Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fever of unknown origin: A retrospective study of 52 cases with evaluation of the diagnostic utility of FDG-PET/CT

Abstract Objectives: Fever of unknown origin (FUO) is dynamic in its origin and will be an ongoing challenge to the clinician because of shifting disease epidemiology. Here we present a series of patients with classical FUO admitted to an infectious diseases department during a 5-y period, with an emphasis on the diagnostic utility of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) in present-day cases of FUO. Methods: Patient records were reviewed retrospectively. Results: A final diagnosis was achieved for 31 of the 52 cases (60%). The final diagnoses of these 31 cases and their distribution in the respective diagnostic categories were: infections 32% (10/31), non-infectious inflammatory disease 55% (17/31), and malignancy 13% (4/31). In our study PET/CT successfully identified an infectious, inflammatory, or neoplastic cause of fever in 10 of the 22 patients (45%) who underwent this scan. Conclusions: During the past decade the proportion of non-infectious inflammatory diseases in FUO series has increased. Based on our findings we recommend: (1) a PET/CT scan be performed early in the diagnostic work-up of patients with FUO, and (2) restraint in performing invasive procedures in patients with FUO in whom no cause of fever has been determined during diagnostic work-up.
Cross-priming for a secondary cytotoxic response to minor H antigens with H-2 congenic cells which do not cross-react in the cytotoxic assay

Cytotoxic effector T cells of F1 (BALB/c X BALB.B) (H-2d/b) mice immunized against the minor histocompatibility differences of C57BL/10 (H-2b) can lyse targets from C57BL/10, but cannot lyse B10.D2 (H-2d) targets. Despite this lack of cross-reaction in the cytotoxic assay, C57BL/10 cells do prime F1 (BALB/c X BALB.B) mice for a secondary cytotoxic response to B10.D2. C57BL/10-primed, B10.D2-boosted cytotoxic cells lyse B10.D2 targets but not C57BL/10 targets. DBA/2 (H-2d) spleen cells or thymocytes prime F1 mice for a secondary response to DBA/2, B10.D2, and C57BL/10 cells, but DBA/2 mastocytes, P815, do not prime for a response to C57BL/10. Whether H-2 congenic lymphoid cells express minor histocompatibility determinants which cross-react at the cytotoxic T-cell level or the helper T-cell level is discussed.
Compatibility of Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis Findings and Clinical Criteria Commonly Used to Distinguish Between True Coagulase-Negative Staphylococcal Bacteremia and Contamination

Objectives. To evaluate the specificity and sensitivity of the clinical criteria widely used to differentiate true coagulase-negative staphylococcal (CoNS) bacteremia from contamination, using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) as the reference test. Design. The study sample consisted of 79 CoNS isolates recovered from cultures of blood from 38 patients. Medical charts of the patients were reviewed for demographic and clinical information. The relatedness of CoNS strains recovered from 2 or more successive blood cultures was analyzed by PFGE. Patients from whom similar strains were recovered were assumed to have true bacteremia, whereas patients from whom different strains were recovered were considered to have contaminated blood cultures. The clinical criteria comprised Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) surveillance definitions for bloodstream infection (BSI), as well as an alternative criterion based on the presence of fever, the presence of leukocytosis, the absence of another recognized infection, and the recovery of CoNS from 2 or more successive blood cultures. Results. Nineteen (50%) of the 38 patients had bacteremia due to similar strains; the remaining patients had bacteremia due to different strains. Criterion 2a of the CDC definition for BSI had a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 31.6% for distinguishing between true bacteremia and contamination. CDC criterion 2b had a sensitivity of 78.9% and a specificity of 52.6%. Conclusions. Molecular typing correlated poorly with the clinical criteria for true bacteremia. In view of the limited applicability of clinical criteria, more studies are needed to improve them. Periodic cross-sectional studies based on PFGE findings might be useful to estimate local contamination rates in an institution, which in turn can be used to improve the accuracy of the clinical diagnosis of bacteremia.
Muscle metaboreflex control of the circulation during exercise

