Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Tunnelling of thoracic epidural catheters is associated with fewer catheter-related infections: a retrospective registry analysis.

BACKGROUND Catheter-related infections are a serious complication of continuous thoracic epidural analgesia. Tunnelling catheters subcutaneously may reduce infection risk. We thus tested the hypothesis that tunnelling of thoracic epidural catheters is associated with a lower risk of catheter-related infections. METHODS Twenty-two thousand, four hundred and eleven surgical patients with continuous thoracic epidural analgesia included in the German Network for Regional Anaesthesia registry between 2007 and 2014 were grouped by whether their catheters were tunnelled (n=12 870) or not (n=9541). Catheter-related infections in each group were compared with Student's unpaired t and χ(2) tests. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated with logistic regression, adjusting for potential confounding factors, including age, ASA physical status score, use of catheter for ≥4 days, multiple skin puncture, hospital, and surgical department. RESULTS There were fewer catheter-related infections in patients with tunnelled catheters (4.5 vs 5.5%, P<0.001). Mild infections were also less common (4.0 vs 4.6%, P=0.009), as were moderate infections (0.4 vs 0.8%, P<0.001). After adjustment for potential confounding factors, tunnelling remained an independent prevention for any grade of infection (adjusted OR 0.51, 95% CI 0.42-0.61, P<0.001) and for mild infections (adjusted OR 0.54, 95% CI 0.43-0.66, P<0.001) and moderate and severe infections (adjusted OR 0.44, 95% CI 0.28-0.70, P=0.001). CONCLUSION Tunnelling was associated with a lower risk of thoracic epidural catheter-related infections.
In pursuit of visemes

We describe preliminary work towards an objective method for identifying visemes. Active appearance model (AAM) features are used to parameterise a speaker’s lips and jaw during speech. The temporal behaviour of AAM features between automatically identified salient points is used to represent visual speech gestures, and visemes are created by clustering these gestures using dynamic time warping (DTW) as a costfunction. This method produces a significantly more structured model of visual speech than if a typical phoneme-to-viseme mapping is assumed.
Grape seed proanthocyanidin suppression of breast cell carcinogenesis induced by chronic exposure to combined 4‐(methylnitrosamino)‐1‐(3‐pyridyl)‐1‐butanone and benzo[a]pyrene

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among women in northern America and northern Europe; dietary prevention is a cost‐efficient strategy to reduce the risk of this disease. To identify dietary components for the prevention of human breast cancer associated with long‐term exposure to environmental carcinogens, we studied the activity of grape seed proanthocyanidin extract (GSPE) in suppression of cellular carcinogenesis induced by repeated exposures to low doses of environmental carcinogens. We used combined carcinogens 4‐(methylnitrosamino)‐1‐(3‐pyridyl)‐1‐butanone (NNK) and benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P), at picomolar concentrations, to repeatedly treat noncancerous, human breast epithelial MCF10A cells to induce cellular acquisition of cancer‐related properties of reduced dependence on growth factors, anchorage‐independent growth, and acinar‐conformational disruption. Using these properties as biological target endpoints, we verified the ability of GSPE to suppress combined NNK‐ and B[a]P‐induced precancerous cellular carcinogenesis and identified the minimal, noncytotoxic concentration of GSPE required for suppressing precancerous cellular carcinogenesis. We also identified that hydroxysteroid‐11‐beta‐dehydrogenase 2 (HSD11B2) may play a role in NNK‐ and B[a]P‐induced precancerous cellular carcinogenesis, and its expression may act as a molecular target endpoint in GSPE's suppression of precancerous cellular carcinogenesis. And, the ability of GSPE to reduce gene expression of cytochrome‐P450 enzymes CYP1A1 and CYP1B1, which can bioactivate NNK and B[a]P, possibly contributes to the preventive mechanism for GSPE in suppression of precancerous cellular carcinogenesis. Our model system with biological and molecular target endpoints verified the value of GSPE for the prevention of human breast cell carcinogenesis induced by repeated exposures to low doses of multiple environmental carcinogens. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Visual recognition of 3D emblematic gestures in an HMM framework

