Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of the effects of surfactant replacement therapy in neonatal respiratory distress syndrome.

OBJECTIVE Respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in preterm neonates. Pulmonary surfactant deficiency is the primary cause of RDS. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of surfactant therapy in reduction of the mortality rate in premature neonates with RDS and to assess the relationship between the efficacy of surfactant therapy and some risk factors associated with RDS. METHODS This study comprised 89 premature neonates with signs of RDS. The neonates were selected by simple sampling from those admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of Shaheed Beheshti Hospital. The eligible neonates received surfactant replacement-therapy (100 mg/kg) during 48 hours after birth. RESULTS Overall, 34 (38.2%) out of 89 neonates who received surfactant survived. The higher efficacy of surfactant replacement therapy was observed in neonates with gestational age of more than 32 weeks (47.5%), in those who received the first dose of surfactant during the first 24 hours of life (43.3%), in those with an Apgar score of more than 7/10 at 1 and 5 min (48.1%), and in those with a birth weight of more than 1 500 g (52.5%). The neonates whose mother received steroid therapy before labor had higher reduction in mortality after surfactant therapy (41.7% with steroid vs 34.2% without steroid; p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Surfactant replacement therapy in neonatal RDS should be started as soon as possible after birth. It could reduce the mortality rate from RDS by 38.2%. The efficacy of surfactant therapy for neonatal RDS may be associated with gestational age, Apgar score, birth weight, starting time of surfactant therapy and maternal steroid therapy.
The Syk Protein Tyrosine Kinase Is Essential for Fcγ Receptor Signaling in Macrophages and Neutrophils

ABSTRACT The cytoplasmic protein tyrosine kinase Syk has two amino-terminal SH2 domains that engage phosphorylated immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motifs in the signaling subunits of immunoreceptors. Syk, in conjunction with Src family kinases, has been implicated in immunoreceptor signaling in both lymphoid and myeloid cells. We have investigated the role of Syk in Fcγ receptor (FcγR)-dependent and -independent responses in bone marrow-derived macrophages and neutrophils by using mouse radiation chimeras reconstituted with fetal liver cells from Syk−/− embryos. Chimeric mice developed an abdominal hemorrhage starting 2 to 3 months after transplantation that was ultimately lethal. Syk-deficient neutrophils derived from the bone marrow were incapable of generating reactive oxygen intermediates in response to FcγR engagement but responded normally to tetradecanoyl phorbol acetate stimulation. Syk-deficient macrophages were defective in phagocytosis induced by FcγR but showed normal phagocytosis in response to complement. The tyrosine phosphorylation of multiple cellular polypeptides, including the FcγR γ chain, as well as Erk2 activation, was compromised inSyk −/− macrophages after FcγR stimulation. In contrast, the induction of nitric oxide synthase in macrophages stimulated with lipopolysaccharide and gamma interferon was not dependent on Syk. Surprisingly, Syk-deficient macrophages were impaired in the ability to survive or proliferate on plastic petri dishes. Taken together, these results suggest that Syk has specific physiological roles in signaling from FcγRs in neutrophils and macrophages and raise the possibility that in vivo, Syk is involved in signaling events other than those mediated by immunoreceptors.
Validation of the “QUICK” questionnaire—A tool for diagnosis of “wearing‐off” in patients with Parkinson's disease

The main objective of the present study was to test the validity of a 19‐items instrument (QUICK Questionnaire, QQ) as a tool for screening of WO. Two hundred twenty‐two patients (36.0% without WO; 64.0% with mild or moderate/severe WO) were included. Diagnosis of WO by the participant neurologist was considered the “gold standard. ” The complete Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale battery, the Cumulative Illness Rating Scale‐Geriatrics, and a form about WO presence and severity were completed by the neurologist. Patients independently completed the QQ just before the clinical assessment. As a whole, patients with WO were more disabled than patients without and patients with moderate/severe WO were in worse condition than patients with mild WO. The number of QQ symptoms declared to improve usually after the following dose of medication was 1.0 ± 1.8 in the group without WO, but 6.0 ± 3.8 in patients with WO (P < 0.001). A two QQ positive symptoms cut‐off showed the following attributes: sensitivity, 88%; specificity, 80%; positive predictive value, 88.7%; negative predictive value, 79%; diagnostic accuracy, 85%; positive and negative likelihood ratios 4.4 and 0.15, respectively. The area under the ROC curve resulted 0.90 (CI95%: 0.86–0.94%). In summary, the QQ proved to be a valid screening tool to identify WO in PD patients. To our knowledge, the QQ is the only validated tool for diagnosis of WO. © 2008 Movement Disorder Society
Tight tradeoffs for approximating palindromes in streams

