Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The use of pre-operative computed tomography in the assessment of the acute abdomen.

INTRODUCTION While there are a lot of data on the accuracy of computed tomography (CT) in diagnosing specific causes of an acute abdomen, there is very little information on the accuracy of CT in the acute general surgical admissions workload. We look at the diagnostic accuracy of CT in patients presenting with an acute abdomen who ultimately required a laparotomy. METHODS Patients who underwent an emergency laparotomy between 2008 and 2010 at Eastbourne District General Hospital with pre-operative CT on the same admission were included in the study. The CT report was compared with the laparotomy and histology findings and, where a discrepancy existed, the original imaging was reviewed by a senior consultant blinded to the original report and laparotomy findings. RESULTS A total of 196 emergency laparotomies were performed over the 2-year period, with 112 patients undergoing preoperative CT. Fifteen patients were excluded from the study due to missing notes. In the remaining 97 patients, 80 CT reports correlated with the final operative diagnosis, giving a diagnostic accuracy of 82%. Of these, the on-call registrar was the initial reporter in 37 scans, with a diagnostic accuracy of 78%. On review of the CT by a second consultant, this increased to 90 correlations, yielding an accuracy of 93%. Delay between CT and the operation did not significantly alter diagnostic accuracy, nor was there any statistically significant reduction in accuracy in reports issued by on-call registrars. CONCLUSIONS On first reporting, CT misses 18% of diagnoses that ultimately require operative intervention. Reducing the threshold for obtaining a second consultant radiologist review significantly improves the diagnostic accuracy to 93%.
ALLERGY AND MIGRAINE: A CLINICAL STUDY

DEFINED NARROWLY, migraine applies to attacks of headache associated with visual aura, nausea, vomiting, and a variety of such neurologic symptoms as photophobia, dizziness, and paresthesias. In current usage the term has been expanded to include "common migraine," a type in which little more than recurrent headache occurs.1 The purpose of this paper is to discuss the migraine syndrome as it occurs in allergy practice and to present the results of a study of 143 cases.
Lactulose Crystals Beneficially Affect Community Composition Along Entire Human Colon in Vitro, Resulting in Donor-Dependent Prebiotic Effects at Metabolic Level

A validated in vitro gut model (i.e. SHIME®) was used to assess the effect of repeated daily administration of lactulose on microbial metabolic activity and community composition in different colonic areas, with the focus on inter-individual differences among three human subjects. An initial rise in acetate and lactate levels was observed in the proximal colon after lactulose administration, which could be linked to an overall strong bifidogenic effect as well as higher Lactobacilli levels in donors 2 and 3. Particularly two operational taxonomic units (OTUs) related to Bifidobacterium adolescentis and Bifidobacterium longum increased with lactulose addition. The enhanced acetate and lactate production subsequently stimulated microbial species involved in cross-feeding interactions, resulting in the donor-dependent production of propionate and/or butyrate. Additionally, a reduction in markers of proteolytic fermentation was detected upon lactulose supplementation. A wide spectrum of propionate- and especially butyrate-producing microbes, such as the next-generation probiotics Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and Akkermansia muciniphila, were donor-dependently enhanced in the distal colon, which is of specific interest as many colonic diseases originate in the distal part of the colon. For the first time beneficial effects of lactulose on the microbiota as well as metabolic activity could be demonstrated over the entire colon in vitro.
Inhibition of AAC(6′)-Ib-Mediated Resistance to Amikacin in Acinetobacter baumannii by an Antisense Peptide-Conjugated 2′,4′-Bridged Nucleic Acid-NC-DNA Hybrid Oligomer

