Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of 3 handheld portable analyzers for measurement of L-lactate concentrations in blood and peritoneal fluid of horses with colic.

OBJECTIVE To compare 3 portable handheld analyzers with a bench top blood gas analyzer for measurement of blood and peritoneal fluid L-lactate concentrations in horses admitted with signs of colic. STUDY DESIGN Prospective clinical study. SAMPLE POPULATION Blood and peritoneal fluid from horses with colic. METHODS L-lactate concentrations in heparinized blood and peritoneal fluid were measured serially on 10 occasions to evaluate repeatability of the portable analyzers. Blood and peritoneal fluid L-lactate concentrations were simultaneously evaluated by a bench top and 3 portable analyzers and the results compared by intraclass correlation coefficients and Bland Altman plots. L-Lactate concentrations in a subgroup of peritoneal fluid samples were evaluated by a chromogenic laboratory assay and compared with the bench top and the handheld analyzers. RESULTS Portable lactate analyzers had good intra-analyzer reliability for peritoneal fluid. Two portable analyzers had poor intra-analyzer reliability for mid concentrations of L-lactate in blood. L-lactate measurements from portable analyzers were closer to the bench top analyzer at low concentrations of L-lactate than at higher concentrations. Compared with the bench top analyzer, the Lactate Pro and Lactate Plus have the highest intraclass correlation coefficient and the smallest bias for peritoneal fluid and blood L-lactate, respectively. The bench top analyzer and the Lactate Pro had the highest level of agreement for peritoneal fluid compared with the chromogenic assay. CONCLUSIONS Although portable analyzers are alternatives for the measurement of L-lactate concentration in field situations, clinicians need to be aware of the variable results between analyzers, especially when extrapolating means or cutoff values from studies using different lactate analyzers.
The Effects of Tramadol and Morphine on Immune Responses and Pain After Surgery in Cancer Patients

There has been growing interest in determining the possible immune consequences of opioid administration for the management of postoperative pain. We studied the effects of morphine and tramadol on pain and immune function during the postoperative period in 30 patients undergoing abdominal surgery for uterine carcinoma. Phytohemoagglutinin-induced T lymphocyte proliferation and natural killer cell activity were evaluated immediately before and after surgery, and 2 h after the acute administration of either 10 mg of morphine IM or 100 mg tramadol IM for pain. In all patients, phytohemagglutinin-induced lymphoproliferation was significantly depressed by surgical stress. However, in the morphine-treated group, proliferative values remained lower than basal levels for 2 h after treatment, whereas in tramadol-administered patients proliferative values returned to basal levels. Natural killer cell activity was not significantly affected by surgery nor by morphine administration, whereas tramadol significantly enhanced the activity of natural killer cells. Both drugs produced a comparable reduction in postoperative pain. We conclude that, as previously observed in the experimental animal, tramadol and morphine, when administered in analgesic doses, induce different immune effects. Implications Recent studies suggest that opioids can have an adverse impact on the immune system. Because surgical stress also induces immune dysfunction, the search for analgesic drugs devoid of immunosuppressive effects is of import. This study compared the effects on immune responses of morphine and of the atypical opioid analgesic, tramadol, given for postoperative pain to gynecological cancer patients. Tramadol and morphine showed comparable analgesic activity; however, tramadol, in contrast to morphine, induced an improvement of postoperative immunosuppression and, therefore, may be preferred to morphine for the treatment of postoperative pain.
Modulation of Multidrug Resistance Gene Expression by Coumarin Derivatives in Human Leukemic Cells

