Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Retrospective Analysis of the Effect of General Anesthetics on the Successful Detection of Interictal Epileptiform Activity in Magnetoencephalography

BACKGROUND:A magnetoencephalography (MEG) study requires the patient to lie still for a prolonged period of time. In children and uncooperative adults with epilepsy, general anesthesia or sedation may be required to insure a good quality study. As general anesthetics have anticonvulsant and proconvulsant properties, we investigated whether the use of anesthesia reduced the successful detection of interictal epilepsy activity. METHODS:MEG testing was performed on 41 epilepsy patients (10 women, 31 men; 1–48 yr) while anesthetized. To determine the impact of anesthesia on the identification of epileptiform activity, the anesthesia group of patients was compared with all other patients with epilepsy who were recorded in our laboratory without anesthesia, as well as with a subgroup of children with epilepsy who were able to be recorded without the need for anesthesia. RESULTS:Propofol was used in 38 patients, etomidate in two, and one received sevoflurane. Twenty-nine (71%) were found to have interictal epileptiform activity in their MEG results. The percentage of MEG studies with a positive yield for interictal epileptiform activity is comparable with the percentage (63%) found in the patients with epilepsy undergoing MEG without anesthesia. In the 38 children younger than 18 yr, 28 (74%) had interictal epileptiform activity compared with 80% done without anesthesia. CONCLUSION:We conclude that levels of anesthesia needed to provide unconsciousness and immobility during MEG studies do not significantly alter the likelihood of recording interictal epileptiform spike activity with MEG.
Infection of PTFE mesh 15 years following pedicled TRAM flap breast reconstruction: mechanism and aetiology

ABSTRACT The pedicled transverse rectus abdominis myocutaneous (TRAM) flap procedure is still widely used for breast reconstruction. The repair of the flap harvest site in the transverse rectus abdominis muscle and sheath is often assisted by the use of prosthetic meshes. This decreases the risk of abdominal wall weakness and herniation but, being a foreign body, it also carries the risk of infection. In this report, we describe the case of a 63‐year‐old patient who, whilst receiving chemotherapy for metastatic breast cancer, presented with an infected polytetrafluoroethylene mesh 15 years after pedicled TRAM flap immediate breast reconstruction. This necessitated mesh removal to treat the infection. Following a thorough review of the English literature, this is the longest recorded presentation of an abdominal prosthetic mesh infection. The mechanism and aetiology of such a late complication are discussed.
Oligopoly in Segmented Markets

We propose a new solution concept for a game among oligopolists that simultaneously compete in several segmented markets. The motivation for this solution comes from international trade, but it also has applications in other areas. It is based on a three-stage extension of the two-stage Kreps-Scheinkman game. We show that two-way trade is not an equilibrium outcome and that there exist bounds on possible cross-market priced differentials that are defined by transport costs. Prices are the same when transport costs are zero. In fact, in the limiting case of zero transport costs the equilibrium coincides with a Cournot equilibrium in a single integrated market. In the presence of transport coats there nay exist multiple equilibria.
Local activity at a depolarized nerve‐muscle junction

In this paper experiments are described in which the behaviour of the neuromuscular junction was studied under abnormal conditions. It was hoped to throw further light on the action of acetylcholine (ACh) and on the factors which govern its release from the nerve endings, by examining end-plates which had been subjected to gross changes in the ionic environment. Bath solutions were used whose sodium chloride content had been entirely replaced by sucrose or potassium sulphate. In the latter case the tissue became not only inexcitable but also completely depolarized. It was of interest to find out whether under such abnormal circumstances ACh would still react with the end-plate receptors and produce detectable electric changes in the postsynaptic membrane. This might conceivably be the case, for previous work (Fatt & Katz, 1951; Castillo & Katz, 1954b) suggested that the effect of ACh is independent of, and involves different reactions and different receptors from, the process of electric excitation. Experiments were also made to discover whether the intermittent quantal release of ACh from the motor nerve endings, which occurs spontaneously in the normal preparation and gives rise there to the firing of miniature endplate potentials, continues to operate in depolarized and sodium-deprived tissue. It had been suggested (Fatt & Katz, 1952 a, b) that the release of ACh and the spontaneous activity at the junction depend on the presence of sodium in the surroundings and on the maintenance of excitability of the nerve endings, but the results described below (see also Castillo & Katz, 1954d) call for a revision of this hypothesis.
Lymphangioleiomyomatosis Diagnosis and Management: High‐Resolution Chest Computed Tomography, Transbronchial Lung Biopsy, and Pleural Disease Management. An Official American Thoracic Society/Japanese Respiratory Society Clinical Practice Guideline

