Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Massachusetts' Pediatric Palliative Care Network: successful implementation of a novel state-funded pediatric palliative care program.

BACKGROUND U.S. children with life-limiting illness face barriers to accessing palliative care. In 2006, Massachusetts signed into law a statute providing for the creation and funding of the Pediatric Palliative Care Network (PPCN). This innovative, exclusively state-funded program provides comprehensive direct and consultative community-based pediatric palliative care services including: (1) pain and symptom management, (2) case management and assessment, (3) social services, counseling, and bereavement services, (4) volunteer support services, (5) respite services, and (6) complementary therapies. Provision of care is through a network of state-licensed hospice programs, and an array of professional and volunteer services. OBJECTIVE To describe Massachusetts' experience in implementing a novel pediatric palliative care program. DESIGN Enrollment and service trends were identified using Massachusetts Department of Public Health administrative data. Responses to a written family satisfaction survey provided to each family enrolled on PPCN are summarized. RESULTS In fiscal year 2010, PPCN partnered with 11 hospice programs to provide services to 227 children with life-limiting illness. A total of $680,850 (86.7%) of state funding went to direct contract funds for hospices. Admitting diagnoses included cancer (30%), chromosomal abnormalities (17%), neurodegenerative disorders (15%), and other (38%). There were 11 deaths, 100% of which occurred in the family's requested location. Median length of stay on service prior to death was 233 days. Families most commonly implemented psychosocial and case management services, followed by complementary therapies, and volunteer services. CONCLUSIONS Successful implementation of a statewide pediatric palliative care program as modeled in Massachusetts is highly feasible at relatively low cost.
Nuclear activity of sperm cells during Hyacinthus orientalis L. in vitro pollen tube growth

In this study, the transcriptional state and distribution of RNA polymerase II, pre-mRNA splicing machinery elements, and rRNA transcripts were investigated in the sperm cells of Hyacinthus orientalis L. during in vitro pollen tube growth. During the second pollen mitosis, no nascent transcripts were observed in the area of the dividing generative cell, whereas the splicing factors were present and their pools were divided between newly formed sperm cells. Just after their origin, the sperm cells were shown to synthesize new RNA, although at a markedly lower level than the vegetative nucleus. The occurrence of RNA synthesis was accompanied by the presence of RNA polymerase II and a rich pool of splicing machinery elements. Differences in the spatial pattern of pre-mRNA splicing factors localization reflect different levels of RNA synthesis in the vegetative nucleus and sperm nuclei. In the vegetative nucleus, they were localized homogenously, whereas in the sperm nuclei a mainly speckled pattern of small nuclear RNA with a trimethylguanosine cap (TMG snRNA) and SC35 protein distribution was observed. As pollen tube growth proceeded, inhibition of RNA synthesis in the sperm nuclei was observed, which was accompanied by a gradual elimination of the splicing factors. In addition, analysis of rRNA localization indicated that the sperm nuclei are likely to synthesize some pool of rRNA at the later steps of pollen tube. It is proposed that the described changes in the nuclear activity of H. orientalis sperm cells reflect their maturation process during pollen tube growth, and that mature sperm cells do not carry into the zygote the nascent transcripts or the splicing machinery elements.
Study of automatic annotation based on news tags

In recent years, with the rapid development of Internet technology and digital media technology, information dissemination has entered the era of media integration. Meanwhile, the support of big data technologies promotes the deep integration of traditional media and new media. The media industry is undergoing profound changes. The management and dissemination of news are not only faced with opportunities, but also faced many challenges. How to push the news and customized content to users timely and dynamically, so as to save the searching time, becomes a hot area of current research. A news correlation approach based on tags is proposed to provide users with a personalized news service. The system takes advantage of the network information crawling, web-based text mining and personalized recommendations technologies to realize automated extraction of news tag. The innovation of this mode is that the tag contains both categories and keywords. It contains a classification subject to the advantage of clustering, but also includes the theme of keywords intuitive expression. In other words, it matches the user's search habits. Thus, this system can improve the ability to retrieve and manage the news.
Simultaneous STATCOM and Pitch Angle Control for Improved LVRT Capability of Fixed-Speed Wind Turbines

