Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Long-term assessment of pulmonary function tests in pediatric survivors of acute respiratory distress syndrome.

BACKGROUND The aim of the study was to evaluate long-term pulmonary function tests in pediatric survivors of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). MATERIAL/METHODS Observational study based on a telephone poll of retrospectively identified post ARDS children who were hospitalized in a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) in a general 1200-bed teaching, tertiary, regional referral center for children. RESULTS Follow-up pulmonary function tests were achieved in only 7 children, with a mean age of 7.3+/-4.3 years (range 3-12) and following 5.6+/-4.3 years after PICU discharge. The etiology for ARDS included: lymphoma (n=2), pneumonia (n=2), aspiration (n=1), petrol ingestion (n=1) and snake envenomation (n=1). The children had been ventilated for 9.4+/-7.3 days and their worst PaO2/FiO2 ratio was 65.1+/-17.0 mm Hg. The follow-up pulmonary functions in all the children was within normal limits except for one child who had mildly reduced DLCO and one who had mild exercise-induced hypoxemia (oxyhemoglobin saturation of 94%). Neither of the two nor the others showed subjective symptoms or clinical physical limitations. CONCLUSIONS Children who survive ARDS apparently enjoy long-term normal pulmonary function. Some, however, may present subclinical dysfunction that persists for many years after the acute episode and evoked only by sophisticated lung tests.
Statistical object recognition

To be practical, recognition systems must deal with uncertainty. Positions of image features in scenes vary. Features sometimes fail to appear because of unfavorable illumination. In this work, methods of statistical inference are combined with empirical models of uncertainty in order to evaluate and refine hypotheses about the occurrence of a known object in a scene. Probabilistic models are used to characterize image features and their correspondences. A statistical approach is taken for the acquisition of object models from observations in images: Mean Edge Images are used to capture object features that are reasonably stable with respect to variations in illumination. The Alignment approach to recognition, that has been described by Huttenlocher and Ullman, is used. The mechanisms that are employed to generate initial hypotheses are distinct from those that are used to verify (and refine) them. In this work, posterior probability and Maximum Likelihood are the criteria for evaluating and refining hypotheses. The recognition strategy advocated in this work may be summarized as Align Refine Verify, whereby local search in pose space is utilized to refine hypotheses from the alignment stage before verification is carried out. Two formulations of model-based object recognition are described. MAP Model Matching evaluates joint hypotheses of match and pose, while Posterior Marginal Pose Estimation evaluates the pose only. Local search in pose space is carried out with the Expectation-Maximization (EM) algorithm. Recognition experiments are described where the EM algorithm is used to refine and evaluate pose hypotheses in 2D and 3D. Initial hypotheses for the 2D experiments were generated by a simple indexing method: Angle Pair Indexing. The Linear Combination of Views method of Ullman and Basri is employed as the projection model in the 3D experiments. (Copies available exclusively from MIT Libraries, Rm. 14-0551, Cambridge MA 02139-4307. Ph. 617-253-5668; Fax 617-253-1690.)
Classification of different reaching movements from the same limb using EEG

Objective. Brain–computer-interfaces (BCIs) have been proposed not only as assistive technologies but also as rehabilitation tools for lost functions. However, due to the stochastic nature, poor spatial resolution and signal to noise ratio from electroencephalography (EEG), multidimensional decoding has been the main obstacle to implement non-invasive BCIs in real-live rehabilitation scenarios. This study explores the classification of several functional reaching movements from the same limb using EEG oscillations in order to create a more versatile BCI for rehabilitation. Approach. Nine healthy participants performed four 3D center-out reaching tasks in four different sessions while wearing a passive robotic exoskeleton at their right upper limb. Kinematics data were acquired from the robotic exoskeleton. Multiclass extensions of Filter Bank Common Spatial Patterns (FBCSP) and a linear discriminant analysis (LDA) classifier were used to classify the EEG activity into four forward reaching movements (from a starting position towards four target positions), a backward movement (from any of the targets to the starting position and rest). Recalibrating the classifier using data from previous or the same session was also investigated and compared. Main results. Average EEG decoding accuracy were significantly above chance with 67%, 62.75%, and 50.3% when decoding three, four and six tasks from the same limb, respectively. Furthermore, classification accuracy could be increased when using data from the beginning of each session as training data to recalibrate the classifier. Significance. Our results demonstrate that classification from several functional movements performed by the same limb is possible with acceptable accuracy using EEG oscillations, especially if data from the same session are used to recalibrate the classifier. Therefore, an ecologically valid decoding could be used to control assistive or rehabilitation mutli-degrees of freedom (DoF) robotic devices using EEG data. These results have important implications towards assistive and rehabilitative neuroprostheses control in paralyzed patients.
Prospects for the genetic improvement of meat and eating quality - where do we go from here?

