Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Recommendations for participation in competitive and leisure sports in patients with congenital heart disease: a consensus document

Background Physical activity is important for patients with congenital heart disease. The aim of this paper is to provide a consensus document for participation in competitive or leisure sport activity in children and adults with congenital heart disease. Methods The recommendations are based on expert consensus meetings, personal experience of the contributing authors and an updated review of the literature regarding exercise performance and risk stratification in patients with congenital heart disease. Results Physical performance and exercise tolerance is close to normal in patients with simple lesions with successful repair or no need for therapy. Most patients with complex lesions have some degree of residual disease, making them less suitable for participation in competitive sport. Conclusion Regular exercise at recommended levels can be performed and should be encouraged in all patients with congenital heart disease. Many can attend sports with no restrictions. Special concern should be given to those patients with a significant ventricular dysfunction or recent history or risk of arrhythmia. Eur J Cardiovasc Prev Rehabil 13:293-299 © 2006 The European Society of Cardiology
Mapas Conceptuales como Herramienta para Mejorar la Integración del Conocimiento en la Formación Inicial del Profesorado

This piece of research has been accomplished in Higher education, in particular with students of 3 rd Grade in Early years School Teacher Training Degree Course. It was found that concept mapping supports the identification of the essential concepts of the subject, establishing levels of hierarchy among these concepts and relationships among them. Significant differences have been found in these respects. During one semester, every student has made concept maps of the themes covered bay the subject. These were reviewed in group and improved with input from others. It was used a control group at the end of the evaluation period.
Employment of Oligodeoxynucleotide plus Interleukin-2 Improves Cytogenetic Analysis in Splenic Marginal Zone Lymphoma

To compare the efficiency of novel mitogenic agents and traditional mitosis inductors, 18 patients with splenic marginal zone lymphoma (SMZL) were studied. Three cultures using oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN) plus interleukin-2 (IL-2), or TPA, or LPS were setup in each patient. Seventeen/18 cases with ODN + IL2 had moderate/good proliferation (94, 4%) as compared with 10/18 cases with TPA and LPS (55%) (P = .015); 14/18 (77, 7%) cases with ODN + IL2 had sufficient good quality of banding as compared with 8/18 cases (44, 4%) with TPA and LPS. The karyotype could be defined from ODN + IL2-stimulated cultures in all 18 patients, 14 of whom (77, 7%) had a cytogenetic aberration, whereas clonal aberrations could be documented in 9 and in 3 cases by stimulation with LPS and TPA, respectively. Recurrent chromosome aberrations in our series were represented by aberrations of chromosome 14q in 5 patients, by trisomy 12 and 7q deletion in 4 cases each, and by abnormalities involving 11q and 13q in two cases each. These findings show that stimulation with ODN + IL2 offers more mitotic figures of better quality and results in an increased rate of clonal aberrations in SMZL, making this method ideal for prospective studies aiming at the definition of the prognostic impact of cytogenetic aberrations in this disorder.
Baseline Inflammatory Biomarkers Identify Subgroups of HIV-Infected African Children With Differing Responses to Antiretroviral Therapy

