Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
How does the duration of active pushing in labor affect neonatal outcomes?

Abstract Aim: To assess the effect of time of active pushing (TAP) on neonatal outcome. Materials and methods: The study population (n=36,432) was taken from a Swedish randomized control trial on intrapartum monitoring, a European Union fetal electrocardiogram trial, and from Mölndal Hospital. After validation of acid-base samples and TAP, 22,812 cases were accepted for analysis. Results: The median active TAP was 36 min for P0 and 13 min for P≥1 (P<0.001). After adjustments for parity, epidural, labor induction, birth weight, and gender, pushing for 15–29 min (n=6589) relative to pushing for <15 min (n=7264) increased the OR of a cord artery pH of <7.00 to 3.20 (95% CI 1.7–6.0), and that of a base deficit in extracellular fluid of >12 mmol/L to 3.5 (95% CI 1.3–9.0). The group with a cord artery pH of <7.00 had a longer TAP than the group with pH≥7.00: median (5th–95th percentile), 38 (9–107) min vs. 23 (5–87) min, P<0.001. The probability of a spontaneous vaginal delivery decreased significantly with every subsequent increase of 30 min in TAP (P<0.05). Conclusion: The risks of severe acidemia, metabolic acidosis, and deteriorated neonatal outcome gradually increased with the length of TAP (>15 min), while the probability of a spontaneous vaginal delivery decreased with the duration of pushing. We suggest active physiological evaluation of the labor progress together with continuous electronic fetal monitoring during pushing irrespective of guideline thresholds.
A comparison of the sensitivity of the InPouch TV, Diamond's and Trichosel media for detection of Trichomonas vaginalis.

OBJECTIVE: This study compared the ability of three culture media (InPouch TV, Diamond's, and Trichosel) to support the growth of clinical isolates of Trichomonas vaginalis and their relative sensitivity for detection of the organism. METHODS: The majority of the clinical isolates were obtained from two San Francisco Bay Area clinics. T vaginalis was subcultured in 4 ml of one of the InPouch, Diamond's, or Trichosel media for 24-48 hours before evaluation. Twenty isolates were initially cultured in the InPouch test, 13 with Diamond's, and 10 with Trichosel. A haemocytometer was used to measure the initial concentrations of the organisms. Then serial dilutions were made in saline to yield approximately 2.0 x 10(4), 2.0 x 10(3), and 2.0 x 10(2) motile T vaginalis per ml. A 30 microliter inoculum from each dilution was transferred into 4 ml aliquots of the three media (387 individual tests, 43 x 3 dilutions x 3 media). Microscopic examinations for viable trichomonads were made at 24, 48, and 96 hours. Microscopy was through the pouch wall for the InPouch medium, and through a cover slipped slide with one drop of Diamond's and Trichosel media. RESULTS: At 24 hours, the InPouch demonstrated 84/129 positive, Diamond's 23/129, and Trichosel 18/129. At 48 hours, an accumulative positive rate for the InPouch was 98/129, for Diamond's 55/129, and Trichosel 47/129. At 96 hours the total positives for each test were 112/129 for the InPouch, 78/129 for Diamond's, and 74/129 for Trichosel. CONCLUSIONS: The InPouch TV test was significantly more sensitive than either Diamond's or Trichosel (at 0.01 level of significance, pInPouch > pDiamond's; pInPouch > pTrichosel on all three dilutions at 24, 48, and 96 hours). This increased sensitivity was the result of either a reduced generation time or the larger volume of media examined microscopically.
Antitumor Effect of Paclitaxel Is Mediated by Inhibition of Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells and Chronic Inflammation in the Spontaneous Melanoma Model

