Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A survey on the drug therapy for delirium

Abstract Delirium, which is experienced by 10–30% of inpatients, is commonly seen in daily practice. A survey was conducted of the delirium medications, and results were obtained from 28 psychiatric departments and related facilities. Haloperidol was used in 67% cases for the treatment of delirium. Ninety‐seven per cent of facilities considered haloperidol as the drug of first choice, while 57% thought this drug had few side‐effects and was easy to use. However, because the use of this drug is not covered by health insurance in Japan, its use is limited. We expect that this study on medication for the treatment of delirium will be a first step in increasing the approved indications for drugs used for the treatment of delirium, and to reduce off‐label use.
The protein encoded by the Drosophila position‐effect variegation suppressor gene Su(var)3‐9 combines domains of antagonistic regulators of homeotic gene complexes.

Modifier mutations of position‐effect variegation (PEV) represent a useful tool for a genetic and molecular dissection of genes connected with chromatin regulation in Drosophila. The Su(var)3‐9 gene belongs to the group of haplo suppressor loci which manifest a triplo enhancer effect. Mutations show a strong suppressor effect even in the presence of PEV enhancer mutations, indicating a central role of this gene in the regulation of PEV. By molecular analysis, Su(var)3‐9 could be correlated with a 2.4 kb transcript which encodes a putative protein of 635 amino acids containing a chromo domain and a region of homology to Enhancer of zeste and trithorax, two antagonistic regulators of the Antennapedia and Bithorax gene complexes, as well as to the human protein ALL‐1/Hrx which is implicated in acute leukemias. This region of homology is found in all four proteins at the C‐terminus. The homology of Su(var)3‐9 to both negative (Polycomb and Enhancer of zeste) and positive (trithorax) regulators of the Antennapedia and Bithorax complexes also suggests similarities in the molecular processes connected with stable transmission of a determined state and the clonal propagation of heterochromatinization.
Inter- and intraindividual variation of endotoxin- and β(1 → 3)-glucan-induced cytokine responses in a whole blood assay

Inflammatory airway responses to bioaerosols and to their active compounds, such as endotoxin and β(1 → 3)- glucan, vary between individuals. These differences may be explained by variation in cytokine responsiveness, which can be assessed by in vitro stimulation tests with isolated blood leukocytes or lung macrophages. In large- scale population studies, ex vivo induced cytokine production may also be tested with a more simple `whole blood assay’ (WBA). However, applicability of a WBA to characterize a subject’s responsiveness depends largely on its reproducibility. This study was conducted to: 1) assess the within- and between-subject variability in cytokine production in a WBA after stimulation with endotoxin or β(1 → 3)-glucan; and 2) to determine under which conditions this test is most discriminating between subjects and most reproducible within subjects. Blood was collected from 14 healthy volunteers, of whom 10 also participated on a second occasion. Each blood sample was used in two WBA tests; the first WBA was initiated two hours and the second 26 hours after venapuncture. The WBA test itself comprised overnight incubation with serial dilutions of endotoxin [lipopolysaccharide (LPS)] and curdlan (a β(1 → 3)-glucan), after which blood cell supernatant was collected. Interleukin(IL)-1, IL6, IL8 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) were determined in the supernatant. In all individuals, a dose-dependent production of cytokines was observed for both LPS and curdlan. For all cytokines, variation between subjects was higher than within subjects, and this was most pronounced for IL1 and IL6. There was moderate-to-high correlation in the induced release of all four cytokines, and between cytokine release induced by LPS or curdlan. Optimal stimulation concentrations were 6.25 and 12.5 ng/mL for endotoxin and 12 500 and 25 000 ng/mL for curdlan. Cytokine production in WBA initiated 26 hours after venapuncture showed lower between-subject and larger within-subject variance, thus favoring an early initiation of the assay. In conclusion, measuring endotoxin-or glucan-induced cytokine production in a WBA initiated within two hours after venapuncture appears to be an effective method to determine a person’s cytokine responsiveness, at least in healthy naive subjects. Toxicology and Industrial Health 2002; 18: 15-27.
Enteritis and coliform bacteremia in guinea pigs given penicillin.

