Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A iniciação de jogadores de futsal com participação na Seleção Brasileira

O objetivo desta pesquisa foi verificar a idade de iniciacao da pratica sistematica do futsal e a idade de iniciacao em competicoes federadas de jogadores de futsal com participacao na Selecao Brasileira. Entende-se por competicao federada aquela que e regulamentada por uma federacao esportiva, disputada por criancas de diferentes faixas etarias (previamente divididas em categorias), culminando com a atribuicao de titulos de expressao estadual e nacional. O cenario de investigacao foi a Liga Nacional de Futsal. Os sujeitos da pesquisa foram 27 jogadores. A tecnica de pesquisa foi observacao direta extensiva mediante formulario. Encontrou-se que, em media, os jogadores se iniciaram no futsal aos 11±3,88 anos de idade e se iniciaram em competicoes federadas aos 12±3,82 anos. A maior parte dos jogadores, 62,97%, iniciou-se no futsal a partir dos 10 anos de idade; destes, 37,03% se iniciaram na adolescencia, entre 13 e 18 anos. Em relacao a idade de inicio em competicoes federadas, verificou-se que 66,7% iniciaram-se a partir dos 10 anos de idade, sendo a maior parte, 51,85%, entre 13 e 18 anos. Verificou-se que a menor parte dos atletas se iniciou no futsal e em competicoes federadas entre 05 e 09 anos de idade, respectivamente, 37,03% e 33,3%. Conclui-se que a maior parte dos jogadores com participacao na Selecao Brasileira nao disputou as categorias mamadeira (Sub-7) e fraldinha (Sub-9), inserindo-se tanto na pratica sistematica desse esporte quanto em competicoes federadas em idades recomendadas pela literatura esportiva
Inhibition of homoserine dehydrogenase I by L-serine in Escherichia coli.

We have reported that a major cause of growth inhibition of Escherichia coli by L-serine is its inhibition of homoserine dehydrogenase I (HDH I), which is involved in the biosyntheses of threonine and isoleucine [Hama, H. , Sumita, Y. , Kakutani, Y. , Tsuda, M. , & Tsuchiya, T. (1990) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 168, 1211-1216]. However, Patte et al. reported that L-serine does not inhibit HDH I [Patte, J.-C. , Truffa-Bachi, P., & Cohen, G.N. (1966) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 128, 426-439]. In studies on the reason for these discrepant results, we found that the concentration of K+ and the pH in the assay mixture strongly influenced the inhibitory effect of L-serine. L-Serine strongly inhibited the HDH I activities in both the forward and reverse reactions between aspartate semialdehyde and homoserine at a physiological K+ concentration (100 to 200 mM) and physiological pH (7.5) for E. coli cells. On the other hand, two well-known inhibitors of HDH I, L-threonine and L-cysteine, strongly inhibited the activity regardless of the K+ concentration and pH.
Impact of caloric restriction on myocardial ischaemia/reperfusion injury and new therapeutic options to mimic its effects

Caloric restriction (CR) is the most reliable intervention to extend lifespan and prevent age‐related disorders in various species from yeast to rodents. Short‐ and long‐term CR confers cardio protection against ischaemia/reperfusion injury in young and even in aged rodents. A few human trials suggest that CR has the potential to mediate improvement of cardiac or vascular function and induce retardation of cardiac senescence also in humans. The underlying mechanisms are diverse and have not yet been clearly defined. Among the known mediators for the benefits of CR are NO, the AMP‐activated PK, sirtuins and adiponectin. Mitochondria, which play a central role in such complex processes within the cell as apoptosis, ATP‐production or oxidative stress, are centrally involved in many aspects of CR‐induced protection against ischaemic injury. Here, we discuss the relevant literature regarding the protection against myocardial ischaemia/reperfusion injury conferred by CR. Furthermore, we will discuss drug targets to mimic CR and the possible role of calorie restriction in preserving cardiovascular function in humans.
Clinical and pathological characteristics of pulmonary mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma : a case report

