Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hemodynamic characteristics associated with cerebral aneurysm formation in patients with carotid occlusion.

OBJECTIVEThe pathogenesis of cerebral aneurysms in patients with internal carotid artery (ICA) occlusion is hypothesized to be hemodynamic. For the first time, the authors quantify the hemodynamic characteristics associated with aneurysm formation in patients with ICA occlusion.METHODSRecords of patients with unilateral ICA stenosis or occlusion ≥ 90% who underwent hemodynamic assessment before treatment using quantitative MR angiography were retrospectively reviewed. The patients were classified into 2 groups based on the presence or absence of aneurysms. The hemodynamic parameters of flow volume rate, flow velocity, and wall shear stress (WSS) were measured in each vessel supplying collateral flow-bilateral A1 segments and bilateral posterior communicating arteries-and then compared between the groups.RESULTSA total of 36 patients were included (8 with and 28 without aneurysms). The mean flow (72.3 vs 48.9 ml/min, p = 0.10), flow velocity (21.1 vs 12.7 cm/sec, p = 0.006), and WSS (22.0 vs 12.3 dynes/cm2, p = 0.003) were higher in the A1 segment contralateral to the side of the patent ICA in patients with versus without aneurysms. All de novo or growing aneurysms in our cohort were located on the anterior communicating artery (ACoA) or P1 segment.CONCLUSIONSFlow velocity and WSS are significantly higher across the ACoA in patients who harbor an aneurysm, and de novo or growing aneurysms are often located on collateral vessels. Thus, robust primary collaterals after ICA occlusion may be a contributing factor in cerebral aneurysm formation.
Cytotoxic Effect of Brain Macrophages on Developing Neurons

Brain macrophages are transiently present in different regions of the central nervous system during development or in the course of tissue remodelling following various types of injuries. To investigate the influence of these phagocytes on neuronal growth and survival, brain macrophages stemming from the cerebral cortex of rat embryos were added to neuronal primary cultures. A neurotoxic effect of brain macrophages was demonstrated by the reduction of the number of neurons bearing neurites within two days of contact between the two cell types. Neuronal death and phagocytosis were also directly observed in video recordings of living cultures. This toxicity involved the production by brain macrophages of reactive oxygen intermediates, as shown by the protective effect of catalase, a scavenger of H2O2. In addition, the respiratory bursts of brain macrophages were stimulated in the presence of neurons. These results suggest that brain macrophages could favour the appearance of neuroregressive events which occur either during neurogenesis or in neurodegenerative diseases, implying intracerebral recruitment of mononuclear phagocytes.
Treatment of Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus with Quinupristin/Dalfopristin and High-Dose Ampicillin

OBJECTIVE: To report the successful treatment of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) bacteremia using the combination of quinupristin/dalfopristin and high-dose ampicillin. CASE SUMMARY: A 38-year-old African American woman with relapsed acute myeloid leukemia and neutropenic fever developed VRE bacteremia following 3 successive courses of vancomycin for methicillin-resistant staphylococcal infections. Treatment with linezolid was initiated; however, after 9 days of therapy, blood cultures continued to reveal VRE and the patient became febrile. The patient was subsequently switched to quinupristin/dalfopristin and high-dose ampicillin. The fever resolved and all subsequent blood cultures were negative after the initiation of combination therapy. DISCUSSION: The emergence of VRE infections presents a treatment challenge in immunocompromised patients. When treating VRE infections in this patient population, the effectiveness of linezolid and quinupristin/dalfopristin is limited by their bacteriostatic activity when used as monotherapy. Recent in vitro data suggest synergistic activity with quinupristin/dalfopristin when used in combination with other antimicrobials in selected isolates of VRE. CONCLUSIONS: Persistent VRE bacteremia was successfully treated in this neutropenic patient using the combination of high-dose ampicillin and quinupristin/dalfopristin. Case reports and in vitro data suggest that concomitant therapy with high-dose ampicillin may be an effective treatment alternative for VRE infections not responding to standard therapy.
Pharmacological Inhibition of Cathepsin S Decreases Atherosclerotic Lesions in Apoe-/- Mice

