Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effectiveness of the ThinPrep Imaging System in the Detection of Abnormal Cervicovaginal Cytology: A Practical Experience in Korea

Objective: The purpose of this study is to report our experience with the implementation of the ThinPrep Imaging System (TIS) in a tertiary hospital in Korea and to evaluate the effectiveness of the TIS compared to manual methods in the screening of cervical cytology. Study Design: Detection rates of cervical abnormalities in the pre- and post-TIS periods (January 2009 to February 2010 and March 2010 to December 2010, respectively) were compared. Follow-up cytological and histological results with concurrent or subsequent human papillomavirus (HPV) tests were retrieved. Results: ASC-US, ASC-H, LSIL, and HSIL were more frequently detected in the post-TIS period than in the pre-TIS period (p < 0.005). The proportions of correlated cases of ASC-US were 42.2 and 40.4% in the pre- and post-TIS periods, respectively. The detection rates of high-risk types of HPV in ASC-US were not significantly different between the two groups. The proportion of correlated biopsy for ASC-H, LSIL, and HSIL was similar in both periods. HPV positivity for ASC-H, LSIL, and HSIL showed no significant change between the two periods. Conclusion: The TIS is potentially useful for the detection of abnormal cervical cytology on the basis of the increased detection rate of squamous cell abnormalities, with a relatively similar proportion of correlated cases compared to the manual screening method.
Glomerular filtration rate and urinary albumin excretion rate in systemic lupus erythematosus.

Our objective was to more precisely determine glomerular function in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), without abnormalities in renal function, as determined by standard clinical laboratory tests. Our long-term goal is to identify patients during clinical quiescence who may be at high risk of developing progression to renal failure from lupus nephritis. We studied three groups of subjects: 8 patients with SLE and a history of nephritis, now in remission; 25 patients with SLE, without clinical evidence of nephritis, now or in the past; and 5 healthy women (normal controls). At the time of study, urinalysis, serum creatinine and 24-hour urine total protein excretion were within the normal range in each subject. We measured glomerular filtration rate (GFR) by 125I-iothalamate clearance, and albumin excretion rate (AER) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in timed urine specimens. In addition, we compared 4-hour AER with 24-hour AER and spot urine albumin/creatinine ratio (A/C). Among patients with a history of nephritis now in remission, mean GFR was slightly but not significantly lower and mean AER was elevated (p < 0.03). Among patients with SLE without a history of nephritis, mean GFR was normal, but the variance in GFR was greater than normal (p < 0.005). Seven patients without nephritis (28%) had either hyperfiltration or hypofiltration. Mean AER was normal, but 3 other patients (12%) had elevated AER. There was no correlation of GFR and AER among patients in either group. Correlations (r) of spot urine A/C and 24-hour AER with 4-hour AER were 0.93 (p < 0.001) and 0.88 (p < 0.001), respectively. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Peptide toxins that selectively target insect NaV and CaV channels

Numerous metazoans express venoms for the purpose of defense, competitor deterrence, or prey capture. Peptide neurotoxins are particularly well represented in the venoms of arachnids, cnidarians and mollusks and these toxins often possess high affinity and specificity for particular classes of ion channels. Some of these toxins have become the defining pharmacology for certain vertebrate ion channel subtypes. Unfortunately, due to differences in the structure, pharmacology, and ion selectivity of insect voltage-gated sodium (NaV) and calcium (CaV) channels compared with their vertebrate counterparts, these peptide toxins have proven less useful for the characterization of insect ion channels. Despite these disparities in channel structure and function, the armament of peptide toxins that specifically modulate the activity of insect ion channels is slowly expanding. This review focuses on insect-selective peptide toxins and their utility for the study of insect NaV and CaV channels. The high affinity and selectivity of some of these neurotoxins means that they have the potential to become the defining pharmacology for specific subtypes of insect ion channels. In addition, it might be possible to exploit the phyletic specificity of these toxins as the basis for rational development of novel classes of ion channel insecticides.
Documentation Quality in Community Pharmacy: Completeness of Electronic Patient Records After Patients' First Visits