Introduction: Pulmonarymucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (P-MALT) lymphomais a relative rare pulmonary disease. The purpose of our report is to characterize the symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of P-MALT lymphoma. Case report: We reported a case with a history of cough, expectoration, night sweat and multiple lung nodules on chest computer tomography. The pathological analysis of the lung biopsy through VATS demonstrated P-MALT lymphoma. The patient did not take any further treatment. During the following up after the surgery, no changes of symptoms and radiological presentation were detected. Discussions: P-MALT lymphoma is a relative rare entity and could be easily misdiagnosed. A proper diagnosis could be established by pathological examination on lung biopsy samples. The disease progresses slowly and patients can benefit from chemical and surgical therapy.
Assessing elderly persons' fall risk using spectral analysis on accelerometric data - a clinical evaluation study

Falls are among the leading causes for morbidity, mortality and lasting functional disability in the elderly population. Several studies have shown the applicability of accelerometry to detect persons with a high fall risk. Most of these studies have been conducted under laboratory settings and without clear definition of ‘fall risk’ reference measures. The aim of our work is to provide a simple unsupervised method to assess the fall risk of elderly persons as measured by reference clinical fall risk assessment scores. Our method uses parameters computed by spectral analysis on triaxial accelerometer data recorded in a clinical setting, and is evaluated using simple logistic regression classifier models with reference to three clinical reference scores. The overall prediction accuracy of the models ranges from 65.5–89.1%, with sensitivity and specificity between 78.5–99% and 15.4–60.4%, respectively. Our results show that our simple method can be used to detect persons with a high fall risk with a fair to good predictive accuracy when tested against common clinical reference scores. Our parameters are independent of specific test procedures and therefore are suited for use in an unsupervised setting. Our future research will include the evaluation of our method in a large prospective study.
Two new direct minimum search procedures for functions of several variables

The method can somewhat vaguely be classified as a modified "steepest descent. " It is, of course, an iterative procedure. Each cycle, to be iterated on, consists essentially of two parts: in Part I a "best" line is found, in Part II an attempt is made to minimize the given function along this line. Thus, each cycle resembles the corresponding cycle in the method of steepest descent. The method of steepest descent differs from our method in the manner in which in Part I the "best" line is found. Steepest descent, in fact, implies that this line (let us call it the "baseline" from now on) be defined by the starting point for the cycle and the gradient of the function at this starting point, where the starting point, in turn, is the minimum point of the preceding cycle. Well known modifications of the steepest descent are concerned with, for example, baselines restricted to a subspace normal to the preceding baseline, or with different ways of minimizing along a given baseline, or perhaps with the question as to how feasible it is to seek a minimum at all along a given baseline during each cycle before switching to the next baseline.
Health outcomes of HIV-exposed uninfected African infants

Objectives:To evaluate severe (grade 3/4) morbidity and mortality in HIV-exposed, uninfected infants. Design:Secondary data analysis of The Breastfeeding, Antiretrovirals, and Nutrition (BAN) clinical trial. Methods:BAN randomized 2369 mother–infant pairs to maternal, infant, or no extended antiretroviral prophylaxis during breastfeeding. Morbidity outcomes examined were pneumonia/serious febrile illness, diarrhea/growth faltering, and malaria. Infant death was defined as neonatal (⩽30 days of life), and postneonatal (31 days to 48 weeks of life). Cox proportional hazards models were used to evaluate the effect of covariates on infant morbidity and mortality. Results:The rate of pneumonia/serious febrile illness was highest in the first 12 weeks (0.83/100 person-weeks) before rapidly decreasing; rates of all morbidity outcomes increased after 24 weeks. Rates of pneumonia/serious febrile illness and diarrhea/growth faltering were higher during the rainy season. Prophylactic infant cotrimoxazole significantly decreased the rates of all morbidity outcomes. White blood cell (WBC) count less than 9000/&mgr;l at birth was associated with increased diarrhea/growth faltering [adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) 1.73, P = 0.04] and malaria (aHR 2.18, P = 0.02). Low birth weight (2000–2499 g) was associated with neonatal death (aHR 12.3, P < 0.001). Factors associated with postneonatal death included rainy season (aHR 4.24, P = 0.002), infant cotrimoxazole (aHR 0.48, P = 0.03), and low infant WBC count at birth (aHR 2.53, P = 0.02). Conclusion:Infant morbidity rates increased after 24 weeks, when BAN infants weaned. Introduction of prophylactic cotrimoxazole was associated with reduced rates of morbidity and mortality in HIV-exposed uninfected infants. Unexpectedly, a low WBC count at birth was significantly associated with later infant morbidity and mortality in this cohort.
Unconstrained handwritten numeral recognition using Hausdorff distance and multi-layer neural network classifier