ABSTRACT Multiresistant Acinetobacter baumannii, a common etiologic agent of severe nosocomial infections in compromised hosts, usually harbors aac(6′)-Ib. This gene specifies resistance to amikacin and other aminoglycosides, seriously limiting the effectiveness of these antibiotics. An antisense oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN4) that binds to a duplicated sequence on the aac(6′)-Ib mRNA, one of the copies overlapping the initiation codon, efficiently inhibited translation in vitro. An isosequential nuclease-resistant hybrid oligomer composed of 2′,4′-bridged nucleic acid-NC (BNANC) residues and deoxynucleotides (BNANC-DNA) conjugated to the permeabilizing peptide (RXR)4XB (“X” and “B” stand for 6-aminohexanoic acid and β-alanine, respectively) (CPPBD4) inhibited translation in vitro at the same levels observed in testing ODN4. Furthermore, CPPBD4 in combination with amikacin inhibited growth of a clinical A. baumannii strain harboring aac(6′)-Ib in liquid cultures, and when both compounds were used as combination therapy to treat infected Galleria mellonella organisms, survival was comparable to that seen with uninfected controls.
Ultrasonic BoneScalpel for Osteoplastic Laminoplasty in the Resection of Intradural Spinal Pathology: Case Series and Technical Note

BACKGROUND: Osteoplastic laminoplasty is a well-described technique that may decrease the incidence of progressive kyphosis when used in the setting of intradural spinal cord tumor resection. OBJECTIVE: The BoneScalpel by Aesculap (Central Valley, Pennsylvania) is an ultrasonic osteotome that precisely cuts bone while preserving the underlying soft tissues, potentially reducing the risk of dural laceration during laminoplasty. By producing osteotomies as narrow as 0.5 mm, the device may also facilitate postoperative osteointegration. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted of 40 patients (mean age, 38.0 years; range, 4.0-79.7 years) who underwent osteoplastic laminoplasty using the BoneScalpel for the treatment of intradural spinal pathology at the Johns Hopkins Hospital between January 2009 and December 2011. After lesion resection, titanium plates were used to reconstruct the lamina in all cases. The technical results and procedure-related complications were subsequently noted. RESULTS: Successful laminoplasty was carried out in all 40 patients. Intraoperatively, 1 case of incidental durotomy was noted after use of the device, which was repaired primarily without neurological or clinical sequelae. During the follow-up period (mean, 195 days; median, 144 days), there were 2 complications (1 cerebrospinal fluid leak, 1 seroma) and no cases of immediate postoperative instability. CONCLUSION: The BoneScalpel is a safe and technically feasible device for performing osteoplastic laminoplasty.
Effects of nonlinear distortion on delay-multiplexing of satellite navigation signals

The nonlinear effect of satellite's high power amplifiers causes the navigation signal distortion of limited bandwidth, which would affect signals in the power spectrum characteristic. This paper gave a signal model based on delay-multiplexing, improved fitting of nonlinear analyzing model (SAM model) on navigation signal. A new method of evaluating nonlinear distortion was presented, which was based on the signal in-band consisted of the effective signal and the jamming signal, and used the maximal effective output power as the evaluating characteristic. The influence of nonlinear distortion was simulated and analyzed on the fitting model in this paper. Further results showed that the delay-multiplexing be better than the direct-multiplexing in improving the effect of nonlinear distortion.
Pros and cons of vertical integration between clinical medicine and basic science within a problem-based undergraduate medical curriculum: examples and experiences from Linköping, Sweden

Problem-based learning (PBL), combined with early patient contact, multiprofessional education and emphasis on development of communications skills, has become the basis for the medical curriculum at the Faculty of Health Sciences in Linköping (FHS), Sweden, which was started in 1986. Important elements in the curriculum are vertical integration, i.e. integration between the clinical and basic science parts of the curriculum and horizontal integration between different subject areas. This article discusses the importance of vertical integration in an undergraduate medical curriculum, according to experiences from the Faculty of Health Sciences in Linköping, and also give examples on how it has been implemented during the latest 15 years. Results and views put forward in published articles concerning vertical integration within undergraduate medical education are discussed in relation to the experiences in Linköping. Vertical integration between basic sciences and clinical medicine in a PBL setting has been found to stimulate profound rather than superficial learning, and thereby stimulates better understanding of important biomedical principles. Integration probably leads to better retention of knowledge and the ability to apply basic science principles in the appropriate clinical context. Integration throughout the whole curriculum entails a lot of time and work in respect of planning, organization and execution. The teachers have to be deeply involved and enthusiastic and have to cooperate over departmental borders, which may produce positive spin-off effects in teaching and research but also conflicts that have to be resolved. The authors believe vertical integration supports PBL and stimulates deep and lifelong learning.
Kinetic analysis of the effects of H+ or Ni2+ on Kv1.5 current shows that both ions enhance slow inactivation and induce resting inactivation