Background: Recommendations regarding key aspects related to the diagnosis and pharmacological treatment of lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) were recently published. We now provide additional recommendations regarding four specific questions related to the diagnosis of LAM and management of pneumothoraces in patients with LAM. Methods: Systematic reviews were performed and then discussed by a multidisciplinary panel. For each intervention, the panel considered its confidence in the estimated effects, the balance of desirable (i.e., benefits) and undesirable (i.e., harms and burdens) consequences, patient values and preferences, cost, and feasibility. Evidence‐based recommendations were then formulated, written, and graded using the GRADE (Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation) approach. Results: For women who have cystic changes on high‐resolution computed tomography of the chest characteristic of LAM, but who have no additional confirmatory features of LAM (i.e., clinical, radiologic, or serologic), the guideline panel made conditional recommendations against making a clinical diagnosis of LAM on the basis of the high‐resolution computed tomography findings alone and for considering transbronchial lung biopsy as a diagnostic tool. The guideline panel also made conditional recommendations for offering pleurodesis after an initial pneumothorax rather than postponing the procedure until the first recurrence and against pleurodesis being used as a reason to exclude patients from lung transplantation. Conclusions: Evidence‐based recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of patients with LAM are provided. Frequent reassessment and updating will be needed.
EFFECTS OF INJECTED LIPID EMULSION ON OXYGEN CONSUMPTION, RQ, TRIGLYCERIDE, FREE‐FATTY‐ACID AND β‐HYDROXYBUTYRATE LEVELS IN SMALL‐FOR‐GESTATIONAL‐AGE (SGA) INFANTS

ABSTRACT. Ten SGA infants were studied from 4 hours after birth (day 1) and again at 28 hours (day 2) before and for 4 hours after single injections of 0.5 g of Intralipid® fat/kg b. w. (IL‐group). Eight other SGA infants were given 9–10 ml/kg of breast milk (BM‐group). After lipid injection the elimination of triglycerides (TG) from plasma was markedly delayed. On day 2 lipolysis had improved, but was still slower than in previously studied AGA infants. The initial FFA plasma level was higher on day 1 than on day 2. Oxidation of released fatty acids was confirmed by a significant increase of Vo, and a decrease of RQ on day 1 and 2. In all infants the β‐hydroxybutyrate level in plasma increased and was still elevated 4 hours after injection of fat. A negative correlation was found between β‐hydroxybutyrate levels and RQ. In the BM‐group changes in TG and β‐hydroxybutyrate levels were small and insignificant. FFA had decreased 60 min after breast milk on day 1. In conclusion: TG elimination from plasma was impaired on day 1 and had slightly improved on day 2. The fatty acids released by lipolysis were oxidized as seen by increasing Vo, falling RQ and increasing β‐hydroxybutyrate plasma levels both on day 1 and day 2.
Competitiveness Matters: Industry and Economic Performance in the U.S.

This book argues, against the current view, that competitiveness--that is, the competitiveness of the manufacturing sector--matters to the long-term health of the U.S. economy and particularly to its long-term capacity to raise the standard of living of its citizens. The book challenges the arguments popularized most recently by Paul Krugman thatcompetitiveness is a dangerous obsession that distracts us from the question most central to solving the problem of stagnant real income growth, namely, what causes productivity growth, especially in the service sector.The central argument is that, if the U.S. economy is to achieve full employment with rising real wages, it is necessary to enhance the competitiveness of its tradable goods sector. The book shows that current account deficits cannot be explained by macroeconomic mismanagement but are rather the consequence of an uncompetitive manufacturing sector. It finds that the long-term health of the manufacturing sector requires not only across-the-board policies to remedy problems of low or inefficient investment, but also sectoral policies to address problems that are strategic to resolving the balance of payments problems. Lessons are drawn from the experience of some European and Asian countries.This book will be of interest to economists, political scientists, and business researchers concerned with the place of the manufacturing sector in overall health of the U.S. economy, with issues of industrial policy and industrial restructuring, and with the conditions for rising standards of living.Candace Howes is Associate Professor, Barbara Hogate Ferrin Chair, Connecticut College. Ajit Singh is Professor of Economics, Queens College, Cambridge.
Analyses of Factors Affecting Endothelial Cell Density in an Eye Bank Corneal Donor Database