The antitumor effects of paclitaxel are generally attributed to the suppression of microtubule dynamics resulting in defects in cell division. New data demonstrated that in ultralow noncytotoxic concentrations, paclitaxel modulated in immune cells in vitro the activity of small Rho GTPases, the key regulators of intracellular actin dynamics. However, the immunomodulatory properties of paclitaxel in vivo have not been evaluated. In this study, using the ret transgenic murine melanoma model, which mimics human cutaneous melanoma, we tested effects of ultralow noncytotoxic dose paclitaxel on functions of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), chronic inflammatory mediators, and T cell activities in the tumor microenvironment in vivo. Administration of paclitaxel significantly decreased accumulation and immunosuppressive activities of tumor-infiltrating MDSCs without alterations of the bone marrow hematopoiesis. This was associated with the inhibition of p38 MAPK activity, TNF-α and production, and S100A9 expression in MDSCs. The production of mediators of chronic inflammation in the tumor milieu also was diminished. Importantly, reduced tumor burden and increased animal survival upon paclitaxel application was mediated by the restoration of CD8 T cell effector functions. We suggest that the ability of paclitaxel in a noncytotoxic dose to block the immunosuppressive potential of MDSCs in vivo represents a new therapeutic strategy to downregulate immunosuppression and chronic inflammation in the tumor microenvironment for enhancing the efficacy of concomitant anticancer therapies.
Radiofrequency Thermotherapy for Treating Axillary Hyperhidrosis

BACKGROUND Thermotherapy has been established between conservative and surgical options as a minimally invasive method for the treatment of axillary hyperhidrosis. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to present radiofrequency thermotherapy (RFTT) as a safe and effective new treatment method. MATERIALS AND METHODS Thirty adult patients with pronounced axillary hyperhidrosis were treated with RFTT with noninsulated microneedles 3 times at intervals of 6 weeks. Subjective improvement was rated using the Hyperhidrosis Disease Severity Scale (HDSS) and Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI). Satisfaction and estimated reduction of sweating were monitored. Objective measurements were made using gravimetry. Adverse effects were recorded in follow-up. At the 6-month follow-up, improvement in sweating was seen in 27 patients. The HDSS dropped from 3.4 to 2.1, the DLQI improved significantly from 16 to 7. The gravimetric measurements of sweat were reduced from 221 to 33 mg/min. The average reduction of sweating was reported to be 72%. Adverse effects were generally mild and improved rapidly. CONCLUSION Radiofrequency thermotherapy was shown to be an effective and minimally invasive treatment option for axillary hyperhidrosis. Patients described their sweating as normal. The method clearly has the potential to normalize axillary sweating.
Survival after alcohol septal ablation versus conservative therapy in obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

BACKGROUND The impact of alcohol septal ablation (ASA) on the survival of patients with drug-refractory obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) remains unresolved. The aim of this study was to compare survival after ASA vs. conservative therapy. METHODS We studied a consecutive cohort of 274 patients with severe drug-refractory obstructive HCM, 229 in ASA group and 45 in conservative group. The primary endpoint was a composite of all-cause mortality and aborted cardiac arrest. RESULTS With a median follow-up of 4.3 years, primary endpoint occurred in 13 (5.7%) patients in the ASA group, and 8 (17.8%) patients in the conservative group. The 5- and 10-year survival free from primary endpoint of the ASA group (94.5% and 93.0%, respectively) was significantly better than that of the conservative group (78.3% and 72.2%, respectively, log-rank p = 0.009). Independent determinants of primary endpoint were ASA therapy (hazard ratio [HR] 0.22; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.08-0.60; p = 0.003) and maximal septal thickness (HR 1.14; 95% CI 1.03-1.27; p = 0.011). CONCLUSIONS In patients with severe drug-refractory obstructive HCM, survival after ASA is favorable and better than that of conservative therapy. ASA seems to improve survival.
Pervasive Behavior Problems at 6 Years of Age in a Total-Population Sample of Children Born at ≤25 Weeks of Gestation