A method for zip code recognition is presented. 2D binary images are input to HAVNET, a neural network which employs the Hausdorff distance as a similarity metric to train the weights which are required to represent the patterns learned by the network. A new learning rule for HAVNET is also introduced. In this approach, HAVNET is combined with a multilayer neural network. The Hausdorff distance acts as a zip code filter. Only the confusing digits are input into the multilayer network for training or recognition. Experimental results show that the correct-recognition rate with zero rejection is more than 97% for a database used by the Chinese mail sorting system.
Assessing and treating small airways disease in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Abstract Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are chronic inflammatory disorders of the respiratory tract that are characterized by airflow limitation. They are distinct conditions with different causes, structural changes, and immunopathology. The pathophysiology in asthma and COPD involves not only the proximal large airways, but also the distal small airways, and thus the small airways are an important therapeutic target in the treatment of both diseases. The assessment of diseased distal small airways is challenging. Extensive disease can be present in the small airways with little abnormality in conventional pulmonary function tests. Recent advances in imaging technologies have led to better spatial resolution to assess small airways morphology non-invasively. New physiological tests have been developed to detect disease and response to therapy in regional airways. Improving the efficiency of existing aerosolized therapy to direct drug to the appropriate lung regions may improve clinical efficacy. Approaches to target distal lung regions include developing new drug formulations with smaller aerosol particle size or using inhaler devices that emit aerosolized drug at slow inhalation flows. Large studies are needed to determine whether better distal lung deposition leads to improvements in small airways function that are translated into clinically significant patient outcomes.
Immunohistochemical analysis of development of desmin‐positive hepatic stellate cells in mouse liver

Development of desmin‐positive hepatic stellate cells was studied in mice using double immunofluorescent techniques and in vitro cultures with special attention given to their cell lineages. Several studies recently reported on the presence of cells that are immunologically reactive with both antidesmin and anticytokeratin antibodies in young fetal rat livers, and suggested the possibility that these cells give rise to hepatocytes and hepatic stellate cells. At early stages of mouse liver development, stellate cells with desmin‐positive filaments were scattered in the liver parenchyma. However, the stellate cells definitely differed from hepatoblasts and hepatocytes in terms of their morphology and expression of desmin and hepatoblast and hepatocyte‐specific E‐cadherin in the liver. Fetal hepatoblasts and hepatocytes did not react with antidesmin antibodies, nor did desmin‐positive stellate cells express E‐cadherin in vivo and in vitro. Thus it is likely that desmin‐positive stellate cells and hepatoblasts belong to different cell lineages. In the fetal liver, the desmin‐positive stellate cells surrounded blood vessels, and extended their processes to haematopoietic cells and megakaryocytes. Many, but not all, hepatoblasts and hepatocytes were observed to be associated with the stellate cells. At fetal stages, cellular processes positive for desmin in the stellate cells were also thick compared with those in the adult liver, in which desmin‐positive stellate cells lay in Disse's space and were closely associated with all hepatocytes. These developmental changes in the geography of desmin‐positive cells in the liver parenchyma and their morphology may be associated with their maturation and interactions with other cell types.
Needle-free delivery of macromolecules through the skin using controllable jet injectors