Purpose: To analyze the factors affecting central corneal endothelial cell density (ECD) in an eye bank corneal donor database. Methods: The Lion's Eye Institute corneal donor database consisting of 18,665 donors (34,234 corneas) aged 20 years or older was analyzed. In particular, differences in the ECD based on age, sex, race, prior ocular surgery, a history of systemic diseases, and smoking were investigated. Furthermore, risk factors for donor cell count inadequacy (defined here as ECD less than 2000/mm2) were identified. Results: ECD decreased with age. Regarding race, the average ECD of African American donors was higher than those of white or Hispanic donors. A history of diabetes mellitus (DM) and ocular surgery were associated with a lower ECD. Donor medical history of hypertension, glaucoma, depression, dementia, Parkinson disease, hyper- or hypothyroidism, or smoking did not seem to affect the ECD. The risk factors for donor cell count inadequacy, based on binary logistic regression analyses were advanced age [65–74 years yielded an odds ratio of 17.8; confidence interval (CI), 10.6–29.8; P < 0.001; and 75–99 years yielded an odds ratio of 24.6 (CI, 14.5–41.61; P < 0.001) when compared with 20–34 years], cataract surgery (odds ratio, 4.3; CI, 4.0–4.8; P < 0.001), and DM (odds ratio, 1.2; CI, 1.1–1.3; P = 0.001). Conclusions: Age, race, ocular surgery (cataract and refractive), and DM seem to significantly affect donor corneal ECD. Of these variables, age, a history of cataract surgery, and DM were found to be the greatest risk factors for inadequate donor cell density (less than 2000/mm2).
Patient’s Natural Killer Cells in the Era of Targeted Therapies: Role for Tumor Killers

Natural killer (NK) cells are potent antitumor effectors, involved in hematological malignancies and solid tumor immunosurveillance. They infiltrate various solid tumors, and their numbers are correlated with good outcome. The function of NK cells extends their lytic capacities toward tumor cells expressing stress-induced ligands, through secretion of immunoregulatory cytokines, and interactions with other immune cells. Altered NK cell function due to tumor immune escape is frequent in advanced tumors; however, strategies to release the function of NK infiltrating tumors are emerging. Recent therapies targeting specific oncogenic mutations improved the treatment of cancer patients, but patients often relapse. The actual development consists in combined therapeutic strategies including agents targeting the proliferation of tumor cells and others restorating functional antitumor immune effectors for efficient and durable efficacy of anticancer treatment. In that context, we discuss the recent results of the literature to propose hypotheses concerning the potential use of NK cells, potent antitumor cytotoxic effectors, to design novel antitumor strategies.
Relationship between reaction time variability and motor skill development in ADHD

Slower and more variable reaction times to computerized tasks have been documented in children diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Recent research supports a role for attentional lapses in generating abnormally variable and slow responses. However, given the association between ADHD and impairments in motor control, we hypothesized that slower or more variable reaction times might also correlate with motor development. The aim of this case-control study was to explore the relationship between motor function, reaction speed and variability, and ADHD. After comprehensive educational and clinical assessments, motor skill development was evaluated in 35 children ages 9 to 14 (19 with ADHD) using the Physical and Neurological Examination for Subtle Signs (PANESS) test battery. Finger-sequencing speed and variability were quantified with goniometers. Reaction times were measured with 20 trials each of computerized simple and choice (binary) tasks. Compared to healthy controls, children with ADHD had slower and more variable reaction times, and these findings correlated with impaired motor development (PANESS) and slow and variable finger sequencing (goniometers). Further studies of motor development in ADHD may identify factors influencing speed and variability of reaction times.
Characterisation of cellular adhesion reinforcement by multiple bond force spectroscopy in alveolar epithelial cells