External H+ and Ni2+ ions inhibit Kv1.5 channels by increasing current decay during a depolarizing pulse and reducing the maximal conductance. Although the former may be attributed to an enhancement of slow inactivation occurring from the open state, the latter cannot. Instead, we propose that the loss of conductance is due to the induction, by H+ or Ni2+, of a resting inactivation process. To assess whether the two inactivation processes are mechanistically related, we examined the time courses for the onset of and recovery from H+‐ or Ni2+‐enhanced slow inactivation and resting inactivation. Compared to the time course of H+‐ or Ni2+‐enhanced slow inactivation at +50 mV, the onset of resting inactivation induced at −80 mV with either ion involves a relatively slower process. Recovery from slow inactivation under control conditions was bi‐exponential, indicative of at least two inactivated states. Recovery following H+‐ or Ni2+‐enhanced slow inactivation or resting inactivation had time constants similar to those for recovery from control slow inactivation, although H+ and Ni2+ biased inactivation towards states from which recovery was fast and slow, respectively. The shared time constants suggest that the H+‐ and Ni2+‐enhanced slow inactivated and induced resting inactivated states are similar to those visited during control slow inactivation at pH 7.4. We conclude that in Kv1.5 H+ and Ni2+ differentially enhance a slow inactivation process that involves at least two inactivated states and that resting inactivation is probably a close variant of slow inactivation.
Chromophore transformations in red fluorescent proteins.

The discovery of Anthozoa homologs of the green fluorescent protein (GFP) from jellyfish Aequorea victoria, which emit not only green but also yellow, orange, and red fluorescence, provided a powerful boost for in vivo labeling due to the colors and biochemical features never before encountered in GFP variants.1,2 GFP and several Anthozoa fluorescent proteins (FPs) have been developed into monomers suitable for protein tagging, such as: (i) permanently fluorescent conventional blue FP, yellow FPs, orange FPs, red FPs (RFPs), (ii) permanently fluorescent GFPs and RFPs with a large Stokes shift fluorescence emission (LSS-FPs), (iii) irreversibly photoactivatable/photoswitchable GFPs and RFPs,3,4 and (iv) fluorescent timers (FTs). 5,6 Among various fluorescent probes, the most valuable for deep-tissue and whole-body imaging are the red-shifted FPs because of reduced autofluorescence, low light-scattering, and minimal absorbance at longer imaging wavelengths. The mechanisms of formation of the GFP-like chromophore and its transformations were studied and described very well, however only a few reviews of those for RFPs are available 2,7. Several mechanisms of the autocatalytic and photoinduced formation of the red chromophores have been proposed.7 Because of the complexity of the red chromophore transformations, no general integrating scheme has been suggested. Despite the numerous data available, there are long lasting contradictions about the formation of the red chromophore. From the discovery of a DsRed FP, the formation of a DsRed-like chromophore was commonly suggested to occur through a green GFP-like intermediate form,8 and only several recent publications uncovered that the formation of the DsRed-like chromophore occurs via a TagBFP-like blue intermediate form, not via the GFP-like one. More than 140 crystal structures are currently available for FPs of different classes, and some of them are for the same FP in a different state or containing different mutations. An overview of the structural data together with FP spectral and photochemical properties illustrate the relationship between the FPs’ structure and function. Here, we focus on a description of the chromophores in RFPs, suggest the mechanisms of the red chromophores formation and its further modifications, and attempt to discover general postulates for this complex chemistry. We also provide insights into how the red chromophore chemistry and the RFP crystal structures are translated into RFPs function. Lastly, we descuss major applications of RFPs in the modern imaging techniques.
[Postoperative infection bacteria and drug resistance in patients with oral and maxillofacial tumors].

