Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Death on the battlefield (2001–2011): Implications for the future of combat casualty care

BACKGROUND Critical evaluation of all aspects of combat casualty care, including mortality, with a special focus on the incidence and causes of potentially preventable deaths among US combat fatalities, is central to identifying gaps in knowledge, training, equipment, and execution of battlefield trauma care. The impetus to produce this analysis was to develop a comprehensive perspective of battlefield death, concentrating on deaths that occurred in the pre–medical treatment facility (pre-MTF) environment. METHODS The Armed Forces Medical Examiner Service Mortality Surveillance Division was used to identify Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom combat casualties from October 2001 to June 2011 who died from injury in the deployed environment. The autopsy records, perimortem records, photographs on file, and Mortality Trauma Registry of the Armed Forces Medical Examiner Service were used to compile mechanism of injury, cause of injury, medical intervention performed, Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) score, and Injury Severity Score (ISS) on all lethal injuries. All data were used by the expert panel for the conduct of the potential for injury survivability assessment of this study. RESULTS For the study interval between October 2001 and June 2011, 4,596 battlefield fatalities were reviewed and analyzed. The stratification of mortality demonstrated that 87.3% of all injury mortality occurred in the pre-MTF environment. Of the pre-MTF deaths, 75.7% (n = 3,040) were classified as nonsurvivable, and 24.3% (n = 976) were deemed potentially survivable (PS). The injury/physiologic focus of PS acute mortality was largely associated with hemorrhage (90.9%). The site of lethal hemorrhage was truncal (67.3%), followed by junctional (19.2%) and peripheral-extremity (13.5%) hemorrhage. CONCLUSION Most battlefield casualties died of their injuries before ever reaching a surgeon. As most pre-MTF deaths are nonsurvivable, mitigation strategies to impact outcomes in this population need to be directed toward injury prevention. To significantly impact the outcome of combat casualties with PS injury, strategies must be developed to mitigate hemorrhage and optimize airway management or reduce the time interval between the battlefield point of injury and surgical intervention. Understanding battlefield mortality is a vital component of the military trauma system. Emphasis on this analysis should be placed on trauma system optimization, evidence-based improvements in Tactical Combat Casualty Care guidelines, data-driven research, and development to remediate gaps in care and relevant training and equipment enhancements that will increase the survivability of the fighting force.
Quantitative PCR analysis reveals a high incidence of large intragenic deletions in the FANCA gene in Spanish Fanconi anemia patients

Fanconi anaemia is an autosomal recessive disease characterized by chromosome fragility, multiple congenital abnormalities, progressive bone marrow failure and a high predisposition to develop malignancies. Most of the Fanconi anaemia patients belong to complementation group FA-A due to mutations in the FANCA gene. This gene contains 43 exons along a 4.3-kb coding sequence with a very heterogeneous mutational spectrum that makes the mutation screening of FANCA a difficult task. In addition, as the FANCA gene is rich in Alu sequences, it was reported that Alu-mediated recombination led to large intragenic deletions that cannot be detected in heterozygous state by conventional PCR, SSCP analysis, or DNA sequencing. To overcome this problem, a method based on quantitative fluorescent multiplex PCR was proposed to detect intragenic deletions in FANCA involving the most frequently deleted exons (exons 5, 11, 17, 21 and 31). Here we apply the proposed method to detect intragenic deletions in 25 Spanish FA-A patients previously assigned to complementation group FA-A by FANCA cDNA retroviral transduction. A total of eight heterozygous deletions involving from one to more than 26 exons were detected. Thus, one third of the patients carried a large intragenic deletion that would have not been detected by conventional methods. These results are in agreement with previously published data and indicate that large intragenic deletions are one of the most frequent mutations leading to Fanconi anaemia. Consequently, this technology should be applied in future studies on FANCA to improve the mutation detection rate.
Aging Well: Surprising Guideposts to a Happier Life from the Landmark Harvard Study of Adult Development

In an unprecedented series of studies, Harvard Medical School has followed 824 subjects-men and women, some rich, some poor- from their teens to old age. Harvard's George Vaillant now uses these studies, the most complete ever done anywhere in the world, and the subjects' individual histories to illustrate the factors involved in reaching a happy, healthy old age. He explains precisely why some people turn out to be more resilient than others, the complicated effects of marriage and divorce, negative personality changes, and how to live a more fulfilling, satisfying and rewarding life in the later years. He shows why a person's background has less to do with their eventual happiness than the specific lifestyle choices they make. And he offers step-by-step advice about how each of us can change our lifestyles and age successfully. Sure to be debated on talk shows and in living rooms, Vaillant's definitive and inspiring book is the new classic account of how we live and how we can live better.
The influence of context-dependent maternal effects on population dynamics: an experimental test