In human-machine interaction, gestures play an important role as input modality for natural and intuitive interfaces. While the usage of sign languages or crafted command gestures typically requires special user training, the class of gestural actions called “emblems” represents more intuitive yet expressive signs that seem well suited for the task. Following this, an approach for the visual recognition of 3D emblematic arm gestures in a realistic smart room scenario is presented. Hand and head positions are extracted in multiple unsynchronized monocular camera streams, combined to spatiotemporal 3D gesture trajectories and classified in an Hidden Markov Model (HMM) classification and detection framework. The contributions within this article are threefold: Firstly, a solution for the 3D combination of trajectories obtained from unsynchronized cameras and with varying frame rates is proposed. Secondly, the suitability of different alternative feature representations derived from a hand trajectory is assessed, and it is shown that intuitive gestures can be represented by projection on their principal plane of motion. Thirdly, it is demonstrated that a rejection model for gesture spotting and segmentation can be constructed using out-of-domain data. The approach is evaluated on a challenging realistic data set.
LCT: An Open Source Concolic Testing Tool for Java Programs

LCT (LIME Concolic Tester) is an open source concolic testing tool for sequential Java programs. In concolic testing the behavior of the tested program is explored by executing it both concretely and symbolically at the same time. LCT instruments the bytecode of the program under test to enable symbolic execution and collects constraints on input values that can be used to guide the testing to previously unexplored execution paths. The tool also supports distributing the test generation and execution to multiple processes that can be run on a single workstation or even on a network of workstations. This paper describes the architecture behind LCT and demonstrates through benchmarks how the distributed nature of the tool makes testing more scalable.
Desirable cytolytic immune effector cell recruitment by interleukin-15 dendritic cells

Success of dendritic cell (DC) therapy in treating malignancies is depending on the DC capacity to attract immune effector cells, considering their reciprocal crosstalk is partially regulated by cell-contact-dependent mechanisms. Although critical for therapeutic efficacy, immune cell recruitment is a largely overlooked aspect regarding optimization of DC vaccination. In this paper we have made a head-to-head comparison of interleukin (IL)-15-cultured DCs and conventional IL-4-cultured DCs with regard to their proficiency in the recruitment of (innate) immune effector cells. Here, we demonstrate that IL-4 DCs are suboptimal in attracting effector lymphocytes, while IL15 DCs provide a favorable chemokine milieu for recruiting CD8+ T cells, natural killer (NK) cells and gamma delta (γδ) T cells. Gene expression analysis revealed that IL-15 DCs exhibit a high expression of chemokines involved in antitumor immune effector cell attraction, while IL-4 DCs display a more immunoregulatory profile characterized by the expression of Th2 and regulatory T cell-attracting chemokines. This is confirmed by functional data indicating an enhanced recruitment of granzyme B+ effector lymphocytes by IL-15 DCs, as compared to IL-4 DCs, and subsequent superior killing of tumor cells by the migrated lymphocytes. Elevated CCL4 gene expression in IL-15 DCs and lowered CCR5 expression on both migrated γδ T cells and NK cells, led to validation of increased CCL4 secretion by IL15 DCs. Moreover, neutralization of CCR5 prior to migration resulted in an important inhibition of γδ T cell and NK cell recruitment by IL-15 DCs. These findings further underscore the strong immunotherapeutic potential of IL-15 DCs.
Screening for Chlamydia and gonorrhea: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation statement.