We consider computing the longest palindrome in a text of length $n$ in the streaming model, where the characters arrive one-by-one, and we do not have random access to the input. While computing the answer exactly using sublinear memory is not possible in such a setting, one can still hope for a good approximation guarantee. We focus on the two most natural variants, where we aim for either additive or multiplicative approximation of the length of the longest palindrome. We first show that there is no point in considering Las Vegas algorithms in such a setting, as they cannot achieve sublinear space complexity. For Monte Carlo algorithms, we provide a lowerbound of $\Omega(\frac{n}{E})$ bits for approximating the answer with additive error $E$, and $\Omega(\frac{\log n}{\log(1+\varepsilon)})$ bits for approximating the answer with multiplicative error $(1+\varepsilon)$ for the binary alphabet. Then, we construct a generic Monte Carlo algorithm, which by choosing the parameters appropriately achieves space complexity matching up to a logarithmic factor for both variants. This substantially improves the previous results by Berenbrink et al. (STACS 2014) and essentially settles the space complexity.
The benefit of doing things slowly: employing dissipation for the robust creation of entanglement between ions in spatially separate cavities

We present protocol that allows the generation of a maximally entangled state between individual atoms held in spatially separate cavities. Under ideal conditions, the scheme is deterministic. In a realistic setting, when the the atom-cavity interaction may be weak, and the detectors are imperfect, we show that the scheme is robust against experimental inefficiencies and yields probabilistic entanglement of very high fidelity.
Quality and reuse in industrial software engineering

The drive for productivity in the software industry is forcing major changes in the ways that software development and maintenance are being done. The technical trends contributing most to improved productivity are the improvement in quality of products and processes; and the reuse of code and other software components, such as design and requirements. The author surveys these technical trends. Each has gone beyond the research stage, and the preliminary results from pilot industrial projects have been reported. He summarizes the information available on the costs and benefits of the approaches, and the criteria which determine a successful transfer of the technique to industry. Each has demonstrated a long-term (3-6 years) return on investment, under the right circumstances. They have nor in general delivered short-term payoffs.
Detection of shifts in user interests for personalized information filtering

Detection of Shifts in User Interests for Personalized Information Filtering W. Lam*, S. Mukhopadhyay, J. Mostafa**, and M. Palakal Computer and Information Science Purdue University School of Science at Indianapolis 723 W. Michigan St. SL280 Indianapolis, IN 46202 *Department of Management Sciences S306 Pappajohn Building The University of Iowa Iowa City, Iowa 52242-1000 **School of Library and Information
Minimum-Energy Bivariate Wavelet Frame with Arbitrary Dilation Matrix

In order to characterize the bivariate signals, minimum-energy bivariate wavelet frames with arbitrary dilation matrix are studied, which are based on superiority of the minimum-energy frame and the significant properties of bivariate wavelet. Firstly, the concept of minimum-energy bivariate wavelet frame is defined, and its equivalent characterizations and a necessary condition are presented. Secondly, based on polyphase form of symbol functions of scaling function and wavelet function, two sufficient conditions and an explicit constructed method are given. Finally, the decomposition algorithm, reconstruction algorithm, and numerical examples are designed.
Embedded Stereo Vision System for Intelligent Autonomous Vehicles

