Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Diagnostic accuracy of thin-section CT and chest radiography of pediatric interstitial lung disease.

OBJECTIVE We assessed the accuracy of thin-section CT and chest radiography to diagnose pediatric interstitial lung disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS We identified 20 infants, boys, and girls (age range, 1 month to 14 years) with histopathologic confirmation of interstitial lung disease. Six boys and girls without interstitial lung disease were also included. Two observers independently assessed chest radiograph and CT images. The observers stated the most likely diagnosis and a differential diagnosis. We evaluated individual CT features and their distribution. RESULTS Observers' diagnoses on CT images were correct (first choice or differential) in 66% of observations versus 45% on chest radiographs (p < 0.025). Correct diagnoses were made on first choice in 61% of CT observations versus 34% on chest radiographs (p < 0.005). Observers were confident (versus uncertain) in 42% of the CT observations versus 18% on chest radiographs; of the confident diagnoses made on CT, 91% were correct. CT interpretations were most accurate in the diagnosis of pulmonary alveolar proteinosis, congenital lymphangiectasia, and idiopathic pulmonary hemosiderosis. All healthy patients examined with CT were correctly identified as such. We noted a distinctive CT pattern in three patients with nonspecific interstitial pneumonitis and one patient with desquamative interstitial pneumonitis; the CT pattern consisted of upper zone predominant honeycombing on a background of ground-glass attenuation. CONCLUSION A higher proportion of pediatric interstitial lung diseases can be diagnosed on thin-section CT than on chest radiographs. In our study, confident and correct diagnoses were made more frequently with CT than with chest radiographs.
Participatory scenario planning in place-based social-ecological research: insights and experiences from 23 case studies

Participatory scenario planning (PSP) is an increasingly popular tool in place-based environmental research for evaluating alternative futures of social-ecological systems. Although a range of guidelines on PSP methods are available in the scientific and grey literature, there is a need to reflect on existing practices and their appropriate application for different objectives and contexts at the local scale, as well as on their potential perceived outcomes. We contribute to theoretical and empirical frameworks by analyzing how and why researchers assess social-ecological systems using place-based PSP, hence facilitating the appropriate uptake of such scenario tools in the future. We analyzed 23 PSP case studies conducted by the authors in a wide range of social-ecological settings by exploring seven aspects: (1) the context; (2) the original motivations and objectives; (3) the methodological approach; (4) the process; (5) the content of the scenarios; (6) the outputs of the research; and (7) the monitoring and evaluation of the PSP process. This was complemented by a reflection on strengths and weaknesses of using PSP for the place-based social-ecological research. We conclude that the application of PSP, particularly when tailored to shared objectives between local people and researchers, has enriched environmental management and scientific research through building common understanding and fostering learning about future planning of social-ecological systems. However, PSP still requires greater systematic monitoring and evaluation to assess its impact on the promotion of collective action for transitions to sustainability and the adaptation to global environmental change and its challenges.
Fault Tolerance Configuration for Uncoordinated Checkpoints