OBJECTIVE. The goal was to test whether extremely preterm children have more pervasive behavior problems than classroom peers, by using parent and teacher consensus reports. Is there an excess number of extremely preterm boys with behavior problems? METHODS. A total-population study of all extremely preterm children in the United Kingdom and Ireland was performed. All children born at ≤25 weeks of gestation in the United Kingdom and Ireland between March and December 1995 were assessed at 76 months of age (range: 62–87 months) (EPICure study). Pervasive behavior problems were defined as scoring >90th percentile on parent and teacher reports with a standard behavior scale, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Of the 241 of 308 survivors who responded (78% of survivors), 200 had full reports on behavior problems from teachers and parents; they were compared with 148 control children. RESULTS. A total of 19.4% of extremely preterm children (boys: 23.2%; girls: 15.6%), compared with 3.4% of control children (boys: 4.6%; girls: 2.5%) had total behavior scores in the clinical range. Hyperactivity (extremely preterm: 30.6%; control: 8.8%) and conduct problems (extremely preterm: 12.5%; control: 5.4%) could be accounted for by cognitive deficits, but attention (extremely preterm: 33.3%; control: 6.8%), peer (extremely preterm: 25.4%; control: 5.4%), and emotional (extremely preterm: 13.5%; control: 4.1%) problems were not explained by poor cognitive functioning. Extremely preterm boys had behavior problems in excess of gender differences found in the control group in hyperactivity, attention, and prosocial problems, and the impact on parents and teachers was greater for extremely preterm boys than girls. CONCLUSIONS. Pervasive behavior problems are more frequent in children born at the limits of viability than previously reported for larger preterm populations. Extremely preterm boys seem most vulnerable, and the impact on parents and teachers is considerable.
Le citoyen, l'expert et le politique : une rationalité complexe pour une régulation excessive du risque

After having given the foundations for risk regulation, stressed its specificities and underlined that the State is in fine the only economic entity able to control complex risks, we show that a careful analysis of the articulation between the different levers of public intervention leads to overestimate the cost of complex risks for society. Far from being the result of the various players irrationality, this bias towards excessive precaution captures their individual incentives and the complex games played by key actors of the regulatory process. Public management of risk does not obey to a cost-benefit criterion. It should instead be viewed as the outcome of the political games played by interest groups, experts, regulators, politicians. The pessimism inherent to risk regulation captures thus a complex collective rationality that we unveil in this essay.
Whole-Word Phonological Representations of Disyllabic Words in the Chinese Lexicon: Data From Acquired Dyslexia

This study addresses the issue of the existence of whole-word phonological representations of disyllabic and multisyllabic words in the Chinese mental lexicon. A Cantonese brain-injured dyslexic individual with semantic deficits, YKM, was assessed on his abilities to read aloud and to comprehend disyllabic words containing homographic heterophonous characters, the pronunciation of which can only be disambiguated in word context. Superior performance on reading to comprehension was found. YKM could produce the target phonological forms without understanding the words. The dissociation is taken as evidence for whole-word representations for these words at the phonological level. The claim is consistent with previous account for discrepancy of the frequencies of tonal errors between reading aloud and object naming in Cantonese reported of another case study of similar deficits. Theoretical arguments for whole-word form representations for all multisyllabic Chinese words are also discussed.
Wettability of fire retardant treated laminated veneer lumber (LVL) manufactured from veneers dried at different temperatures

Wettability of the fire retardant treated (FRT) laminated veneer lumber (LVL) manufactured from wood veneers dried at different temperatures was investigated. Commercially manufactured veneer of beech wood (Fagus orientalis L.) was treated with borax-boric acid (BX/BA, 1:1 by weight), monoammonium phosphate (MAP), and diammonium phosphate (DAP) using a full-cell pressure process. The veneers were then dried at different temperatures (120, 140, 160, and 180°C), and experimental LVLs were made from these veneer sheets. The wettability of LVL was characterized by contact angle analysis. The lowest contact angle was obtained from LVL made from BX/BA-treated veneers, while the highest value was found for the control LVL. The CA values of these samples at each re-drying level were lower than LVLs made from untreated veneers. Re-drying of the treated veneers decreased the CA values of the LVL, while it was found higher for the LVL made from untreated veneer.
Molecular Factors and Biochemical Pathways Induced by Febrile Temperature in Intraerythrocytic Plasmodium falciparum Parasites