Background: When patients visit a community pharmacy for the first time, the creation of an electronic patient record (EPR) with relevant and up-to-date data is a prerequisite for adequate medication surveillance and patient counseling. Objective: To investigate the level of completeness of documentation in the EPR after a patient's first visit to a Dutch community pharmacy. Methods: In each participating pharmacy, newly enlisted (<3 mo) patients to whom at least one medication had been dispensed were enrolled in this survey. For each patient who could be interviewed, pharmacy master students used a structured questionnaire to gather relevant, mandatory patient data (ie, basic characteristics, current drugs used, diseases, intolerabilities, specific conditions) and nonmandatory patient data (eg, diagnostic and monitoring data, personal experiences and habits, drug use problems) from the patient's EPR and from a structured telephone interview with the patient. Data retrieved from the patient's EPR were compared with data provided by the patient during the telephone interview. Results: Of 403 selected patients, 154 (38.2%) could be interviewed by telephone. Poor documentation of telephone numbers in the EPR was the main reason for nonresponse (134/249). Interviewers found that 67.7% of prescription drugs, 0% of over-the-counter drugs, 19.6% of diseases, 3.7% of intolerabilities, and none of the specific conditions reported by patients had been documented in the EPR. Nonmandatory data (personal experiences and habits, drug use problems) reported during the patient interview had not been documented in the EPR. Conclusions: The EPR after a patient's first visit to the community pharmacy is often incomplete. For new patients, the pharmacist should more proactively and systematically gather patient information, and all relevant information should be recorded, preferably in coded form, in the pharmacy information system to allow more adequate clinical risk management.
Disconnection failure model and analysis of TSV-based 3D ICs

The trend in semiconductor industry is rapidly shifting from 2-dimension to 3-dimension to satisfy the ever-growing demand on the miniaturization of electronic devices. The introduction of through silicon via (TSV) based 3-dimensional integrated circuit (3D-IC) has significantly advanced the technology to realize high speed system with increased functionality. However, challenges remain in reliability of fabrication and testing methods. The size of transistors and interconnections has shrunk to few tens of nanometers, requiring highly advanced technique in the fabrication process. The precision in existing fabrication process is insufficient to reach the acceptable level of chip yield. Thus, TSV failure detection and analysis is essential for 3D-IC technology. One of the main failures that degrades the chip performance is disconnection failure. Disconnection failure may form in any point along the channel, especially in between the stacked layers. Stacked dies with TSVs as interconnects can be analysed by equivalent circuit model. Each component is represented as lumped components according to its material and physical dimensions. A disconnection along the channel is a gap between two conducting materials, which is modelled as series capacitance. The gap between a TSV and the corresponding bump is calculated to analyse its effect on the system; the calculated values for 1 μm, 3 μm and 5 μm gap resulted in 14.07 fF, 4.69 fF, and 2.82 fF, respectively. The modelled components were inserted and S-parameter plots were extracted for analysis.
SpermBase: A Database for Sperm-Borne RNA Contents

ABSTRACT Since their discovery approximately three decades ago, sperm-borne RNAs, both large/small and coding/noncoding, have been reported in multiple organisms, and some have been implicated in spermatogenesis, early development, and epigenetic inheritance. Despite these advances, isolation, quantification, and annotation of sperm-borne RNAs remain nontrivial. The yields and subspecies of sperm-borne RNAs isolated from sperm can vary drastically depending on the methods used, and no cross-species analyses of sperm RNA contents have ever been conducted using a standardized sperm RNA isolation protocol. To address these issues, we developed a simple RNA isolation method that is applicable to sperm of various species, thus allowing for reliable interspecies comparisons. Based on RNA-Seq analyses, we established SpermBase ( www.spermbase.org), a database dedicated to sperm-borne RNA profiling of multiple species. Currently, SpermBase contains large and small RNA expression data for mouse, rat, rabbit, and human total sperm and sperm heads. By analyzing large and small RNAs for conserved features, we found that many sperm-borne RNA species were conserved across all four species analyzed, and among the conserved small RNAs, sperm-borne tRNA-derived small noncoding RNAs and miRNAs can target a large number of genes known to be critical for early development.
Analysis of Current Therapy and Clinical Outcome in Childhood Pemphigus Vulgaris

