Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Experiences with dynamic PMU compliance testing using standard relay testing equipment

This paper presents the results of dynamic compliance testing of phasor measurement units (PMUs) from three different vendors in a laboratory environment. Testing is performed by providing three phase voltage and current injections to the VT and CT inputs of the PMUs through Freja-300 stand-alone protection relay test set. Testing is performed according to the standard “IEEE C37.242-2013 - IEEE Guide for Synchronization, Calibration, Testing, and Installation of Phasor Measurement Units (PMUs) for Power System Protection and Control”. The paper discusses the test setup, testing process, calculation of performance evaluation parameters and overall test results of this project.
A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial combining sertraline and naltrexone for treating co-occurring depression and alcohol dependence.

OBJECTIVE Empirical evidence has only weakly supported antidepressant treatment for patients with co-occurring depression and alcohol dependence. While some studies have demonstrated that antidepressants reduce depressive symptoms in individuals with depression and alcohol dependence, most studies have not found antidepressant treatment helpful in reducing excessive drinking in these patients. The authors provide results from a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial that evaluated the efficacy of combining approved medications for depression (sertraline) and alcohol dependence (naltrexone) in treating patients with both disorders. METHOD A total of 170 depressed alcohol-dependent patients were randomly assigned to receive 14 weeks of treatment with sertraline (200 mg/day [N=40]), naltrexone (100 mg/day [N=49]), the combination of sertraline plus naltrexone (N=42), or double placebo (N=39) while receiving weekly cognitive-behavioral therapy. RESULTS The sertraline plus naltrexone combination produced a higher alcohol abstinence rate (53.7%) and demonstrated a longer delay before relapse to heavy drinking (median delay=98 days) than the naltrexone (abstinence rate: 21.3%; delay=29 days), sertraline (abstinence rate: 27.5%; delay=23 days), and placebo (abstinence rate: 23.1%; delay=26 days) groups. The number of patients in the medication combination group not depressed by the end of treatment (83.3%) approached significance when compared with patients in the other treatment groups. The serious adverse event rate was 25.9%, with fewer reported with the medication combination (11.9%) than the other treatments. CONCLUSIONS More depressed alcohol-dependent patients receiving the sertraline plus naltrexone combination achieved abstinence from alcohol, had delayed relapse to heavy drinking, reported fewer serious adverse events, and tended to not be depressed by the end of treatment.
The Effects of Different Repeated Doses of Entacapone on the Pharmacokinetics of L-Dopa and on the Clinical Response to L-Dopa in Parkinson's Disease

We performed a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, crossover, multiple-dose study on entacapone in 25 patients with Parkinson's disease with levodopa (L-Dopa) treatment–related fluctuations. A run-in period was followed by four 2-week treatment periods during which the patients took 4 to 6 daily doses of L-Dopa concomitantly with 100, 200, or 400 mg of entacapone or with placebo. The effects were assessed at the end of each period; the inhibition of soluble catechol-O-methyltransferase (S-COMT) activity in red blood cells and the plasma concentrations of entacapone, L-Dopa, and 3-O-methyldopa (3-OMD) were measured and clinical effects assessed on an 18-hour home diary. Twenty-one patients completed the study. Entacapone decreased the COMT activity from predose level: 100 mg by 25%, 200 mg by 33%, and 400 mg by 32% (p < 0.001 vs. placebo for each dose). Correspondingly, the 3-OMD concentrations decreased by 39%, 54%, and 66% with 100-, 200-, and 400-mg doses, respectively. The elimination half-life of L-Dopa was prolonged by 23% (p < 0.05), 26% (p < 0.001), and 48% (p < 0.001), and the area under the curve of L-Dopa increased by 17% (p < 0.05), 27% (p < 0.001), and 37% (p < 0.001) with the increasing doses. Despite a significant decrease in the daily dose of L-Dopa, entacapone decreased the proportion of daily “off” time: 100 mg by 11%, 200 mg by 18%, and 400 mg by 20% compared with placebo. However, this decrease was not statistically significant for any of the doses in this small patient population. The dyskinetic “on” time did not increase with different doses of entacapone. All doses were well tolerated, and no severe adverse events were reported. The study showed that repeated dosing of entacapone inhibits the COMT activity in a dose-dependent manner and thereby reduces the loss of L-Dopa to 3-OMD. Therefore, the area under the curve of L-Dopa is increased and the patient's clinical condition improved.
Tryptophan hydroxylase is expressed by photoreceptors in Xenopus laevis retina