This review covers the control of blood pressure, cardiac output and muscle blood flow by the muscle metaboreflex which involves chemically sensitive nerves located in muscle parenchyma activated by metabolites accumulating in the muscle during contraction. The efferent response to metaboreflex activation is an increase in sympathetic nerve activity that constricts the systemic vasculature and also evokes parallel inotropic and chronotropic effects on the heart to increase cardiac output. The metaboreflex elicits a significant blood pressure elevating response during exercise and functions to redistribute blood flow and blood volume. Regional specificity in the efferent response to the metaboreflex activated from either the leg or the arm is seen in the balance between signals for vasoconstriction to curtail blood flow and signals to increase cardiac output. The metaboreflex has dual functions. It can both elevate and decrease muscle blood flow depending on (1) the intensity and mode of contraction, (2) the limb in which the reflex is evoked, (3) the strength of the signal defined by the muscle mass, (4) the extent to which blood flow is redistributed from inactive vascular beds to increase central blood volume and (5) the extent to which cardiac output can be increased.
Design of the power-assisted hip exoskeleton robot with hydraulic servo rotary drive

Robotic lower limbs exoskeletons hold potential significant in strength augmentation for effective walking and supporting substantial loads among various professions. However, the excellent kinematics performance and the high joint-driving torque are required for establishing such exoskeleton robots, which have become the major technical obstacle for practical applications of exoskeletons. A novel powered hip exoskeleton robot with hydraulic servo rotary drive is presented, both greater power to weight ratio and admirable rotating property similar to the servo motor can be achieved. In order to set up the range of motions and torque requirements of hip joints, the human's gait cycle and the lower limb physiology characteristics are analyzed. Based on the data analyses of human lower limbs, a rotary hydraulic driving device for hip flexion and extension (Al/Ex) is proposed, which is combined with the motion characteristic of hydraulic and the rotary motor. The designed new type of powerassisted hip exoskeleton can satisfy a variety of action like normal walking, like going up and down the stairs and bending down, etc. This work not only introduces the design details of the power-assisted hip exoskeleton with hydraulic servo rotary drive, but also provides a new actuating device for future research of the multi-joint lower limbs power-assisted robots design. With this focus, more innovative and practical exoskeleton robots will be emergence.
Manifold Relevance Determination: Learning the Latent Space of Robotics

In this article we present the basics of manifold relevance determination (MRD) as introduced in \cite{mrd}, and some applications where the technology might be of particular use. Section 1 acts as a short tutorial of the ideas developed in \cite{mrd}, while Section 2 presents possible applications in sensor fusion, multi-agent SLAM, and "human-appropriate" robot movement (e.g. legibility and predictability~\cite{dragan-hri-2013}). In particular, we show how MRD can be used to construct the underlying models in a data driven manner, rather than directly leveraging first principles theories (e.g., physics, psychology) as is commonly the case for sensor fusion, SLAM, and human robot interaction. We note that [Bekiroglu et al., 2016] leveraged MRD for correcting unstable robot grasps to stable robot grasps.
Detection of age-related macular degeneration via deep learning

Age-related macular generation (AMD) - when left untreated - is the main cause of blindness for individuals over the age of 50. With the US population now counting over 100 million individuals over 50, it is imperative to develop methods that can effectively determine which individuals with an earlier, often asymptomatic stage, are at risk of developing the advanced stage that can cause severe vision loss. This paper studies the appropriateness of the transfer of image features computed from pre-trained deep neural networks to the problem in AMD detection. Tests using over 5600 images from the NIH AREDS dataset (the largest dataset used thus far for AMD image analysis studies) show good preliminary results (between nearly 92% and 95% accuracy).
Distraction from emotional information reduces biased judgements