Recent studies provided evidence for a significant role of cathepsin S during extracellular remodeling in atherosclerosis. In this study, we investigated the effect of a specific cathepsin S inhibitor on atherosclerotic plaque progression in the brachiocephalic artery. Male and female Apoe-/- mice on a cholate-containing high-fat diet containing or lacking a specific cathepsin S inhibitor were evaluated for the remodeling of atherosclerotic lesions. The in vivo efficacy of the cathepsin S inhibitor was demonstrated by the inhibition of invariant chain processing in spleen. After 8 weeks of diet, brachiocephalic arteries were analyzed for plaque size, collagen, macrophage, and smooth muscle cell content, for elastic lamina breaks, and the number of buried fibrous caps. The size of atherosclerotic plaques in inhibitor-treated mice was reduced by 36% in male and 68% in female mice, and they showed significantly smaller numbers in elastin lamina breaks (60% less in males; 75% less in females), plaque macrophages (47% less in males; 40% less in females), and buried fibrous caps (50% less in males; 86% less in females). In conclusion, the inhibition of cathepsin S showed a strong atheroprotective activity, demonstrating the potential benefits of a small molecule anti-cathepsin therapy.
Functional Cloning of the Miltefosine Transporter

The antitumor drug miltefosine (hexadecylphosphocholine, MIL) has recently been approved as the first oral agent for the treatment of visceral leishmaniasis. Little is known about the mechanisms of action and uptake of MIL in either parasites or tumor cell lines. We have cloned a putative MIL transporter (LdMT) by functional rescue, using a Leishmania donovani-resistant line defective in the inward-directed translocation of both MIL and glycerophospholipids. LdMT is a novel P-type ATPase belonging to the partially characterized aminophospholipid translocase subfamily. Resistant parasites transfected with LdMT regain their sensitivity to MIL and edelfosine and the ability to normally take up [14C]MIL and fluorescent-labeled glycerophospholipids. Moreover, LdMT localizes to the plasma membrane, and its overexpression in Leishmania tarentolae, a species non-sensitive to MIL, significantly increases the uptake of [14C]MIL, strongly suggesting that this protein behaves as a true translocase. Finally, both LdMT-resistant alleles encompass single but distinct point mutations, each of which impairs transport function, explaining the resistant phenotype. These results demonstrate biochemically and genetically the direct involvement of LdMT in MIL and phospholipids translocation in Leishmania and describe for the first time a P-type ATPase involved in MIL uptake and potency in eukaryotic cells.
Further Results on the Synthesis of PID Controllers

This note focuses on a graphical approach to determine the stability region, in the parameter space, of PID-controlled second-order plants with dead time. This work is the extension of and further results on the same topic of the previous paper in the literature on first-order plants with dead time. The main characterization of the new method is the utilization of a graphical stability criterion in the parameter space, which releases a necessary and sufficient stability condition. Once the range of proportional gain is known, the complete stabilizing set in the plain of integral-derivative gains can be drawn and identified immediately, not to be computed mathematically. A practical algorithm of drawing the stabilizing boundaries in the integral-derivative space is proposed.
The Impact of HIV/AIDS on the Health Transition Among Under-Five Children in Africa