Background. Identifying determinants of morbidity and mortality may help target future interventions for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)–infected children. Methods. CD4+ T-cell count, HIV viral load, and levels of biomarkers (C-reactive protein, tumor necrosis factor α [TNF-α], interleukin 6 [IL-6], and soluble CD14) and interleukin 7 were measured at antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation in the ARROW trial (case-cohort design). Cases were individuals who died, had new or recurrent World Health Organization clinical stage 4 events, or had poor immunological response to ART. Results. There were 115 cases (54 died, 45 had World Health Organization clinical stage 4 events, and 49 had poor immunological response) and 485 controls. Before ART initiation, the median ages of cases and controls were 8.2 years (interquartile range [IQR], 4.4–11.4 years) and 5.8 years (IQR, 2.3–9.3 years), respectively, and the median percentages of lymphocytes expressing CD4 were 4% (IQR, 1%–9%) and 13% (IQR, 8%–18%), respectively. In multivariable logistic regression, cases had lower age-associated CD4+ T-cell count ratio (calculated as the ratio of the subject's CD4+ T-cell count to the count expected in healthy individuals of the same age; P < .0001) and higher IL-6 level (P = .002) than controls. Clustering biomarkers and age-associated CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell count ratios identified 4 groups of children. Group 1 had the highest frequency of cases (41% cases; 16% died) and profound immunosuppression; group 2 had similar mortality (23% cases; 15% died), but children were younger, with less profound immunosuppression and high levels of inflammatory biomarkers and malnutrition; group 3 comprised young children with moderate immunosuppression, high TNF-α levels, and high age-associated CD8+ T-cell count ratios but lower frequencies of events (12% cases; 7% died); and group 4 comprised older children with low inflammatory biomarker levels, lower HIV viral loads, and good clinical outcomes (11% cases; 5% died). Conclusions. While immunosuppression is the major determinant of poor outcomes during ART, baseline inflammation is an additional important factor, identifying a subgroup of young children with similar mortality. Antiinflammatory interventions may help improve outcomes.
Two-Step Machine Translation with Lattices

The idea of two-step machine translation was introduced to divide the complexity of the search space into two independent steps: (1) lexical translation and reordering, and (2) conjugation and declination in the target language. In this paper, we extend the two-step machine translation structure by replacing state-of-the-art phrase-based machine translation with the hierarchical machine translation in the 1st step. We further extend the fixed string-based input format of the 2nd step with word lattices (Dyer et al., 2008); this provides the 2nd step with the opportunity to choose among a sample of possible reorderings instead of relying on the single best one as produced by the 1st step.
Universal newborn hearing screening.

BACKGROUND New technology has made universal newborn hearing screening possible. Our goal was to investigate the feasibility of universal newborn screening using distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE) on infants in a community hospital in a normal newborn nursery. METHODS We used DPOAE to screen newborn infants from February 1997 to March 1999. RESULTS Of 1002 infants, 111 failed the initial screen (11.1%). When screening was repeated, only 2 infants failed. One infant failed the second screen and a tympanogram. He was treated and he passed a third use of DPOAE. An additional infant failed the repeat screen but passed the tympanogram. That infant was referred on for auditory brain response testing. CONCLUSIONS DPOAE testing can be accomplished easily in a normal newborn nursery with an acceptable false-positive rate when a two-stage approach is used. The cost for each test was $19.88. The cost to find the 1 infant with sensory neural hearing loss was $22,114.
Multi-jammer Localization in Wireless Sensor Networks

Jamming attack is one of the most severe attacks in wireless sensor networks (WSNs). While existing countermeasures mainly focus on designing new communication mechanisms to survive under jamming, an alternative solution is to first localize the jammer(s) and then take necessary actions. In this work, we solve a multi-jammer localization problem, where multiple jammers launch collaborative jamming attacks. We develop an x-rayed jammed-area localization (X-ray) algorithm which skeletonizes jammed areas and estimates the jammer locations based on bifurcation points on skeletons of jammed areas. Our extensive simulation results demonstrate that with one run of the algorithms, X-ray is efficient in localizing multiple jammers in WSN with small errors.
Outage Performance of Space-Time Network Coding With Overhearing AF Relays

This letter investigates the outage performance of overhearing amplify-and-forward (AF) cooperative relaying system, where multiple sources transmit information symbols to a destination through multiple helping overhearing AF relays with space-time network coding (STNC) employed. First, by introducing the overhearing among the relays of STNC, a new transmission protocol, i.e., the STNC-based cooperative relaying with overhearing AF relays (STNC-OHAF), is presented. Then, the instantaneous end-to-end SNR expression of STNC-OHAF is analyzed. Based on this, an explicit expression of the outage probability for STNC-OHAF over independent but not necessarily identically distributed (i.n.i.d) Rayleigh fading channels is theoretically derived and the ability of STNC-OHAF to achieve full diversity order is proved. Numerical results validate our theoretical analysis and show that by introducing overhearing among relays, the outage performance of the STNC-based AF relaying system can be greatly improved. Besides, it is also shown that there is a trade-off between the normalized sum efficient system transmission rate and the number of sources.
A cross-layer based data dissemination algorithm for IEEE 802.15.6 WBANs