Biases arising from emotional processes are some of the most robust behavioural effects in the social sciences. The goal of this investigation was to examine the extent to which the emotion regulation strategy of distraction could reduce biases in judgement known to result from emotional information. Study 1 explored lay views regarding whether distraction is an effective strategy to improve decision-making and revealed that participants did not endorse this strategy. Studies 2–5 focused on several established, robust biases that result from emotional information: loss aversion, desirability bias, risk aversion and optimistic bias. Participants were prompted to divert attention away from their feelings while making judgements, and in each study this distraction strategy resulted in reduced bias in judgement relative to control conditions. The findings provide evidence that distraction can improve choice across several situations that typically elicit robustly biased responses, even though participants are not aware of the effectiveness of this strategy.
Contact burns from hair straighteners: a new hazard in the home

This series highlights a previously unreported hazard for children within the home, hair straightening irons. Thermal injury is a common reason for presentation at the emergency department. Contact burns from domestic irons and hair curling tongs are well documented in the literature. We have become aware of this new hazard in the home, which has resulted in several presentations to our department with deep partial thickness or full thickness burns.
An adaptive reconfigurable antenna for cognitive radio system

In this paper an adaptive reconfigurable antenna having a number of reconfigurable features is presented. The proposed antenna can reconfigure its frequency, polarization state, and radiation pattern. Printed parts of the proposed antenna are reused multiple times in other reconfiguration mode using PIN diodes. The antenna can tunes its resonant frequency in five different bands by switching the microstrip stubs using PIN diodes. The proposed antenna can also reconfigure its polarization state by switching the shape of slot. When the feeding structure is reconfigured to feed the rectangular patch then it can reconfigure its radiation pattern. The prototype has been fabricated to authenticate the simulated results.
Investigations of Repetition Rate Stability of a Mode-Locked Quantum Dot Semiconductor Laser in an Auxiliary Optical Fiber Cavity

We have investigated experimentally the pulse train (mode beating) stability of a monolithic mode-locked multi-section quantum-dot laser with an added passive auxiliary optical fiber cavity. Addition of the weakly coupled (¿ -24 dB) cavity reduces the current-induced shift d¿/dI of the principal peak in the RF spectrum (the effective pulse repetition frequency) by more than an order of magnitude, from -39.5 to -2.3 kHz/mA. The rms timing jitter of the pulse train is simultaneously reduced from 1.4 to 0.9 ps.
MUSICAL SYNTACTIC PROCESSI A PRELIMINARY

Broca’s aphasics have syntactic comprehension problems in language. Do they also have syntactic comprehension problems in music? This question was motivated by a recent hypothesis regarding the neural relationship of linguistic and musical syntactic processing [1]. We addressed this question using a well-studied paradigm in music cognition known as harmonic priming [2]. Seven Broca’s aphasics and ten age-matched controls completed a priming experiment which examined how the processing of a musical chord was influenced by its structural relationship to a preceding harmonic context. While the controls showed normal harmonic priming, the aphasics did not. This argues for overlap in the syntactic processing of language and music. Although the number of aphasics tested in this study was small, the data indicate that this line of research is worth pursuing on a larger scale. Several methodological issues relevant to future research are discussed.
MICROVASCULAR COMPLICATIONS-RETINOPATHY ( JK SUN , SECTION EDITOR ) Antioxidants and Diabetic Retinopathy

The biochemical perturbations in diabetes mellitus (DM) create the conditions for the production of free radicals, the consequence of which is increased oxidative stress. Evidence has accrued over the past 2 decades that suggests that oxidative stress is an important pathogenetic factor in the development of diabetic retinopathy (DR). Experimental data show that the use of strategies that ameliorate oxidative stress can prevent and retard the development of DR in the animal model. Clinical observations also suggest that reducing oxidative stress may help to reverse pathological manifestations of DR. The present article constitutes an examination of the role of antioxidants in the management of DR and the current state of clinically relevant knowledge.
Historia económica del Perú

