Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cardiac actions of erythromycin: influence of female sex.

CONTEXT Erythromycin is a widely used antibiotic that infrequently causes QT-prolongation and torsades de pointes cardiac arrhythmias. For antiarrhythmic drugs, women are at a higher risk for these cardiac arrhythmias, but few other classes of drugs have been studied. OBJECTIVES To determine whether female sex is a risk factor for cardiac arrhythmias associated with erythromycin, and if this can be correlated with in vitro measurements of the QT-response to erythromycin in male and female rabbit hearts. DESIGN Food and Drug Administration (FDA) MEDWATCH database analysis and in vitro experiment. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Cardiac arrhythmia reports associated with erythromycin from 1970 until 1996 classified by patient sex and age, and effect of female sex on erythromycin-induced QT-prolongation in isolated perfused rabbit hearts. RESULTS We observed a sex difference in cardiac arrhythmias associated with administration of erythromycin. A total of 346 cases were found in the FDA database: 201 females (58%), 110 males (32%), and 35 unspecified (10%). Forty-nine were life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias and deaths directly related to intravenous erythromycin lactobionate: 33 women (67%) and 16 men (33%) (P=.03). During the same period, no sex imbalance was present in the prescription pattern for intravenous erythromycin lacobionate (men 47%, women 49%, unspecified 4%). Perfusion with erythromycin caused significantly greater QT-prolongation in female rabbit hearts (mean [SD], 11.8% [2.3%]) than in male hearts (6.9% [2.1%]; P = .03). CONCLUSIONS As has been shown in reports of antiarrhythmic drugs, we found a female predominance in the FDA reports of erythromycin-associated cardiac arrhythmias. Based on in vitro experiments, a sex difference in cardiac repolarization response to erythromycin is a potential contributing factor.
A critical review of the arguments debating the role of the nurse advocate.

AIMS OF THE PAPER This paper critically reviews the arguments for and against undertaking the role of nurse advocate. BACKGROUND Advocacy has become a popular concept in nursing literature over the past two decades. By addressing issues of power and accountability, conclusions are drawn about the risks facing nurses who would practice patient advocacy. METHODS Review and analysis of theoretical debate. RESULTS Empirical evidence is sparse and philosophical arguments predominate in the field of patient advocacy. Humanistic arguments that promote advocacy as a moral imperative are compelling. However, in reality nurses appear to lack the power base to comply except by covert means. Informed consent with a knowledge of the consequences of undertaking such an intervention is as relevant to the nurse as it is to the patient. CONCLUSION Nurses need to be empowered first, if they are to empower their patients. There may however, be more suitable candidates for the role of patient advocate and nurses should recognize that they do not have a monopoly on ethical decision making.
Training phonological reading in deep alexia: does it improve reading words with low imageability?

The purpose of this study was to examine whether training phonological reading using a bigraph‐syllable pairing method (e.g. pa ‐ /pæ/) instead of grapheme‐phoneme pairing (e.g. p ‐ /p/, a ‐ /æ/) resulted in improved reading of words with low imageability and paragraphs in an individual with deep alexia. In the treatment, Friedman and Lott's bigraph‐syllable correspondence (e.g. fa ‐ /fæ/) training procedure was adapted and used. The results indicated that the treatment effect generalized to the reading of words with low imageability, which was not reported in most previous studies. Oral reading accuracy and comprehension accuracy of paragraphs also improved. It is suggested that bigraph‐syllable correspondence training is effective in improving low imageability word reading, possibly because it can provide more substantial phonemic cues necessary to read words with low imageability (which have limited semantic information associated with them) than the grapheme‐phoneme correspondence training method.
Effect of S-Girdling on Fruit Growth and Fruit Quality of Wax Apple