Child survival improved dramatically throughout the world over the past century. Measured as the under-five death rate (the probability of dying before reaching the fifth birthday), child mortality declined from values as high as 300 to 600 per 1000 live births to values as low as 5 to 10 per 1000 in most advanced countries, sometimes even lower, and values around or below 100 per 1000 in most developing countries. [Stolnitz, 1955 & 1965; United Nations, 1982; Ahmad et al., 2000] In industrialized countries this mortality decline was associated firstly with the development of hygiene, clean water supply, sanitation, improved nutrition, and more recently with major advances in preventive and curative medicine. [Szreter, 2003] In developing countries of Africa and Asia, child mortality decline seems more associated with preventive and curative medicine, and less so with hygiene and nutrition, although these have also improved in most cases. [Preston, 1980; Feachem and Jamison, 1991; Ahmad et al., 2000; Jamison et al., 2006] Beyond regular improvements associated with economic development, social change and modern medicine, reversals in the health transition might occur as a result of external shocks, such as emerging diseases. When a new very lethal disease appears, it may cause an increase in child mortality, despite a decline in mortality from other causes of death. Since 1980, the most important of these emerging diseases is HIV/AIDS, and the continent the most hardly hit by HIV is sub-Saharan Africa. [Newell et al., 2004; UNAIDS, 2010; Jamison et al., 2006] In addition to emerging infectious diseases, other heath threats could also contribute to increasing mortality, for instance various pollutions or exposure to health hazards which may cause cancer, and behavioural changes such as smoking, substance abuse and obesity, although these are more likely to affect adults than under-five children. Sub-Saharan Africa is very heterogeneous in terms of level of income, level of education, hygiene and sanitation, as well as culturally. Some countries are already quite advanced and modern (e.g. countries in the Southern cone), whereas others lag behind, with low income, low education, low hygiene and poor public health (e.g. Sahelian countries). The effects of an external shock such as an emerging disease are therefore likely to differ among these countries, partly because the spread of the disease might differ, partly because the response to it might differ, and partly because baseline values also differ. Trends in under-five mortality are also determined by other dynamics, and are often related with political
Trade Policies Based on Political Externalities: An Exploration, Third Version

During the past half century, multilateral trade liberalization has reduced tariffs to historically low levels. The Received Theory of multilateral trade agreements, based solely on terms-of-trade externalities between national governments, offers an explanation that has become the conventional wisdom among international trade theorists. But this explanation displays two puzzles that render it inconsistent with actual trade policy and actual trade agreements: the Terms-of-Trade Puzzle and the Anti-Trade-Bias Puzzle. This paper addresses inter-governmental political externalities in a model with terms-of-trade externalities. The model resolves the Terms-of-Trade Puzzle if and only if political externalities dominate terms-of-trade externalities. But it resolves the Anti-Trade-Bias Puzzle, and delivers results consistent with what we actually observe, only if terms-of-trade externalities play no role whatsoever.
Gastrointestinal and Nutritional Problems Occur Frequently Throughout Life in Girls and Women With Rett Syndrome

Objective: We conducted a nationwide survey to determine the prevalence of common gastrointestinal and nutritional disorders in Rett syndrome (RTT) based on parental reporting and related the occurrence of these problems to age and methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 (MECP2) gene status. Methods: We designed a questionnaire that probed symptoms, diagnoses, diagnostic tests, and treatment interventions related to gastrointestinal and nutritional problems in RTT. The International Rett Syndrome Foundation distributed the questionnaire to 1666 family-based members and forwarded their responses for our review. We interrogated the Rare Disease Clinical Research Network database to supplement findings related to medications used to treat gastrointestinal problems in RTT. Results: Parents of 983 female patients with RTT (59%) responded and identified symptoms and diagnoses associated with gastrointestinal dysmotility (92%), chewing and swallowing difficulties (81%), weight deficits or excess (47%), growth deficits (45%), low bone mineral content or fractures (37%), and biliary tract disorders (3%). Height-for-age, weight-for-age, and body mass index z scores decreased significantly with age; height- and weight-, but not body mass index-for-age z scores were significantly lower in female subjects with MECP2 mutations than in those without. Vomiting, nighttime awakening, gastroesophageal reflux, chewing difficulty, and choking with feeding were significantly less likely to occur with increasing age. Short stature, low bone mineral content, fractures, and gastrostomy placement were significantly more likely to occur with increasing age. Chewing difficulty, choking with feeding, and nighttime awakening were significantly less likely to occur, whereas short stature was significantly more likely to occur, in female subjects with MECP2 mutations than in those without. Diagnostic evaluations and therapeutic interventions were used less frequently than the occurrence of symptoms or diagnoses in the RTT cohort. Conclusions: Gastrointestinal and nutritional problems perceived by parents are prevalent throughout life in girls and women with RTT and may pose a substantial medical burden for their caregivers. Physician awareness of these features of RTT may improve the health and quality of life of individuals affected with this disorder.
Molecular characterization of lactic acid populations associated with wine spoilage