More than half a century after its first edition, Economic History of Peru by Emilio Romero remains unique in its kind, in the sense of being the only book that presents an informed and thoughtful panorama of the country's material development throughout all Its times. In the economic history of Peru, certain starting points of the decentralism and the studies on geography that Emilio Romero undertakes later, as well as the appreciation he had of the important studies of Don Julio C. Tello on the geographical bases of the old ones are present Peruvian cultures and their connection with natural regions.
A novel single nucleotide polymorphism in the 3' untranslated region of human glutathione peroxidase 4 influences lipoxygenase metabolism.

Selenium (Se) is an essential micronutrient for human health. The biological roles of the essential micronutrient Se are attributed to its presence in a range of 20-30 selenoproteins including the cytosolic and phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidases (GPX1 and GPX4). It has been suggested that GPX4 may play a role in regulation of leukotriene biosynthesis and thus inflammation. In eukaryotes Se is incorporated into selenoproteins as the amino acid selenocysteine in a process requiring a stem-loop within the 3' untranslated region (3'UTR) of the mRNA. In this study the region of the GPX4 gene corresponding to the 3'UTR was scanned for mutations in a group of 66 volunteers. The data show a T/C variant at position 718. The distribution of this SNP in our population was 34% CC, 25% TT and 41% TC; i.e., it is in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Individuals of different genotypes exhibited significant differences in the levels of lymphocyte 5-lipoxygenase total products, with C718 showing increased levels of those products compared to T718 and T/C718 (36% and 44% increases, respectively). The data suggest that the SNP718 that we have identified has functional effects and support the hypothesis that GPX4 plays a regulatory role in leukotriene biosynthesis.
Purification and characterization of the 1.0 MDa CCR4-NOT complex identifies two novel components of the complex.

The CCR4-NOT complex is an evolutionarily conserved, transcriptional regulatory complex that is involved in controlling mRNA initiation, elongation and degradation. The CCR4-NOT proteins from Saccharomyces cerevisiae exist in two complexes, 1.9x10(6) Da and 1.0x10(6) Da (1.0 MDa) in size, and individual components of these complexes display such disparate functions as binding to and restricting TFIID functions, contacting SAGA and contributing to mRNA deadenylation. As a first step in characterizing the functional roles of the 1.0 MDa complex, we have purified it to near homogeneity. Mass spectrometric analysis was subsequently used to identify all the components of the complex. The 1.0 MDa complex was found to contain CCR4, CAF1, NOT1-5 and two new proteins, CAF40 and CAF130. CAF130 and CAF40 are two unique yeast proteins, with CAF40 displaying extensive homology to proteins from other eukaryotes. Immunoprecipitation and gel filtration experiments confirmed that CAF130 and CAF40 are components of both of the 1.9 MDa and 1.0 MDa CCR4-NOT complexes. Biochemical analysis indicated that the CAF40 and CAF130 proteins bind to the NOT1 protein and exist in a location separate from the two other subsets of proteins in the complex: the CCR4 and CAF1 proteins, and the NOT2, NOT4 and NOT5 proteins. Moreover, CAF40 was able to interact with human NOT1, suggesting that human CAF40 would also be a component of the recently identified human CCR4-NOT complex. Analysis of caf40 and caf130 deletions indicated that they elicited phenotypes shared by defects in other CCR4-NOT genes. The distinct location of CAF40 and CAF130 and the evolutionary conservation of CAF40 implicate them in novel roles in the function of the CCR4-NOT complex.
THE SHORT SYNACTHEN TEST IN THE EVALUATION OF ADRENAL MASSES IN PATIENTS WITH MALIGNANCIES