A robust multivariable controller with the objective of enhancing the low-voltage ride-through (LVRT) capability of wind farms with fixed-speed induction generators is presented in this paper. The nonlinear dynamics of the wind generator is represented as a linear system and a norm-bounded nonlinear uncertain term, derived from the Cauchy remainder of the Taylor series. The designed robust controller provides acceptable postfault performance for both small and large perturbations. Large disturbance simulations demonstrate that the designed controller enhances voltage stability as well as transient stability of the system during low-voltage ride-through transients and thus enhances the LVRT capability of fixed-speed wind generators.
Fibrinogen and fibronectin binding cooperate for valve infection and invasion in Staphylococcus aureus experimental endocarditis

The expression of Staphylococcus aureus adhesins in Lactococcus lactis identified clumping factor A (ClfA) and fibronectin-binding protein A (FnBPA) as critical for valve colonization in rats with experimental endocarditis. This study further analyzed their role in disease evolution. Infected animals were followed for 3 d. ClfA-positive lactococci successfully colonized damaged valves, but were spontaneously eradicated over 48 h. In contrast, FnBPA-positive lactococci progressively increased bacterial titers in vegetations and spleens. At imaging, ClfA-positive lactococci were restricted to the vegetations, whereas FnBPA-positive lactococci also invaded the adjacent endothelium. This reflected the capacity of FnBPA to trigger cell internalization in vitro. Because FnBPA carries both fibrinogen- and fibronectin-binding domains, we tested the role of these functionalities by deleting the fibrinogen-binding domain of FnBPA and supplementing it with the fibrinogen-binding domain of ClfA in cis or in trans. Deletion of the fibrinogen-binding domain of FnBPA did not alter fibronectin binding and cell internalization in vitro. However, it totally abrogated valve infectivity in vivo. This ability was restored in cis by inserting the fibrinogen-binding domain of ClfA into truncated FnBPA, and in trans by coexpressing full-length ClfA and truncated FnBPA on two separate plasmids. Thus, fibrinogen and fibronectin binding could cooperate for S. aureus valve colonization and endothelial invasion in vivo.
Deletion of PKCε Selectively Enhances the Amplifying Pathways of Glucose-Stimulated Insulin Secretion via Increased Lipolysis in Mouse β-Cells

OBJECTIVE Insufficient insulin secretion is a hallmark of type 2 diabetes, and exposure of β-cells to elevated lipid levels (lipotoxicity) contributes to secretory dysfunction. Functional ablation of protein kinase C ε (PKCε) has been shown to improve glucose homeostasis in models of type 2 diabetes and, in particular, to enhance glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) after lipid exposure. Therefore, we investigated the lipid-dependent mechanisms responsible for the enhanced GSIS after inactivation of PKCε. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We cultured islets isolated from PKCε knockout (PKCεKO) mice in palmitate prior to measuring GSIS, Ca2+ responses, palmitate esterification products, lipolysis, lipase activity, and gene expression. RESULTS The enhanced GSIS could not be explained by increased expression of another PKC isoform or by alterations in glucose-stimulated Ca2+ influx. Instead, an upregulation of the amplifying pathways of GSIS in lipid-cultured PKCεKO β-cells was revealed under conditions in which functional ATP-sensitive K+ channels were bypassed. Furthermore, we showed increased esterification of palmitate into triglyceride pools and an enhanced rate of lipolysis and triglyceride lipase activity in PKCεKO islets. Acute treatment with the lipase inhibitor orlistat blocked the enhancement of GSIS in lipid-cultured PKCεKO islets, suggesting that a lipolytic product mediates the enhancement of glucose-amplified insulin secretion after PKCε deletion. CONCLUSIONS Our findings demonstrate a mechanistic link between lipolysis and the amplifying pathways of GSIS in murine β-cells, and they suggest an interaction between PKCε and lipolysis. These results further highlight the therapeutic potential of PKCε inhibition to enhance GSIS from the β-cell under conditions of lipid excess.
Action and reaction for physical map interfaces