The observation that small doses of penicillin may be lethal for the guinea pig was first made by Hamre, Rake, McKee and MacPhillamy in I943V and the mechanism of this surprising phenomenon has intrigued investigators ever since. Very large doses of penicillin produce an acute lethal neurologic syndrome in most experimental animals, including the guinea pig.2 Much smaller doses, however, produce a delayed type of illness in the guinea pig and hamster 3 which has not been described in other species. Guinea pigs appear well for 2 or 3 days after penicillin injection, and then rapidly sicken and die on the third to the sixth day.4 Early theories of the nature of the toxicity of penicillin for the guinea pig invoked a direct chemical effect of penicillin on the animal.5 But in I955 de Somer, Van de Voorde, Eyssen and Van Dijck4 demonstrated that the administration of penicillin is followed by a massive proliferation of gram-negative coliform organisms in the intestine of the guinea pig.4 The intestinal flora of the guinea pig, unlike that of most other animals, is predominantly gram-positive, and coliform organisms are not usually present in significant numbers.6'7 De Somer postulated that penicillin suppresses the normal gram-positive flora, and allows the overgrowth of gram-negative coliform organisms, which are somehow responsible for the fatal illness. If this hypothesis is correct, then this disease would represent a reproducible and relatively well defined experimental model for the study of bacterial superinfection associated with the administration of an antibiotic agent. Problems of this nature are commonly encountered in clinical medicine, but under clinical circumstances are very difficult to study in a systematic manner. The present study was therefore undertaken to quantitate the changes in the intestinal microbial flora of the guinea pig associated with penicillin administration, and to evaluate the relationship of these changes to the clinical and morphologic manifestations of disease in these animals.
Linear Sparse Array Synthesis With Minimum Number of Sensors

The number of sensors employed in an array affects the array performance, computational load, and cost. Consequently, the minimization of the number of sensors is of great importance in practice. However, relatively fewer research works have been reported on the later. In this paper, a novel optimization method is proposed to address this issue. In the proposed method, the improved genetic algorithm that has been presented at a conference recently, is used to optimize the weight coefficients and sensor positions of the array. Sensors that contribute the least to the array performance are then removed systematically until the smallest acceptable number of sensors is obtained. Specifically, this paper reports the study on the relationship between the peak sidelobe level and the sensor weights, and uses the later to select the sensors to be removed. Through this approach, the desired beam pattern can be synthesized using the smallest number of sensors efficiently. Numerical results show that the proposed sensor removal method is able to achieve good sidelobe suppression with a smaller number of sensors compared to other existing algorithms. The computational load required by our proposed approach is about one order less than that required by other existing algorithms too.
Hidden Order: How Adaptation Builds Complexity.

Computer simulations of artificial ecologies typically model the interactions of a population of independently acting, spatially situated, resource-restricted, differently structured, self-reproducing agents. The interactions in such systems are typically highly nonlinear, subject to random perturbation, executed in parallel, and coevolutionary in the sense that the agents interact with each other as well as their environment. Examples of artificial ecologies that possess the above characteristics include Skipper's "computer zoo" of migrating flocks of hierarchically invokable fragments of assembly code [10], Shanahan's populations of evolutionary automata [9], Lindgren's coevolving populations of strategies for playing the iterated prisoner's dilemma game [5], the Turing gas of self-organizing groups of autocatalytic algorithmic fragments of Rasmussen, KnudLsen, and Feldberg [6], Ray's populations of parasitic and symbiotic self-reproducing assembly code programs [8], the populations of redcode coreworld creatures of Rasmussen, Knudsen, Feldberg, and Hindsholm [7], Werner and Dyer's populations of males and females that coevolve communication [11], and Ackley and Littman's artificial world for testing the Baldwin effect concerning learning and evolution [1]. Each of these complex adaptive systems (and many others like them) succeed in illustrating one or more key features of living systems. However, each of these systems live up to their name in the worst possible way—they are all exceedingly complex. The emergent behavior and other interesting phenomena are obscured by so much modelspecific detail that it is rarely clear whether the observed phenomena represent any important general principles or are merely artifacts of the details. Moreover, all of these existing systems are computationally expensive and deliver little in the way of important emergent phenomena in relation to the amount of computational effort expended. This excessive overhead is not merely a matter of inefficiency or inconvenience; it may actually preclude emergence of important phenomena that can only materialize in the presence of certain minimum amounts of time or matter. John Holland's new book, Hidden Order: How Adaptation Builds Complexity [3],
La conservación de los geomateriales utilizados en el patrimonio