Abstract Serotonin has important roles, both as a neurotransmitter and as a precursor for melatonin synthesis. In the vertebrate retina, the role and the localization of serotonin have been controversial. Studies examining serotonin immunoreactivity and uptake of radiolabeled serotonin have localized serotonin to inner retinal neurons, particularly populations of amacrine cells, and have proposed that these cells are the sites of serotonin synthesis. However, other reports identify other cells, such as bipolars and photoreceptors, as serotonergic neurons. Tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH), the rate-limiting enzyme in the serotonin synthetic pathway, was recently cloned from Xenopus laevis retina, providing a specific probe for localization of serotonin synthesis. Here we demonstrate that the majority of retinal mRNA encoding TPH is present in photoreceptor cells in Xenopus laevis retina. These cells also contain TPH enzyme activity. Therefore, in addition to being the site of melatonin synthesis, the photoreceptor cells also synthesize serotonin, providing a supply of the substrate needed for the production of melatonin.
Ribosomal protein L32 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae influences both the splicing of its own transcript and the processing of rRNA

Ribosomal protein L32 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae binds to and regulates the splicing and the translation of the transcript of its own gene. Selecting for mutants deficient in the regulation of splicing, we have identified a mutant form of L32 that no longer binds to the transcript of RPL32 and therefore does not regulate its splicing. The mutation is the deletion of an isoleucine residue from a highly conserved hydrophobic domain near the middle of L32. The mutant protein supports growth, at a reduced rate, and is found at normal levels in mature ribosomes. However, in cells homozygous for the mutant gene, the rate of processing of the ribosomal RNA component of the 60S ribosomal subunit is severely reduced, leading to an insufficiency of 60S subunits. L32 must be considered a remarkable protein. Composed of only 104 amino acids, it appears to interact with three distinct RNA molecules to influence three different elements of RNA processing and function in three different locations of the cell: the processing of pre-rRNA in the nucleolus, the splicing of the RPL32 transcript in the nucleus, and the translation of the spliced RPL32 mRNA in the cytoplasm.
To tell or not to tell: barriers and facilitators in family communication about genetic risk

Communication about genetic risk in families is an important issue for genetic counsellors. The objective of this study was to explore the barriers and facilitators in family communication about genetic risk. Semi‐structured interviews were undertaken with patients in the Northeast of Scotland who had attended genetic counselling for risk of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer and Huntington's disease, and with some spouses/partners. The interviews confirmed that the issue of disclosure was a problem for some, and that there were generic communication issues common to both groups. Telling family members about genetic risk was generally seen as a family responsibility and family structures, dynamics and ‘rules’ influenced disclosure decisions. A sense of responsibility towards younger generations was also important. The level of certainty felt by a person in relation to his or her own risk estimate also influenced what he or she could tell other family members. Communication within a family about genetic risk is a complex issue and is influenced by both pre‐existing familial and cultural factors and individuals' responses to risk information. If genetic counsellors understood how these factors operate in individual families they might be able to identify effective strategies to promote considered decisions and prevent unnecessary emotional distress.
nonlinear relationship between financial development and economic growth: Evidence from post global financial crisis panel data