Parental effects arise when either the maternal or paternal phenotype influences the phenotypes of subsequent generations. Simple analytical models assume maternal effects are a mechanism creating delayed density dependence. Such models predict that maternal effects can very easily lead to population cycles. Despite this, unambiguous maternal-effect mediated cycles have not been demonstrated in any system. Additionally, much evidence has arisen to invalidate the underlying assumption that there is a simple positive correlation between maternal performance and offspring performance. A key issue in understanding how maternal effects may affect population dynamics is determining how the expression of parental effects changes in different environments. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that maternal effects influence population dynamics in a context-dependent way. Populations of the soil mite, Sancassania berlesei, were set up at high density (500 eggs) or low density (50 eggs), with eggs that were either laid by young mothers or old mothers (a previously documented maternal effect in this system). The influence of maternal age on both population and egg and body-size dynamics was only observed in the populations initiated under low density rather than high density. This difference was attributable to the context-dependence of maternal effects at the individual level. In low-density (high food) conditions, maternal effects have an impact on offspring reproductive performance, creating an impact on the population growth rate. In high density (low food), maternal effects impact more on juvenile survival (not adult size or reproduction), creating a smaller impact on the population growth rate. This context dependence of effects at the population level means that, in fluctuating populations, maternal effects cause intermittent delayed density dependence that does not lead to persistent cycles.
The vegetation of metalliferous and non-metalliferous grasslands in two former mine regions in Central Slovakia

We investigated the composition of the vegetation in two former mining regions in Central Slovakia: Banská Štiavnica with predominant Pb-Zn contamination and Staré Hory with a very high Cu content in the soil. Old heaps rich in heavy metals are covered with specific vegetation. On the Cu-rich spoil heaps, species-poor plant communities with prevailing Agrostis stolonifera, Avenella flexuosa, Acetosella vulgaris, Arabidopsis arenosa, Silene dioica, and S. vulgaris occur. Species such as Agrostis capillaris, Acetosella vulgaris, Arabidopsis arenosa, and Thlaspi caerulescens appear frequently on Pb-Zn mine wastes. Several differences in the vegetation structure were detected between the Pb-Zn and Cu mine heaps; higher amounts of vascular plants and fewer lichen species covered the Pb-Zn mine heaps. For the Cu mine heaps, on the contrary a small number of vascular species but a high number and coverage of lichen species, especially Ceratodon purpureus and Cladonia arbuscula subsp. mitis were typical. The non-metalliferous meadows in the vicinity of the mines showed uniform structure but a higher species diversity.
Expression and function of soluble guanylate cyclase in pulmonary arterial hypertension

Alterations of the nitric oxide receptor, soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) may contribute to the pathophysiology of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). In the present study, the expression of sGC in explanted lung tissue of PAH patients was studied and the effects of the sGC stimulator BAY 63-2521 on enzyme activity, and haemodynamics and vascular remodelling were investigated in two independent animal models of PAH. Strong upregulation of sGC in pulmonary arterial vessels in the idiopathic PAH lungs compared with healthy donor lungs was demonstrated by immunohistochemistry. Upregulation of sGC was detected, similarly to humans, in the structurally remodelled smooth muscle layer in chronic hypoxic mouse lungs and lungs from monocrotaline (MCT)-injected rats. BAY 63-2521 is a novel, orally available compound that directly stimulates sGC and sensitises it to its physiological stimulator, nitric oxide. Chronic treatment of hypoxic mice and MCT-injected rats, with fully established PAH, with BAY 63-2521 (10 mg·kg−1·day−1) partially reversed the PAH, the right heart hypertrophy and the structural remodelling of the lung vasculature. Upregulation of soluble guanylate cyclase in pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells was noted in human idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension lungs and lungs from animal models of pulmonary arterial hypertension. Stimulation of soluble guanylate cyclase reversed right heart hypertrophy and structural lung vascular remodelling. Soluble guanylate cyclase may thus offer a new target for therapeutic intervention in pulmonary arterial hypertension.
Cooperative Electrostatic Interactions Drive Functional Evolution in the Alkaline Phosphatase Superfamily