The study was performed to evaluate the effect of Sgirdling, fruit thinning plus bagging with 2,4-D application, fruit thinning plus bagging on growth and quality of wax apple fruit. Girdling was applied three week before flowering. The 2,4-D was sprayed at the small bud and petal fall stage. The effect of all treatments on fruit growth was measured weekly. The physical and biochemical quality characteristics of the fruits were recorded. The results showed that no significant effect on number of bud among treatments. S-girdling, 2,4-D application produced the lowest bud drop, fruit drop compared to untreated control. Moreover, S-girdling enhanced faster fruit growth producing the best final fruit length and diameter than the control treatment. It was also observed that Sgirdling greatly increased fruit set, fruit weight as well as total soluble solid, reduced fruit crack, and titratable acidity. In conclusion, S-girdling had a distinctive and significant effect on most of the fruit quality characteristics assessed. Application 2,4-D was also recommended as the industry norm to increase fruit set, and fruit quality in wax apple. Keywords—Wax apple, S-girdling, 2,4-D, fruit bagging, fruit thinning.
Micromagnetic Model Analysis of Planar Type Recording Write Heads for High Transfer-Rate Recording

Planar type recording write heads were investigated using a micromagnetic analysis targeting a transfer-rate of 5 GHz. Six different planar head structures with various yoke widths, yoke heights, and coil locations were modeled. Six different conventional single-pole-type (SPT) write heads were also used for comparison. The material characteristics including the exchange constant, anisotropy energy, and Gilbert damping factor were also varied. It was found that the planar heads had a faster high-frequency response, a larger recording field, and a smaller ATE field. In the planar head, the most dominant factor for high transfer-rate recording was the coil location relative to the main pole tip and the return yoke height, while the yoke width was less important. Because the multi-turn coil can be realized with a wide yoke, it is advantageous in the planar head. With regard to the material characteristics, a small Gilbert damping factor was the most effective, while the other material characteristics did not yield significant differences.
Gestational Age at Delivery and Doppler Waveforms in Very Preterm Intrauterine Growth‐Restricted Fetuses as Predictors of Perinatal Mortality

The aim of this study was to compare gestational age at delivery and the performance of middle cerebral artery (MCA), ductus venosus (DV), and umbilical artery Doppler parameters in the prediction of perinatal mortality and morbidity in intrauterine growth‐restricted (IUGR) fetuses delivered at 32 weeks or earlier.
Regulation of chloride transport in epithelia.

In a number of epithelia, overall electrolyte absorption and secretion are highly regulated (8, 25, 66). The absorptive and secretory states are character­ ized by the movement of fluids and electrolytes toward the serosa or toward the lumen, respectively. Although most epithelia are not thought of primarily as secretory, secretion plays a critical role in the normal functioning of epithelia and in the pathophysiology of disease affecting such physiologically distinct tissues as large airways, sweat gland, pancreas, and intestinal tract. Transport processes involved in secretion and absorption are regulated short­ term by neurohormones, mediators, and local hormones, or long-term by steroid hormones, such as mineralocorticoids (25). This discussion focuses on short-term regulatory agents and looks specifically at second messenger systems that regulate CIsecretion in epithelia affected by the genetic disease Cystic Fibrosis (CF) and by secretory diarrhea. Recent excellent reviews provide details on trachea (99) and intestine (8, 25); hence, in this article, current reports on epithelial Cltransport regulation are reviewed.
Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage in patients with Hunt and Hess grade 4 or 5: treatment using the Guglielmi detachable coil system.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Patients in poor clinical condition (Hunt and Hess grade 4 or 5) after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) have historically fared poorly and many often were excluded from aggressive treatment. Early aggressive surgical treatment of SAH can produce good-quality survival for a higher percentage of patients than previously reported. We assessed the outcome of patients with Hunt and Hess grade 4 or 5 who were treated with Guglielmi detachable coil (GDC) embolization. METHODS We retrospectively evaluated the records of 27 consecutive grade 4 and 5 patients with 29 aneurysms treated within 72 hours of SAH by using GDCs. Percentage aneurysm occlusion after embolization, perioperative complications, and symptoms of vasospasm were evaluated. Outcome was assessed with the Glasgow Outcome Scale. RESULTS Sixteen patients (59%) were grade 4, and 11 (41%) were grade 5. Eighteen (67%) had one aneurysm, six (22%) had two aneurysms, and three (11%) had three aneurysms. Twenty-nine aneurysms were treated. Fourteen (48%) were completely occluded, and four (14%) were nearly completely occluded (>/=95% occlusion) at embolization. Eleven aneurysms (38%) had partial coiling (<95% occlusion). In the 27 patients, one technical (4%) and one clinical (4%) complication occurred at embolization. No rehemorrhage occurred in any patients (follow-up, 6-44 months; mean, 23 months). Twenty-five (92%) had vasospasm, and seven required endovascular treatment because of worsening clinical status. Sixteen patients (59%) died within 30 days of SAH. Eight patients (30%) had a good clinical outcome at a mean follow-up of 23 months. CONCLUSION Patients with Hunt and Hess grade 4 or 5 after SAH can undergo successful coil embolization of the aneurysms despite their poor medical condition and a high frequency of vasospasm at the time of treatment. Morbidity and mortality rates with this disease are still high. These findings compare favorably with those published in surgical series for aggressively treated patients with Hunt and Hess grade 4 or 5.
Reduction of warpage occurrence on stack-die QFN using FEA and statistical method