Adrenal computed tomography with determination of Hounsfield units has proved to be sensitive and specific in the differential diagnosis of benign vs. malign adrenal lesions. On the other hand, computed tomography may fail in patients with small adrenal masses of less than 1.0 cm. However, especially in patients with diagnosed malignancies and small adrenal masses which were discovered during the diagnostic staging procedure it is important to determine the origin of the adrenal lesion. An augmented increase in 17α-hydroxyprogesterone (17-OHP) levels following corticotropin (1–24) stimulation has been noted in incidentally discovered adrenal masses by several groups. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that elevated ACTH-stimulated 17-OHP (Δ > 2.6 ng/mL) can predict primary adrenal lesions. We evaluated the use of the ACTH test in 85 patients with adrenocortical tumors and in 16 patients who underwent abdominal imaging for staging of a carcinoma other than of adrenal origin. We found an augmented 17-OHP response in 70 (> 82%) of patients with known adrenocortical tumors and in 10 (> 62%) of patients with adrenal masses and diagnosed malignancies. Results in the latter group have been confirmed in histological studies after operation or puncture. In the group of patients who suffered from a solid malignant tumor and had an adrenal mass, it was thus possible to separate primary from secondary adrenal lesions in 100%. In the group of patients with known adrenocortical tumors, it failed to differentiate between benign and malignant adrenocortical lesion in one case. We therefore think that the ACTH test is a valuable biochemical tool to distinguish primary adrenal tumors from adrenal metastasis derived from other malignancies.
Evolutionary robotics: coping with environmental change

In this paper an evolutionary method consisting of encoding a set of local adaptation rules that synapses obey while a robot freely moves in the environment is compared to standard evolution of fixed-weight control networks. The results show that evolutionary adaptive controllers can adapt online without additional evolutionary training to strong environmental changes where instead the performance of evolutionary fixed-weight controllers is significantly degraded. Two cases are described: transfer of evolved controllers from simulated to real robots and across different robotic platforms that vary in size, shape, and sensor response profile. In both cases evolved adaptive controllers autonomously and quickly adjust synaptic weights to successfully accomplish the task in the new conditions.
Effect of Complex Microbial Inoculants on the Number and Diversity of Rhizospheric Microorganisms and the Yield of Soybean

2 Abstract: In order to investigate the effects of Ecovital complex biological formulation on soybean, we carried out the field experiments on gray forest soil, Kiev region and on chernozem, Cherkassy region, under natural conditions. Our results showed that Ecovital application (co-inoculation with Bradyrhizobium and Bacillus strains) significantly improves soybean yield and soil fertility, as compare with inoculation by B. japonicum singly. Bacterization had lead to important changes in the structure of the indigenous microbial communities and shifts the ratio between nitrogen-fixing Alphaproteobacteria and Firmicutes in rhizosphere. Therefore, complex bacterial formulation was found to be prominent source for soybean crop production in order to minimize environmental problems linked to chemical fertilizers.
Membrane activity of the guinea-pig stomach muscle following barium replacement o calcium ion.

The effects of Ba ion on the electrical activity of the guinea-pig antral smooth muscle were investigated with the double sucrose gap method.1. Ba ion in the presence or absence of Na ion depolarized the membrane and increased the input resistance of the membrane.2. The spontaneously generated spike was followed by a sustained depolar ization (plateau formation) which lasted more than one minute. Transitions of the membrane potential between the two levels (rest and plateau) appeared periodically.3. The duration of the plateau depended on the membrane potential level.4. The plateau formation required Na ion, since when Na ion was replaced with tris, chorine or sucrose, the spike but no plateau formation was observed.5. Ba ion generated the spikes with plateaus in various concentrations of K ion (0.59-17.7 mM). With more than 29.5 mM K ion, the membrane was further depolarized and oscillatory spikes or depolarization block of the spike occurred.6. Ba ion also produced the spike and plateau in solutions containing foreign anions.7. The results led to the conclusion that Ba ion mainly inhibits the K-con ductance during the resting state, carries the current and delays the onset in K-conductance increase during the active state of the membrane.