The presence of multidrug resistance (MDR) in tumor cells is considered as the major cause of failure of cancer chemotherapy. The mechanism responsible for the phenomenon of multidrug resistance is explained, among others, as overexpression of membrane transporters primarily from the ABC family which actively remove cytostatics from the tumor cell. The effect of 20 coumarin derivatives on the cytotoxicity and expression of MDR1, MRP1, BCRP, and LRP genes (encoding proteins responsible for multidrug resistance) in cancer cells was analyzed in the study. The aim of this research included determination of IC10 and IC50 values of selected coumarin derivatives in the presence and absence of mitoxantrone in leukemia cells and analysis of changes in the expression of genes involved in multidrug resistance: MDR1, MRP, LRP, and BCRP after 24-hour exposure of the investigated cell lines to selected coumarins in the presence and absence of mitoxantrone in IC10 and IC50 concentrations. The designed research was conducted on 5 cell lines derived from the human hematopoietic system: CCRF/CEM, CEM/C1, HL-60, HL-60/MX1, and HL-60/MX2. Cell lines CEM/C1, HL-60/MX1, and HL-60/MX2 exhibit a multidrug resistance phenotype.
Génération d'images semi-synthétiques de documents anciens à des fins d'évaluation de performances et d'apprentissage

Dans cet article, nous etudions comment des donnees semi-synthetiques permettent d'evaluer finement les performances d'algorithmes ou de fournir des donnees d'apprentissage a un systeme de traitement ou d'analyse d'images de documents. Les images semi-synthetiques que nous generons reproduisent fidelement les defauts des documents anciens lies aux moyens d'impression anciens ou a la degradation de l'encre des caracteres. La premiere experimentation realisee dans cet article vise a comparer les performances de differents descripteurs texture dans l'optique d'une segmentation d'images. La seconde experience met en evidence le fait que l'utilisation d'images semi-synthetiques permet d'enrichir quantitativement et qualitativement une base d'apprentissage utilisee par une methode de prediction de resultats de binarisation d'images de documents et d'ameliorer les resultats de 15%.
Depressed Responsive-ness to Vasoconstrictor and Dilator Agents and Baroreflex Sensitivity in Conscious, Newborn Lambs

The effects of vasoconstrictors and vasodilators were compared in conscious, newborn lambs and adult sheep instrumented with electromagnetic flow probes on the ascending aorta and catheters in the thoracic aorta. Methoxamine, angiotensin II, norepinephrine, nitroglycerin and isoproterenol were administered intravenously to evaluate their effects on arterial pressure, cardiac output and systemic vascular resistance (SVR). The difference in response between adults and newborns was most apparent with methoxamine. Methoxamine, 400 μg/kg, i.v. , which increased mean arterial pressure by 57 ± 6% and SVR by 278 ± 27% in newborn lambs, caused greater increases (p < 0.01) of 81 ± 8% and 1418 ± 141%, respectively, in the adults. Responses also differed significantly between newborn and adult animals to norepinephrine, angiotensin II, nitroglycerin and isoproterenol. In a second group of animals in which smaller amounts of methoxamine and isoproterenol were injected directly into the terminal aorta, changes in terminal aortic flow and resistance were examined. Again, both vasoconstrictor and vasodilator responses were more marked in adults than in newborns. Finally, the sensitivity of the arterial baroreceptor reflex was evaluated by comparing the regression of pulse interval (PI) on systolic arterial pressure (SAP) after an intravenous dose of methoxamine in conscious, adult and newborn animals. The PI/SAP slopes in adult sheep, 45.4 ± 3.5 msec/mm Hg, were significantly greater (p < 0.01) than in newborn lambs, 11.7 ± 2.2 msec/mm Hg.
Water channels.

The aquaporin water channels are expressed in various fluid-transporting epithelia. Physiological and genetic investigations have revealed that aquaporin channel-like intrinsic protein is expressed in numerous tissues, but its significance in water transport physiology is unclear. It has been shown that aquaporin-collecting duct is a vasopressin-responsive water channel, and that it is regulated by a membrane shuttle mechanism. Three unique models for a water pore have been presented but further studies will be required to verify them. New aquaporin members have been isolated and their discrete localization may reflect their specific physiological roles.
COMPARISON BETWEEN SUBJECTIVE EVALUATION AND PSYCHOACOUSTIC PARAMETERS FOR CAR STEERING WHEEL RATTLE NOISE ASSESSMENT