Reputable pig breeding programmes have been very successful in reducing production costs over the last twenty years through significant genetic progress in a wide variety of traits including growth, feed conversion, reduced backfat thickness and, over the last decade, litter size and litters per sow per year [1] . However, with some notable exceptions, genetic progress in many meat and eating quality traits has been largely non-existent. The reasons for this are:
Contribution of transcranial color‐coded real‐time sonography to the etiopathogenetic classification of middle cerebral artery stenosis

Transcranial color‐coded real‐time sonography (TCCS) and cranial computed tomography were applied to patients with middle cerebral artery (MCA) stenosis to evaluate whether these techniques may disclose additional aspects of the pathophysiology of the stenotic lesion. In 15 patients with MCA stenosis identified by transcranial Doppler sonography, the echogenicity of the stenotic segment was estimated subjectively by TCCS. The density of the stenotic segment, prior to being detected by TCCS, was quantified by computed tomography. In 5 of the 15 patients, transcranial image‐directed Doppler sonography identified a hyperechogenic lesion in association with the stenotic vascular segment; computed tomography demonstrated a “dense” artery (Hounsfield units [HU] > 120) in the corresponding vascular segment. In 10 patients the echogenicity of the stenotic segment was found to be normal, with a computed tomography density of >100 HU in the corresponding segment. Hyperechogenic and hyperdense stenotic vascular segments in TCCS and computed tomography, respectively, may indicate an arteriosclerotic vascular lesion with calcium deposits. Normal echogenicity and normal to slightly elevated computed tomography‐density of a stenotic vascular segment may suggest the presence of a thrombotic/embolic lesion. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Unbalanced growth in mouse cells with amplified dhfr genes

When grown in the absence of methotrexate, cells carrying unstably amplified dihydrofolate reductase (dhfr) genes have a growth disadvantage that is a function of their level of gene amplification. Although this growth disadvantage is thought to drive the loss of unstably amplified dhfr genes in the absence of methotrexate, its mechanism is not understood. The present studies of murine cell lines with different levels of dhfr gene amplification demonstrate that such cells experience increased unbalanced growth (excess RNA and protein content relative to DNA content) with increased levels of dhfr gene amplification. Stathmokinetic analysis of a cell line with unstably amplified dhfr genes showed that the unbalanced growth was associated with a very low rate of G1/S transit, which suggests that amplified DNA sequences may activate a cell cycle checkpoint at the G1/S boundary. Hydroxyurea, which is known to induce rapid elimination of amplified genes at sub‐cytotoxic concentrations, also inhibits the cell cycle at the G1/S transition and causes unbalanced growth. Earlier work has shown that hydroxyurea selectively targets those cells within the heterogeneous drug resistant cell populations which have the highest amplified gene dosage. The finding that unstable gene amplification and hydroxyurea have similar effects on the cell suggests that hydroxyurea may achieve this selective targeting by pushing those cells with the highest levels of gene amplification over a critical stress threshold to cause growth arrest or cell death.
Insulin action and dynamics modelled in patients taking the anabolic steroid methandienone (Dianabol).