Abstract: Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) is a rare, potentially fatal chronic autoimmune disease of the skin and mucous membrane. The objective of this study was to analyze the clinical outcomes and side effects associated with treatment of childhood PV (CPV). A retrospective review of the English language literature was conducted through PUBMED using the words childhood pemphigus vulgaris, and treatment or clinical outcome. Only patients under 12 years of age were included. Thirty‐three cases were found in 29 reports. Mean age at onset was 8.3 years (range 1.5–12 yrs). Mucosal involvement (97.0%) was more common than cutaneous involvement (84.8%). Oral mucosa was the most common site of mucosal involvement (93.9%), followed by genital (20.6%), ocular (11.8%), and nasal mucosa (2.9%). Mean duration of therapy was 4.5 years (range 0.6–14.5 yrs), and mean duration of follow‐up was 5.2 years (range 0.6–16 yrs). Complete recovery with no further therapy was achieved in 18.2% and partial recovery with minor relapses while on maintenance therapy in 78.8%. One patient died due to infection (3.0%). Serious side effects were present in 60.6%. The most common were cushingoid features (65.0%), growth retardation (50.0%), and infection (50.0%). Two patients who were refractory to systemic corticosteroids and immunosuppressive agents (ISA) had a favorable clinical response to Rituximab. Current therapy for CPV involving the use of long‐term systemic corticosteroids in conjunction with ISA results in prolonged immunosuppression, causing systemic infections and growth retardation. Safer and more effective therapies need to be explored.
Growth hormone induces age-dependent alteration in the expression of hippocampal growth hormone receptor and N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor subunits gene transcripts in male rats

Studies were conducted to evaluate the effects of s.c. injected recombinant human growth hormone (GH) on the expression of the gene transcript of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor subunits type 1 (NR1), type 2A (NR2A), and type 2B (NR2B) in the male rat hippocampus. The GH-induced effects on the expression of hippocampal gene transcripts of GH receptor (GHR) and GH-binding protein were also examined. Male Sprague–Dawley rats, kept in four groups of two different ages, was treated with the hormone or saline during 10 days before decapitation and tissue dissection. Brain tissues collected were analyzed for mRNA content by using the Northern blot technique. The results indicated that in adult young rats (11 weeks of age) the hormone elicited a decrease in the mRNA expression of NR1 but an increase in that of the NR2B subunit. In elderly adult rats (57–67 weeks of age) GH induced an increase in the expression of the hippocampal message for NR1 and NR2A. Meanwhile, the hormone induced a significant up-regulation of the GHR transcript in hippocampus of adult young rats but not in elderly adult rats. It was further found that a significant positive correlation exists between the level of GHR mRNA and the expression of the NR2B subunit transcript in adult young rats. The GH-induced increase in the expression of hippocampal mRNA for the NR2B subunit is compatible with a previously observed memory promoting effect seen for the hormone, because overexpression of this N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor subunit is shown to enhance cognitive capabilities.
Understanding Quality of Experiences on Different Mobile Browsers: Measurements, Analysis, and Implications

The web browser is one of the major channels to access the Internet on mobile devices. Based on the smartphone usage logs from millions of real-world Android users, it is interesting to find that about 38% users have more than one browser on their devices. However, it is unclear whether the quality of browsing experiences are different when visiting the same webpage on different browsers. In this paper, we collect 3-week consecutive traces of 337 popular webpages on three popular mobile browsers: Chrome, Firefox, and Opera. We first use a list of metrics and conduct an empirical study to measure the differences of these metrics on different browsers. Then, we explore the variety of loading time and cache performance of different browsers when visiting the same webpage, which has a great impact on the browsing experience. Furthermore, we try to find which metrics have significant effect on the differences, investigating the possible causes. Finally, according to our findings, we give some recommendations to web developers, browser vendors, and end users.
An Ontology-Based Framework for Building Energy Management with IoT