This paper reports our work on an embedded stereo vision system, designed to be part of an existing intelligent autonomous vehicle that participated in the DARPA Grand Challenge 2005. There are two algorithms executed on the stereo vision system. The first algorithm detects the lane, consisting of the drivable area in front of the vehicle. The second algorithm searches for obstacles that are on the predicted trajectory. This paper presents the hardware configuration, the algorithms and their functional behavior. Furthermore, evaluation results during the DARPA Grand Challenge 2005 are presented
An Efficient Hybrid Shadow Rendering Algorithm

We present a hybrid algorithm for rendering hard shadows accurately and efficiently. Our method combines the strengths of shadow maps and shadow volumes. We first use a shadow map to identify the pixels in the image that lie near shadow discontinuities. Then, we perform the shadow-volume computation only at these pixels to ensure accurate shadow edges. This approach simultaneously avoids the edge aliasing artifacts of standard shadow maps and avoids the high fillrate consumption of standard shadow volumes. The algorithm relies on a hardware mechanism for rapidly rejecting non-silhouette pixels during rasterization. Since current graphics hardware does not directly provide this mechanism, we simulate it using available features related to occlusion culling and show that dedicated hardware support requires minimal changes to existing technology.
International Journal of Nephrology and Renovascular Disease Dovepress Open Access to Scientific and Medical Research Open Access Full Text Article Dovepress Advances in the Management of Gout: Critical Appraisal of Febuxostat in the Control of Hyperuricemia

Gout recently passed rheumatoid arthritis to become the most common inflammatory arthritis in the United States (US). However, epidemiologic studies indicate that the quality of gout management is suboptimal owing to both patient and physician issues. Only three options for urate-lowering therapy are currently available in the US: allopurinol, probenecid, and recently, febuxostat. Probenecid is generally safe except for the occurrence of urolithiasis, but is only effective for the subset of patients with better kidney function. Allopurinol use is limited due to its side effects, potential toxicity of uncertain magnitude in patients with renal disease, and failure to achieve targeted serum urate levels. In part this failure may be due to the necessity for it to be titrated for optimal therapeutic effect. Febuxostat is a new medication that may offer several advantages and can be given as an alternative to allopurinol. We review the basic biology and clinical performance of febuxostat, and consider the potential utility of this agent in comparison to the older, better-established gout therapeutics.
Body mass index, coronary heart disease and stroke in Swedish women. A prospective 19-year follow-up in the BEDA∗ study

Background Although obesity is an important determinant of an unfavourable risk factor pattern reported associations between cardiovascular disease and obesity in women have been remarkably inconsistent. Design Longitudinal observational population study. Methods 1408 Göteborg women without prior cardiovascular disease aged 39 to 65 years at baseline were examined with respect to cardiovascular risk factors, including body mass index (BMI), in 1979 to 1981. Quartiles of BMI were formed of < 22 (reference), 22 to 24, 24 to 27, and > 27 kg/m−2. Follow-up was conducted by use of the Swedish patient and cause-specific death registers. Results All trends with respect to incident coronary heart disease (CHD - myocardial infarction or revascularization), stroke and all cardiovascular disease were positive and significant (P < 0.05). No significant increase in risk was noted in women with BMI 22-24, compared with women below 22. After adjustment for smoking, women with BMI 24 to 27 had a doubled risk of CHD [hazard ratio (HR) 2.41 (1.06-5.50)] and of any cardiovascular disease [HR 1.89 (1.05-3.37)] whereas the increase in stroke risk was non-significant [HR 1.80 (0.81-4.01)]. Hazard ratios in the heaviest women, with BMI >27, were 3.75 (1.68-8.37) for CHD, 2.84 (1.32-6.12) for stroke, and 2.98 (1.70-5.21) for any cardiovascular disease, after adjustment for smoking. After further adjustment for other cardiovascular risk factors, all trends became non-significant. However, women with BMI >27 still displayed a statistically independent association with respect to coronary disease [adjusted HR 2.67 (1.10-6.47)] and all cardiovascular disease [HR 2.23 (1.23-4.04)], but not stroke [HR 2.08 (0.94-4.61)]. Conclusion The influence of BMI on cardiovascular disease in women may be greater than previously thought and, although to a great extent explained by the influence of obesity on other risk factors, associated with adverse outcomes already at moderately increased body weight.
SHEEP MODELS OF INTRAUTERINE GROWTH RESTRICTION: FETAL ADAPTATIONS AND CONSEQUENCES