Plasma glucose and insulin concentrations were measured during oral (OGTT) and intravenous (IVGTT) glucose tolerance tests in nine patients off- and on-treatment with the anabolic steroid, methandienone (Dianabol). On-treatment, the tolerance tests showed a markedly increased insulin response accompanied by impairment of glucose tolerance, characteristics normally attributed to insulin resistance. However, fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and insulin (FPI) concentrations were significantly reduced, whereas the pattern normally associated with insulin resistance is for both to be raised. IVGTT glucose and insulin profiles were analysed using an algorithm derived from the minimal models of glucose and insulin dynamics originally proposed by R. Bergman and co-workers. Measures for the following parameters were thus obtained: Si, the sensitivity of glucose disposal to insulin; Sg, net insulin independent glucose disposal; phi 1, the integral concentration of insulin delivered during the first phase of insulin secretion relative to the initial increase in glucose concentration above a model-derived threshold; phi 2, the sensitivity of the rate of rise of insulin concentration in the second phase of insulin secretion to the concentration of glucose above a model-derived threshold; kappa, the fractional clearance rate of insulin; and tau 1/2, the insulin half-life. S1 was significantly reduced on treatment by a factor of 4. Sg, phi 1, phi 2 and tau 1/2 were all significantly increased, and kappa was significantly reduced. The increases in Sg and phi 1 both showed significant correlations with the increase in weight on-treatment. The reduction in FPG and FPI can be explained by the combined effects of the increase in Sg and Dianabol-induced resistance to glucagon. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Impact of Acute Myocardial Edema on Left Ventricular Function

Studies of the impact of myocardial edema on left ventricular (LV) systolic function show conflicting results. We sought to evaluate the impact of increased myocardial water content (MWC) on LV systolic and diastolic function. Anesthetized dogs (n = 12) were instrumented with myocardial ultrasonic crystals and an LV micromanometer. Systolic function was measured by preload recruitable stroke work (PRSW) and dP/dtmax. Diastolic function was measured by −dP/dtmax and the isovolumic relaxation constant tau (τ). Myocardial water content (MWC) was determined using microgravimetry. In six dogs (coronary sinus hypertension, CSH group) we produced myocardial edema by inflating a coronary sinus balloon for 2 h (30–40 mm Hg). In six other dogs (Plegisol, PLEG group) cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) was initiated (12.3 ± 0.8 min), the aorta was cross-clamped (117 ± 19 s), and 700 mL 4°C crystalloid, hyperkalemic cardioplegic solution (Plegisol) was administered into the aortic root (62 ± 4 mm Hg). After declamping and reperfusion (7.2 ± 1.0 min), the dogs were separated from CPB. Myocardial function parameters and MWC were measured for 2 h after edema generation. In the CSH group, MWC significantly increased from 75.9 ± 0.3% to 77.6 ± 0.3% (p <. 05). In the PLEG group, MWC increased from 75.8 ± 0.3% to 77.7 ± 0.3% (p <. 05). PRSW and dP/dtmax did not decrease in either group. Diastolic parameters did not change significantly. We conclude that acute myocardial edema without myocardial injury does not impair LV function.
SYNTAX trial: analysis and clinical implications.

The SYNTAX trial, presented in the congresses of the European Society of Cardiology in Munich, Germany and the European Association of Cardiothoracic Surgery in Lisbon, Portugal in September 2008, is the first study to compare the clinical results of the best technology of percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) using pharmacological stents (paclitaxel-eluding stent – Taxus, Boston Scientific Corp) with the best therapy currently provided by coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) in patients with triple vessel coronary artery disease and/or lesions of the left coronary artery trunk. The study, carried out in 62 European and 23 American centers and financed by the Boston Scientific Corporation, the manufacturer of the Taxus stent, at a cost of approximately 50 millions US dollars, intended to demonstrate the hypothesis that the PCI-Taxus stent was not inferior to CABG in patients with triple vessel disease and/or lesions of the left coronary artery trunk. The primary objective of the study was to analyze the compound clinical outcome constituted of death by any cause, strokes, myocardial infarction, the necessity of repeated revascularization by PCI and/or CABG (defined as MACCE Major Cardiovascular or Cerebrovascular Events) at 12 months of follow up. Two types of study were formed, the first was randomized and the other was a register. The randomized study included patients that were eligible for both types of procedure (by consensus between the heart surgeon and the hemodynamicist). On the other hand, the register included patients that were considered only eligible for one of the two treatments. A total of 3075 patients were enrolled, with 1800 presenting with the inclusion criteria for the randomized study; 897 in the CABG Group and 903 in the PCI/Taxus Arm. The other 1275 patients formed the SYNTAX register, where the criterion was that only one treatment method was possible. Thus, 1077 patients were allocated to the Surgery Group and 198 to the PCI Group. The final result of the SYNTAX trial confirmed that CABG is better than PCIs with drug-eluting stents for this population of high-risk patients. In 12 months, 17.8% of the patients in the PCI/Taxus Group presented with the compound outcome versus 12.1% of the surgical patients with a statistically significantly difference (p = 0.0015). Thus, an analysis of the SYNTAX trial is important not only because of the result but also for the implications of the findings. Initially, as it was an “all comers” type study enabling the inclusion of patients with characteristics closer to the real world population, instead of being a classical controlled randomized study with many exclusion criteria, it reflected the current clinical practice.
An Optical-Camera Complement to a PIR Sensor Array for Intrusion Detection and Classfication in an Outdoor Environment