Nowadays interests in healthcare application of Wireless Body Area Networks (WBANs) have grown considerably and several studies have been done in this area. Healthcare Wireless Body Area Network is a very small sized network, which consists of several medical sensors and a coordinator implanted in or around the user's body. As sensed data in such type of network are vital signs, it should be disseminated in a reliable and QoS based Way. This work presents a data dissemination algorithm adapted to the emerging nomenclature of IEEE 802.15. 6.
MicroRNA-592 targets IGF-1R to suppress cellular proliferation, migration and invasion in hepatocellular carcinoma

MicroRNAs (miRs) can function as tumor suppressors or oncogenes in different types of human malignancy, and may provide an effective therapy for cancer. The expression and functions of miR-592 have previously been studied in relation to cancer. However, the expression and potential functions of miR-592 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are still unknown. Using quantitative polymerase chain reaction, MTT assays, cellular migration and invasion assays, bioinformatics software, western blot analysis and dual-luciferase report assays, the present study explored the expression and roles of miR-592 in HCC. It was identified that miR-592 was significantly downregulated in HCC tissues and cell lines. The statistical analysis revealed that low expression of miR-592 was evidently associated with tumor node metastasis stage and lymph node metastasis. Additionally, the present study provided the first evidence that miR-592 was likely to directly target the insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor in vitro. The present results indicated that miR-592 could be investigated as an efficacious therapeutic target for HCC in the future.
Nontypable Haemophilus influenzae Displays a Prevalent Surface Structure Molecular Pattern in Clinical Isolates

Non-typable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) is a Gram negative pathogen that causes acute respiratory infections and is associated with the progression of chronic respiratory diseases. Previous studies have established the existence of a remarkable genetic variability among NTHi strains. In this study we show that, in spite of a high level of genetic heterogeneity, NTHi clinical isolates display a prevalent molecular feature, which could confer fitness during infectious processes. A total of 111 non-isogenic NTHi strains from an identical number of patients, isolated in two distinct geographical locations in the same period of time, were used to analyse nine genes encoding bacterial surface molecules, and revealed the existence of one highly prevalent molecular pattern (lgtF+, lic2A+, lic1D+, lic3A+, lic3B+, siaA−, lic2C+, ompP5+, oapA+) displayed by 94.6% of isolates. Such a genetic profile was associated with a higher bacterial resistance to serum mediated killing and enhanced adherence to human respiratory epithelial cells.
Lampe1: An ENU-Germline Mutation Causing Spontaneous Hepatosteatosis Identified through Targeted Exon-Enrichment and Next-Generation Sequencing

Using a small scale ENU mutagenesis approach we identified a recessive germline mutant, designated Lampe1 that exhibited growth retardation and spontaneous hepatosteatosis. Low resolution mapping based on 20 intercrossed Lampe1 mice revealed linkage to a ∼14 Mb interval on the distal site of chromosome 11 containing a total of 285 genes. Exons and 50 bp flanking sequences within the critical region were enriched with sequence capture microarrays and subsequently analyzed by next-generation sequencing. Using this approach 98.1 percent of the targeted DNA was covered with a depth of 10 or more reads per nucleotide and 3 homozygote mutations were identified. Two mutations represented intronic nucleotide changes whereas one mutation affected a splice donor site in intron 11–12 of Palmitoyl Acetyl-coenzyme A oxygenase-1 (Acox1), causing skipping of exon 12. Phenotyping of Acox1Lampe1 mutants revealed a progression from hepatosteatosis to steatohepatitis, and ultimately hepatocellular carcinoma. The current approach provides a highly efficient and affordable method to identify causative mutations induced by ENU mutagenesis and animal models relevant to human pathology.
Minimizing Power Consumption in CMOS Full Subtractor using SVL Technique