1 Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) has been associated with poor perinatal health outcomes. Animal models have been used to investigate why IUGR is associated with a poor prognosis. The sheep has been used extensively as an experimental model for IUGR with poor placental substrate supply to the fetus induced using a range of methods, including the surgical ablation of the majority of endometrial caruncles prior to conception, experimental induction of maternal hyperthermia, ligation of an umbilical artery or embolization of the placenta in late gestation and maternal overnutrition in the pregnant adolescent ewe. 2 Fetal adaptations to fetal hypoxia and hypoglycaemia include activation of the fetal hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis and sympathetic nervous system and an associated increase in circulating cortisol and noradrenaline concentrations. Fetal cardiovascular responses vary according to the method used to induce placental dysfunction. 3 Although an array of experimental models has been used to induce placental dysfunction at different stages of fetal development, each leads to remarkably similar fetal growth, metabolic, neuroendocrine and cardiovascular adaptations and consequences. The extent and range of the fetal physiological adaptations to chronic placental insufficiency are determined by the duration of exposure and the degree of the severity of substrate supply restriction. 4 The present review summarizes how sheep models of IUGR have provided an increased understanding of the nature of the fetal adaptations to IUGR, their longer‐term physiological consequences and how to improve clinical management of IUGR in human pregnancies.
SRT 1720 Induces Mitochondrial Biogenesis and Rescues Mitochondrial Function after Oxidant Injury in Renal Proximal Tubule Cells

Mitochondrial biogenesis occurs under basal conditions and is an adaptive response initiated by cells to maintain energetic demands and metabolic homeostasis after injuries targeting mitochondrial function. Identifying pharmacological agents that stimulate mitochondrial biogenesis is a critical step in the development of new therapeutics for the treatment of these injuries and to test the hypothesis that these agents will expedite recovery of cell and organ function after acute organ injuries. In this study, we examined the effects of N-[2-[3-(piperazin-1-ylmethyl)imidazo[2,1-b][1,3]thiazol-6yl]phenyl]quinoxaline-2-carboxamide (SRT1720) on mitochondrial biogenesis and function in primary cultures of renal proximal tubule cells (RPTCs). We also tested the ability of this compound to restore mitochondrial functions after oxidant-induced RPTC injury. SRT1720 (3–10 M) induced mitochondrial biogenesis in RPTCs within 24 h as determined by elevations in mitochondrial DNA copy number, increased expression of the mitochondrial proteins NADH dehydrogenase 1 subcomplex subunit 8 (NDUFB8) and ATP synthase , and elevated mitochondrial respiration rates and ATP levels. Induction of mitochondrial biogenesis depended on mammalian sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) deacetylase activity, correlated with deacetylated nuclear peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor coactivator (PGC)-1 , and occurred in the absence of AMP-dependent kinase (AMPK) activation. Finally, SRT1720 treatment accelerated recovery of mitochondrial functions after acute oxidant injury. This study demonstrates that SRT1720 can induce mitochondrial biogenesis through SIRT1 activity and deacetylated PGC-1 , but not AMPK, in RPTCs within 24 h after oxidant injury. The results support further study of mitochondrial biogenesis as a repair process and a pharmacological target in acute organ injuries and disorders plagued by mitochondrial impairment. Mitochondrial dysfunction is a primary pathological consequence of ischemic or toxic insults. In ischemic acute kidney injury (AKI), de-energization of the mitochondria and persistent energy depletion may hinder critical energydependent repair mechanisms and lead to irreversible cell injury, limiting restoration of organ function (Weinberg et al., 2000; Feldkamp et al., 2005). As such, there is therapeutic potential for agents that promote mitochondrial function to treat injuries characterized by mitochondrial
The miRNA biogenesis in marine bivalves