Integrin‐mediated adhesion is a key process by which cells physically connect with their environment, and express sensitivity and adaptation through mechanotransduction. A critical step of cell adhesion is the formation of the first bonds which individually generate weak contacts (∼tens pN) but can sustain thousand times higher forces (∼tens nN) when associated.
Changes in Bone Density During Childhood and Adolescence: An Approach Based on Bone's Biological Organization

Bone densitometry has great potential to improve our understanding of bone development. However, densitometric data in children rarely are interpreted in light of the biological processes they reflect. To strengthen the link between bone densitometry and the physiology of bone development, we review the literature on physiological mechanisms and structural changes determining bone mineral density (BMD). BMD (defined as mass of mineral per unit volume) is analyzed in three levels: in bone material (BMDmaterial), in a bone's trabecular and cortical tissue compartments (BMDcompartment), and in the entire bone (BMDtotal). BMDmaterial of the femoral midshaft cortex decreases after birth to a nadir in the first year of life and thereafter increases. In iliac trabecular bone, BMDmaterial also increases from infancy to adulthood, reflecting the decrease in bone turnover. BMDmaterial cannot be determined with current noninvasive techniques because of insufficient spatial resolution. BMDcompartment of the femoral midshaft cortex decreases in the first months after birth followed by a rapid increase during the next 2 years and slower changes thereafter, reflecting changes in both relative bone volume and BMDmaterial. Trabecular BMDcompartment increases in vertebral bodies but not at the distal radius. Quantitative computed tomography (QCT) allows for the determination of both trabecular and cortical BMDcompartment, whereas projectional techniques such as dual‐energy X‐ray absorptiometry (DXA) can be used only to assess cortical BMDcompartment of long bone diaphyses. BMDtotal of long bones decreases by about 30% in the first months after birth, reflecting a redistribution of bone tissue from the endocortical to the periosteal surface. In children of school age and in adolescents, changes in BMDtotal are site‐specific. There is a marked rise in BMDtotal at locations where relative cortical area increases (metacarpal bones, phalanges, and forearm), but little change at the femoral neck and midshaft. BMDtotal can be measured by QCT at any site of the skeleton, regardless of bone shape. DXA allows the estimation of BMDtotal at skeletal sites, which have an approximately circular cross‐section. The system presented here may help to interpret densitometric results in growing subjects on a physiological basis.
Supplement to Steiner Triple Systems of Order 19 with Nontrivial Automorphism Group

This supplement is an exhaustive listing of all STS(19) having automorphism groups of order at least 9. We employ a very succinct representation. Each design is on the symbols a-r, and is represented by a string of 57 symbols Si . 867. Using usual lexical order, the symbol si is the largest element in the ith triple; the remaining two elements of the ith triple are implicitly taken to be the elements xi < yi for which {xi, yi} does not appear in an earlier triple, and there is no pair z'i < y'i with this property for which y'i precedes yi, or Yi = y'i and z'i precedes xi. We list the systems grouped by subset of basic automorphism types, and list an automorphism group order for each:
El turismo como alternativa de crecimiento

En este trabajo, el tema de la economia del sector turistico se analiza primero teoricamente y se examina luego el caso de las provincias argentinas. Una de las motivaciones del trabajo es determinar si nuestro pais deberia concentrar sus esfuerzos en promover el desarrollo de esta actividad como lo han hecho algunas otras naciones en el mundo. El esfuerzo implica el accionar conjunto del sector privado y del sector publico y debe basarse en el desarrollo del sector en dos frentes: el mercado externo y el mercado interno. El enfoque hacia el mercado externo es de importancia ya que implica tener en cuenta que el sector turistico es una actividad importante como "industria" generadora de divisas, complementarias a las provenientes de las exportaciones del pais. Ademas de la generacion de divisas, el desarrollo del sector es tambien una alternativa para el crecimiento economico, la generacion de empleo y como posible estrategia para equilibrar el nivel de desarrollo de las provincias argentinas. Estos efectos positivos que derivan del crecimiento de esta actividad no distinguen la segmentacion del mercado segun el origen de la demanda. La generacion de divisas implica la captacion del mercado externo. La creacion de empleo, el crecimiento economico o el equilibrio regional de las provincias no distinguen el origen de la demanda.
The Zn(II)2Cys6 Putative Aspergillus nidulans Transcription Factor Repressor of Sexual Development Inhibits Sexual Development Under Low-Carbon Conditions and in Submersed Culture Sequence data from this article have been deposited with the EMBL/GenBank Data Libraries under accession no. CAD58393.