DESCRIPTION Update of previous U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendations on screening for chlamydia (2007) and gonorrhea (2005). METHODS The USPSTF reviewed the evidence on screening for chlamydial and gonococcal infections in asymptomatic patients from studies published since its last reviews. The USPSTF also considered evidence from its previous recommendations and reviews. POPULATION This recommendation applies to all sexually active adolescents and adults, including pregnant women. RECOMMENDATIONS The USPSTF recommends screening for chlamydia in sexually active females aged 24 years or younger and in older women who are at increased risk for infection. (B recommendation) The USPSTF recommends screening for gonorrhea in sexually active females aged 24 years or younger and in older women who are at increased risk for infection. (B recommendation) The USPSTF concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of screening for chlamydia and gonorrhea in men. (I statement).
DNA methylation in Arabidopsis has a genetic basis and shows evidence of local adaptation

Epigenome modulation potentially provides a mechanism for organisms to adapt, within and between generations. However, neither the extent to which this occurs, nor the mechanisms involved are known. Here we investigate DNA methylation variation in Swedish Arabidopsis thaliana accessions grown at two different temperatures. Environmental effects were limited to transposons, where CHH methylation was found to increase with temperature. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) revealed that the extensive CHH methylation variation was strongly associated with genetic variants in both cis and trans, including a major trans-association close to the DNA methyltransferase CMT2. Unlike CHH methylation, CpG gene body methylation (GBM) was not affected by growth temperature, but was instead correlated with the latitude of origin. Accessions from colder regions had higher levels of GBM for a significant fraction of the genome, and this was associated with increased transcription for the genes affected. GWAS revealed that this effect was largely due to trans-acting loci, many of which showed evidence of local adaptation. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.7554/eLife.05255. 001
Sequence variation in group A Streptococcus pili and association of pilus backbone types with lancefield T serotypes.

BACKGROUND We previously reported that group A Streptococcus (GAS) pili are the T antigens described by Rebecca Lancefield. We also showed that these pili, constituted by backbone, ancillary 1, and ancillary 2 proteins, confer protection against GAS challenge in a mouse model. METHODS We evaluated pilus distribution and conservation by sequencing the subunits of 39 new GAS isolates and used immunoblot analysis and agglutination assays to define the specificity of T sera to pilus subunits. RESULTS GAS pili are encoded by 9 different islands within which backbone protein, ancillary protein 1, and ancillary protein 2 cluster in 15, 16, and 5 variants, respectively. Immunoblot and agglutination assays revealed that T type is determined by the backbone variant. This observation enabled us to set up a simple polymerase chain reaction assay to define the T type of GAS isolates. CONCLUSIONS We propose the use of a tee gene sequence typing, analogous to the emm gene typing, as a valuable molecular tool that could substitute for the serological T classification of GAS strains. From our sequence analysis and from recent epidemiological data, we estimate that a vaccine comprising a combination of 12 backbone variants would protect against > 90% of currently circulating strains.
Exploring signal transduction in heteromultimeric protein based on energy dissipation model

Dynamic intersubunit interactions are key elements in the regulation of many biological systems. A better understanding of how subunits interact with each other and how their interactions are related to dynamic protein structure is a fundamental task in biology. In this paper, a heteromultimeric allosteric protein, Corynebacterium glutamicum aspartokinase, is used as a model system to explore the signal transduction involved in intersubunit interactions and allosteric communication with an emphasis on the intersubunit signaling process. For this purpose, energy dissipation simulation and network construction are conducted for each subunit and the whole protein. Comparison with experimental results shows that the new approach is able to predict all the mutation sites that have been experimentally proved to desensitize allosteric regulation of the enzyme. Additionally, analysis revealed that the function of the effector threonine is to facilitate the binding of the two subunits without contributing to the allosteric communication. During the allosteric regulation upon the binding of the effector lysine, signals can be transferred from the β-subunit to the catalytic site of the α-subunit through both a direct way of intersubunit signal transduction, and an indirect way: first, to the regulatory region of the α-subunit by intersubunit signal transduction and then to the catalytic region by intramolecular signal transduction. Therefore, the new approach is able to illustrate the diversity of the underlying mechanisms when the strength of feedback inhibition by the effector(s) is modulated, providing useful information that has potential applications in engineering heteromultimeric allosteric regulation.
Induction of Cardiac Fibrosis by β-Blocker in G Protein-independent and G Protein-coupled Receptor Kinase 5/β-Arrestin2-dependent Signaling Pathways*