El libro recoge las ponencias del curso de posgrado La conservacion de los geomateriales utilizados en el patrimonio, celebrado en mayo de 2011 en la sede de la Facultad de Ciencias Geologicas IGEO (CSIC-UCM). Este curso fue organizado por el Programa de Investigacion Durabilidad y Conservacion de los Geomateriales del Patrimonio Construido (Programa Geomateriales, P2009/M_1629), financiado por la Comunidad de Madrid y el Fondo Social Europeo.
A Fast Recursive Algorithm For Computing The Discrete Cosine Transform

The Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) has found wide applications in various fields, including image data compression, because it operates like the Karhunen-Loeve Transform for stationary random data. This paper presents a recursive algorithm for DCT whose structure allows the generation of the next higher-order DCT from two identical lower order DCT's. As a result, the method for implementing this recursive DCT requires fewer multipliers and adders than other DCT algorithms.
Detection of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 genomic RNA in plasma samples by reverse‐transcription polymerase chain reaction

An application of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to the direct detection of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV‐1) viremia is described. The amplification of specific HIV‐1 sequences of gag and env viral genes was carried out after the reverse‐transcription of plasma samples (plasma RT‐PCR) from seropositive subjects. The assay is faster and cheaper than detection of specific HIV‐1 transcripts from peripheral blood mononuclear cells by RT‐PCR. The data suggest that HIV‐1 viremia is detectable by plasma RT‐PCR in a large proportion of seropositive individuals.
A search for neutral carbon towards two z= 4.05 submillimetre galaxies, GN 20 and GN 20.2

Using the IRAM Plateau de Bure Interferometer (PdBI) we have searched for the upper fine structure line of neutral carbon [C I(^3P_2 → ^3P_1), ν_(rest) = 809 GHz] and ^(12)CO(J = 7 → 6) (ν_(rest) = 806 GHz) towards the submillimetre galaxies (SMGs) GN20 (SMM J123711.9+622212, z = 4.055) and GN20.2 (SMMJ123708.8+622202, z = 4.051). The far-infrared continuum is detected at 8σ significance in GN20, with a flux density of S_(1.8mm) = 1.9 ± 0.2mJy, while no continuum is detected in GN20.2. Both sources are statistically undetected in both CI(^3P_2 → ^3P1) and ^(12)CO(J = 7→6) lines; we derive line luminosity limits for both C I and CO of L^'≾ X 2 × 10^(10) Kkms^(−1_ pc^2. Assuming carbon excitation temperatures of T _(ex) = 30 K (the galaxies’ measured dust temperatures), we infer CI mass limits of M_(CI) < 5.4 × 10^6 M_⊙ (GN 20) and M_(CI) < 6.8 × 10^6 M-⊙ (GN 20.2). The derived C I abundance limits are <1.8 × 10^(−5) for GN20 and <3.8 × 10^(−)5 for GN20.2, implying that the systems have Milky Way level carbon enrichment (X[C I]/X[H_2]) or lower, similar to high-redshift carbon-detected systems (at 5 × 10^(−5)) but about 50 times less than the carbon enrichment of local starburst galaxies. Observations of GN20 and GN20.2 in high-resolution MERLIN+VLA (Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network+Very Large Array) radio maps of GOODS-N (Great Observatories Origin Deep Survey-North) are used to further constrain the sizes and locations of active regions.We conclude that the physical gas properties of young rapidly evolving systems like GN20 and GN20.2 are likely significantly different than starburst/ULIRG (ultraluminous infrared galaxy) environments in the local Universe yet similar to z ~ 2 SMGs. Unless gravitationally amplified examples can be found, observations of galaxies like GN20 will require the order of magnitude increase in sensitivity of the Atacama Large Millimetre Array (ALMA) to constrain their C I and high-J CO content, despite the fact that they are the brightest systems at z ~ 4.
The p53 pathway