La tendencia general de los computadores paralelos es crecer en complejidad y en numero de componentes. La miniaturizacion y la concentracion de dichos elementos es la principal causa de la aparicion y aumento de los fallos en estos computadores. Asimismo, para permitir la ejecucion correcta de las aplicaciones paralelas, existe la necesidad de proveer soporte y de tolerar fallos en estos entornos. Una estrategia amplamente utilizada es el rollback-recovery, que consiste en guardar periodicamente el estado de la aplicacion y, en caso de fallos, reanudar la aplicacion desde el ultimo estado guardado. El uso de estos protocolos anade una sobrecarga al tiempo de ejecucion de la aplicacion. Con el uso de protocolos de checkpoints no coordinados, es facil estimar el tiempo total de ejecucion de una aplicacion, asi como tambien la frecuencia en la cual estos checkpoints deben ser guardados. Actualmente, existen modelos precisos para estimar estos tiempos. Sin embargo, el uso de protocolos de checkpoints coordinados, puede no ser la mejor solucion para proveer tolerancia a fallos en los computadores paralelos de proxima generacion. En otras palabras, el actual paradigma de tolerancia a fallos para computadores paralelos, no es adecuado para los futuros sistemas. Los protocolos de tolerancia a fallos no coordinados permiten que, cada proceso de la aplicacion paralela guarde su estado independientemente de los demas procesos; la combinacion de estos protocolos con tecnicas de log de eventos eliminan los inconvenientes de los protocolos no coordinados, como el efecto domino y la aparicion de mensajes huerfanos. Esta combinacion representa el paradigma emergente de tolerancia a fallos para aplicaciones paralelas escalables. Actualmente, no hay modelos adecuados para estimar el tiempo de ejecucion de aplicaciones paralelas que estan siendo protegidas por checkpoints no coordinados. Asi como tampoco existen modelos para calcular la frecuencia en que dichos checkpoints deben ser creados. El objetivo de esta tesis es, definir los modelos especificos para cada uno de los paradigmas: el coordinado y el no coordinado. Los modelos proveen una estimacion del tiempo total de ejecucion de las aplicaciones cuando estan protegidas por cualquiera de los dos paradigmas. Ademas, se propone una metodologia para definir el valor de las variables necesarias para calcular el intervalo de checkpoints. La principal motivacion de este trabajo es proveer el conocimiento necesario para enfrentar el paradigma emergente de tolerancia a fallos y hacerlo asequible para los usuarios de las aplicaciones paralelas.
Use of Hypochlorite Solution to Decrease Rates of Clostridium difficile-Associated Diarrhea

An increased rate of Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea (CDAD) was noted in 2 intensive care units of a university-affiliated tertiary care facility. One unit instituted enhanced environmental cleaning with a hypochlorite solution in all rooms, whereas the other unit used hypochlorite solution only in rooms of patients with CDAD. The CDAD rates decreased in both units.
Latin America's quest for globalization : the role of Spanish firms

Contents: Foreword, Ralph S. Clem Preface, Eduardo A. Gamarra Introduction. The role of Spanish firms in Latin America's structural reforms: 1989-2005, Felix E. MartA-n and Pablo Toral Spanish direct investment in Latin America, 1960-2002, Juan Jose DurA! n The advantage of Spanish firms in Latin America, 1990-2002, Pablo Toral The transformation of the Spanish economy and FDI in Latin America: towards a new theoretical framework, SebastiA! n Royo Spanish foreign policy in Latin America, Javier Maestro The foreign conquest of Latin American banking: what's happening and why? , James R. Barth, Triphon Phumiwasana and Glenn Yago Big Spanish banks in Brazil: anything different in their asset and credit allocation? , Harry M. Makler and Walter L. Ness, Jr Spanish banks in Latin America: do they need each other? , Aulvaro CalderA^3n Spanish telecoms in Latin America: TelefA^3nica, Fernando Gallardo Stakeholder impact of TelefA^3nica's Latin American investments, Michael Periu, Jr The prospects of Spanish investment in the Latin American energy sector: will the reconquest unravel? , Gustavo de las Casas Challenges for Spanish investments in the Latin American energy industry, Carlos Seiglie The socio-political dimension of Spanish direct investment in Latin America, Felix E. MartA-n The Latin American image of Spain in the aftermath of recent investments, JoaquA-n Roy Conclusions: challenges and opportunities of foreign investments in Latin America, Maria-Angels Oliva and Luis A. Rivera-Batiz Index.
Identification by Subtractive Hybridization of Sequences Specific for Salmonella enterica Serovar Enteritidis