In this paper we present experimental results measuring the success of users manipulating a physical map interface to navigate to specific locations. We evaluate four different mappings between the action of the user and the reaction of the display, two where axis act consistently and two where they are inconsistent. Consistent mappings outperform those that are not and of these one mapping is significantly better and quicker to learn. Measures of error, speed of completion and reports of difficulty and task enjoyment support this. We use this to make specific recommendations for such interfaces and highlight new challenges.
Power control for underwater acoustic MC-CDMA communication networks using the improved PSO algorithm

Multicarrier code division multiple access (MC-CDMA) can be applied in underwater acoustic communication networks to combat the narrow bandwidth of the underwater acoustic channel and multipath fading. Power control is one of the key technologies for the MC-CDMA communication networks. In this paper, we propose a multi-objective power control scheme based on improved particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm for underwater acoustic MC-CDMA communication networks. The distance of different nodes to base station (BS) is not same, which can cause near-far effect. So we propose a fitness function which is consisted of power consumption and SINR (the signal to interference plus noise ratio) on the receiver. The method effective reduces the power consumption of nodes and decreases the near-far effect. Comparing with the scheme without power control, our results show that the proposed power control algorithm can be used in underwater acoustic channel. Not only the power consumption is lower, but also the bit error rate (BER) performances are better.
Pharmacokinetic/Pharmacodynamic Modeling of the Antinociceptive Effects of (+)-Tramadol in the Rat: Role of Cytochrome P450 2D Activity

In this study the role of cytochrome P450 2D (CYP2D) in the pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic relationship of (+)-tramadol [(+)-T] has been explored in rats. Male Wistar rats were infused with (+)-T in the absence of and during pretreatment with a reversible CYP2D inhibitor quinine (Q), determining plasma concentrations of Q, (+)-T, and (+)-O-demethyltramadol [(+)-M1], and measuring antinociception. Pharmacokinetics of (+)-M1, but not (+)-T, was affected by Q pretreatment: early after the start of (+)-T infusion, levels of (+)-M1 were significantly lower (P < 0.05). However, at later times during Q infusion those levels increased continuously, exceeding the values found in animals that did not receive the inhibitor. These results suggest that CYP2D is involved in the formation and elimination of (+)-M1. In fact, results from another experiment where (+)-M1 was given in the presence and in absence of Q showed that (+)-M1 elimination clearance (CLME0) was significantly lower (P < 0.05) in animals receiving Q. Inhibition of both (+)-M1 formation clearance (CLM10) and CLME0 were modeled by an inhibitoryE MAX model, and the estimates (relative standard error) of the maximum degree of inhibition (E MAX) and IC50, plasma concentration of Q eliciting half of E MAXfor CLM10 and CLME0, were 0.94 (0.04), 97 (0.51) ng/ml, and 48 (0.42) ng/ml, respectively. The modeling of the time course of antinociception showed that the contribution of (+)-T was negligible and (+)-M1 was responsible for the observed effects, which depend linearly on (+)-M1 effect site concentrations. Therefore, the CYP2D activity is a major determinant of the antinociception elicited after (+)-T administration.
La conscience collective : condition sine qua none pour les équipes apprenantes

La reflexion developpee dans cet article est basee a l'hypothese qu'une equipe ne peut pas etre apprenante si ses membres n'arrivent pas a developper une conscience collective. L'auteur, en presentant la notion du groupe tel qu'il est considere par l'approche systemique et les theories de la complexite, passe a la notion de la conscience collective en proposant une nouvelle definition du concept tout en considerant que sa dynamique repose d'une part sur les attitudes interpersonnelles des membres de l'equipe, et d'autre part sur l'apprenance, attitude qui constitue la cle de distinction d'une equipe apprenante. Ces deux facteurs operationnalises a l'analyse des methodes de travail, resultent de la pratique reflexive collective et de la metacognition, deux constituants des boucles de retroaction qui alimentent la conscience collective de l'equipe.
Extensive Genetic Diversity Identified among Sporadic Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Isolates Recovered in Irish Hospitals between 2000 and 2012