Existing studies find that the nonlinear relationship between financial development and economic growth is inverted U-shaped or there exist Kuznets curve, where financial development harm growth after surpassed the threshold point. The objective of this study is to re-estimate the existing relationship between financial development and economic growth for 65 developing countries for the period post 2007-2008 Global Financial Crisis starts from 2009-2015 using Generalized Method-of-Moment (GMM). Three financial development indicators namely, domestic credit to private sector (DCPS), liquid liabilities (LL) and private credit to deposit money (PCDM) are used in this study. However, our findings are contrary to the previous study. Interestingly, our result shows that the nonlinear relationship between financial development and economic growth is U-shaped for all indicators. In other words, financial development accelerated economic growth after reaching the turning point. The results of U-test of Lind and Mehlum (2010) confirms that the U-shaped relationship exist. It shows that the higher financial development enhance the performance of economic growth. Thus, our results challenge the previous findings and recommend for policy review.
Cobalt-mediated Dimerization of the Human Natural Killer Cell Inhibitory Receptor*

Upon engagement of specific class I major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules on target cells, inhibitory receptors on natural killer (NK) cells deliver a negative signal that prevents the target cell lysis by NK cells. In humans, killer cell immunoglobulin-related receptors (KIR) with two immunoglobulin-like domains (KIR2D) modulate the lysis of target cells bearing specific HLA-C alleles (Moretta, A., Vitale, M., Bottino, C., Orengo, A. M., Morelli, L., Augugliaro, R., Barbaresi, M., Ciccone, E., and Moretta, L. (1993) J. Exp. Med. 178, 597–604). The transduction of inhibitory signals by KIR2D molecules is impaired by the zinc chelator, 1,10-phenanthroline, and mutation of a putative zinc-binding site (Rajagopalan, S., and Long, E. O. (1998)J. Immunol. 161, 1299–1305), but the mechanism by which zinc may affect the function of KIR remains unknown. In this study, the inhibitory NK receptor KIR2DL1 was discovered to dimerize in the presence of Co2+ as observed on native gel electrophoresis and by gel filtration column chromatography. Furthermore, Co2+-mediated KIR2DL1 dimer binds to HLA-Cw4 with higher affinity than the wild type KIR2DL1 monomer. Replacement of the amino-terminal His residue by Ala abolishes the ability of KIR2DL1 to bind Co2+, indicating that Co2+-mediated KIR2DL1 dimerization involves pairing of the D1 domain. Although not observed on native gels, the inhibitory receptor KIR2DL1 can be chemically cross-linked into dimers in the presence of Zn2+and its related divalent metal ions, suggesting that Co2+-mediated dimerization of KIR2DL1 may mimic a weaker interaction between KIR2DL1 and zinc in vivo.
Birth asphyxia--analysis of 235 cases.

OBJECTIVE To look for risk factors leading to birth asphyxia in new borns admitted in a tertiary care unit STUDY DESIGN Retrospective analysis. SETTING Neonatal Unit of National Institute of Child Health, Karachi from 1st January, 2001 to 31st August, 2001. PATIENTS AND METHODS Records of 235 new borns admitted with birth asphyxia during this period were analyzed. Variables studied included antenatal care, period of gestation, place of delivery, mode of delivery, birth weight and age at arrival in the hospital. RESULTS Majority (71%) of mothers were booked and had antenatal care, similarly most (88%) of the babies were born at term and 75.3% were delivered in maternity homes or hospitals. Caesarian sections were performed in 14% cases and rest were all vaginal deliveries. Fifty seven percent newborns weighed more than 2.5 kg and 22.5% presented to the hospital within 6 hours of birth. CONCLUSION Birth asphyxia occurring in such a high number of booked cases delivered at term with good weight, reflects the poor perinatal services offered in those maternity homes or hospitals. It is recommended that trained personnel and neonatal resuscitation equipment should be made mandatory in all maternity homes/hospitals.
The complexity of ‘harm reduction’ with smokeless tobacco as an approach to tobacco control in low-income and middle-income countries