Rattle noise is one of the main concerns of automot ive manufacturers regarding final product quality. With the engine noise reduction obtained in electri c cars rattle noise becomes even more significant. Steering wheels are one of the car components prone to produce rattle noise. Current methods used in the industry for sound quality assessment are based mainly on subjective evaluation. This evaluation i s subject to variability, particularly for non-traine d technical staff, due both to differences occurrin g among evaluators, as well as variations for one sin gle evaluator when rating the same noise in different periods of time. Hence, an assessment ba sed on objective parameters would be desirable to provide more consistent results. In this work, nois e measurements have been carried out in the Centro Tecnológico de Automoción de Galicia (CTAG) semi-an echoic chamber using different steering wheels exposed to random vibration profiles approxi mating the real car conditions. The subjective evaluation carried out from a trained subject is co mpared with the psychoacoustic parameters (statistical loudness, statistical sharpness and ro ughness) computed from sound pressure measurements. The results show that only the statis tic l loudness provides a good correlation with the subjective tests but limitations in its application are found that suggest that further research must be done in order to obtain a robust objective evaluati on method for rattle noise.
Problem-based Learning : a Problem with Education ?

As the discovery of penicillin from a ‘failed’ medical experiment illustrates, it is good practice to revisit apparent teaching and learning ‘failures’. Two Hong Kong case studies are here reviewed for they report educational ‘failures’ evidenced by students displaying a negative learning experience while undergoing Problem-based Learning (PBL). The first case study involved Primary Four and Five pupils; while the second investigated post-Secondary school students. An analysis is provided of these two negative learning experiences followed by a critique of possible solutions. The findings are intriguing Problem-based Learning is shown to provide a flexible, responsive pedagogy that reflects Hong Kong’s current learning priorities. It is argued that the reported educational ‘failure’ reflects a tension between learner diversity and educational priorities, which raises the possibility that these ‘failures’ indicate not a ‘problem with PBL’ but rather a ‘problem with education’.
Pulmonary hypertension and cardiac function in adult cystic fibrosis: role of hypoxemia.

STUDY OBJECTIVES To determine (1) the prevalence of pulmonary hypertension and cardiac dysfunction in adult cystic fibrosis (CF) patients with severe lung disease, (2) the relationship between these cardiovascular abnormalities and hypoxemia, and (3) the impact of subclinical pulmonary hypertension on survival. DESIGN Single-blind, cross-sectional study. SETTING Ambulatory clinic of the Adult CF program at a tertiary-level hospital. PATIENTS Clinically stable patients with severe lung disease (FEV1 < 40% of predicted normal value) who were not receiving supplemental oxygen. A second cohort of patients in stable condition with less severe lung disease (FEV1 40 to 65% predicted) was also recruited to enable multivariate analysis for the determinants of pulmonary hypertension. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS Eighteen patients with severe lung disease (FEV1 28 +/- 7% of predicted normal value) were initially studied. Each patient had overnight polysomnography, pulmonary function tests, and Doppler echocardiography. Arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2) was reduced during wakefulness (87.1 +/- 6.1%) and fell during sleep (84.0 +/- 6.6%) while transcutaneous PCO2 was normal during wakefulness (41.1 +/- 6.9 mm Hg) and increased during sleep (46.6 +/- 4.7 mm Hg). Left ventricular size, systolic function, and diastolic function were normal except in one patient who had had a previous silent myocardial infarction due to coronary artery disease. Qualitative assessment of right ventricular function was normal in all patients. Pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP) was increased (> 35 mm Hg) in seven patients without clinical evidence of cor pulmonale. Regression analysis was performed by combining these data with data from an additional 15 CF patients with moderately severe lung disease (FEV1 56.3 +/- 8.9% predicted normal) who were recruited to a modified study protocol that included overnight oximetry, pulmonary function tests, and Doppler echocardiography. None of these patients had evidence of hypoxemia and only three had mild elevation of PASP (36, 37, and 39 mm Hg). Linear regression analysis revealed that PASP was significantly correlated with FEV1 (r = -0.44; p = 0.013), and SaO2 during wakefulness (r =-0.60; p = 0.0003), during sleep (r = -0.56; p = 0.0008), and after 6 min of exercise (r = -0.75; p < 0.0001). Multivariate analysis revealed that awake SaO2 was a significantly better predictor of PASP than FEV1 (p = 0.0104). Clinical follow-up of the original cohort for up to 5 years revealed that mortality was significantly higher in those with pulmonary hypertension than those without pulmonary hypertension (p = 0.0129). CONCLUSIONS In adult CF patients with severe stable lung disease, left and right ventricular function is well maintained in the absence of significant coronary artery disease; pulmonary hypertension develops in a significant proportion of patients and is strongly correlated with oxygen status, independent of lung function; and subclinical pulmonary hypertension is associated with an increased mortality.
Characterization of Factor VIII Related Protein Synthesized by Human Endothelial Cell: A Study of Structure and Function