Background: It is not known whether a β-blocker, metoprolol, induces physiological responses through β-arrestins in vivo. Results: Long-term administration of metoprolol induced cardiac fibrosis in wild type but not β-arrestin2- or GRK5 knock-out mice. Conclusion: Metoprolol induced cardiac fibrosis in a G protein-independent and GRK5/β-arrestin2-dependent manner. Significance: Our study provides a physiological significance of β-arrestin-mediated biased signaling pathway by a β-blocker in vivo. G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) have long been known as receptors that activate G protein-dependent cellular signaling pathways. In addition to the G protein-dependent pathways, recent reports have revealed that several ligands called “biased ligands” elicit G protein-independent and β-arrestin-dependent signaling through GPCRs (biased agonism). Several β-blockers are known as biased ligands. All β-blockers inhibit the binding of agonists to the β-adrenergic receptors. In addition to β-blocking action, some β-blockers are reported to induce cellular responses through G protein-independent and β-arrestin-dependent signaling pathways. However, the physiological significance induced by the β-arrestin-dependent pathway remains much to be clarified in vivo. Here, we demonstrate that metoprolol, a β1-adrenergic receptor-selective blocker, could induce cardiac fibrosis through a G protein-independent and β-arrestin2-dependent pathway. Metoprolol, a β-blocker, increased the expression of fibrotic genes responsible for cardiac fibrosis in cardiomyocytes. Furthermore, metoprolol induced the interaction between β1-adrenergic receptor and β-arrestin2, but not β-arrestin1. The interaction between β1-adrenergic receptor and β-arrestin2 by metoprolol was impaired in the G protein-coupled receptor kinase 5 (GRK5)-knockdown cells. Metoprolol-induced cardiac fibrosis led to cardiac dysfunction. However, the metoprolol-induced fibrosis and cardiac dysfunction were not evoked in β-arrestin2- or GRK5-knock-out mice. Thus, metoprolol is a biased ligand that selectively activates a G protein-independent and GRK5/β-arrestin2-dependent pathway, and induces cardiac fibrosis. This study demonstrates the physiological importance of biased agonism, and suggests that G protein-independent and β-arrestin-dependent signaling is a reason for the diversity of the effectiveness of β-blockers.
A trial of annual in-home comprehensive geriatric assessments for elderly people living in the community.

BACKGROUND AND METHODS The prevention of disability in elderly people poses a challenge for health care and social services. We conducted a three-year, randomized, controlled trial of the effect of annual in-home comprehensive geriatric assessment and follow-up for people living in the community who were 75 years of age or older. The 215 people in the intervention group were seen at home by gerontologic nurse practitioners who, in collaboration with geriatricians, evaluated problems and risk factors for disability, gave specific recommendations, and provided health education. The 199 people in the control group received their regular medical care. The main outcome measures were the prevention of disability, defined as the need for assistance in performing the basic activities of daily living (bathing, dressing, feeding, grooming, transferring from bed to chair, and moving around inside the house) or the instrumental activities of daily living (e.g., cooking, handling finances and medication, housekeeping, and shopping), and the prevention of nursing home admissions. RESULTS At three years, 20 people in the intervention group (12 percent of 170 surviving participants) and 32 in the control group (22 percent of 147 surviving participants) required assistance in performing the basic activities of daily living (adjusted odds ratio, 0.4; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.2 to 0.8; P = 0.02). The number of persons who were dependent on assistance in performing the instrumental activities of daily living but not the basic activities did not differ significantly between the two groups. Nine people in the intervention group (4 percent) and 20 in the control group (10 percent) were permanently admitted to nursing homes (P = 0.02). Acute care hospital admissions and short-term nursing home admissions did not differ significantly between the two groups. In the second and third years of the study, there were significantly more visits to physicians among the participants in the intervention group than among those in the control group (mean number of visits per month, 1.41 in year 2 and 1.27 in year 3 in the intervention group, as compared with 1.11 and 0.92 visits, respectively, in the control group; P = 0.007 and P = 0.001, respectively). The cost of the intervention for each year of disability-free life gained was about $46,000. CONCLUSIONS A program of in-home comprehensive geriatric assessments can delay the development of disability and reduce permanent nursing home stays among elderly people living at home.
The Impact of the Service Staff's Recruitment and Service Characteristics in Public Service Units on Public Mental Acceptance: Evidence from the Host Recruitment and TV Program Features