ABSTRACT Clonal replacement of predominant nosocomial methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains has occurred several times in Ireland during the last 4 decades. However, little is known about sporadically occurring MRSA in Irish hospitals or in other countries. Eighty-eight representative pvl-negative sporadic MRSA isolates recovered in Irish hospitals between 2000 and 2012 were investigated. These yielded unusual pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and antibiogram-resistogram typing patterns distinct from those of the predominant nosocomial MRSA clone, ST22-MRSA-IV, during the study period. Isolates were characterized by spa typing and DNA microarray profiling for multilocus sequence type (MLST) clonal complex (CC) and/or sequence type (ST) and SCCmec type assignment, as well as for detection of virulence and antimicrobial resistance genes. Conventional PCR-based SCCmec subtyping was undertaken when necessary. Extensive diversity was detected, including 38 spa types, 13 MLST-CCs (including 18 STs among 62 isolates assigned to STs), and 25 SCCmec types (including 2 possible novel SCCmec elements and 7 possible novel SCCmec subtypes). Fifty-four MLST-spa-SCCmec type combinations were identified. Overall, 68.5% of isolates were assigned to nosocomial lineages, with ST8-t190-MRSA-IID/IIE ± SCCM1 predominating (17.4%), followed by CC779/ST779-t878-MRSA-ψSCCmec-SCC-SCCCRISPR (7.6%) and CC22/ST22-t032-MRSA-IVh (5.4%). Community-associated clones, including CC1-t127/t386/t2279-MRSA-IV, CC59-t216-MRSA-V, CC8-t008-MRSA-IVa, and CC5-t002/t242-MRSA-IV/V, and putative animal-associated clones, including CC130-t12399-MRSA-XI, ST8-t064-MRSA-IVa, ST398-t011-MRSA-IVa, and CC6-t701-MRSA-V, were also identified. In total, 53.3% and 47.8% of isolates harbored genes for resistance to two or more classes of antimicrobial agents and two or more mobile genetic element-encoded virulence-associated factors, respectively. Effective ongoing surveillance of sporadic nosocomial MRSA is warranted for early detection of emerging clones and reservoirs of virulence, resistance, and SCCmec genes.
RPNG : A Tool for Random Process Network Generation

In this paper, we present a user controllable pseudo random process network generator (RPNG). It generates random process networks which can be used as test cases for tools related to application specific multiprocessor architectures. RPNG generates database of computation and communication attributes of process networks for various processors and communication resources. These attributes are controlled by user specified parameters. RPNG also generates code for the process network ensuring that these networks are deadlock free. Generated code can be used as a workload either on a simulator or on an actual platform to study the underlying architecture. Another advantage of RPNG is that it enables one to reproduce results of other researchers.
Patients with Alzheimer's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies mistaken for Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease

OBJECTIVES To describe the clinical presentation of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) or dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) who were suspected of having Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) and to investigate whether current clinical diagnostic criteria cover these atypical forms of AD and DLB. METHODS Brains from necropsy were examined for the diagnosis of CJD at the German reference centre for spongiform encephalopathies. Symptoms and signs in patients with suspected CJD in whom necropsy showed AD (n=19) or DLB (n=12) were analysed. Their data were compared with a group of patients with CJD (n=25) to determine overlapping and discriminating clinical features. All patients were classified according to clinical diagnostic criteria for CJD, AD, and DLB. RESULTS Demented patients were suspected of having CJD if disease was rapidly progressing and/or focal neurological signs appeared and/or an EEG showed sharp wave complexes. Myoclonus and limb rigidity were the most common neurological signs in all three dementias. DLB was not suspected in any patient, although patients with DLB showed parkinsonism (58%) and fluctuations (58%). Periodic sharp wave complexes (PSWCs) in EEG typical of CJD were found in five patients with AD and one patient with DLB. 14–3–3 Protein in CSF was detected in 20 patients with CJD, in two patients with AD, but not in any patient with DLB. Although most patients with DLB or AD met the clinical criteria for their respective diagnosis (74% and 90%), they also fulfilled criteria for CJD (42% and 58%). CONCLUSIONS In patients with rapidly progressive dementia and focal neurological signs, CJD should be the first line diagnosis. Facing the triad dementia, myoclonus, and rigidity, AD should be considered if the disease course is longer and DLB is the differential diagnosis if parkinsonism or fluctuations are present. Findings on EEG or CSF typical of CJD do not exclude AD or DLB.
The Decision View's Role in Software Architecture Practice