Here we have characterized the putative Zn(II)2Cys6 transcription factor RosA from the filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans. The rosA gene encodes a protein of 713 aa, which shares 38% sequence similarity to Pro1 from Sordaria macrospora. In contrast to Pro1, which promotes the transition from protoperithecia to perithecia, RosA is a negative regulator of sexual development in A. nidulans. Transcript levels of rosA were usually very low and were only transiently upregulated upon carbon starvation and at 12 hr of asexual development. Deletion of rosA only slightly induced fruiting-body formation under standard culture conditions, but enabled sexual development under low-glucose and high-osmolarity conditions and the production of Hülle cells under submersed growth conditions. Stimulation of fruiting-body formation on agar surfaces was dependent on veA. In ΔrosA strains, transcript levels of the sexual developmental regulators nsdD, veA, and stuA were increased. Overexpression of rosA led to a reduction of hyphal growth and to a fluffy phenotype. Post-transcriptional regulation of RosA, with a regulated accumulation in the nucleus, was shown using a RosA-GFP fusion protein. We propose that RosA represses sexual development upon integration of several environmental signals.
Breakdown field in silicone gel under needle-plane geometry

The silicone gel is used in IGBT modules to isolate bondings driven by currents and submitted to high voltage of about several kV. The gel avoids the partial discharge inside the module that would lead to its failure even on its destruction. The goal of this study is to investigate the breakdown field of silicone gel in needle-plane geometry (with varying of the tip radius) under ac, dc and impulse voltages. The comparison of the results obtained under uniform field and divergent field was done. It is not possible to define a single value of the maximum field applicable to the gel. As in liquids, the field decreases when the size of electrodes is increased. However, by comparing the behavior of the gel and the silicone oil, there exists a difference for low tip radius. The space charge injected for small surfaces seems participate for increasing the breakdown field.
TGF-beta1 inhibits NF-kappaB activity through induction of IkappaB-alpha expression in human salivary gland cells: a possible mechanism of growth suppression by TGF-beta1.

Transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta is the prototype of a large superfamily of signaling molecules involved in the inhibition of proliferation of multiple epithelial cell types. Although accumulated evidence indicates the mechanisms of the antimitogenic effect of TGF-beta in a variety of cell types, the signal transduction mechanism underlying the regulation of NF-kappaB transcription factor by TGF-beta is largely unknown. Because NF-kappaB is not only involved in inflammatory responses but also mediates cell growth, we have investigated the effect of TGF-beta1 on the activity of NF-kappaB and the role of the inhibitory IkappaB-alpha protein in the growth of the human salivary gland cell clones NS-SV-AC, HSGc, and cl-1. NF-kappaB, which is usually maintained in an inactive state by protein-protein interaction with IkappaB, was found to be constitutively active in salivary gland cell lines. Upon treatment of cell clones with TGF-beta1, the NF-kappaB activity in NS-SV-AC and HSGc, but not in cl-1, which lacks the expression of TGF-beta type II receptor, was suppressed. In NS-SV-AC and HSGc, this inhibition was mediated by the induction of IkappaB-alpha at the mRNA and protein levels. The blocking of NF-kappaB subunit with a specific antisense oligonucleotide reduced the growth rate of all of the cell clones, including cl-1. Introduction of a mutated form of IkappaB-alpha cDNA into NS-SV-AC suppressed the growth rate of this cell clone. These results indicate that TGF-beta1 downregulates NF-kappaB activity through the induction of IkappaB-alpha expression in human salivary gland cells and that inhibition of NF-kappaB activity suppresses the growth rate of these cells.