As one of the public service units, TV stations tried to make market-oriented reforms by developing brand TV programs to compete with others. The principal focus of our study was to find out the symbolic brand effect of self-congruity and brand personality on audience attitudes, brand loyalty, audience satisfaction, and program preference for TV programs in China. Results indicated that (a) the congruity of audience's self-concept and typical audience image had a positive influence on audience watching mentality; (b) a positive brand personality could result in favorable program evaluation; (c) preference for the host played a moderating role on brand personality effects.
The Nature, Scope, and Consequences of Drug and Alcohol Use of Students Enrolled at Three Southern Appalachian Community Colleges

THE NATURE, SCOPE, AND CONSEQUENCES OF DRUG AND ALCOHOL USE OF STUDENTS ENROLLED AT THREE SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN COMMUNITY COLLEGES by Jewel Dean Thomas Morgan The primary purpose of this study was to determine the nature, scope, and consequences of drug and alcohol use by students enrolled at three southern Appalachian community colleges: Mountain Empire Community College (MECC) in Virginia, Northeast State Technical Community College (NSTCC) in Tennessee, and Southwestern Community College (SCC) in North Carolina. An additional purpose was to use this information to formulate recommendations for new and improved preventive substance-abuse programs. The design for this study was descriptive research. The Core Alcohol and Drug Survey (CORE) was selected as the appropriate instrument for use in this study. The 23-item questionnaire was designed specifically to investigate the nature, scope, and consequences of alcohol and drug use of students who attend the three southern Appalachian community colleges. A proportional stratified sampling procedure was utilized to select clusters (classes) at each community college. A total of 1,101 surveys was collected. Four research questions and 22 hypotheses were addressed. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, Chi-square, and Somers’ D. The researcher, using the . 05 level of significance, rejected nine null hypotheses and failed to reject 13 null hypotheses. Fortyeight percent of the students used alcohol in the past 30 days. Forty-six percent of underage (younger than 21) students drank (indicated alcohol use at least once in previous 30 days). Twenty-six percent of students had “binged” in the previous two weeks. The data in this research showed the following: (1) no relationship existed between the use of alcohol and the age groups, (2) a difference existed between the age groups in their use of marijuana, amphetamines, and sedatives, and (3) a difference existed between the use of alcohol, and marijuana, and grade-point averages. Twenty-five percent o f the students have used marijuana (at least once in the past year). The most frequently reported illegal drugs used in the past 30 days were: 17% marijuana, 7% amphetamines and 7% sedatives. Key findings on the consequences o f alcohol and drug use are as follows: 38% reported some form of public misconduct and 18% reported experiencing some kind of personal
Cognitive Control Architecture for autonomous marine vehicles

The use of Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) is ultimately limited by economic support costs, and the presence and skills of the human operator. Autonomous surface and underwater vehicles have the potential to operate with greatly reduced overhead costs and level of operator intervention. This paper proposes an Intelligent Control Architecture (ICA) to enable multiple collaborating marine vehicles to carry out autonomous underwater intervention missions. The architectural foundation to achieve the ICA lays on the flexibility of service-oriented computing. A knowledge-based database captures the operator skills, platform capabilities and, changes in the environment. The information captured enables reasoning agents to plan missions based on the current situation. This paper also presents a marine vehicle platform for the ICA evaluation, simulation results of a mission, and future research directions.
Regulatory Mechanisms of Cerebral Blood Flow During Exercise: New Concepts

The response of the cerebral vasculature to exercise is different from the other peripheral vasculature (e.g., muscle); the cerebral vasculature has a small vascular bed and is strongly regulated by cerebral autoregulation and the partial pressure of arterial carbon dioxide. This review focuses on the integrative mechanisms underlying the regulation of cerebral blood flow during exercise.