Objective To review the implications of recommending smokeless tobacco (ST) use as a harm reduction approach for low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). Method Narrative review of published papers and other data sources (including conference abstracts and internet-based information) on the health risks posed by the use of ST products for individual smokers and for the population with a focus on their implications for LMICs. Results Swedish snus has a relatively lower toxicity profile than ST products available in other markets, including older products used in the US and products used in Africa and Asia. The experience with snus in Sweden provides information on the effects of snus use in a population where cigarette smoking was already culturally ingrained. However, population effects are likely to be different in those LMICs where smoking is not yet the dominant culturally accepted form of tobacco use. The total effect may be negative in countries where locally-popular ST products have substantially higher disease risks than Swedish snus and where there is limited regulatory and tobacco use surveillance capacity. Conclusions Issues relating to how populations in LMICs respond to marketing efforts, the risks of the dual use of ST and smoking, and the capacity to regulate ST products need to be considered in making decisions about harm reduction strategies in LMICs. The public health effects of supporting ST as a harm reduction strategy may vary substantively in countries with different pre-existing tobacco use patterns.
A Clinicopathological Study of Soft Tissue Tumours in Correlation with Immunohistochemistry

Background: Soft tissue tumors are a diverse and heterogeneous group of tumors. The sub classification of these tumors is of importance for both prognosis and treatment. Classically, subcategorization is based purely on histomorphological grounds , but as new techniques evolve, a more conclusive and accurate diagnosis can be made. This study records the incidence ,age ,sex and site distribution of soft tissue tumors at Narayana medical college , Nellore and to study gross, histology of both benign , malignant soft tissue tumors and confirmation of morphological diagnosis by Immunohistochemistry . The comparision of these findings with the workers doing similar studies. Materials And Methods: The study included 105 cases of soft tissue tumors in four years duration at the histopathology laboratory of Narayana medical college. Where indicated , tumors were stained with a panel of antibodies using the PAP technique. Results: Of these , 92(87.6 %) were benign and 13 cases (12.3%) were malignant . The incidence of both benign and malignant soft tissue tumors was more common in males than in females. The peak incidence of benign soft tissue tumors was observed in the age group of 21 to 30 yrs (30.43%) (P=0.025) and that of malignant tumors 51 to 60 yrs (53.8%) of the age group. Benign tumors were more common in age group less than 30 years (60.86%) and malignant tumors were more common between 30 -60 years (69.25%)(P=0.006). The most common site of occurrence for benign tumors was head & neck (52.17%) and for malignant tumors was the lower extremity (69.23%). Lipomas formed major bulk of benign soft tissue tumors (34.7 %). The most frequently diagnosed sarcomas were liposarcoma and leiomyosarcoma (15.3%). Cases were further analyzed using IHC and confirmed by IHC. A Chi-square test was performed, which proved that these results were statistically significant. Conclusions: Soft tissue tumors is one of the key areas in surgical pathology where immunohistochemistry plays an important role in both precise diagnosis and sub-categorization
Not-for-profit Versus For-profit Health Care Providers-Part II: Comparing and Contrasting Their Records

The debate over which health care providers are most capably meeting their responsibilities in serving the public's interest continues unabated, and the comparisons of not-for-profit (NFP) versus for-profit (FP) hospitals remain at the epicenter of the discussion. From the perspective of available factual information, which of the two sides to this debate is correct? This article is part II of a 2-part series on comparing and contrasting the performance records of NFP health care providers with their FP counterparts. Although it is demonstrated that both NFP and FP providers perform virtuous and selfless feats on behalf of America's public, it is also shown that both camps have been accused of being involved in potentially willful clinical and administrative missteps. Part I provided the background information (eg, legal differences, perspectives on social responsibility, and types of questionable and fraudulent behavior) required to adequately understand the scope of the comparison issue. Part II offers actual comparisons of the 2 organizational structures using several disparate factors such as specific organizational behaviors, approach to the health care priorities of cost and quality, and business-focused goals of profits, efficiency, and community benefit.
Critical role of matrix metalloprotease-9 in chronic high fat diet-induced cerebral vascular remodelling and increase of ischaemic brain injury in mice†.