In this paper, we develop an ontology-based framework for energy management in buildings. We divide the functional architecture of a building energy management system into three interconnected modules that include building management system (BMS), benchmarking (BMK), and evaluation & control (ENC) modules. The BMS module is responsible for measuring several useful environmental parameters, as well as real-time energy consumption of the building. The BMK module provides the necessary information required to understand the context and cause of building energy efficiency or inefficiency, and also the information which can further differentiate normal and abnormal energy consumption in different scenarios. The ENC module evaluates all the information coming from BMS and BMK modules, the information is contextualized, and finally the cause of energy inefficiency/abnormality and mitigating control actions are determined. Methodology to design appropriate ontology and inference rules for various modules is also discussed. With the help of actual data obtained from three different rooms in a commercial building in Singapore, a case study is developed to demonstrate the application and advantages of the proposed framework. By mitigating the appropriate cause of abnormal inefficiency, we can achieve 5.7%, 11.8% and 8.7% energy savings in Room 1, Room 2, and Room 3 respectively, while creating minimum inconvenience for the users.
Off-the-shelf mobile handset environments for deploying accelerometer based gait and activity analysis algorithms

Over the last decade, there has been substantial research interest in the application of accelerometry data for many forms of automated gait and activity analysis algorithms. This paper introduces a summary of new “of-the-shelf” mobile phone handset platforms containing embedded accelerometers which support the development of custom software to implement real time analysis of the accelerometer data. An overview of the main software programming environments which support the development of such software, including Java ME based JSR 256 API, C++ based Motion Sensor API and the Python based “aXYZ” module, is provided. Finally, a sample application is introduced and its performance evaluated in order to illustrate how a standard mobile phone can be used to detect gait activity using such a non-intrusive and easily accepted sensing platform.
Pre-Exposure to Glucosamine Induces Insulin Resistance of Glucose Transport and Glycogen Synthesis in Isolated Rat Skeletal Muscles: Study of Mechanisms in Muscle and in Rat-1 Fibroblasts Overexpressing the Human Insulin Receptor

Increased routing of glucose through the hexosamine-biosynthetic pathway has been implicated in the development of glucose-induced insulin resistance of glucose transport in cultured adipocytes. Because both glucosamine and glucose enter this pathway as glucosamine-6-phosphate, we examined the effects of preincubation with glucosamine in isolated rat diaphragms and in fibroblasts overexpressing the human insulin receptor (HIR-cells). In muscles, pre-exposure to glucosamine inhibited subsequent basal and, to a greater extent, insulin-stimulated glucose transport in a time- and dose-dependent manner and abolished the stimulation by insulin of glycogen synthesis. Insulin receptor number, activation of the insulin receptor tyrosine kinase in situ and after solubilization, and the total pool of glucose transporters (GLUT4) were unaffected, and glycogen synthase was activated by glucosamine pretreatment. In HIR-cells, which express GLUT1 and not GLUT4, basal and insulin-stimulated glucose transport were unaffected by glucosamine, but glycogen synthesis was markedly inhibited. Insulin-stimulated activation of protein kinases (MAP and S6) was unaffected, and the fractional velocity and apparent total activity of glycogen synthase was increased in glucosamine-treated HIR-cells. In pulse-labeling studies, addition of glucosamine during the chase prolonged processing of insulin proreceptors to receptors and altered the electrophoretic mobility of proreceptors and processed α-subunits, consistent with altered glycosylation. Glucosamine-induced insulin resistance of glucose transport appears to be restricted to GLUT4-expressing cells, i.e., skeletal muscle and adipocytes; it may reflect impaired translocation of GLUT4 to the plasmalemma. The glucosamine-induced imbalance in UDP sugars, i.e., increased UDP-N-acetylhexosamines and decreased UDP-glucose, may alter glycosylation of critical proteins and limit the flux of glucose into glycogen.
Sleep Is for Forgetting