ABSTRACT Intermittent episodes of febrile illness are the most benign and recognized symptom of infection with malaria parasites, although the effects on parasite survival and virulence remain unclear. In this study, we identified the molecular factors altered in response to febrile temperature by measuring differential expression levels of individual genes using high-density oligonucleotide microarray technology and by performing biological assays in asexual-stage Plasmodium falciparum parasite cultures incubated at 37°C and 41°C (an elevated temperature that is equivalent to malaria-induced febrile illness in the host). Elevated temperature had a profound influence on expression of individual genes; 336 of approximately 5,300 genes (6.3% of the genome) had altered expression profiles. Of these, 163 genes (49%) were upregulated by twofold or greater, and 173 genes (51%) were downregulated by twofold or greater. In-depth sensitive sequence profile analysis revealed that febrile temperature-induced responses caused significant alterations in the major parasite biologic networks and pathways and that these changes are well coordinated and intricately linked. One of the most notable transcriptional changes occurs in genes encoding proteins containing the predicted Pexel motifs that are exported into the host cytoplasm or inserted into the host cell membrane and are likely to be associated with erythrocyte remodeling and parasite sequestration functions. Using our sensitive computational analysis, we were also able to assign biochemical or biologic functional predictions for at least 100 distinct genes previously annotated as “hypothetical. ” We find that cultivation of P. falciparum parasites at 41°C leads to parasite death in a time-dependent manner. The presence of the “crisis forms” and the terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling-positive parasites following heat treatment strongly support the notion that an apoptosis-like cell death mechanism might be induced in response to febrile temperatures. These studies enhance the possibility of designing vaccines and drugs on the basis of disruption in molecules and pathways of parasite survival and virulence activated in response to febrile temperatures.
AIDS spreads eastward.

In just 3 months in 1991, WHO increased its estimate of the number of people infected with HIV in all of Asia 2 fold (500,000-1 million). By 2000, WHO estimated that there will be 250,000 new cases each year in India and Thailand alone where HIV infection has spread most rapidly. A professor from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences reported that AIDS is no longer restricted to the urban areas of Madras. Bombay, Calcutta, and Delhi. It spread to Manipur which is located on the border of the Golden Triangle, a drug trading area, where an especially high rate existed in the early 1990s. For example, in October 1989, 1 blood sample from this area tested positive for HIV, but by June 1990, 54% of 1500 blood samples tested positive. Thailand already had a serious AIDS epidemic so with a high HIV rate in Manipur, India and Thailand, AIDS could spread to Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, and southern China. 1 major mode of HIV transmission in India is prostitution. Harsh economic conditions often force women into it. Often they are coerced. Since condom use has been promoted as a method of family planning, prostitutes have not considered using condoms to protect themselves and their clients from AIDS. An Indian sociologist advocated targeting truck drivers since the prostitutes do not have the power to demand safe sex and truck drivers spread it into rural areas. The Thailand, the number of HIV infected people climbed from 300,000 in December 1990 to 400,000 by mid 1991. Intravenous drug use, (males make up 90% of drug addicts) was the main mode of HIV transmission in Bangkok. These males than transmit HIV to prostitutes. In mid 1991, however, 92% of drug addicts in Bangkok practice safe injection techniques. Seroprevalence in diverse Thai groups included 6% of men with sexually transmitted diseases, 15% of prostitutes, and 6% of army recruits.
The Private Wage Sector in Cote d'Ivoire: Homogeneity or Heterogeneity?

One dominant feature of economic development is change in the structure of the economy. Some sectors expand while others shrink. In response to changes in output markets, considerable adjustments must take place in factor markets as well. Development will therefore proceed more speedily when barriers in the factor markets are minimal. Whether or not barriers in the labor market exist, macroeconomic discussions of labor markets usually assume uninhibited flows between sectors [13]. Similarly, a large literature on earnings of wage workers has treated the wage sector as a homogeneous part of the labor market. Yet, if the wage sector is heterogeneous, model estimates have no empirical meaning and policy recommendations have no foundation.
Smooth Muscle Tissues Express a Major Dominant Negative Splice Variant of the Type 3 Ca2+ Release Channel (Ryanodine Receptor)*