Software development has to deal with many challenges-increasing system complexity, requests for better quality, the burden of maintenance operations, distributed production, and high staff turnover, to name just a few. Increasingly, software companies that strive to reduce their products' maintenance costs demand flexible, easy-to-maintain designs. Software architecture constitutes the cornerstone of software design, key for facing these challenges. Several years after the "software crisis" began in the mid-1970s, software architecture practice emerged as a mature (although still growing) discipline, capable of addressing the increasing complexity of new software systems.
ORAI1-Mediated Calcium Influx in Lactation and in Breast Cancer

The entry of calcium into the mammary epithelial cell from the maternal plasma (i.e., calcium influx mechanisms) during lactation is poorly understood. As alterations in calcium channels and pumps are a key feature of some cancers, including breast cancer, understanding these calcium influx pathways may have significance beyond mammary biology. We show that the store-operated calcium influx protein, Orai1, is increased during lactation whereas the Orai1 activator Stim1, but not Stim2, is downregulated. Stim2 siRNA reduced basal calcium levels in a lactation model. Our results suggest that calcium influx is remodeled in mammary epithelial cells during lactation, with calcium influx increased through Orai1, activated by Stim2. Breast cancer cell lines had increased levels of ORAI1. ORAI1 siRNA in breast cancer cells reduced store-operated calcium entry and remodeled the calcium influx associated with invasive stimuli. Analysis of microarray data from 295 breast cancers showed that the transcriptional breast cancer subtype with the poorest prognosis (basal) was associated with an altered relationship between the ORAI1 regulators STIM1 and STIM2, and that women with breast cancers with STIM1high/STIM2low tumors had a significantly poorer prognosis. Our studies show that during lactation there is a remodeling in the nature of calcium influx and that alteration in the ORAI1 influx pathway may be a feature of some breast cancers, particularly those with the poorest prognosis. Our studies suggest that this pathway may be a novel therapeutic target for breast cancer treatment in these women. Mol Cancer Ther; 10(3); 448–60. ©2011 AACR.
Possibility and Impossibility of Learning with Limited Behavior Rules

We consider boundedly rational learning processes in which players have a priori limited set of behavior rules. A behavior rule is a function from information to a stage-game action, which re‡ects the available information and one's reasoning about how others act. Commonly used behavior rules include the adaptive rule and the conservative rule (inertia). Sophisticated players may use iterative best responses, called forward-looking behavior rules. The feasible behavior rules set the framework and limitations of learning processes. We investigate a general relationship between the set of feasible behavior rules and the properties of the long-run outcomes of any learning process restricted to use the feasible behavior rules. From very limited set of behavior rules to increasingly sophisticated ones, robust limit actions are what we call minimal weak-curb sets. In order to converge to a minimal weak-curb set of arbitrary stage game, it is suAEcient that the players have one period memory and use one-step difierent behavior rules. For some classes of games where minimal weak-curb sets coincide with Nash equilibria, we have a global convergence to a Nash equilibrium under very limited set of behavior rules. For other games, however, there is a limit to learning. We show that for any flnite set of behavior rules and flnite memory length, there is a class of stage games whose unique Nash equilibrium cannot be reached from some initial states. More sophistication of reasoning does not mean better convergence in the sense that the process stays in a smaller set or flnds a minimal curb set, which is a set-generalization of Nash equilibrium. The key to flnding curb sets is not only the depth of thinking but also the stage game payofi structure. That is, smartness alone cannot flnd a rational action without the aid of a payofi incentive to explore actions.
CHALLENGE-RESPONSE PARADIGM IN ELECTRONIC MAIL

We point out the weaknesses of many popular approaches to eliminating E-Mail abuse (spam) and argue in favor of the challenge-response paradigm that, in our opinion, is the only viable way to address the problem at its present stage. We also present an E-Mail server (available under GPL) and a publicly accessible free demo service (see http://sfm.cs.ualberta.ca). Our server exemplifies desirable features of an E-Mail handling system that completely eliminates spam while providing for reliable legitimate human contacts including acceptable ecommerce.