We have investigated the prevalence of spoilage lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in table wines produced in the Apulia region. The occurrence of LAB was evaluated in wines produced with low sulphur dioxide doses and not supplemented with selected malolactic starters such as Oenococcus oeni. About 150 strains were isolated from wine must and a molecular characterization was performed using PCR‐based techniques. Most of the strains analysed belonged to Lactobacillus plantarum species. However, some of the strains were identified as Pediococcus damnosus and Leuconostoc sp. The amplified fragments of Pediococcus damnosus were cloned and sequenced. The coding sequence was highly homologous to that of the ropy plasmid confirming that the isolated strain was a ropy+ Pediococcus damnosus. In all the samples analysed, the final must pH value reached was relatively high (from 3.78 to 3.90). The high pH values had probably negatively influenced (counteracted) the activity of sulphur dioxide added, allowing proliferation of spoilage wine microorganisms.
ANALISIS FAKTOR-FAKTOR PENENTU PERSISTENSI LABA

This research is aimed to examine and find out empirical evidence of the influence of cash flow volatility, magnitude of accrual, sales volatility, leverage, and operating cycle on earnings persistence. Samples used in this research are manufacturing companies listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange (BEI) during period 2001-2006. Total samples are 141 companies. The data are collected using purposive sampling method. The analysis of this research employs multiple regression. Results show that cash flow volatility, magnitude of accrual, sales volatility, leverage have significant effect on earnings persistence, but operating cycle do not have significant effect on earnings persistence. Keywords: cash flow volatility, magnitude of accrual, sales volatility, leverage, earnings persistence --- Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menguji dan menemukan bukti empiris pengaruh volatilitas arus kas, besaran akrual, volatilitas penjualan, tingkat hutang, dan siklus operasi terhadap persistensi laba. Sampel yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah perusahaan manufaktur yang terdaftar di Bursa Efek Indonesia (BEI) selama periode 2001-2006. Total sampel 141 perusahaan. Data dikumpulkan dengan menggunakan metode purposive sampling. Analisis penelitian ini menggunakan regresi berganda. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa volatilitas arus kas, besaran akrual, volatilitas penjualan, tingkat hutang berpengaruh signifikan terhadap persistensi laba, tetapi siklus operasi tidak memiliki pengaruh yang signifikan terhadap persistensi laba. Kata kunci: volatilitas arus kas, besaran akrual, volatilitas penjualan, tingkat hutang, persistensi laba
Postoperative residual block in postanesthesia care unit more than two hours after the administration of a single intubating dose of atracurium*

BACKGROUND: Residual neuromuscular blockade continues to be a clinical problem after surgical procedures. The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence of residual paralysis in the postanesthesia care unit (PACU) after a single intubating dose of twice of the 95% estimated dose (ED95) of a nondepolarizing muscle relaxant with an intermediate duration of action. METHODS: Two hundred and sixteen patients scheduled for elective surgery under general anaesthesia requiring tracheal intubation were included in the study. They received a single intubating dose of intravenous atracurium (0.5 mg/kg) to facilitate tracheal intubation. At the end of surgery, if train of four (TOF)-ratio was ≤ 0.9, neostigmine 40 μg/kg intravenously was given. If TOF-ratio was ≥ 0.9, no neostigmine was given. Also, in awake patients with TOF > 0.9, residual neuromuscular paralysis was evaluated by using clinical tests such as head lift test and tongue depressor test. RESULTS: TOF was less than 0.9 in 48 (22.2%) patients while after 120 minutes, no patients had TOF less than 0.9. Of 33 patients whose operation lasted less than 120 minutes, 4 patients had TOF less than 0.9 at the end of surgery. There was no case of hypoventilation or hypoxia at PACU. The incidence of negative value in clinical tests was high. CONCLUSIONS: Our study gave the impression that more than two hours between the administration of a single intubating dose of an intermediate-acting nondepolarizing muscle relaxant (atracurium) and arrival to the PACU can probably guarantee the lack of a residual paralysis.
A review of sensor selection, sensor devices and sensor deployment for wearable sensor-based human activity recognition systems