It is well known that the type 3 Ca2+ release channel (ryanodine receptor, RyR3) exhibits strikingly different pharmacological and functional properties depending on the tissues in which it resides. To investigate the molecular basis for this tissue-dependent heterogeneity, we examined the primary structure of RyR3 from various tissues by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and DNA sequence analysis. As many as seven alternatively spliced variants of RyR3 were detected. Ribonuclease protection assays revealed that one of these splice variants, RyR3 (AS-8a), which lacks a 29-amino acid fragment (His4406–Lys4434) encompassing a predicted transmembrane helix, was highly expressed in smooth muscle tissues, but not in skeletal muscle, the heart, or the brain. Although the RyR3 (AS-8a) splice variant did not form a functional Ca2+release channel when expressed alone in HEK293 cells, it was able to form functional heteromeric channels with reduced caffeine sensitivity when co-expressed with the wild type RyR3. Interestingly, this RyR3 splice variant was also able to form heteromeric channels with and suppress the activity of the type 2 ryanodine receptor (RyR2). Tissue-specific expression of RyR3 splice variants is therefore likely to account for some of the pharmacological and functional heterogeneities of RyR3. These observations also reveal a novel mechanism by which a splice variant of one RyR isoform (RyR3) can suppress the activity of another RyR isoform (RyR2) via a dominant negative effect.
An efficient maximum likelihood carrier frequency offset estimation technique for OFDM systems

In this paper, we propose a hybrid scheme for the carrier frequency offset (CFO) estimation in OFDM communication systems. The main novelty of the approach is the judicious combination of two methods so as to reduce the bandwidth overhead and computational complexity without compromising the estimation range. The cyclic prefix (CP) associated with the OFDM symbols are used for the fractional frequency offset estimation. The integer frequency offset is estimated by means of a cost function minimization employing a few null subcarriers, which are allocated using a modified Fibonacci series. Performance of the frequency offset estimator is mathematically analyzed by deriving the Cramer-Rao bound (CRB) and is compared with the mean square error performance of the estimator. For moderate SNRs, our algorithm is shown to outperform some existing methods in terms of MSE (and thereby BER) performance, training overhead and receiver complexity.
Theoretical Analysis of the Physiologic Mechanism of Luminous Variation in Eye-Brain System

Flickermeters provide correct measurements only when the source of flicker is an incandescent filament lamp. Due to the rapid proliferation of modern lamps, there is the need to make available flickermeters that will quantify the degree of annoyance caused by any kind of lamp. It is widely accepted by the scientific community that the preferable way to reach this goal is to directly measure the emitted light instead of the voltage supplying the lamp itself (as implemented by the actual flickermeters). This paper presents the results of a study aimed at modeling the eye-brain chain in order to predict the response, and hence the sensation, of a human being to a given luminous stimulus. The model has been experimentally tested with the standard input signals recommended for testing existing flickermeters. Preliminary test results are encouraging. The authors believe that the presented theoretical model may serve as a kernel for defining a general mathematical model for predicting the response of the eye-brain system to generic luminous fluxes of known spectrum and modulation
The Bacillus subtilis ochre suppressor sup-3 is located in an operon of seven tRNA genes

Most Bacillus subtilis tRNA genes have been isolated from lambda libraries by use of probes that hybridize to tRNA or rRNA sequences. None of those genes map to the region of the sup-3 mutation. By cloning of the sup-3 allele, a cluster of seven tRNA genes (the trnS operon) that had not been isolated by other methods was identified. In principle, this approach could be used to isolate at least one more predicted tRNA-containing operon in this bacterium. The trnS operon was shown to contain tRNA genes for Asn (GUU), Ser (GCU), Glu (UUC), Gln (UUG), Lys (UUU), Leu (UAG), and Leu (GAG). The sup-3 mutation was found to be a T-to-A transversion that changes the anticodon of the lysine tRNA from 5'-UUU-3' to 5'-UUA-3'. This result agrees with previous work that determined that the sup-3 mutation causes lysine to be inserted at ochre nonsense mutations.