ABSTRACT Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis, a major cause of food poisoning, can be transmitted to humans through intact chicken eggs when the contents have not been thoroughly cooked. Infection in chickens is asymptomatic; therefore, simple, sensitive, and specific detection methods are crucial for efforts to limit human exposure. Suppression subtractive hybridization was used to isolate DNA restriction fragments present in Salmonella serovar Enteritidis but absent in other bacteria found in poultry environments. Oligonucleotide primers to candidate regions were used in polymerase chain reactions to test 73 non-Enteritidis S. entericaisolates comprising 34 different serovars, including Dublin and Pullorum, two very close relatives of Enteritidis. A primer pair to oneSalmonella difference fragment (termed Sdf I) clearly distinguished serovar Enteritidis from all other serovars tested, while two other primer pairs only identified a few non-Enteritidis strains. These primer pairs were also useful for the detection of a diverse collection of clinical and environmental Salmonellaserovar Enteritidis isolates. In addition, five bacterial genera commonly found with Salmonella serovar Enteritidis were not detected. By treating total DNA with an exonuclease that degrades sheared chromosomal DNA but not intact circular plasmid DNA, it was shown that Sdf I is located on the chromosome. The Sdf I primers were used to screen a Salmonella serovar Enteritidis genomic library and a unique 4,060-bp region was defined. These results provide a basis for developing a rapid, sensitive, and highly specific detection system for Salmonella serovar Enteritidis and provide sequence information that may be relevant to the unique characteristics of this serovar.
Effect of Gamma Radiation in Combination with Low Temperature Refrigeration on the Chemical, Microbiological and Organoleptic Changes in Pampus chinensis (Euphrasen, 1788)

3 Abstract: The present study was carried out to evaluate the efficiency of gamma radiation (3, 5 and 8 kGy) in combination with low temperature (-20°C) for extending the quality and shelf-life of degutted fresh Chinese pomfret, Pampus chinensis. Quality assessment was studied by monitoring the chemical (TVN, TMA), microbiological (TBC, TMC) and organoleptic changes in irradiated and non-irradiated (control) samples. Among chemical indicators of spoilage, total volatile nitrogen (TVN) values increased to 55 mg/100 g for nonirradiated samples whereas for irradiated fish lower values of 45 mg/100 g, 27.5 mg/100 g and 18.7 mg/100g were recorded at 3, 5 and 8 kGy respectively (day 90). Significantly lower values were obtained for irradiated samples reaching a final trimethylamine (TMA) value of 7.1, 5.3 and 4.9 mg N/100 g at 3, 5 and 8 kGy respectively whereas for non-irradiated samples it increased slowly attaining a value of 32.5 mg N/100 g after 90 days. Total bacterial counts as well as total mould counts for non-irradiated pomfret were higher than that of irradiated fish. The organoleptic scores of control sample were gradually decreased with the progress of storage period whereas irradiated samples showed the acceptable score upto 90 days. This study concludes that gamma radiation in combination with low temperature showed maximum shelf-life extension (90 days) in each dose of radiation used but in 8 kGy radiation, Pampus chinensis showed best quality.
Vasopressin analogs in portal hypertension: Different molecules but similar questions

Confronted with the reality of balloons and scleroscopes, a patient with acute variceal hemorrhage would probably prefer treatment with a pharmacological agent. However, after several decades of clinical use, the role of vasopressin and vasoconstrictor therapy in the management of acute variceal bleeding is still controversial (1, 2). A new approach to vasoconstrictor therapy has been recently proposed with the use of vasopressin analogs (3). The ability to alter the aminoacid composition of vasopressin has resulted in several compounds that either narrow the biological activity or prolong the effects of this nonapeptide. A terminal amino group and aromatic amino acids in positions 2 and 3 are required to manifest the pressor activity (4); arginine’ vasopressin (AVP) is present in most mammals (and in the Pitressin@ vials) while lysine’ vasopressin (LVP) is the naturally occurring hormone in the pig. Triglycyl-lysine vasopressin (also termed glypressin or terlipressin) has a (glycyl)3 residue attached to the N-terminus which is cleaved in viuo, resulting in release of lysine vasopressin (5,6). This slow-release hormonogen has undergone clinical testing (7,8) and is reported in this issue of Hepatology to have a beneficial effect on the control of variceal hemorrhage (9). Could the addition of terlipressin (TGLVP) change our views of vasoconstrictor therapy? The results of clinical trials with constant infusions of varying doses of vasopressin have led to conclusions that the drug is effective in arresting hemorrhage (lo), is not better than placebo (11) or is associated with only a 7% success (12). To explain this disparity of results, one must consider not only differences in the design and execution of clinical trials, but also the unique pharmacologic-hemodynamic interactions of this drug. From this latter perspective, let us examine possible explanations for a failure of vasopressin and consider whether TGLVP would alter these factors.
Antibody titres to heat shock protein 27 are elevated in patients with acute coronary syndrome