Summary Crossed immunoelectrophoresis showed that factor VIII related protein (VIII R) synthesized in the human endothelial cell (EC-VIII R) had faster electrophoretic mobility than that secreted into the culture medium (MED-VIII R). Sodium dodecyl sulphate agarose gel electrophoresis followed by radioimmunofixation showed that EC-VIII R consisted of molecules varying from 0.26 × 106 to 3.76 × 106 daltons while MED-VIII R had molecules ranging from 0.93 × 106 to greater than 10 × 106 daltons, similar to that present in plasma. The smallest VIII R molecule present in normal plasma or spent culture medium (0.93 × 106 daltons) corresponded to a tetramer of subunits of 0.22-0.24 × 106 daltons. Only molecular forms greater than 3.76 × 106 daltons possessed ristocetin cofactor activity. Sonication (15 μ. amplitued for 30 secs) effectively broke the non-covalent bonds of the VIII R multimers resulting in smaller molecules. Thus endothelial cells in culture synthesized VIII R subunits and assembled them into the higher multimeric forms on secretion. Different types of von Willebrand disease could result from defects of either of the two processes.
Parallel Processing in Network Processor Architectures (Parallelverarbeitung in Netzwerkprozessorarchitekturen)

Summury Parallel processing is well established in high-performance computing. Currently, network processors as new emerging, special-purpose processors are targeted at the exploitation of parallelism to meet the requirements in data-plane processing with wire-speed. The achievable level of parallelism is determined by decisions in the architecture design and by the characteristics of the data-plane applications executed. We discuss two basic approaches in parallel processing, namely pipelining and concurrency, which establish basic models for parallel network processor organization. The features and constraints of these models are studied. Using this background some existing network processor architectures are reviewed and characterized regarding their potential in parallel data-plane processing.
SIMULATION OF ROBOT RV-2 AJ USING SOFTWARES SOLIDWORKS AND NI LabVIEW

In this paper, the attention is given to the simulation of the industrial robot Mitsubishi RV-2AJ with the help of program tools that include two software packages – SolidWorks i NI LabVIEW. The main purpose of the simulation is to visualize the CAD model management through a control panel, which will be created by using a software NI LabVIEW. The control panel will include the controls for angle and coordinate entry, speed input, and indicators that will be showing the movement and stopping of the robot, as well as its exact position in the space at all times at any point.
Evaluating the Efect of Feedback from Diferent Computer Vision Processing Stages A Comparative Lab Study

Computer vision and pattern recognition are increasingly being employed by smartphone and tablet applications targeted at lay-users. An open design challenge is to make such systems intelligible without requiring users to become technical experts. This paper reports a lab study examining the role of visual feedback. Our fndings indicate that the stage of processing from which feedback is derived plays an important role in users’ ability to develop coherent and correct under-standings of a system’s operation. Participants in our study showed a tendency to misunderstand the meaning being conveyed by the feedback, relating it to processing outcomes and higher level concepts, when in reality the feedback represented low level features. Drawing on the experimental results and the qualitative data collected, we discuss the challenges of designing interactions around pattern matching algorithms.
Burnout and Connectedness in the Job Demands–Resources Model