An important issue faced while employing Pyroelectric InfraRed (PIR) sensors in an outdoor Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) deployment for intrusion detection, is that the output of the PIR sensor can, as shown in a recent paper, degenerate into a weak and unpredictable signal when the background temperature is close to that of the intruder. The current paper explores the use of an optical camera as a complementary sensing modality in an outdoor WSN deployment to reliably handle such situations. A combination of backgroundsubtraction and the Lucas-Kanade optical-flow algorithms is used to classify between human and animal in an outdoor environment based on video data. ,,The algorithms were developed keeping in mind the need for the camera to act when called upon, as a substitute for the PIR sensor by turning in comparable classification accuracies. All algorithms are implemented on a mote in the case of the PIR sensor array and on an Odroid single-board computer in the case of the optical camera. Three sets of experimental results are presented. The first set shows the optical-camera platform to turn in under supervised learning, high accuracy classification (in excess of 95%) comparable to that of the PIR sensor array. The second set of results correspond to an outdoor WSN deployment over a period of 7 days where similar accuracies are achieved. The final set also corresponds to a single-day outdoor WSN deployment and shows that the optical camera can act as a stand-in for the PIR sensor array when the ambient temperature conditions cause the PIR sensor to perform poorly.
A Market-Based Recommender System

We have designed, implemented, deployed and evaluated a large-scale agent-oriented information system that recommends relevant documents to users. Our recommender system is now being used across several European institutions. Its two key features are a modular design capable of accomodating multiple recommendation methods, and the use of a marketplace to select and rank the best recommendations for the user. As part of our evaluation, we have extensively simulated this marketplace in order to understand its dynamics and validate its suitability for a reeommender system.
Properties of the C-terminal Tail of Human Mitochondrial Inner Membrane Protein Oxa1L and Its Interactions with Mammalian Mitochondrial Ribosomes*

In humans the mitochondrial inner membrane protein Oxa1L is involved in the biogenesis of membrane proteins and facilitates the insertion of both mitochondrial- and nuclear-encoded proteins from the mitochondrial matrix into the inner membrane. The C-terminal ∼100-amino acid tail of Oxa1L (Oxa1L-CTT) binds to mitochondrial ribosomes and plays a role in the co-translational insertion of mitochondria-synthesized proteins into the inner membrane. Contrary to suggestions made for yeast Oxa1p, our results indicate that the C-terminal tail of human Oxa1L does not form a coiled-coil helical structure in solution. The Oxa1L-CTT exists primarily as a monomer in solution but forms dimers and tetramers at high salt concentrations. The binding of Oxa1L-CTT to mitochondrial ribosomes is an enthalpy-driven process with a Kd of 0.3–0.8 μm and a stoichiometry of 2. Oxa1L-CTT cross-links to mammalian mitochondrial homologs of the bacterial ribosomal proteins L13, L20, and L28 and to mammalian mitochondrial specific ribosomal proteins MRPL48, MRPL49, and MRPL51. Oxa1L-CTT does not cross-link to proteins decorating the conventional exit tunnel of the bacterial large ribosomal subunit (L22, L23, L24, and L29).
Response to Letters Regarding Article, "Infective Endocarditis After Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation: Results From a Large Multicenter Registry".