IgG antibody titres to heat shock protein 27 (anti‐Hsp27) were measured to determine whether these titres were affected in patients admitted with acute coronary syndrome. Blood samples were taken from 94 patients admitted with acute coronary syndrome. Anti‐Hsp27 IgG titres were determined using an in‐house enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in the first and second 12 h after the onset of symptoms and compared with values for 81 age‐ and sex‐matched control subjects. Median antibody titres to Hsp27 in the first sample from patients whose diagnosis was a myocardial infarction (n = 42) was 0.41 absorbancy units (range 0.28–0.57) and for those with unstable angina (n = 52) was 0.31 (range 0.20–0.42), both being significantly higher than for controls (n = 81), which was 0.08 (range 0.05–0.15) (P < 0.05). However, titres fell in the second samples collected in the coronary syndrome patients and were then no longer significantly different from controls (P > 0.05). Myocardial infarction patients also had significantly higher anti‐Hsp27 titres in the first 12 h than patients with unstable angina (P < 0.05), but again the difference in the second sample did not reach statistical significance (P > 0.05). Serum antibody titres to Hsp27 rise and fall rapidly after the onset of acute coronary syndrome, and may be an early marker of myocardial ischaemia as patients with myocardial infarction or unstable angina both had high titres.
Scrambling scheme based on information hiding for PAPR reduction of OFDM signals with PSK inputs

A major drawback of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is the large peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) of transmitted signals. In this paper, a simple scrambling scheme based on information hiding for PAPR reduction of OFDM signals with phase shift keying (PSK) inputs is proposed. During the signal mapping procedure, the hided binary sequences viewed as scrambling sequences are embedded into the original input sequence to obtain a number of candidate signals. Then, one of the candidate signals with the minimum PAPR is selected for transmitting. Simulation results show that, proposed scheme can achieve PAPR reduction clearly with trivial bit error rate (BER) degradation. Most importantly, no side information (SI) need be transmitted to the receiver.
Model aggregation methods and applications

Resumen.Los metodos de agregacion de modelos en aprendizaje automatico combinan varias hipotesis hechas sobre un mismo conjunto de datos con el fin de obtener un modelo predictivo con una mejor performance. Los mismos han sido ampliamente estudiados y han dado lugar a numerosos trabajos tanto experimentales como teoricos en diversos contextos: clasificacion, regresion, aprendizaje no supervisado, etc. El objetivo de este trabajo es en un primer momento repasar varios metodos conocidos de agregacion de modelos y luego realizar dos aplicaciones para comparar sus performances. La primera consiste en estudiar sus predicciones sobre distintas bases de datos para la clasificacion, en particular en problemas de varias clases, y la segunda en utilizarlos en el contexto de la estimacion de la densidad de una variable aleatoria.
Happiness and congruence in older adulthood: a structural model of life satisfaction

The purpose of this study was to determine how health impairment, socioeconomic status, and social support relate to life satisfaction in later life. Using data from a sample of 320 older adults from The Georgia Centenarian Study, we constructed a structural model of life satisfaction. LISREL analysis was performed to test a two-factor model that included Happiness and Congruence and to determine the relationship of health impairment, socioeconomic status (SES), and social support to Happiness and Congruence, two measures of the Life Satisfaction Index-A (LSI-A). Data were found to provide a satisfactory fit of the model (GFI = 0.94; AFGI = 0.91). Social support and SES were found to have direct effects on health impairment. Health impairment was a key predictor and mediating variable of Happiness and Congruence. Findings also support a relationship between social resources and subjective well-being in later life. In particular, the association between social resources and life satisfaction was mediated through health impairment. These findings offer understanding relative to how health and social resources influence past and present assessments of subjective well-being among the elderly.
Dual-hop signal space cooperative systems using multiple DF relays