It is possible that one of the essential functions of sleep is to take out the garbage, as it were, erasing and “forgetting” information built up throughout the day that would clutter the synaptic network that defines us. It may also be that this cleanup function of sleep is a general principle of neuroscience, applicable to every creature with a nervous system.
Political Strategies of Multinational Enterprises in Emerging Economies: A Theoretical Model

In this study we have argued that MNEs in emerging economies face a different institutional environment which needs to be understood for its economic success. The performance of MNEs depends on both the ability of its managers to shape the public policies of their host government and their ability to succeed directly in the marketplace. Therefore, an MNE must devise an effective political strategy to successfully deal with the legal and political dynamics of its environment in the emerging economy. Towards this end we have presented a theoretical framework, mostly using institutional theory, with specific propositions that predict the effect of different variables on the political strategies. Specifically, we have outlined firm, industry and institutional level factors that influence the usage and choice of the political strategies formulated by MNEs to shape its broader institutional context. By doing so, we extend the literature on political strategies that has so far focused only very little on the perspectives of emerging economies.
Epidemiology and outcomes of acute encephalitis.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW This review seeks to describe recent advances in the epidemiology, outcomes, and prognostic factors in acute encephalitis. RECENT FINDINGS Infectious causes continue to account for the largest proportion of encephalitis cases in which a cause is identified, although autoimmune causes are increasingly recognized. Type-A gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABAa) receptor antibodies have been recently identified in encephalitis with refractory seizures, whereas the roles of antibodies to the glycine receptor and dipeptidyl peptidase-like protein 6 have been defined in progressive encephalomyelitis with rigidity and myoclonus. Recent findings in the US cases of encephalomyelitis presenting with acute flaccid paralysis raise the possibility that enterovirus D68, a common respiratory pathogen, may cause central nervous system disease. Mortality from acute encephalitis occurs in about 10% of cases, with a large proportion of survivors suffering from cognitive or physical disability. In addition to delay in institution of appropriate antiviral or immune therapy, several potentially reversible factors associated with poor prognosis have been identified, including cerebral edema, status epilepticus, and thrombocytopenia. SUMMARY Encephalitis imposes a significant worldwide health burden and is associated with poor outcomes. Supportive treatment and early institution of therapy may improve outcomes. Careful neurocognitive assessment of survivors of encephalitis is needed to better define long-term outcomes.
Quantitative measures of a robot’s physical ability to balance

This paper presents quantitative measures of a robot’s physical ability to balance itself actively on a single point, line or area of support. These measures express the ratio of a change in the state of motion of the robot’s center of mass to the amount of action required at the actuated joints in order to produce that change. They therefore represent measures of the gain of the robot mechanism as seen from the point of view of the balance control system. This paper is concerned mainly with ratios of velocities, called velocity gains, and it builds on earlier work by showing how these ratios can be defined and calculated for the case of a general planar or spatial robot balancing on a point, line or general rolling contact, or an area contact with a compliant surface. The paper concludes with three examples of use—design of a triple pendulum, analysis of a hydraulic quadruped, and expressing the physics of planar balancing—followed by a short discussion of gyroscopic balancing.
The Application of the Combination Modes Approach to a Cross-Cultural Comparison of 19th Century Britain and 20th Century Malaya and China

Mainstream economics and development economics lacks a neutral cross-cultural model that may be applied to changing socioeconomic circumstances spanning historical periods at numerous levels. A combination modes theoretical model with a neutral methodology is suggested that may be used to assess socioeconomic change from all three major levels of analysis used in economics, the world economic order, the nation state and the family/household, cross-culturally and over differing historical periods. The combination modes analysis is used in this context to assess how the uniting factor of British Imperialism at the level of the world economic order caused women, against the tradition of their cultures, to become the main, independent breadwinners of their families causing resentment among their menfolk. It is also argued that the connection to the British Empire tended to make women the foundation of nascent capitalist industrialisation processes.