We appreciate the interest of Thuny et al and Pericas et al in our work.1 Both sets of authors raised concerns about potentially underestimating the real incidence of infective endocarditis (IE) in our study. Although this possibility cannot be completely excluded, it is important to note that the incidence of IE in our series is similar to what was reported in the Placement of Aortic Transcatheter Valve (PARTNER) trial.2 Thuny et al pointed out the limitations of transesophageal echocardiography for diagnosing IE, including periannular complications, highlighting the potential added value of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography in this setting. Unfortunately, no data on the use of this imaging technique were available in our study. However, transesophageal echocardiography has been demonstrated to be useful in detecting periannular complications within the context of IE, with a diagnostic accuracy of >90%,3,4 although certain technical aspects of transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) may alter this rate somewhat. In addition, the use of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography within the first 6 months after intervention (≈50% of patients in our series) may be limited by the potential occurrence of false-positive results related to concomitant inflammatory status in this early postintervention period.4 Novel imaging techniques are undoubtedly playing an emerging role in the diagnostic workup of IE, and we agree that the Duke criteria …
Hardware based MD5 implementation using VHDL for secured embedded and VLSI based designs

Many modern electronic systems like PDAs, cell phones, network routers, smart cards, and networked sensors are in need to access, store, manipulate, or communicate sensitive information, making security a serious concern in their design. Embedded and VLSI systems, which account for a wide range of products from the electronics, semiconductor, telecommunications, and networking industries, requires some of the most demanding security concerns. Embedded and VLSI based systems are mainly resource constrained and frequently need to operate in physically insecure environments. Whenever personal or confidential data is processed or stored security objectives like authenticity and integrity have to be fulfilled. This security objective must be ensured by the application or underlying hardware. Hardware implementation aspects of the MD5 hash algorithm using VHDL are discussed in this paper.
Platelets suppress Treg recruitment.

Apart from their canonical role in thrombosis and hemostasis, platelets amplify acute and chronic inflammation including atherosclerosis, and regulate the development and remodeling of blood and lymph vessels in health and disease. In this issue of Blood , Lievens and colleagues show evidence that activated platelets expressing CD40L promote atherogenesis and inflammation at least in part by mitigating the natural response to recruit immunomodulatory T regs . 1
Brain suppression of AP-1 by inhaled diesel exhaust and reversal by cerium oxide nanoparticles

Abstract One of the uses of cerium oxide nanoparticles (nanoceria, CeO2) is as a diesel fuel additive to improve fuel efficiency. Gene/environment interactions are important determinants in the etiology of age-related disorders. Thus, it is possible that individuals on high-fat diet and genetic predisposition to vascular disease may be more vulnerable to the adverse health effects of particle exposure. The aim of this pilot study was to test the hypothesis that inhalation of diesel exhaust (DE) or diesel exhaust-containing cerium oxide nanoparticles (DCeE) induces stress in the brain of a susceptible animal model. Atherosclerotic prone, apolipoprotein E knockout (ApoE−/−) mice fed a high-fat diet, were exposed by inhalation to purified air (control), DE or DCeE. The stress-responsive transcription factor, activator protein-1 (AP-1), was significantly decreased in the cortical and subcortical fraction of the brain after DE exposure. The addition of nanoceria to the diesel fuel reversed this effect. The activation of another stress-related transcription factor (NF-κB) was not inhibited. AP-1 is composed of complexes of the Jun and/or Fos family of proteins. Exposure to DCeE caused c-Jun activation and this may be a mechanism by which addition of nanoceria to the fuel reversed the effect of DE exposure on AP-1 activation. This pilot study demonstrates that exposure to DE does impact the brain and addition of nanoceria may be protective. However, more extensive studies are necessary to determine how DE induced reduction of AP-1 activity and compensation by nanoceria impacts normal function of the brain.