In a dual-hop relaying system without a direct link between the source and the destination, the source broadcasts information signal to the relay and relay broadcasts it to the destination, thus it uses two phases to transmit one symbol. This study proposes a novel scheme to incorporate signal space diversity into a dual-hop relaying system with multiple decode-and-forward (DF) relays to enhance its spectral efficiency. The proposed dual-hop signal space cooperative relaying scheme transmits two symbols in three phases while the conventional dual-hop DF relaying system uses four phases to transmit the same two symbols. Therefore, the proposed scheme improves the spectral efficiency without additional complexity, bandwidth or transmit power. The proposed scheme is analysed over Rayleigh fading channel and error probability performance is derived. Moreover, an asymptotic approximation for the error probability is obtained to illustrate the impact of different system parameters and diversity gain. In addition, this study discusses the power allocation optimisation, relay position optimisation and the joint optimisation of both. Furthermore, closed-form expression for the average channel capacity is derived. In the end, analytical results are compared and validated through Monte Carlo simulations.
Effect of type of fiber on the rate of passage and on the contribution of soft feces to nutrient intake of finishing rabbits.

One hundred thirty New Zealand White x California rabbits were used to study the influence of the source of dietary fiber on several digestive criteria. Five diets were formulated to provide 10% crude fiber (CF) on a DM basis. Sixty percent of this dietary fiber was supplied by alfalfa hay, citrus pulp, beet pulp, grape marc, or rice hulls in the diets. Weights of cecal contents, cecal ammonia concentration, and molar proportion of acetic acid in diets including pulps were higher and cecal levels of DM, CP, and molar proportion of butyric acid were lower than those of the alfalfa diet. Cecal ammonia, VFA, and CF concentrations of the grape marc diet were the lowest of all the diets studied; cecal CF level and molar proportion of acetic acid were significantly higher and CP level and molar proportion of butyric acid were lower in rice hull than in alfalfa diets. Diet had no influence on daily soft feces excretion (10 g DM/d), but N contribution of soft feces to N intake was higher in the diet with citrus pulp (18.7%) than in the other diets (12%). Mean retention time (R) was measured using fuchsin-stained feed and was found to be higher (21.3 h) in the rice hull diet and lower (9.3 h) in the grape marc diet than in the other diets. When coprophagy was prevented, R decreased by 0 to 7 h. In conclusion, the use of byproducts to substitute for traditional sources of fiber in rabbit diets influenced the retention time of the digesta in some segments of the gut and thus altered several digestive criteria. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
A case of enoxaparin-induced thrombocytopaenia during treatment of acute myocardial infarction

Summary Heparin-induced thrombocytopaenia is a life-threatening complication, affecting the morbidity and mortality of the patient if not properly treated. We report a case of a 75-year-old female patient who experienced enoxaparininduced thrombocytopaenia during medical treatment of acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction due to thrombotic total occlusion in the large right coronary artery.
Mesenchymal Stromal Cell-derived Extracellular Vesicles Promote Myeloid-biased Multipotent Hematopoietic Progenitor Expansion via Toll-Like Receptor Engagement*

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) present in the bone marrow microenvironment secrete cytokines and angiogenic factors that support the maintenance and regenerative expansion of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs). Here, we tested the hypothesis that extracellular vesicles (EVs) released by MSCs contribute to the paracrine crosstalk that shapes hematopoietic function. We systematically characterized EV release by murine stromal cells and demonstrate that MSC-derived EVs prompt a loss of HSPC quiescence with concomitant expansion of murine myeloid progenitors. Our studies reveal that HSPC expansion by MSC EVs is mediated via the MyD88 adapter protein and is partially blocked by treatment with a TLR4 inhibitor. Imaging of fluorescence protein-tagged MSC EVs corroborated their cellular co-localization with TLR4 and endosomal Rab5 compartments in HSPCs. The dissection of downstream responses to TLR4 activation reveals that the mechanism by which MSC EVs impact HSPCs involves canonical NF-κB signaling and downstream activation of Hif-1α and CCL2 target genes. Our aggregate data identify a previously unknown role for MSC-derived EVs in the regulation of hematopoiesis through innate immune mechanisms and illustrate the expansive cell-cell crosstalk in the bone marrow microenvironment.