Abnormalities of the p53 tumour suppressor gene are among the most frequent molecular events in human and animal neoplasia. Moreover, p53 is one of the most studied proteins in the whole of contemporary biology, with more than 12500 papers so far written! In this review the choice has been deliberately made not to be fully comprehensive in the coverage of the huge p53 literature. Rather attention is focused on a small number of recent developments which are reviewed in the context of modern models of p53 function. Progress in the analysis of signalling to p53 including phosphorylation cascades, and interactions with proteins such as mdm2 and ARF are highlighted. The plethora of protein–protein interactions is discussed, as are the strategies for defining downstream targets of p53. Finally, the emerging biology of p53 homologues is considered. The need for bridging the gap between reductionist, biochemical and biophysical studies and biological and genetic analysis is emphasized. Only this will provide the needed framework for utilizing the information in clinical care. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Lysosomal leakage and lack of adaptation of hepatoprotective enzyme contribute to enhanced susceptibility to ethanol-induced liver injury in female rats.

BACKGROUND Women exhibit greater liver damage than men after chronic alcohol consumption. Similar findings are reported in animal models. Here, we determined whether differential liver injury occurred in male and female rats after feeding these animals liquid diets containing either ethanol or isocaloric dextrose with fish oil as the sole source of lipid. METHODS Control and ethanol liquid diets containing fish oil were pair-fed to male and female rats for 8 weeks. Liver damage was evaluated by triglyceride accumulation, lipid peroxide formation, serum transaminases, histological evaluation, and the activities of selected lysosomal and hepatoprotective enzymes. RESULTS Fatty liver was detected after ethanol feeding in both genders, but in female rats, triglyceride levels were 60% higher, lipid peroxides were 2-fold higher, and inflammatory cells were more evident than in males. A 2-fold elevation of cathepsin B in hepatic cytosol fractions, indicating lysosomal leakage, was detected in ethanol-fed female rats but no such elevation was observed in males. The basal activity of the hepatoprotective enzyme, betaine-homocysteine methyltransferase was 4-fold higher in livers of control male rats than females, and the enzyme activity was further elevated in ethanol-fed male rats but not in females. CONCLUSIONS Thus, female rats given ethanol in a diet containing fish oil exhibited more severe liver damage than males. We propose that this difference results, in part, from a greater tendency by females to accumulate hepatic fat, thereby enhancing the potential for oxidative stress, which in turn leads to hepatic inflammation. In addition, our findings indicate that female rats have a higher susceptibility to liver damage because of a reduced capacity for hepatoprotection.
Universal Remote Delivery of Rehabilitation: Validation with Seniors' Joint Rehabilitation Therapy

Remote rehabilitation applications still have limited deployment. The path to achieve greater user acceptance and adherence lies in the provision of solutions in their real-life context. Such acceptance is gained through flexibility provided in terms of location, client device, interaction means, and content. This article presents a universal remote rehabilitation delivery approach supporting the introduced flexibility needs. Furthermore, an implementation of the approach in joint rehabilitation for the elderly is described. The approach has been evaluated in a real scenario within Donostia Hospital. The usability evaluation results show the validity of the approach and the acceptance of the developed human −computer interaction paradigm.
Complete sequence, gene arrangement, and genetic code of mitochondrial DNA of the cephalochordate Branchiostoma floridae (Amphioxus)

We have determined the 15,083-nucleotide (nt) sequence of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of the lancelet Branchiostoma floridae (Chordata: Cephalochordata). As is typical in metazoans, the mtDNA encodes 13 protein, 2 rRNA, and 22 tRNA genes. The gene arrangement differs from the common vertebrate arrangement by only four tRNA gene positions. Three of these are unique to Branchiostoma, but the fourth is in a position that is primitive for chordates. It shares the genetic code variations found in vertebrate mtDNAs except that AGA = serine, a code variation found in many invertebrate phyla but not in vertebrates (the related codon AGG was not found). Branchiostoma mtDNA lacks a vertebrate-like control region; its largest noncoding region (129 nt) is unremarkable in sequence or base composition, and its location between ND5 and tRNAG differs from that usually found in vertebrates. It also lacks a potential hairpin DNA structure like those found in many (though not in all) vertebrates to serve as the second-strand (i.e., L-strand) origin of replication. Perhaps related to this, the sequence corresponding to the DHU arm of tRNAC cannot form a helical stem, a condition found in a few other vertebrate mtDNAs that also lack a canonical L-strand origin of replication. ATG and GTG codons appear to initiate translation in 11 and 2 of the protein-encoding genes, respectively. Protein genes end with complete (TAA or TAG) or incomplete (T or TA) stop codons; the latter are presumably converted to TAA by post-transcriptional polyadenylation.
The effects of control of thermal balance on vascular stability in hemodialysis patients: results of the European randomized clinical trial.

