Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The US National Library of Medicine in the 21st century: expanding collections, nontraditional formats, new audiences.

From the early 1960s, the US National Library of Medicine (NLM) has been a leader in applying computer technology to accomplish traditional bibliographic and reference functions. medline, in the early 1970s, was the first large-scale online medical bibliographic reference system. That role has been altered by today's Web environment, which has increased the number and extent of NLM services and the audience for them. The NLM has formally declared that it will seek to serve the general public after over a century of serving the library and medical communities exclusively. In the last several years, many new services have been introduced to fulfil this mandate, including medlineplus and ClinicalTrials.gov. Also a part of the NLM's vision for the 21st century is the need to ensure that the proliferating forms of electronic health information-bibliographic, full text, graphic, audiovisual-are captured and preserved for posterity. A national library such as the NLM has as much an archival responsibility for this electronic information as for centuries-old printed and manuscript historical treasures.
Hyperthyroidism and other causes of thyrotoxicosis: management guidelines of the American Thyroid Association and American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists.

BACKGROUND Thyrotoxicosis has multiple etiologies, manifestations, and potential therapies. Appropriate treatment requires an accurate diagnosis and is influenced by coexisting medical conditions and patient preference. This article describes evidence-based clinical guidelines for the management of thyrotoxicosis that would be useful to generalist and subspeciality physicians and others providing care for patients with this condition. METHODS The development of these guidelines was commissioned by the American Thyroid Association in association with the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists. The American Thyroid Association and American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists assembled a task force of expert clinicians who authored this report. The task force examined relevant literature using a systematic PubMed search supplemented with additional published materials. An evidence-based medicine approach that incorporated the knowledge and experience of the panel was used to develop the text and a series of specific recommendations. The strength of the recommendations and the quality of evidence supporting each was rated according to the approach recommended by the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation Group. RESULTS Clinical topics addressed include the initial evaluation and management of thyrotoxicosis; management of Graves' hyperthyroidism using radioactive iodine, antithyroid drugs, or surgery; management of toxic multinodular goiter or toxic adenoma using radioactive iodine or surgery; Graves' disease in children, adolescents, or pregnant patients; subclinical hyperthyroidism; hyperthyroidism in patients with Graves' ophthalmopathy; and management of other miscellaneous causes of thyrotoxicosis. CONCLUSIONS One hundred evidence-based recommendations were developed to aid in the care of patients with thyrotoxicosis and to share what the task force believes is current, rational, and optimal medical practice.
Therapeutic keratoplasty for microbial keratitis

Purpose of review The purpose of this review is to provide an update of peer-reviewed literature published over the previous 2 years on various aspects of therapeutic keratoplasty. Recent findings Therapeutic keratoplasty has a definitive role in the management of progressive microbial keratitis refractory to medical therapy. The primary aim of the procedure is to eliminate the infectious disease process and establish the integrity of the globe. This procedure offers a microbiological cure rate of up to 100% in bacterial keratitis; recurrence of infection remains a concern following fungal infections and Acanthamoeba keratitis. Newer techniques like corneal debulking allow maximal preservation of the iris tissue in cases of perforated corneal ulcers. Lamellar procedures are emerging as promising alternatives to the full thickness graft in cases of infectious keratitis sparing the Descemet's membrane. In addition to adept intraoperative skills, intensive postoperative treatment and meticulous follow-up are pivotal to ensure success of a therapeutic graft. Summary Therapeutic keratoplasty is a challenging procedure and is associated with a poor prognosis for graft survival as compared with the optical grafts. The recent advances in lamellar keratoplasty and antimicrobial therapy contribute to the success in terms of microbiological cure and improved visual outcomes.
Severe sepsis from community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus possibly due to implantable cardioverter defibrillator.

A 55 year old man was admitted to the hospital because of shortness of breath and fever of one week duration and was unresponsive to amoxacillin-clavulanate that was prescribed for presumed pneumonia. His medical history included ischemic cardiomyopathy, hypertension, congestive heart failure (ejection fraction 30%), insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, implantation of cardioverter defibrillator 8 months prior to his admission, orthopedic surgery 2 years earlier, and obesity. Physical examination disclosed a tachypneic obese man. His body temperature was 39.0°C, respiratory rate 24/min, blood pressure 120/65 mm Hg, pulse rate 84/min, and pulse oximetry on room air indicated an oxygen saturation of 88%. On auscultation of the lungs rales were audible at the bases; no heart murmurs were noted. There was no skin rash, no evidence of skin infection and no signs of inflammation at the generatorpocket site. Laboratory tests on admission produced the following results: White blood cell count 15.8 x 103/μl,
Effects of Hospitalization on Affective Status of Elderly Patients