Small non-coding RNAs include powerful regulators of gene expression, transposon mobility and virus activity. Among the various categories, mature microRNAs (miRNAs) guide the translational repression and decay of several targeted mRNAs. The biogenesis of miRNAs depends on few gene products, essentially conserved from basal to higher metazoans, whose protein domains allow specific interactions with dsRNA. Here, we report the identification of key genes responsible of the miRNA biogenesis in 32 bivalves, with particular attention to the aquaculture species Mytilus galloprovincialis and Crassostrea gigas. In detail, we have identified and phylogenetically compared eight evolutionary conserved proteins: DROSHA, DGCR8, EXP5, RAN, DICER TARBP2, AGO and PIWI. In mussels, we recognized several other proteins participating in the miRNA biogenesis or in the subsequent RNA silencing. According to digital expression analysis, these genes display low and not inducible expression levels in adult mussels and oysters whereas they are considerably expressed during development. As miRNAs play an important role also in the antiviral responses, knowledge on their production and regulative effects can shed light on essential molecular processes and provide new hints for disease prevention in bivalves.
Robust Relational Parsing Over Biomedical Literature: Extracting Inhibit Relations

We describe the design of a robust parser for identifying and extracting biomolecular relations from the biomedical literature. Separate automata over distinct syntactic domains were developed for extraction of nominal-based relational information versus verbal-based relations. This allowed us to optimize the grammars separately for each module, regardless of any specific relation resulting in significantly better performance. A unique feature of this system is the use of text-based anaphora resolution to enhance the results of argument binding in relational extraction. We demonstrate the performance of our system on inhibition-relations, and present our initial results measured against an annotated text used as a gold standard for evaluation purposes. The results represent a significant improvement over previously published results on extracting such relations from Medline: Precision was 90%, Recall 57%, and Partial Recall 22%. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of a corpus-based linguistic approach to information extraction over Medline.
Quantal and visual efficiency of fluorescence in the lens of the human eye.

PURPOSE To document quantitatively the fluorescence in the human lens relevant to its interference with visual function. To explain quantitatively the experimental findings relative to loss of visual function. To study the relation between the fluorescence and the light transmission of the lens. METHODS Three normal lenses, from 22-, 28-, and 69-year-old donors, were used. Fluorescent light was induced by a 4-mm diameter pencil beam of 380, 400, or 420 nm. It was measured as a function of the deflection angle from -10 to 150 degrees for different wavelengths. RESULTS The shapes of the emission spectra were comparable to those reported in the literature. Total quantal efficiency of fluorescence was between 5% for 69 years and 380 nm excitation and 0.4% for 22 years and 420 nm excitation. The forward intensity was less than the backward intensity because of secondary absorption. CONCLUSIONS Fluorescence of the lens causes light with wavelengths of 420 nm and lower to be much more visually effective. A marked homogeneous veil is added to the point spread function. The total increase in luminous efficiency was a factor 3 to 6 at 400 nm, and a factor 70 to 150 at 380 nm. For other visual effects (glare) the increase can be larger.
Contextual Variability in Personality From Significant–Other Knowledge and Relational Selves

We argue that the self is intrinsically embedded in an interpersonal context such that it varies in IF–THEN terms, as the relational self. We have demonstrated that representations of the significant other and the relationship with that other are automatically activated by situational cues and that this activation affects both experienced and expressed aspects of the self and personality. Here, we expand on developments of the IF–THEN cognitive-affective framework of personality system (Mischel and Shoda, 1995), by extending it to the domain of interpersonal relationships at the dyadic level (Andersen and Chen, 2002). Going beyond Mischel’s early research (Mischel, 1968), our framework combines social cognition and learning theory with a learning-based psychodynamic approach, which provides the basis for extensive research on the social-cognitive process of transference and the relational self as it arises in everyday social interactions (Andersen and Cole, 1990), evidence from which contributes to a modern conceptualization of personality that emphasizes the centrality of the situation.