Data preprocessing, feature selection and classification algorithms usually occupy the bulk of surveys on human activity recognition (HAR). This paper instead gives a brief review on the data acquisition which is a critical stage of the wearable data-driven-based HAR. The review focuses on the determination of sensor types, modality of sensor devices, sensor deployment and data collection. The work aims to provide a comprehensive and detailed guidance for the fundamental part in HAR, also to highlight the challenges related to the topics reviewed.
Loss to Care and Death Before Antiretroviral Therapy in Durban, South Africa

Objective:To examine the loss to care and mortality rates before starting antiretroviral therapy (ART) among ART eligible HIV-infected patients in Durban, South Africa. Design:Retrospective cohort study. Methods:We reviewed data from ART eligible adults (≥18 years) at an urban HIV clinic that charges a monthly fee from July to December 2006. ART eligibility was based on CD4 count ≤200 cells per microliter or clinical criteria and a psychosocial assessment. Patients who did not start ART and were lost within 3 months were phoned. Correlates of loss to care were evaluated using logistic regression. Results:During the study period, 501 patients registered for ART training. Mean time from initial CD4 count to first ART training was 3.6 months (interquartile range 2.3-3.9 months). Four hundred eight patients (81.4%) were in care and on ART at 3-month follow-up, and 11 (2.2%) were in care but had not initiated ART. Eighty-two ART eligible patients (16.4%) were lost before ART initiation. Of these, 28 (34.1%) had died; two thirds of deaths occurred before or within 2 months after the first ART training. Despite multiple attempts, 32 patients (39%) were unreachable by phone. Lower baseline CD4 counts (≤100 cells/μL) and unemployment were independently associated with being lost. Conclusions:Loss to care and death occur frequently before starting ART at an HIV clinic in Durban, South Africa. This delay from CD4 count to ART training, even among those with the lowest CD4 counts, highlights the need for interventions that improve linkage to care and prioritize ART initiation for those with low baseline CD4 counts.
Measuring the Cost of Time in Recreation Demand Analysis: An Application to Sportfishing

Since the work of Cesario and Knetsch, economists have recognized that the opportunity cost of time plays an important role in determining the demand for outdoor recreation. The opportunities one has for spare time are more significant for consumption of time-intensive outdoor recreation activities than for other commodities, especially nondurables. Bishop and Heberlein illustrate "the overwhelming importance of time costs to final [recreational] values. Total consumer surplus is nearly four times as large . [when] time costs are added at half the income rate . [as when] time costs were set at zero" (p. 21). Despite the recognition, economists have neither successfully integrated the costs of time with the methods of recreational demand analysis nor reached a consensus on how it should be measured. Brown, Charbonneau, and Hay state, "Finally, the apparently crucial importance of how opportunity cost of time is handled needs further work. While we are convinced it is an appropriate concept, . exactly how it should be included and measured S. remains to be determined" (p. 24). Several approaches have been taken to include it in the travel cost method. One approach (Brown and Nawas, Gum and Martin) suggests that time in transit be considered as a separate independent variable. Another approach (Bishop and Heberlein; Brown, Charbonneau, Hay; Nicols, Bowes, Dwyer; Cesario and Knetsch) measures the cost of time and adds it to other costs. Several approaches have been suggested to measure time costs. One approach is simply to choose an hourly wage, e.g., $2.00 per hour, or perhaps the minimum wage rate. A more flexible but still ad hoc approach is to use some proportion of the individual's wage rate as the opportunity cost of time (Nichols, Bowes, Dwyer). The proportion is usually taken from independent studies and used to value the travel time. This approach is better than using a constant opportunity cost of time because it allows variation across individuals. It suffers because the choice of the percentage of the wage rate is arbitrary, independent of the sampled population. Cesario has discussed the consequences of ignoring time costs and the differences in values arising from alternative measurement approaches. In this paper, we argue that the opportunity cost of time is some proportion of the individual's market wage rate or income per hour and that this proportion can be determined from sample data. This method permits the proportion to vary from one study to another, rather than imposing either an arbitrary estimate or one from a sample different from the study's sample. '