AIMS About one-third of American adults and 20% of teenagers are obese. Obesity and its associated metabolic disturbances including hyperlipidaemia are risk factors for cardiovascular diseases including stroke. They can worsen neurological outcome after stroke. We determined whether obesity and hyperlipidaemia could induce cerebral vascular remodelling via matrix metalloproteases (MMP) and whether this remodelling affected neurological outcome after brain ischaemia. METHODS AND RESULTS Six-week-old male CD1, C57BL/6J, and MMP-9(-/-) mice were fed regular diet (RD) or high-fat diet (HFD) for 10 weeks. They were subjected to vascular casting or a 90 min middle cerebral arterial occlusion (MCAO). Mice on HFD were heavier and had higher blood glucose and lipid levels than those on RD. HFD-fed CD1 and C57BL/6J mice had an increased cerebral vascular tortuosity index and decreased inner diameters of the middle cerebral arterial root. HFD increased microvessel density in CD1 mouse cerebral cortex. After MCAO, CD1 and C57BL/6J mice on HFD had a bigger infarct volume, more severe brain oedema and blood-brain barrier damage, higher haemorrhagic transformation rate, greater haemorrhagic volume, and worse neurological function. HFD increased MMP-9 activity in the ischaemic and non-ischaemic brain tissues. Although HFD increased the body weights, blood glucose, and lipid levels in the MMP-9(-/-) mice on a C57BL/6J genetic background, the HFD-induced cerebral vascular remodelling and worsening of neurological outcome did not occur in these mice. CONCLUSION HFD induces cerebral vascular remodelling and worsens neurological outcome after transient focal brain ischaemia. MMP-9 activation plays a critical role in these HFD effects.
Trading Practices and Price Dynamics in Commodity Markets and the Stabilising Effects of a Transaction Tax

Movements of commodity prices like the prices of crude oil, corn, wheat and rice are to a substantial extent lengthened and strengthened by speculation in the respective futures markets. In particular the widespread use of technical trading systems reinforces the trending behaviour of commodity prices. The impact of these trading practices on price overshooting was particularly pronounced during the recent commodity price boom. These conclusions can be derived from the performance of 1,092 trading systems in the futures markets for crude oil, corn, wheat and rice between 1989 and mid-2008 as well as from the impact of the aggregate trading behaviour of these models on the simultaneous and subsequent price movements. It is highly plausible that a financial transaction tax would dampen the volatility of commodity prices.
The Edinburgh Feeding Evaluation in Dementia Scale: Determining how much help people with dementia need at mealtime.

The Edinburgh Feeding Evaluation in Dementia scale is an 11-item instrument developed to assess eating and feeding problems in people with late-stage dementia. By looking for certain behaviors—spilling food while eating or turning the head when prompted to eat, for example—a nurse can identify a patient's needs and build an effective care plan. The scale takes as little as five minutes to complete. Watch an online video of nurses demonstrating the use of the scale: http://links.lww. com/A281.
Increasing the accuracy and precision of relative telomere length estimates by RT qPCR

As attrition of telomeres, DNA caps that protect chromosome integrity, is accelerated by various forms of stress, telomere length (TL) has been proposed as an indicator of lifetime accumulated stress. In ecological studies, it has been used to provide insights into ageing, life history trade‐offs, the costs of reproduction and disease. qPCR is a high‐throughput and cost‐effective tool to measure relative TL (rTL) that can be applied to newly collected and archived ecological samples. However, qPCR is susceptible to error both from the method itself and pre‐analytical steps. Here, repeatability was assessed overall and separately across multiple levels (intra‐assay, inter‐assay and inter‐extraction) to elucidate the causes of measurement error, as a step towards improving precision. We also tested how accuracy, defined as the correlation between the “gold standard” for TL estimation (telomere restriction fragment length analysis with in‐gel hybridization), could be improved. We find qPCR repeatability (intra‐ and inter‐assay levels) to be at similar levels across three common storage media (ethanol, Longmire's and Queen's). However, inter‐extraction repeatability was 50% lower for samples stored in Queen's lysis buffer, indicating storage medium can influence precision. Precision as well as accuracy could be increased by estimating rTL from multiple qPCR reactions and from multiple extractions. Repetition increased statistical power equivalent to a 25% (single extraction analysed twice) and 17% (two extractions) increase in sample size. Overall, this study identifies novel sources of variability in high‐throughput telomere quantification and provides guidance on sampling strategy design and how to increase rTL precision and accuracy.