Full Subtractor using Self Controllable Voltage Level (SVL) Technique is designed in this paper. The circuit can supply an increased dc voltage to an active-load circuit required or can decrease the dc voltage supplied to a load circuit under standby mode is developed. Full Subtractor is a consumed low power and low Leakage as compare to conventional design with SVL technique. We may reduce the value of total power dissipation by applying the U-SVL (upper Self Controllable voltage level) technology in which the supply potential is increased and L-SVL (Lower Self Controllable voltage level) technology in which the ground potential is raised. The analysis paper represents how to control power using SVL techniques. The SVL technique based Full Subtractor compared to conventional design that based on power consumption, propagation delay speed and layout area is more preferred. Low-power techniques projected to reduce power in nanoscale CMOS-Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) systems, Using SVL technique. The result shows that there is significant reduction in Power assimilation of Full Subtractor in reference mode. This design is much useful in designing the system that low power consumed. The circuit is designed using Cadence Tools in 45nm Technology.
100 years of microbial electricity production: three concepts for the future

Bioelectrochemical systems (BES) have been explored according to three main concepts: to produce energy from organic substrates, to generate products and to provide specific environmental services. In this work, by using an engineering approach, biological conversion rates are calculated for BES resp. anaerobic digestion. These rates are compared with currents produced by chemical batteries and chemical fuel cells in order to position BES in the ‘energy’‐market. To evaluate the potential of generating various products, the biochemistry behind the biological conversion rates is examined in relation to terminal electron transfer molecules. By comparing kinetics rather than thermodynamics, more insight is gained in the biological bottlenecks that hamper a BES. The short‐term future for BES research and its possible application is situated in smart niches in sustainable environmental development, i.e. in processes where no large currents or investment cost intensive reactors are needed to obtain the desired results. Some specific examples are identified.
Enhancing and sustaining empathy in medical students

Background: Empathy is an important component of physician competence that needs to be enhanced. Aim: To test the hypotheses that medical students’ empathy can be enhanced and sustained by targeted activities. Methods: This was a two-phase study in which 248 medical students participated. In Phase 1, students in the experimental group watched and discussed video clips of patient encounters meant to enhance empathic understanding; those in the control group watched a documentary film. Ten weeks later in Phase 2 of the study, students who were in the experimental group were divided into two groups. One group attended a lecture on empathy in patient care, and the other plus the control group watched a movie about racism. The Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE) was administered pre-post in Phase 1 and posttest in Phase 2. Results: In Phase 1, the JSE mean score for the experimental group improved significantly (p < 0.01); no change in the JSE scores was observed in the control group. In Phase 2, the JSE mean score improvement was sustained in the group that attended the lecture, but not in the other group. No change in empathy was noticed in the control group. Conclusion: Research hypotheses were confirmed.
Conservation Strategy for protecting Crataegus x sinaica against climate change and anthropologic activities in South Sinai Mountains, Egypt

The genus name Crataegus, is derivative from a Greek word kratos meaning hardness of wood. Crataegus relates to family Rosaceae; it contains about 280 species of deciduous spiny shrubs and small trees where most of these species are grown as ornamentals and hedging plants, they are broadly distributed in Northern temperate zones of Asia, Europe and America. In Egypt, it is confined to mountainous South Sinai; it grows on the high elevated wadis in Saint Catherine area. Many Crataegus species have been traditional used in folk medicine since ancient time for the cure of heart problems such as hypertension, angina, arrhythmia, and congestive heart failure. Researches of Crataegus species usually concentrate on the identification and quantification of flavonoids and anthocyanin, which have been shown to have pharmacological activity. But there is a continuous reduction in habitat quality for this species through time. This reduction observed in Crataegus sinica is likely caused by climate changes in the past few decades and human activities (over cutting for fuel and food, unmanaged collection for scientific researches, uncontrolled tourism and establish of bedouin settlements). We aim to highlights these challenge threatening Crataegus population and suggest conservation plans to protect this species from extinction and finally make further studies about this important threatened species.
Comparing the Feature Selectivity of the Gamma-Band of the Local Field Potential and the Underlying Spiking Activity in Primate Visual Cortex