PURPOSE To evaluate postoperative infection patterns of patients suffering from oral and maxillofacial neoplasms. The risk factors giving rise to postoperative infections were analyzed. Infection bacteria and antibiotic resistance were investigated. METHODS Fifty-three cases suffering from postoperative infection were selected during 2007.12-2012.12 at the Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, West China College of Stomatology. The relationship between infections and factors including patients' sex, age, type of tumor, operation time and methods were evaluated with Excel and SPSS 21.0 software package, putting emphasis on infection bacteria and drug-resistance. RESULTS Postoperative infection mainly occurred in patients with oral malignant tumors. Operation types and time had important influence on postoperative infection. The infection bacteria included gram-positive (59.5%) and gram-negative ones (40.5%). Streptococcus pyogenes accounted for the majority of G- bacteria, which was very sensitive to β-lactam antibiotics. Pseudomonas aeruginosa were multi-drug resistant G- bacteria, which brought difficulties to the treatment of the infection. CONCLUSIONS Integrant bacterial culture and drug sensitivity test should be performed to choose appropriate antibiotics, and monitor multi-drug resistant bacteria, so as to improve the control rates of postoperative infection.
Criteria for ultracontractivity

In an earlier joint paper with B. Simon, we defined a notion of intrinsic ultracontractivity for Schrodinger operators, and obtained a lower bound on the ground state eigenfunction which implies it. In this paper we present a method of verifying this condition which applies to a variety of particular cases. We also prove another generalization of the uncertainty principle lemma which has been so important in the study of ultracontractivity and other spectral properties of Schrodinger operators On a defini, precedemment, la notion d'ultracontractivite intrinseque pour les operateurs de Schrodinger et on a obtenu une borne inferieure sur la fonction propre de l'etat fondamental qui entraine cette propriete. On presente, ici, une methode pour verifier cette condition qui s'applique a un ensemble varie de cas particuliers. On prouve aussi une autre generalisation du lemme exprimant le principe d'incertitude qui a ete important dans l'etude de l'ultracontractivite et des autres proprietes spectrales des operateurs de Schrodinger
Variation-Tolerant Architecture for Ultra Low Power Shared-L1 Processor Clusters

In this brief, we propose a variation-tolerant architecture for shared-L1 processor clusters working at near-threshold (NT). Our variation-tolerant technique is able to compensate the effect of delay variations, which are exacerbated by moving to the NT region, on the processor to memory communication by adding one or two stages of controllable pipelines. Moreover, we propose a reconfigurable address-interleaving technique, which enables us to shut down some of the memory blocks if they are either too slow due to the variation or not needed by the application (to reduce power consumption). Experimental results show that our speed adaptation approach is able to compensate up to 90% degradation in the request path with less than 2% hardware overhead for a shared-L1 cluster with 16 processors and 32 memory banks. The configurable interleaving technique has an overhead of 10% on the request timing path of a 16 × 32 interconnection network.
Inorganic Analyses of Martian Surface Samples at the Viking Landing Sites

Elemental analyses of fines in the Martian regolith at two widely separated landing sites, Chryse Planitia and Utopia Planitia, produced remarkably similar results. At both sites, the uppermost regolith contains abundant Si and Fe, with significant concentrations of Mg, Al, S, Ca, and Ti. The S concentration is one to two orders of magnitude higher, and K(<0.25 percent by weight) is at least 5 times lower than the average for the earth's crust. The trace elements Sr, Y, and possibly Zr, have been detected at concentrations near or below 100 parts per million. Pebblesized fragments sampled at Chryse contain more S than the bulk fines, and are thought to be pieces of a sulfate-cemented duricrust.
Postprandial plasma lipoproteins in normal and hypertriglyceridaemic subjects and their in vitro effect on platelet activity: differences between saturated and polyunsaturated fats.