Introduction: Transdermal delivery of drugs has a number of advantages in comparison to other routes of administration. The mechanical properties of skin, however, impose a barrier to administration and so most compounds are administered using hypodermic needles and syringes. In order to overcome some of the issues associated with the use of needles, a variety of non-needle devices based on jet injection technology has been developed. Areas covered: Jet injection has been used primarily for vaccine administration but has also been used to deliver macromolecules such as hormones, monoclonal antibodies and nucleic acids. A critical component in the more recent success of jet injection technology has been the active control of pressure applied to the drug during the time course of injection. Expert opinion: Jet injection systems that are electronically controllable and reversible offer significant advantages over conventional injection systems. These devices can consistently create the high pressures and jet speeds necessary to penetrate tissue and then transition smoothly to a lower jet speed for delivery of the remainder of the desired dose. It seems likely that in the future this work will result in smart drug delivery systems incorporated into personal medical devices and medical robots for in-home disease management and healthcare.
Metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 as a potential therapeutic target in Huntington’s disease

Introduction: Huntington’s disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disorder caused by a polyglutamine expansion in the amino-terminal region of the huntingtin (htt) protein, which underlies the loss of striatal and cortical neurons. Glutamate has been implicated in a number of neurodegenerative diseases, and several studies suggest that the metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5) may represent a target for the treatment of HD. Areas covered: The main goal of this review is to discuss the current data in the literature regarding the role of mGluR5 in HD and evaluate the potential of mGluR5 as a therapeutic target for the treatment of HD. mGluR5 is highly expressed in the brain regions affected in HD and is involved in movement control. Moreover, mGluR5 interacts with htt and mutated htt profoundly affects mGluR5 signaling. However, mGluR5 stimulation can activate both neuroprotective and neurotoxic signaling pathways, depending on the context of activation. Expert opinion: Although the data published so far strongly indicate that mGluR5 plays a major role in HD-associated neurodegeneration, htt aggregation and motor symptoms, it is not clear whether mGluR5 stimulation can diminish or intensify neuronal cell loss and HD progression. Thus, future experiments will be necessary to further investigate the outcome of drugs acting on mGluR5 for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.
Towards Measuring Knowledge Management Success

Discussions at previous HICSS conferences have revealed that there is no general agreement on definitions of knowledge management (KM) and knowledge management system (KMS) success. We developed these concepts and presented them earlier this year. Using an expert panel approach followed by two exploratory surveys, we identify KM success measures. The research demonstrates that measures for KM success are required on multiple dimensions. This paper thus also presents a set of dimensions with measures that can be used to determine if KM in an organization is successful.
A Review on Recent Patents in Digital Processing for Cardiac Electric Signals (I): From Basic Systems to Arrhythmia Analysis

Cardiac electric signals are currently the most informative source about the heart rhythm and its disorders, and hence, the use of adequate digital signal processing techniques is necessary to yield reliable diagnostic parameters, either to the clinician or to automatic monitoring systems. A number of systems have been patented during the last years, which are grouped in this review according to their application scope. In this first part, techniques for electrocardiogram and intracardiac electrogram filtering, and for feature extraction, are first examined, then patents on arrhythmia analysis are then summarized. The wide number of basic systems for cardiac signal processing analysis that have been disclosed indicates that this field represents a main scenario in the near and middle future of cardiac health.
Inhibitor development in haemophilia B: an orphan disease in need of attention

Factor IX (FIX) inhibitors develop in 1·5–3% of haemophilia B patients. Due to its low incidence compared with that in haemophilia A, few comparable data exist on host and treatment‐related risk factors, and immunological processes associated with FIX inhibitor development. Moreover, the safety and efficacy of bypass therapy as well as the outcome predictors of successful inhibitor eradication have been poorly characterised. The lack of a useful evidence‐based approach to the diagnosis and management of FIX inhibitors complicates their significant morbidity due to the frequency of allergic reactions that often herald antibody development. This review discusses what is currently known about the epidemiology, natural history and immunology of anti‐FIX antibody development. It addresses several special considerations in the approach to the treatment of bleeding and inhibitor eradication. A case is made for moving forward with an integrated international collaboration for the further study of the nature and treatment of this problem.
Feasibility of Transdermal, Needleless Injections for Prevention of Pork Carcass Defects