The local field potential (LFP), comprised of low-frequency extra-cellular voltage fluctuations, has been used extensively to study the mechanisms of brain function. In particular, oscillations in the gamma-band (30–90 Hz) are ubiquitous in the cortex of many species during various cognitive processes. Surprisingly little is known about the underlying biophysical processes generating this signal. Here, we examine the relationship of the local field potential to the activity of localized populations of neurons by simultaneously recording spiking activity and LFP from the primary visual cortex (V1) of awake, behaving macaques. The spatial organization of orientation tuning and ocular dominance in this area provides an excellent opportunity to study this question, because orientation tuning is organized at a scale around one order of magnitude finer than the size of ocular dominance columns. While we find a surprisingly weak correlation between the preferred orientation of multi-unit activity and gamma-band LFP recorded on the same tetrode, there is a strong correlation between the ocular preferences of both signals. Given the spatial arrangement of orientation tuning and ocular dominance, this leads us to conclude that the gamma-band of the LFP seems to sample an area considerably larger than orientation columns. Rather, its spatial resolution lies at the scale of ocular dominance columns.
Cell-to-cell transfer of Leishmania amazonensis amastigotes is mediated by immunomodulatory LAMP-rich parasitophorous extrusions

The last step of Leishmania intracellular life cycle is the egress of amastigotes from the host cell and their uptake by adjacent cells. Using multidimensional live imaging of long‐term‐infected macrophage cultures we observed that Leishmania amazonensis amastigotes were transferred from cell to cell when the donor host macrophage delivers warning signs of imminent apoptosis. They were extruded from the macrophage within zeiotic structures (membrane blebs, an apoptotic feature) rich in phagolysosomal membrane components. The extrusions containing amastigotes were selectively internalized by vicinal macrophages and the rescued amastigotes remain viable in recipient macrophages. Host cell apoptosis induced by micro‐irradiation of infected macrophage nuclei promoted amastigotes extrusion, which were rescued by non‐irradiated vicinal macrophages. Using amastigotes isolated from LAMP1/LAMP2 knockout fibroblasts, we observed that the presence of these lysosomal components on amastigotes increases interleukin 10 production. Enclosed within host cell membranes, amastigotes can be transferred from cell to cell without full exposure to the extracellular milieu, what represents an important strategy developed by the parasite to evade host immune system.
The sarcomeric cytoskeleton: from molecules to motion

ABSTRACT Highly ordered organisation of striated muscle is the prerequisite for the fast and unidirectional development of force and motion during heart and skeletal muscle contraction. A group of proteins, summarised as the sarcomeric cytoskeleton, is essential for the ordered assembly of actin and myosin filaments into sarcomeres, by combining architectural, mechanical and signalling functions. This review discusses recent cell biological, biophysical and structural insight into the regulated assembly of sarcomeric cytoskeleton proteins and their roles in dissipating mechanical forces in order to maintain sarcomere integrity during passive extension and active contraction. α-Actinin crosslinks in the Z-disk show a pivot-and-rod structure that anchors both titin and actin filaments. In contrast, the myosin crosslinks formed by myomesin in the M-band are of a ball-and-spring type and may be crucial in providing stable yet elastic connections during active contractions, especially eccentric exercise. Summary: The sarcomeric cytoskeleton is a system of proteins specific to striated muscle that play a key role in organising the contractile machinery, and integrating and regulating its mechanics and signalling functions.