This study examined the role of burnout and connectedness in the job demands–resources (JD-R) model among palliative care volunteers. It was hypothesized that (a) exhaustion mediates the relationship between demands and depression, and between demands and retention; (b) cynicism mediates the relationship between resources and retention; and (c) connectedness mediates the relationship between resources and retention. Hypotheses were tested in 2 separate analyses: structural equation modeling (SEM) and path analyses. The first was based on volunteer self-reports (N = 204), while the second analysis concerned matched data from volunteers and their family members (N = 99). While strong support was found for cynicism and connectedness as mediators in both types of analyses, this was not altogether the case for exhaustion. Implications of these findings for the JD-R model and volunteer organizations are discussed.
Modeling the role of CSAR team based on AML

How to plan the mission role of the CSAR (Combat Search and Rescue) assets is the key point of command control of the CSAR mission in modern and future military operations. In this paper, we analyze the necessary role type based on the requirements of the CSAR mission; and then model the role of the CSAR assets by means the agent diagram of AML (Agent Modeling Language), which includes the role structure and the mental states of the role, i.e. role belief, role goal and role plan; finally, we present the relationships among the mental states of the role based on the mission stage, i.e. the ingress, rescue operation, and egress, so that the CSAR mission can be planed effectively.
CeleBrowser: An example of browsing big data on small device

In this demonstration, we demonstrate a mobile-based celebrity video browsing system called CeleBrowser. Using this system, users can interactively switch among four views: people-centric, timeline-centric, month-centric and topic-centric, for browsing celebrity-related hot videos. A peculiarity of the demonstration is to highlight the advantage of multi-perspective information organization and presentation in engaging users for exploratory browsing of large number of Web videos on a device with small screen. Technology-wise the demonstration shows how query logs collected for six months from two vertical search engines are leveraged for mining hot events and videos of celebrities.
Isolation and characterization of an archaebacterial viruslike particle from Methanococcus voltae A3

Small amounts of a 23-kilobase covalently closed circular DNA molecule were isolated from unwashed cells of Methanococcus voltae A3. Further investigation indicated the presence of greater quantities of the circular DNA in the culture supernatant, complexed with protein in a manner rendering the DNA resistant to DNase. Electron-microscopic examination of supernatant material revealed the presence of particles which morphologically resemble virus. Phenol extraction of viruslike particle preparations resulted in the recovery of DNase-sensitive open-circular DNA molecules. As many as 30 viruslike particles per cell were recovered from some cultures. Hybridization data clearly indicated the presence of a chromosomally integrated copy of the viruslike particle DNA. Although M. voltae PS was not observed to produce viruslike particles, DNA homologous to the viruslike particle DNA was detected in its chromosome. A mutant of M. voltae A3 was isolated which produced no particles; its DNA was deleted for 80% of the integrated viruslike particle DNA. Despite any similarities to lysogenic bacteriophages of eubacteria, neither infectivity nor inducibility of the viruslike particles could be demonstrated.
Personalized Medicine: Review and Perspectives of Promising Baseline EEG Biomarkers in Major Depressive Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Personalized medicine in psychiatry is in need of biomarkers that resemble central nervous system function at the level of neuronal activity. Electroencephalography (EEG) during sleep or resting-state conditions and event-related potentials (ERPs) have not only been used to discriminate patients from healthy subjects, but also for the prediction of treatment outcome in various psychiatric diseases, yielding information about tailored therapy approaches for an individual. This review focuses on baseline EEG markers for two psychiatric conditions, namely major depressive disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. It covers potential biomarkers from EEG sleep research and vigilance regulation, paroxysmal EEG patterns and epileptiform discharges, quantitative EEG features within the EEG main frequency bands, connectivity markers and ERP components that might help to identify favourable treatment outcome. Further, the various markers are discussed in the context of their potential clinical value and as research domain criteria, before giving an outline for future studies that are needed to pave the way to an electrophysiological biomarker-based personalized medicine.
A colour atlas of endodontics

Radiography histology of the pulp diagnosis and treatment planning anaesthesia basic instruments and materials rubber dam treatment of the emergency patient access cavities root canal anatomy preparation of the tooth preparation of the root canal filling the root canal calcium hydroxide primary dentition surgical endodontics endo perio lesion root resorption removal of root canal obstructions bleaching restoration of the treated tooth the way ahead.