mobilization of an ampicillin and gentamicin resistance determinant

A DNA segment originally found in an epidemic plasmid of Escherichia coli encoding an aminoglycoside-(3)-N-acetyltransferase gene (aacC5) and a TEM-type beta-lactamase gene was characterized. The two genes were adjacent and constituted a single transcriptional unit. In addition, these genes were simultaneously mobilized through the action of an insertion sequence related to IS26, IS140, and IS15-delta. This DNA segment is a composite transposon which has been called Tn2922.
Two ways of estimating the euro value of the illicit market for cannabis in France.

INTRODUCTION The most recent health surveys in general population are used in order to estimate the annual market size for cannabis in France in 2005. METHODS Two methods for arriving at an estimate are proposed: the first based on reported consumption, the other on reported expenditure on cannabis. RESULTS The annual sales figure for cannabis in France is between 746 and 832 million euro. Men's expenditure accounts for between 80 and 85% of total expenditure and those aged between 15 and 24 years account for the greatest part of the size of the cannabis market, between 57 and 60%, depending upon the method. CONCLUSIONS According to these estimates, consumers' average annual expenditure on cannabis is around euro 202 in France, compared to estimates obtained for New Zealand and Holland (euro 124) and the United States (euro 362).
A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF EFFICIENCY BETWEEN CONVENTIONAL AND ISLAMIC BANKS IN INDONESIA Shinta Amalina

This paper investigates the bank efficiency as a basis performance measurement in the Conventional and Islamic banks in Indonesia in the period of January 2008 – September 2013 using quarterly-published report data of Central Bank (Bank Indonesia) with 6 Conventional banks and 3 Islamic banks in Indonesia as the samples of the research. The Bank efficiency in this research is measured using financial ratios and macroeconomics as determinants of Return on Assets (ROA) and non-parametric approach DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis). In term of variables that determine ROA using panel least square by estimating Fixed Effect Method (FEM), the findings reveal that there are significant effects of Loans to deposit ratio (LDR), Operational efficiency ratio (OER) and GDP growth rate to ROA and there are no significant effects of Capital Adequacy ratio (CAR), Size and inflation rate in the Conventional banks in Indonesia. On the other hand, all the independent variables have significant effect to ROA, except financing to deposit ratio (FDR) in the Islamic banks in Indonesia. GDP growth rate is the highest coefficient among the determinant variables used in this research that affect ROA of both Conventional and Islamic banks and the weakest coefficient that affects ROA is CAR in the Conventional banks and FDR in the Islamic banks. The findings of DEA indicate that the bank inefficiency is caused of not-well function of banks and managers of banks are not able to use the firms’ given resources. © 2015 AESS Publications. All Rights Reserved.
Multi-agent based QoS-aware Service Composition

Service composition is the current research focus in the field of Service-Oriented Computing. However, the service discovery and selection mechanisms are static and not flexible in existing approaches on service composition, and the end-to-end QoS of a composite service can not also be ensured. In this paper, Multi-agent based QoS-aware Service Composition solution (MQSC) is presented, in which the concept of user satisfaction degree is introduced to depict the QoS of the service and the composite service execution mechanism based on Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) is presented in detail. Through the collaboration between agents, MQSC not only can provide a mechanism for the dynamic service composition but also can ensure the end-to-end QoS of the composite service.
Link prediction of datasets sameAS interlinking network on web of data

In order to be considered as Linked Data, the datasets on the web must be linked to other datasets. Current studies on dataset interlinking prediction researches do not distinguish the type of links, which are of less help for real application scenarios, as dataset publishers still do not know what kinds of RDF links can be established and furthermore how to configure the data linking algorithms. In this paper, we focus on predicting the possible links between datasets with the most important RDF link type, owl:sameAs. Since the goal is to discriminate between linked dataset pairs against not-linked ones, we formulate the link prediction problem as a classification problem. We adopt Random Forest as the basic classifier to incorporate features of the scores output by unsupervised predictors, and apply the bagging technique to combine multiple forests to reduce variance and improve the accuracy. Experiments show we can improve the prediction performance by about 10% in AUROC.
Using enterprise architecture artefacts in an organisation

As a tool for management and planning, Enterprise Architecture (EA) can potentially align organisations’ business processes, information, information systems and technology towards a common goal, and supply the information required within this journey. However, an explicit view on why, how, when and by whom EA artefacts are used in order to realise its full potential is not defined. Utilising the features of information systems use studies and data from a case study with 14 EA stakeholder interviews, we identify and describe 15 EA artefact use situations that are then reflected in the related literature. Their analysis enriches understanding of what are EA artefacts, how and why they are used and when are they used, and results in a theoretical framework for understanding their use in general.