A needle-free transdermal injection device was evaluated for effectiveness of vaccine delivery and for injection site lesions. A total of 96 pigs were vaccinated for pseudorabies virus (PRV) and Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (M.hyo.). Pigs were divided into three groups; the first group served as unvaccinated controls, the second group was vaccinated with conventional hypodermic needles, and a third group was vaccinated with a needlefree, air-powered injection device. Pigs were tattooed on the neck to mark the injection sites. Blood samples were collected from the pigs at 11−13 days and 23−25 days after injection, and the serological response was measured. Injection sites were collected at slaughter and dissected to evaluate tissue damage. The results showed that both injection methods produced similar serological responses in the vaccinated pigs and both were significantly greater than the unvaccinated controls. The injection site examinations have shown no lesions in any of the pigs. The results show the needle-free, transdermal injection device to be effective and safe. Elimination of needles will prevent residual needle fragments in carcasses and associated carcass defects from injection site lesions
Gabapentin for the Symptomatic Treatment of Painful Neuropathy in Patients With Diabetes Mellitus: a Randomized Controlled Trial

Context. —Pain is the most disturbing symptom of diabetic peripheral neuropathy. As many as 45% of patients with diabetes mellitus develop peripheral neuropathies. Objective. —To evaluate the effect of gabapentin monotherapy on pain associated with diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Design. —Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, 8-week trial conducted between July 1996 and March 1997. Setting. —Outpatient clinics at 20 sites. Patients. —The 165 patients enrolled had a 1to 5-year history of pain attributed to diabetic neuropathy and a minimum 40-mm pain score on the Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire visual analogue scale. Intervention. —Gabapentin (titrated from 900 to 3600 mg/d or maximum tolerated dosage) or placebo. Main Outcome Measures. —The primary efficacy measure was daily pain severity as measured on an 11-point Likert scale (0, no pain; 10, worst possible pain). Secondary measures included sleep interference scores, the Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire scores, Patient Global Impression of Change and Clinical Global Impression of Change, the Short Form–36 Quality of Life Questionnaire scores, and the Profile of Mood States results. Results. —Eighty-four patients received gabapentin and 70 (83%) completed the study; 81 received placebo and 65 (80%) completed the study. By intent-to-treat analysis, gabapentin-treated patients’ mean daily pain score at the study end point (baseline, 6.4; end point, 3.9; n = 82) was significantly lower (P,.001) compared with the placebo-treated patients’ end-point score (baseline, 6.5; end point, 5.1; n = 80). All secondary outcome measures of pain were significantly better in the gabapentin group than in the placebo group. Additional statistically significant differences favoring gabapentin treatment were observed in measures of quality of life (Short Form–36 Quality of Life Questionnaire and Profile of Mood States). Adverse events experienced significantly more frequently in the gabapentin group were dizziness (20 [24%] in the gabapentin group vs 4 [4.9%] in the control group; P,.001) and somnolence (19 [23%] in the gabapentin group vs 5 [6%] in the control group; P = .003). Confusion was also more frequent in the gabapentin group (7 [8%] vs 1 [1.2%]; P = .06). Conclusion. —Gabapentin monotherapy appears to be efficacious for the treatment of pain and sleep interference associated with diabetic peripheral neuropathy and exhibits positive effects on mood and quality of life. JAMA. 1998;280:1831-1836 DIABETES MELLITUS is the most common cause of neuropathy in the Western world.1 In a cohort of 4400 patients with diabetes studied for 20 to 25 years, 45% developed neuropathy during the course of their disease.2 Improved methods to determine the incidence,prevalence,andcourseofdiabetic peripheral neuropathy have been precisely described and applied in large longitudinal studies.3-13 Pain due to diabetic neuropathy affects the feet and ankles
Pilin regulation in thepilTmutantofNeisseria gonorrhoeae strainMS11

Pilin regulation in thepilTmutantofNeisseria gonorrhoeae strainMS11 Manuela Dietrich, Hans Mollenkopf, Magdalene So & Alexandra Friedrich Department of Molecular Biology, Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Berlin, Germany; Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Microarray Core Facility, Berlin, Germany; and Department of Immunobiology and BIO5 Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA