Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reversal of Hypoglycemia Unawareness, But Not Defective Glucose Counterregulation, in IDDM

To test the hypothesis that the neuroendocrine (including autonomic) responses to hypoglycemia are dissociated from the symptomatic responses to hypoglycemia in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) patients with hypoglycemia awareness and during reversal of hypoglycemia unawareness in IDDM, we used the hyperinsulinemic stepped hypoglycemic (5.0, 4.4, 3.9, 3.3, 2.8, and 2.2 mmol/l) clamp technique to quantitate these responses in nondiabetic control subjects and IDDM patients with hypoglycemia awareness and with hypoglycemia unawareness. The latter were restudied after 3 days, 3–4 weeks, and 3 months of scrupulous avoidance of iatrogenic hypoglycemia. At baseline, symptom responses were virtually nil in unaware patients (P = 0.0001 vs. nondiabetic); these were increased in aware patients (P = 0.0183 vs. nondiabetic). In contrast, several neuroendocrine responses were comparably reduced in both unaware and aware patients: epinephrine (P = 0.0222 and 0.0156), pancreatic polypeptide (P = 0.0004 and 0.0003), glucagon (P = 0.0112 and 0.0109), and cortisol (P = 0.0214 and 0.0450). In initially unaware patients, symptom responses increased (P = 0.0001) during avoidance of hypoglycemia. Demonstrable after 3 days, these were entirely normal after 3–4 weeks and 3 months. In contrast, none of the neuroendocrine responses increased. Thus, we conclude that several neuroendocrine responses to hypoglycemia (including the adrenomedullary and parasympathetic components of the autonomic response) can be dissociated from symptomatic responses in IDDM patients with hypoglycemia awareness and during reversal of hypoglycemia unawareness in IDDM. Avoidance of iatrogenic hypoglycemia sufficient to reverse the clinical syndrome of hypoglycemia unawareness did not reverse the key elements (deficient glucagon and epinephrine responses) of the clinical syndrome of defective glucose counterregulation. This implies that the mechanisms of hypoglycemia unawareness and of defective glucose counterregulation are, at least in part, different in IDDM.
Interaction of Cytochrome bd with Carbon Monoxide at Low and Room Temperatures

Azotobacter vinelandii is an obligately aerobic bacterium in which aerotolerant dinitrogen fixation requires cytochrome bd. This oxidase comprises two polypeptide subunits and three hemes, but no copper, and has been studied extensively. However, there remain apparently conflicting reports on the reactivity of the high spin hemeb 595 with ligands. Using purified cytochromebd, we show that absorption changes induced by CO photodissociation from the fully reduced cytochrome bd at low temperatures demonstrate binding of the ligand with hemeb 595. However, the magnitude of these changes corresponds to the reaction with CO of only about 5% of the heme. CO binding with a minor fraction of heme b 595 is also revealed at room temperature by time-resolved studies of CO recombination. The data resolve the apparent discrepancies between conclusions drawn from room and low temperature spectroscopic studies of the CO reaction with cytochrome bd. The results are consistent with the proposal that hemes b 595and d form a diheme oxygen-reducing center with a binding capacity for a single exogenous ligand molecule that partitions between the hemes d and b 595 in accordance with their intrinsic affinities for the ligand. In this model, the affinity of heme b 595 for CO is about 20-fold lower than that of heme d.
Plasma exudation as a first line respiratory mucosal defence

A great variety of provocations of the airway mucosa produce extravasation of plasma from the abundant subepithelial microvessels. A plasma exudate has important actions through its volume, its specific and unspecific binding proteins, its enzyme systems, and its potent peptides (of kinin. complement, coagulation, fibrinolysis and other systems). If allowed to operate on the surface of an intact mucosa the plasma exudale would have important roles in normal airway defence. Recent observations in guinea‐pig tracheo‐bronchial airways and in human nasal airways suggest that the mucosal exudation of plasma into the airway lumen is a non‐injurious fully reversible process. Threshold exudative responses thus resulted in the appearance of an ‘unfiltered’ plasma exudate not only in the lamina propria but also on the surface of an undisrupted mucosa. Even after extensive luminal entry of exudate the epithelial lining was intact, as judged by light, fluorescence and electron microscopy. Hence, the epithelial barrier was reversibly permeable when approached from beneath by the plasma exudate. This was a distinct increase in outward permeability, because even during the exudation of plasma the mucosa remained a barrier to luminal solutes. It is possible that the exudate itself, by a slight compressive action on the basolateral aspect of epithelial cells, creates intercellular pathways for its entry into the lumen. Contrary to current beliefs, we propose that plasma exudation should be considered a first line respiratory defence mechanism operating together with other systems of the mucosal surface.
Factors associated to hypoxemia in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting.

INTRODUCTION Hypoxemia is a frequent pulmonary complication in the postoperative coronary artery bypass graft. Detection of factors associated with their occurrence may indicate patients at risk for this complication, which allows tracing specific therapeutic and consequently reduce morbidity and mortality. OBJECTIVE To identify related factors to hypoxemia occurrence in immediate coronary artery bypass graft postoperative. METHODS In this retrospective cohort study, we studied 100 patients submitted to elective om-pump artery bypass graft , between April 2010 and December 2011, at a reference university hospital for cardiac surgery in the state of Maranhão. It was considered hypoxemia gas exchange ratio less than or equal to 300 mmHg. Associated variables with perioperative hypoxemia were defined by the Student T test, G or Mann-Whitney tests, Chi-square, or Fisher's exact test and multiple linear regression. RESULTS Among studied variables, high body mass index (P=0.036) and smoking (P=0.024) were significantly associated with hypoxemia in the immediate coronary artery bypass graft postoperative. Hypoxemia incidence in this period was 55% and did not affects mechanical ventilation duration and Intensive Care Unit lengh of stay. CONCLUSION In this sample, body mass index and smoking were associated to hypoxemia. These data reinforce the importance of clinical assessment to identify patients at risk for this complication, considering its high incidence in immediate postoperative period.
Could molecular assessment of calcium metabolism be a useful tool to early screen patients at risk for pre-eclampsia complicated pregnancy? Proposal and rationale

Abstract One of the most frequent causes of maternal and perinatal morbidity is represented by hypertensive disorders during pregnancy. Women at high risk must be subjected to a more intensive antenatal surveillance and prophylactic treatments. Many genetic risk factors, clinical features and biomarkers have been proposed but none of these seems able to prevent pre-eclampsia onset. English literature review of manuscripts focused on calcium intake and hypertensive disorders during pregnancy was performed. We performed a critical analysis of evidences about maternal calcium metabolism pattern in pregnancy analyzing all possible bias affecting studies. Calcium supplementation seems to give beneficial effects on women with low calcium intake. Some evidence reported that calcium supplementation may drastically reduce the percentage of pre-eclampsia onset consequently improving the neonatal outcome. Starting from this evidence, it is intuitive that investigations on maternal calcium metabolism pattern in first trimester of pregnancy could represent a low cost, large scale tool to screen pregnant women and to identify those at increased risk of pre-eclampsia onset. We propose a biochemical screening of maternal calcium metabolism pattern in first trimester of pregnancy to discriminate patients who potentially may benefit from calcium supplementation. In a second step we propose to randomly allocate the sub-cohort of patients with calcium metabolism disorders in a treatment group (calcium supplementation) or in a control group (placebo) to define if calcium supplementation may represent a dietary mean to reduce pre-eclampsia onset and to improve pregnancy outcome.
A BJT-type multi-segmented LED driver suitable for wide input voltage range

In the AC input applications, multi-segmented LED drivers are those employing the piecewise linear topologies to lighten the DC LEDs. Without any energy-storing inductors and electrolytic capacitors, they consist mainly of a series of controllable current sources. Based on the state of the art, a BJT-type multi-segmented LED driver is proposed for wide input voltage applications in this paper. With use of a sinusoidal input-current shaping strategy and an input-adaptive current control strategy, the controllable current sources of the proposed LED driver are composed of high-voltage BJTs with their control circuits. A 5-W prototype LED driver of low cost was implemented. Some preliminary test results show that the prototype LED driver (without any input filter) had the PF from 0.95 to 0.98, the THD40 from 18% to 33%, the efficiency from 80% to 86%, and the output power fluctuation of only +/-8.4% while the input voltage covered 220 V+/-13.8%. Furthermore, the harmonic quality of the input current mostly satisfied the EN61000-3-2 Class D standard.
Rome III functional dyspepsia subdivision in PDS and EPS: recognizing postprandial symptoms reduces overlap

The Rome III consensus proposed to subdivide functional dyspepsia (FD) into two groups: meal‐related dyspepsia or postprandial distress syndrome (PDS), and meal‐unrelated dyspepsia or epigastric pain syndrome (EPS). However, in clinical practice, overlap between both has been reported to be as high as 50%, thereby hampering clinical applicability. Although EPS is referred to as meal‐unrelated dyspepsia, relationship of symptoms to meal ingestion in this category is not formally addressed in the Rome III criteria. The aim of our study was to investigate whether taking into account the relationship of epigastric pain and nausea to meal ingestion may help to improve separation between EPS and PDS.
Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Presenting with Priapism

Chronic myeloid leukemia is a chronic myeloproliferative neoplasm that usually presents with an elevated white blood cell count and an enlarged spleen. Presentation with priapism is rather exceptional and is usually caused by leukostasis due to hyperleukocytosis. Priapism in chronic myeloid leukemia is a medical emergency that requires local therapies, symptomatic treatment as well as specific measures aimed at rapid control of the leukemia in the form of cytoreductive therapy, early initiation of targeted therapy with tyrosine kinase inhibitors in addition to leukapheresis in order to decrease the elevated leukocytic count as quickly as possible. A young patient with chronic myeloid leukemia who presented with priapism to King Khalid University Hospital in Riyadh is presented. The diagnostic workup and the lines of management are discussed.
Multi-stage face recognition for biometric access

Protecting the privacy of user-identification data is fundamental to protect the information systems from attacks and vulnerabilities. Providing access to such data only to the limited and legitimate users is the key motivation for `Biometrics'. In `Biometric Systems' confirming a user's claim of his/her identity reliably, is more important than focusing on `what he/she really possesses' or `what he/she remembers'. In this paper the use of face image for biometric access is proposed using two multistage face recognition algorithms that employ biometric facial features to validate the user's claim. The proposed algorithms use standard algorithms and classifiers such as EigenFaces, PCA and LDA in stages. Performance evaluation of both proposed algorithms is carried out using two standard datasets, the Extended Yale database and AT&T database. Results using the proposed multi-stage algorithms are better than those using other standard algorithms. Current limitations and possible applications of the proposed algorithms are also discussed along, with further scope of making these robust to pose, illumination and noise variations.
DRD1 associations with smoking abstinence across slow and normal nicotine metabolizers

Nicotine metabolism and genetic variation have an impact on nicotine addiction and smoking abstinence; however, further research is required. The nicotine metabolite ratio (NMR) is a robust biomarker of nicotine metabolism used to categorize slow and normal nicotine metabolizers (lower 25th quartile cut off). In two randomized clinical trials of smoking abstinence treatments, we conducted NMR-stratified analyses on smoking abstinence across 13 regions coding for nicotinic acetylcholine receptors and proteins involved in the dopamine reward system. Gene×NMR interaction P-values were adjusted for multiple correlated tests, and we used a Bonferroni-corrected &agr;-level of 0.004 to determine system-wide significance. Three single-nucleotide polymorphisms in DRD1 (rs11746641, rs2168631, and rs11749035) had significant interactions (0.001⩽adjusted P-values⩽0.004) with increased odds of abstinence within slow metabolizers (odds ratios=3.1–3.5, 95% confidence interval 1.7–6.7). Our findings support the role of DRD1 in nicotine dependence, and identify genetic and nicotine metabolism profiles that may interact to impact nicotine dependence.
Growth in indigenous and nonindigenous Chilean schoolchildren from 3 poverty strata.

OBJECTIVES This study sought to determine whether the short stature of Mapuche children, an indigenous group in Chile, reflects poverty or genetic heritage and whether the international reference population, derived from studies of US children of mostly European origin, is appropriate for assessing growth failure in indigenous peoples of the Americas. METHODS The study assessed 768 schoolchildren of Mapuche and non-Mapuche ancestry, aged 6 to 9 years, living under conditions of extreme, medium, and low poverty. RESULTS Growth retardation was strongly related to poverty in both ethnic groups. Within poverty levels, there were no significant differences in stature between ethnic groups, and in low-poverty areas in Santiago, the capital city, mean stature was only slightly less than in the reference population. CONCLUSIONS Poverty, not ancestry, explains the short stature of Mapuche children, and use of the international reference to assess growth in this population is appropriate.
Genetic marker in the variable region of kappa chains of mouse anti‐phosphorylcholine antibodies

A newly discovered genetic marker in the kappa light chains of mouse immunoglobulins is described. This marker, designated K‐PC8, is located in the L chains of those anti‐phosphorylcholine (PC) antibodies which show the same functional and idiotypic characteristics as a PC‐binding myeloma protein, HOPC 8 (H8). Analytical isoelectric focusing of these L chains revealed two phenotypes whose strain distribution pattern suggested a genetic association with genes that determine the T lymphocyte surface antigen(s) Ly‐2/Ly‐3. In four strains, AKR/J, C58/J, RF/J and PL/J (AKR‐type, A) the H8‐like L chains have a slightly lower isoelectric point than those of C57L/J and 12 other strains (C57L‐type, B). Breeding experiments showed that the K‐PC8‐A phenotype is preferentially expressed. The most probable location of the marker is the variable region since other idiotypically related K‐chains in CS7L/J and AKR/J do not show differences in their electrophoretic mobility.
Trade Flows Versus Capital Flows: Are China’s Trade Surpluses Overestimated?

ABSTRACT China has received massive foreign capital inflows after experiencing capital flight earlier in the last decade. The present paper offers estimates of capital inflows into China through the misinvoicing of trade after having outlined a model describing how trade prices could be manipulated by firms. In fact, the widely perceived undervalued Yuan has fueled expectations of a future revaluation of the Chinese currency. In a panel gravity modeling framework, we show that, China’s export and import prices for some commodities are sensitive to the non-deliverable forward exchange rate for the RMB in Hong Kong. In light of the evolution of this rate, which has rather systemically reflected anticipated revaluation of the Chinese currency, it is contended that the persistent Chinese trade imbalances may actually camouflage hidden ‘hot money’ inflows. Our findings provide evidence for export over-invoicing and import under-invoicing.
Brg1 Enables Rapid Growth of the Early Embryo by Suppressing Genes That Regulate Apoptosis and Cell Growth Arrest

ABSTRACT SWI/SNF (switching/sucrose nonfermenting)-dependent chromatin remodeling establishes coordinated gene expression programs during development, yet important functional details remain to be elucidated. We show that the Brg1 (Brahma-related gene 1; Smarca4) ATPase is globally expressed at high levels during postimplantation development and its conditional ablation, beginning at gastrulation, results in increased apoptosis, growth retardation, and, ultimately, embryonic death. Global gene expression analysis revealed that genes upregulated in Rosa26CreERT2; Brg1flox/flox embryos (here referred to as Brg1d/d embryos to describe embryos with deletion of the Brg1flox/flox alleles) negatively regulate cell cycle progression and cell growth. In addition, the p53 (Trp53) protein, which is virtually undetectable in early wild-type embryos, accumulated in the Brg1d/d embryos and activated the p53-dependent pathways. Using P19 cells, we show that Brg1 and CHD4 (chromodomain helicase DNA binding protein 4) coordinate to control target gene expression. Both proteins physically interact and show a substantial overlap of binding sites at chromatin-accessible regions adjacent to genes differentially expressed in the Brg1d/d embryos. Specifically, Brg1 deficiency results in reduced levels of the repressive histone H3 lysine K27 trimethylation (H3K27me3) histone mark and an increase in the amount of open chromatin at the regulatory region of the p53 and p21 (Cdkn1a) genes. These results provide insights into the mechanisms by which Brg1 functions, which is in part via the p53 program, to constrain gene expression and facilitate rapid embryonic growth.
A robust tracking controller for uncertain MIMO plant using non-linear sliding surface

A method to design a high performance robust tracking controller to track step references for uncertain continuous MIMO plant is presented. A non-linear sliding surface is proposed by which the damping ratio of closed loop system is increased as output approaches setpoint. Stability with the proposed non-linear surface is proved. A new control law is designed to guarantee the existence of sliding mode around the proposed non-linear surface. Position controller of stepper is designed using the proposed algorithm and corresponding simulation results are presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.
Context-Dependent Urgency Influences Speed–Accuracy Trade-Offs in Decision-Making and Movement Execution

Speed–accuracy tradeoffs (SATs) exist in both decision-making and movement control, and are generally studied separately. However, in natural behavior animals are free to adjust the time invested in deciding and moving so as to maximize their reward rate. Here, we investigate whether shared mechanisms exist for SAT adjustment in both decisions and actions. Two monkeys performed a reach decision task in which they watched 15 tokens jump, one every 200 ms, from a central circle to one of two peripheral targets, and had to guess which target would ultimately receive the majority of tokens. The monkeys could decide at any time, and once a target was reached, the remaining token movements accelerated to either 50 ms (“fast” block) or 150 ms (“slow” block). Decisions were generally earlier and less accurate in fast than slow blocks, and in both blocks, the criterion of accuracy decreased over time within each trial. This could be explained by a simple model in which sensory information is combined with a linearly growing urgency signal. Remarkably, the duration of the reaching movements produced after the decision decreased over time in a similar block-dependent manner as the criterion of accuracy estimated by the model. This suggests that SATs for deciding and acting are influenced by a shared urgency/vigor signal. Consistent with this, we observed that the vigor of saccades performed during the decision process was higher in fast than in slow blocks, suggesting the influence of a context-dependent global arousal.
Efficacy and feasibility of cisplatin-based concurrent chemoradiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the efficacy and feasibility of a cisplatin-based concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CRT) protocol based on Intergroup Study 0099 for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). METHODS Sixteen patients with stage II-IVB NPC were treated with a protocol of cisplatin-based concurrent CRT and adjuvant chemotherapy from 1998 to 2002. Three courses of cisplatin (80 mg/m2) were scheduled during 70 Gy of radiotherapy (RT), and two agents of adjuvant chemotherapy (FP regimen: cisplatin 80 mg/m2 and 5-fluorouracil 800 mg/m2/day by 4-day continuous infusion) were challenged. Overall survival (OS) and relapse-free survival (RFS) rates were calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS Median follow-up duration was 45 months. Both 3-year OS and RFS rates were 81%. Proportions of patients who tolerated each scheduled treatment were 94% for RT, 63% for concurrent chemotherapy and 38% for adjuvant chemotherapy. CONCLUSIONS Our protocol of the cisplatin-based concurrent CRT followed by adjuvant chemotherapy consisting of FP regimen was effective for Japanese patients with NPC. However, the doses and numbers of cycle of chemotherapy need to be modified because of the low compliance rate. Larger numbers of data accumulation and/or multi-institutional trials may be warranted to confirm the efficacy of this protocol.
Mining Reliable Information from Passively and Actively Crowdsourced Data

Recent years have witnessed an astonishing growth of crowd-contributed data, which has become a powerful information source that covers almost every aspect of our lives. This big treasure trove of information has fundamentally changed the ways in which we learn about our world. Crowdsourcing has attracted considerable attentions with various approaches developed to utilize these enormous crowdsourced data from different perspectives. From the data collection perspective, crowdsourced data can be divided into two types: "passively" crowdsourced data and "actively" crowdsourced data; from task perspective, crowdsourcing research includes information aggregation, budget allocation, worker incentive mechanism, etc. To answer the need of a systematic introduction of the field and comparison of the techniques, we will present an organized picture on crowdsourcing methods in this tutorial. The covered topics will be interested for both advanced researchers and beginners in this field.