The effects of hospitalization on affective status were assessed by an original protocol in 214 consecutive elderly patients (mean age=78.3+/−5.0 years, range=70–92 years). Psychological decompensation was significantly related to length of stay (p<0.01) and drug use (p<0.05) and unaffected by sex, marital status, prior living place, diagnostic category. Affective status and functional status were directly correlated (p<0.0001), although in 51% of medical patients the affective status worsened or remained unchanged despite improved physical function. Improvement in affective status occurred more frequently in surgical patients (p<0.001) due to psychological improvement following surgery. Physicians providing medical and surgical care for geriatric patients must remain aware of the patients' emotional response to hospitalization and illness, given the accompanying risk for psychological decompensation.
The Intellectual Structure in Brands and Branding Research: A Scientometric Analysis

This chapter is based on a comprehensive and systematic analysis of the 30 most-cited articles (adjusting to the length of publication time) on brands and branding, retrieved from the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) database (1975-2008). Following the multidimensional scaling method and social network analysis, the results demonstrate five major subareas, which are characterized with different but interrelated intellectual structures. Among the selected core literature, a few theoretical or empirical articles play a key role in incubating or developing a research paradigm. Based on the analysis results, the authors observe that those five major domains and a relatively small number of seminal papers have important impacts on shaping the research paradigm with a lasting effect on future research directions. On the other hand, the authors argue that existing research on brands and branding has been dominantly focused on Western developed countries while brand management issues in emerging markets have been largely ignored and therefore deserve special attention in future research.
Fast Ca2+‐dependent inactivation of the store‐operated Ca2+ current (ISOC) in liver cells: a role for calmodulin

Store‐operated Ca2+ channels (SOCs) provide a major pathway for Ca2+ entry in non‐excitable cells. SOCs in immortalized liver cells are highly selective for Ca2+ over other cations and are similar to well‐studied Ca2+ release activated Ca2+ (CRAC) channels in haematopoietic cell lines. In the present work, employing H4IIE liver cells, we investigated fast inactivation of SOC current (ISOC), which occurs at membrane potentials below −60 mV. This inactivation was significantly reduced when BAPTA, a faster Ca2+ buffer, was used instead of EGTA, and was completely abolished if Na+ was used as a charge carrier in the absence of divalent cations in the external medium. These results suggested that fast inactivation of SOCs in H4IIE cells was Ca2+ dependent and was similar to the fast inactivation of CRAC channels. Experiments showing that the fast inactivation of ISOC was not affected by the disruption of actin by latrunculin B indicate that the cytoskeleton is unlikely to be involved. To elucidate the mechanism of Ca2+ dependence, a possible role of calmodulin (CaM) in SOCs' fast inactivation was investigated. The CaM inhibitors Mas‐7 and calmidazolium failed to affect ISOC fast inactivation, whereas over‐expression of a CaM inhibitor peptide or a mutant CaM lacking functional EF hands significantly altered the inactivation of ISOC. Out of two exponential components normally required to approximate kinetics of ISOC fast inactivation, the faster component was reduced in amplitude by 30%, compared to the control. The results presented suggest that CaM is responsible for at least part of Ca2+‐dependent fast inactivation of ISOC in liver cells. It is hypothesized that CaM is tethered to the channel itself and therefore protected from chemical inhibitors.
Development of a valve-based cell printer for the formation of human embryonic stem cell spheroid aggregates

In recent years, the use of a simple inkjet technology for cell printing has triggered tremendous interest and established the field of biofabrication. A key challenge has been the development of printing processes which are both controllable and less harmful, in order to preserve cell and tissue viability and functions. Here, we report on the development of a valve-based cell printer that has been validated to print highly viable cells in programmable patterns from two different bio-inks with independent control of the volume of each droplet (with a lower limit of 2 nL or fewer than five cells per droplet). Human ESCs were used to make spheroids by overprinting two opposing gradients of bio-ink; one of hESCs in medium and the other of medium alone. The resulting array of uniform sized droplets with a gradient of cell concentrations was inverted to allow cells to aggregate and form spheroids via gravity. The resulting aggregates have controllable and repeatable sizes, and consequently they can be made to order for specific applications. Spheroids with between 5 and 140 dissociated cells resulted in spheroids of 0.25–0.6 mm diameter. This work demonstrates that the valve-based printing process is gentle enough to maintain stem cell viability, accurate enough to produce spheroids of uniform size, and that printed cells maintain their pluripotency. This study includes the first analysis of the response of human embryonic stem cells to the printing process using this valve-based printing setup.
Safety of Varenicline for Smoking Cessation in Psychiatric and Addicts Patients

ABSTRACT The safety of varenicline in the treatment of tobacco dependence has been questioned, in psychiatric patients. However, most published studies have not included psychiatric patients. Objective: Assess the safety of varenicline for smoking cessation in patients with psychiatric disorders. Methods: This is a prospective, longitudinal, multicenter study. The sample is composed of three groups (patients with psychotic disorder, patients with alcohol dependence disorder and patients addicts in methadone maintenance treatment). Patients were recruited consecutively between September 2008 and June 2009 from 11 centers. All patients received a standardized smoking cessation program with varenicline and psychological support. Adverse events of the drug were monitored at weeks 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 12 of treatment. Bivariate analysis has been used. Results: None of the 90 patients included, presented a serious adverse event. The most frequent adverse effect was dry mouth (28.9%), followed by the presence of flatulence (27.8%), abnormal dreams (27.8%), and nausea (22%), especially between weeks 2 and 6 of treatment. None of the patients referred intense suicidal ideation, although two referred to moderate suicidal ideation, which was solved in one case and in the other, treatment was discontinued. Four participants (4.4%) abandoned treatment because of gastrointestinal symptoms. The initial dose of varenicline was reduced in 25% of patients during the study. Conclusions: Gastrointestinal adverse events are the most incident in this sample of psychiatric patients and no exacerbation of psychiatric symptoms was detected, thus indicating a good safety record for varenicline use for smoking cessation in psychiatric patients.
Impact of Population Mobility on Convergence Effect of Regional Economic Growth in China

Population mobility has great impact on interregional convergence effect in China.Between 1978 and 1987 population mobility decreased the overall economic development convergence rate and that in eastern and western regions of China,thus enlarging the interior gap between these regions.Meanwhile it expedited the convergence rate in central China,which reduced the interior gap in these areas.However,between 1996 and 2003,population mobility increased the overall divergence rate of economic development in China,especially in middle and western regions,enlarged the gap in these areas,but at the same time decreased the divergence rate in east China,thus easing the trend of expanding interior gap.
Optimization Techniques for Mapping Algorithms and Applications onto CUDA GPU Platforms and CPU-GPU Heterogeneous Platforms

Title of dissertation: OPTIMIZATION TECHNIQUES FOR MAPPING ALGORITHMS AND APPLICATIONS ONTO CUDA GPU PLATFORMS AND CPU-GPU HETEROGENEOUS PLATFORMS Jing Wu, Doctor of Philosophy, 2014 Dissertation directed by: Professor Joseph F JaJa, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering An emerging trend in processor architecture seems to indicate the doubling of the number of cores per chip every two years with same or decreased clock speed. Of particular interest to this thesis is the class of many-core processors, which are becoming more attractive due to their high performance, low cost, and low power consumption. The main goal of this dissertation is to develop optimization techniques for mapping algorithms and applications onto CUDA GPUs and CPU-GPU heterogeneous platforms. The Fast Fourier transform (FFT) constitutes a fundamental tool in computational science and engineering, and hence a GPU-optimized implementation is of paramount importance. We first study the mapping of the 3D FFT onto the recent, CUDA GPUs and develop a new approach that minimizes the number of global memory accesses and overlaps the computations along the different dimensions. We obtain some of the fastest known implementations for the computation of multi-dimensional FFT. We then present a highly multithreaded FFT-based direct Poisson solver that is optimized for the recent NVIDIA GPUs. In addition to the massive multithreading, our algorithm carefully manages the multiple layers of the memory hierarchy so that all global memory accesses are coalesced into 128-bytes device memory transactions. As a result, we have achieved up to 375GFLOPS with a bandwidth of 120GB/s on the GTX 480. We further extend our methodology to deal with CPU-GPU based heterogeneous platforms for the case when the input is too large to fit on the GPU global memory. We develop optimization techniques for memory-bound, and computation-bound application. The main challenge here is to minimize data transfer between the CPU memory and the device memory and to overlap as much as possible these transfers with kernel execution. For memory-bounded applications, we achieve a near-peak effective PCIe bus bandwidth, 9-10GB/s and performance as high as 145 GFLOPS for multi-dimensional FFT computations and for solving the Poisson equation. We extend our CPU-GPU based software pipeline to a computation-bound application-DGEMM, and achieve the illusion of a memory of the CPU memory size and a computation throughput similar to a pure GPU. OPTIMIZATION TECHNIQUES FOR MAPPING ALGORITHMS AND APPLICATIONS ONTO CUDA GPU PLATFORMS AND CPU-GPU HETEROGENEOUS PLATFORMS
Robust spatio-temporal registration of 4D cardiac ultrasound sequences

Registration of multiple 3D ultrasound sectors in order to provide an extended field of view is important for the appreciation of larger anatomical structures at high spatial and temporal resolution. In this paper, we present a method for fully automatic spatio-temporal registration between two partially overlapping 3D ultrasound sequences. The temporal alignment is solved by aligning the normalized cross correlation-over-time curves of the sequences. For the spatial alignment, corresponding 3D Scale Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT) features are extracted from all frames of both sequences independently of the temporal alignment. A rigid transform is then calculated by least squares minimization in combination with random sample consensus. The method is applied to 16 echocardiographic sequences of the left and right ventricles and evaluated against manually annotated temporal events and spatial anatomical landmarks. The mean distances between manually identified landmarks in the left and right ventricles after automatic registration were (mean±SD) 4.3±1.2 mm compared to a reference error of 2.8 ± 0.6 mm with manual registration. For the temporal alignment, the absolute errors in valvular event times were 14.4 ± 11.6 ms for Aortic Valve (AV) opening, 18.6 ± 16.0 ms for AV closing, and 34.6 ± 26.4 ms for mitral valve opening, compared to a mean inter-frame time of 29 ms.
Public security using absorbing Markov chains

Terrorism is a persistent global threat today. It is extremely hard to predict where and how an attack can take place as it practically knows no border, nationality or religion. Efficient screening and appropriate security measures are therefore essential for protecting buildings and objects during largely attended events. Since this is an expensive operation, an optimal use of human resources is needed to prevent it and minimize the damage. In this work, we study a model of a building with multiple distinct rooms and a single terrorist who can move between the rooms. The terrorist can activate a bomb in different rooms depending on the crowd occupancy of the room. There are under cover policemen who are moving and protecting the object by trying to capture the terrorist. We propose a model using an absorbing Markov chain where the absorbing states are when either when the terrorist is captured or he activates the bomb. The transient analysis of the Markov chain will derive the probabilities that the terrorist succeeds (activates the bomb) or fails (gets intercepted by the law enforcement). It will also derive the average time to success or defeat. The goal is to maximize the probability of capturing the criminal and minimize the capture time.
Inverse Fourier transform method for characterizing arrayed-waveguide gratings

A new characterization method of phase and amplitude errors in arrayed-waveguide gratings (AWGs) based on inverse Fourier transformation (IFT) is presented. It overcomes the limitations of previous optical low-coherence methods (OLCs), allowing the characterization of AWGs with any step increment (/spl Delta/L). The method has been successfully used to characterize an AWG with a /spl Delta/L of only 23 /spl mu/m. A comparison between the results from IFT and OLC methods shows a standard deviation of the phase errors of 2/spl deg/ for an AWG with a /spl Delta/L of 51 /spl mu/m.
The efficacy in Navajo infants of a conjugate vaccine consisting of Haemophilus influenzae type b polysaccharide and Neisseria meningitidis outer-membrane protein complex.

BACKGROUND AND METHODS Several conjugate vaccines against Haemophilus influenzae type b have been developed in the search for one that induces protection even in young infants. We evaluated the safety and efficacy of a conjugate vaccine that links the H. influenzae type b capsular polysaccharide to the outer-membrane protein complex (OMPC) of Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B. We conducted a double-blind, placebo, controlled trial in Navajo infants, who are at high risk for systemic infections caused by H. influenzae type b. The infants were randomly assigned to receive the first dose of vaccine or placebo at 42 to 90 days of age and the second at 70 to 146 days of age. RESULTS Of the infants in the trial, 2588 were assigned to receive the vaccine and 2602 to receive placebo. The mean follow-up was 269 days in the vaccine group and 267 days in the placebo group. Before the age of 18 months, there was 1 systemic H. influenzae type b infection in the vaccine group, as compared with 22 in the placebo group (P less than 0.001; point estimate of efficacy, 95 percent; 95 percent confidence interval, 72 to 99 percent). Of the 22 H. influenzae type b infections in the placebo group, 13 were meningitis. Among the children who received both doses, there was 1 H. influenzae type b infection in the vaccine group (n = 2056) and 14 in the placebo group (n = 2105) (P less than 0.001; point estimate of efficacy, 93 percent; 95 percent confidence interval, 53 to 98 percent). The single infection in the vaccine group occurred at 15 1/2 months of age in an infant with osteomyelitis. Between the first and second doses there were no H. influenzae type b infections in the vaccine group and eight in the placebo group (P less than 0.005; point estimate of efficacy, 100 percent; 95 percent confidence interval, 41 to 100 percent). CONCLUSIONS The H. influenzae type b OMPC vaccine, administered at 2 and 4 months of age, is safe and induces a high rate of protection against invasive disease caused by H. influenzae type b in infants under the age of 18 months. Protection begins after the first dose.