The postprandial plasma lipoprotein pattern was studied in 10 normal and 10 hypertriglyceridaemic subjects after consumption of either a saturated or a polyunsaturated fat-rich meal. Plasma triglycerides increased in both groups 3 h after the meal, and this was followed after 5 h by a dramatic reduction in the normal subjects only; the reduction was less after the saturated fat meal than after the polyunsaturated fat meal. This plasma triglyceride pattern was a consequence of changes in the chylomicron and very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) fractions. No significant changes were found in high-density lipoprotein (HDL)- and low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol, triglycerides or protein concentration. Plasma cholesterol and apolipoproteins (apo) A-I and B were not significantly altered. The VLDL-apo C-III/apo C-II ratio increased 3 h after the saturated fat-rich meal, but decreased after the polyunsaturated fat-rich meal in normals, but not in the patient group. The effect of these postprandial lipoproteins on platelet function was studied by incubating normal washed platelets with the lipoprotein and then determining aggregation and [14C]serotonin release. All chylomicron fractions decreased platelet activity, whereas postprandial VLDL increased platelet activity. Five hours after the meals, the effect of VLDL on platelet activation was reduced in normal subjects only. The effect of postprandial LDL and HDL on platelet function differed little from that of the fasting lipoproteins. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Substance Abuse Interventions for Parents Involved in the Child Welfare System

Summary As child welfare systems across the country face the problem of parental substance abuse, there is an increasing need to understand the types of treatment approaches that are most effective for substance-abusing parents in the child welfare system-the majority of whom are mothers. This structured review of the literature focuses on evidence related to two areas: (1) individual-level interventions designed to assist mothers and women in addressing their substance abuse problems, and (2) system-level interventions designed to improve collaboration and coordination between the child welfare system and the alcohol and other drug system. Overall, research suggests the following program components may be effective with substance-abusing women with children: (1) Women-centered treatment that involves children, (2) Specialized health and mental health services, (3) Home visitation services, (4) Concrete assistance, (5) Short-term targeted interventions, and (6) Comprehensive programs that integrate many of these components. Research also suggests that promising collaborative models between the child welfare system (CWS) and the alcohol and other drug (AOD) system typically include the following core elements: (1) Out-stationing AOD workers in child welfare offices, (2) Joint case planning, (3) Using official committees to guide collaborative efforts, (4) Training and cross-training, (5) Using protocols for sharing confidential information, and (6) Using dependency drug courts. Although more rigorous research is needed on both individual-level and system-level substance abuse interventions for parents involved in the child welfare system, the integration of individual-level interventions and system-level approaches is a potentially useful practice approach with this vulnerable population.
Method for Testing for Human Papillomavirus Infection in Patients with Cervical Intraepithelial Disease

ABSTRACT To determine whether DNA detection of high-risk human papillomavirus could represent a reliable screening technique and a useful follow-up method, we investigated the performance of the Hybrid Capture II assay in detecting high-grade cervical lesions. The test positivity at 1.86 pg/ml had a high sensitivity (94.7%) and improved specificity. It was also a suitable follow-up method for detecting the recurrence of cervical intraepithelial disease in patients.
La alfabetización en salud como factor clave en el autocuidado de la dieta en personas con diabetes mellitus tipo 2

Introducción: Alfabetización en Salud (AS) es un término que proviene del inglés health literacy, se refiere al conjunto de habilidades sociales y cognitivas que determinan la capacidad de una persona para acceder, entender y utilizar la información de forma que le permita mantener un buen estado de salud. Objetivo: Determinar la asociación entre AS y las conductas de autocuidado en personas con diabetes mellitus tipo 2. Materiales y métodos: Estudio cuantitativo, transversal y analítico llevado a cabo en dos centros de salud de atención primaria de la ciudad de Xalapa, Veracruz, México entre agosto-noviembre de 2016. La AS se midió con el European Health Literacy Survey (HLS-EU-Q47) y las conductas de autocuidado con el Summary of Diabetes Self-care Activities (SDSCA) de Toobert y Glasgow. Se eligieron 90 personas con diabetes mellitus tipo 2 que acudían a consulta. La participación fue voluntaria y previa firma de consentimiento informado. Resultados: El autocuidado de la dieta mostró asociación con la AS en su dimensión de promoción de la salud (p=0,018). Conclusiones: La AS se relaciona con las conductas de autocuidado, en específico de la dieta; a medida que aumenta la AS mejora el autocuidado.