It is becoming widely accepted that catalytic promiscuity, i.e., the ability of a single enzyme to catalyze the turnover of multiple, chemically distinct substrates, plays a key role in the evolution of new enzyme functions. In this context, the members of the alkaline phosphatase superfamily have been extensively studied as model systems in order to understand the phenomenon of enzyme multifunctionality. In the present work, we model the selectivity of two multiply promiscuous members of this superfamily, namely the phosphonate monoester hydrolases from Burkholderia caryophylli and Rhizobium leguminosarum. We have performed extensive simulations of the enzymatic reaction of both wild-type enzymes and several experimentally characterized mutants. Our computational models are in agreement with key experimental observables, such as the observed activities of the wild-type enzymes, qualitative interpretations of experimental pH-rate profiles, and activity trends among several active site mutants. In all cases the substrates of interest bind to the enzyme in similar conformations, with largely unperturbed transition states from their corresponding analogues in aqueous solution. Examination of transition-state geometries and the contribution of individual residues to the calculated activation barriers suggest that the broad promiscuity of these enzymes arises from cooperative electrostatic interactions in the active site, allowing each enzyme to adapt to the electrostatic needs of different substrates. By comparing the structural and electrostatic features of several alkaline phosphatases, we suggest that this phenomenon is a generalized feature driving selectivity and promiscuity within this superfamily and can be in turn used for artificial enzyme design.
Antidepressant effects of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are attenuated by antiinflammatory drugs in mice and humans

Antiinflammatory drugs achieve their therapeutic actions at least in part by regulation of cytokine formation. A “cytokine hypothesis” of depression is supported by the observation that depressed individuals have elevated plasma levels of certain cytokines compared with healthy controls. Here we investigated a possible interaction between antidepressant agents and antiinflammatory agents on antidepressant-induced behaviors and on p11, a biochemical marker of depressive-like states and antidepressant responses. We found that widely used antiinflammatory drugs antagonize both biochemical and behavioral responses to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). In contrast to the levels detected in serum, we found that frontal cortical levels of certain cytokines (e.g., TNFα and IFNγ) were increased by serotonergic antidepressants and that these effects were inhibited by antiinflammatory agents. The antagonistic effect of antiinflammatory agents on antidepressant-induced behaviors was confirmed by analysis of a dataset from a large-scale real-world human study, “sequenced treatment alternatives to relieve depression” (STAR*D), underscoring the clinical significance of our findings. Our data indicate that clinicians should carefully balance the therapeutic benefits of antiinflammatory agents versus the potentially negative consequences of antagonizing the therapeutic efficacy of antidepressant agents in patients suffering from depression.
The effect of thermal treatment on physical and mechanical properties of Luehea divaricata hardwood

This study aimed to characterise the effect of thermal treatment on physical and mechanical properties of acoita-cavalo (Luehea divaricata) wood. To achieve this, samples were treated at 160, 180 and 200°C for 2 h in an oven (dry conditions). Physical and mechanical characterisation was performed by weight loss, dry specific gravity at 12%, equilibrium moisture content, volumetric swelling and shrinkage, water absorption, water repellence, static bending and brittleness tests. Roughness and colour tests were performed in order to evaluate the modified surface. Main findings showed that dimensional stability of thermally modified wood increased, while mechanical strength of wood decreased as a function of temperature. A darkening of wood and a decrease in roughness were observed.
FlowFurl: A flow-level routing for faulty data center networks

Recent Data center network topologies put forward multiple paths between the end hosts to provide high bisection bandwidth. For the sake of efficient utilization of multiple paths many load balancing techniques are proposed in the literature. These load balancing proposals mainly deal with distribution of traffic among multiple paths. While balancing the traffic among multiple paths, few proposals also take care of congestion. Flow level solutions avoid flow splitting to preventing the packet reordering at the destination. These solutions try for rerouting (change the path) of flow dynamically based on the feedback received from the network. In case of link failures rerouting of the flow, based on the queue size of the remote switch alone may be sub-optimal. This paper proposes FlowFurl, an adaptive, distributed, end host driven and flow level load balancing technique. This adaptive routing technique supports dynamic flow-to-path assignment. This flow-to-path assignment is not only based on the congestion at the switch, but also the status of the links along the path. The simulation results show that utilizing connectivity information with congestion information can help to design better load balancing scheme.
Shrinked Data Marts Enabled for Negative Caching

Data marts storing pre-aggregated data, prepared for further roll-ups, play an essential role in data warehouse environments and lead to significant performance gains in the query evaluation. However, in order to ensure the completeness of query results on the data mart without to access the underlying data warehouse, null values need to be stored explicitly; this process is denoted as negative caching. Such null values typically occur in multidimensional data sets, which are naturally very sparse. To our knowledge, there is no work on shrinking the null tuples in a multi-dimensional data set within ROLAP. For these tuples, we propose a lossless compression technique, leading to a dramatic reduction in size of the data mart. Queries depending on null value information can be answered with 100% precision by partially inflating the shrunken data mart. We complement our analytical approach with an experimental evaluation using real and synthetic data sets, and demonstrate our results
Context-aware multimedia streaming service for smart home

This paper presents a context-aware multimedia seamless streaming system where the context is transmitted by a Zigbee-based sensor network. In the system, we employ Open Systems Gateway Initiative (OSGi) framework to provide the communication service of DLNA and Zigbee devices. By the system, a user's preferences for the multimedia service, such as media title, audio volume, video brightness/contrast and time stamp, will be carried by the Zigbee network to enable the identical atmosphere at where the user roamed. The DLNA player retrieves the media and plays out based on those preferences. The system aims at providing an identical seamless multimedia streaming service in a future smart home.
Children with Autism: Diagnosis and Interventions to Meet Their Needs

Originally published in Contemporary Psychology: APA Review of Books, 1997, Vol 42(1), 80. Review of Children With Autism: Diagnosis and Interventions to Meet Their Needs by Colwyn Trevarthen, Kenneth Aitken, Despina Papoudi, and Jacqueline Robarts (see record 1996-97723-000). This book exposes read
Anger disorders : definition, diagnosis, and treatment

Anger Disorders: Basic Science and Practice Issues. Diagnosis of Anger Disorders. Measuring the Experience, Expression and Control of Anger. A Behaviour-Analytic View of Anger and Aggression. Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Anger. Anger and Criminality. Evaluation of Treatment Strategies for Adult Anger Disorders. Developing the Therapeutic Alliance with Angry Clients. Ideal Treatment for Adults with Anger Disorders. Ideal Treatment Package for Children and Adolescents with Anger Disorders. Conclusions and a Look to the Future.
GLUT2 surface expression and intracellular transport via the constitutive pathway in pancreatic beta cells and insulinoma: evidence for a block in trans-Golgi network exit by brefeldin A

The biosynthesis, intracellular transport, and surface expression of the beta cell glucose transporter GLUT2 was investigated in isolated islets and insulinoma cells. Using a trypsin sensitivity assay to measure cell surface expression, we determined that: (a) greater than 95% of GLUT2 was expressed on the plasma membrane; (b) GLUT2 did not recycle in intracellular vesicles; and (c) after trypsin treatment, reexpression of the intact transporter occurred with a t1/2 of approximately 7 h. Kinetics of intracellular transport of GLUT2 was investigated in pulse-labeling experiments combined with glycosidase treatment and the trypsin sensitivity assay. We determined that transport from the endoplasmic reticulum to the trans-Golgi network (TGN) occurred with a t1/2 of 15 min and that transport from the TGN to the plasma membrane required a similar half-time. When added at the start of a pulse-labeling experiment, brefeldin A prevented exit of GLUT2 from the endoplasmic reticulum. When the transporter was first accumulated in the TGN during a 15-min period of chase, but not following a low temperature (22 degrees C) incubation, addition of brefeldin A (BFA) prevented subsequent surface expression of the transporter. This indicated that brefeldin A prevented GLUT2 exit from the TGN by acting at a site proximal to the 22 degrees C block. Together, these data demonstrate that GLUT2 surface expression in beta cells is via the constitutive pathway, that transport can be blocked by BFA at two distinct steps and that once on the surface, GLUT2 does not recycle in intracellular vesicles.
Utilizing grammatical relations to improve recall and precision in a textual database

This paper explores the possibility of applying a model of natural language communication to textual databases and the WWW. The model, called Database Semantics (DBS), is designed as an artificial cognitive agent with a hearer mode, a think mode, and a speaker mode. For the application at hand, the hearer mode is used for (i) parsing language data into sets of proplets, defined as non-recursive feature structures, which are stored in a content-addressable memory called Word Bank, and (ii) for parsing the user query into a DBS schema employed for retrieval. The think mode is used to expand the primary data activated by the query to a wider range of relevant secondary and tertiary data. The speaker mode is used to realize the data retrieved in the natural language of the query. It is argued that DBS schemata based on the grammatical relations of functor-argument and coordination structure help to improve recall and precision.