BACKGROUND Many reports note that the use of cool dialysate has a protective effect on blood pressure during hemodialysis (HD) treatments. However, formal clinical trials in which dialysate temperature is tailored to the body temperature of appropriately selected hypotension-prone patients are lacking. METHODS We investigated the effect of thermal control of dialysate on hemodynamic stability in hypotension-prone patients selected from 27 centers in nine European countries. Patients were eligible for the study if they had symptomatic hypotensive episodes in 25% or more of their HD sessions, assessed during a prospective screening phase over 1 month. The study is designed as a randomized crossover trial with two phases and two treatment arms, each phase lasting 4 weeks. We used a device allowing the regulation of thermal balance (Blood Temperature Monitor; Fresenius Medical Care, Bad Homberg, Germany), by which we compared a procedure aimed at preventing any transfer of thermal energy between dialysate and extracorporeal blood (thermoneutral dialysis) with a procedure aimed at keeping body temperature unchanged (isothermic dialysis). RESULTS One hundred sixteen HD patients were enrolled, and 95 patients completed the study. During thermoneutral dialysis (energy flow rate: DeltaE = -0.22 +/- 0.29 kJ/kg x h), 6 of 12 treatments (median) were complicated by hypotension, whereas during isothermic dialysis (energy flow rate: DeltaE = -0.90 +/- 0.35 kJ/kg x h), the median decreased to 3 of 12 treatments (P < 0.001). Systolic and diastolic blood pressures and heart rate were more stable during the latter procedure. Isothermic dialysis was well tolerated by patients. CONCLUSION Results show that active control of body temperature can significantly improve intradialytic tolerance in hypotension-prone patients.
Domain-specific and domain-general precursors of mathematical achievement: a longitudinal study from kindergarten to first grade.

BACKGROUND Many contributing factors, both domain specific and domain general, influence children's performance in school achievement. AIMS This research aims to verify the importance of kindergarten measures of cognitive abilities and numerical competence in the role of predicting mathematical school achievement at the end of first grade. SAMPLE AND METHODS A total of 70 children (38 females and 32 males) took part in the study. We tested the children at the beginning of their last year of kindergarten (time 1) on the following cognitive abilities: IQ, phonology, counting skills, verbal short-term memory, visuo-spatial short-term memory, working memory, and processing speed. Then, we tested the same children at end of their last year of kindergarten (time 2) on a measure of numerical competence and at the end of their first year of primary school (time 3) on a test of math achievement. RESULTS Path analysis models revealed the direct influence of working memory and processing speed on predicting numerical competence in pre-schoolers and the influence of processing speed and verbal IQ on predicting math achievement in first graders. Moreover, this study found a direct link between numerical competence and math achievement. CONCLUSIONS Both domain-specific and domain-general factors contribute to determining math achievement at the end of first grade.
Ill-posedness of degenerate dispersive equations

In this paper we provide numerical and analytical evidence that some degenerate dispersive partial differential equations are ill-posed. Specifically we study the K (2, 2) equation ut = (u2)xxx + (u2)x and the ‘degenerate Airy’ equation ut = 2uuxxx. For K (2, 2) our results are computational in nature: we conduct a series of numerical simulations which demonstrate that data which is very small in H2 can be of unit size at a fixed time which is independent of the data's size. For the degenerate Airy equation, our results are fully rigorous: we prove the existence of a compactly supported self-similar solution which, when combined with certain scaling invariances, implies ill-posedness (also in H2).