Warpage is greatly affected by package geometries, such as dimension of matrix array, pad, die and passive components as well as molding compound properties. It is also related to thermal mismatch i.e. coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) and reliability of passive components in the package. So in order to reduce warpage occurrence in all packages, it is proposed that the combination of CTE properties of QFN packages layer need to be optimized. This study used finite element method (FEM) to perform extensive structural analysis of QFN package designs with respect to different combination of thermal properties and the possible occurrence of warpage. The results obtained were then verified with experimental data. The FEA method was able to simulate the warpage occurrence and the statistical method was able to identify the optimal combination of thermal properties of the layers. It was also found that the optimum combination of CTE properties will reduce the probability of the warpage occurrence.
Relationship Between Energy Substrate Utilization and Specific Growth Rate in Aspergillus nidulans

The maintenance coefficient of glucose-limited Aspergillus nidulans chemostat cultures at 30 C was 0.018 g per g (dry weight) per hr for glucose and 0.55 mmoles per g (dry weight) per hr for oxygen. These values can only be approximate because melanin was produced by the mold at low growth rates and because it is unlikely that this polymer contributed to the maintenance energy requirement although it contributed to the dry weight. Biomass (defined here as dry weight minus melanin) was used to calculate a more meaningful maintenance coefficient for glucose (0.029 g of glucose per g of biomass per hr). At the highest growth rates examined, a nonlinear relationship between growth rate and glucose utilization rate was obtained, suggesting a qualitative change in the metabolic activities of the mold at high growth rates. The oxidative capacity of the mold was highest at the highest growth rates. This observation indicates that the increased substrate utilization rate observed at the higher growth rates is a reflection of enhanced enzyme synthesis. This hypothesis was verified by assaying the specific activities of several enzymes at different growth rates. However, in contrast to all the other enzymes assayed, the activities of reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate: (acceptor) oxido-reductases were highest at the lowest growth rates.
Designing and Implementing a Video Game to Assist Teaching-Learning Process of Numerical Expressions

Nowadays, there has been a real change in the traditional methodology for learning and teaching; the teaching of mathematical subject needs to identify the real necessities of students to avoid deficiencies in static classrooms. The benefits of the digital game based learning approach as a learning paradigm are widely recognized, because they support learning environments where students are actively related in implementing their own knowledge; passing through passive to active learning states. This article describes the development of an educational video game that aims to help first semester high school students to improve their understanding of the Numerical Evaluation of Algebraic Expressions.The game is verified by testing to ensure that the graphic and textual components show the correct communicability interfaces and transmit efficiently the intent of the educational content. The results of communicability testing were analysed on the same day and show that interfaces with greater communicability problems were those that concentrate more on graphical and textual components
Interactive computer play in rehabilitation of children with sensorimotor disorders: a systematic review

The aim of this review was to examine systematically the evidence for the application of interactive computer play in the rehabilitation of children with sensorimotor disorders. A literature search of 11 electronic databases was conducted to identify articles published between January 1995 and May 2008. The review was restricted to reports of intervention studies evaluating the impact of interactive computer play on motor rehabilitation in children. For each study the quality of the methods and the strength of the evidence were assessed by two independent reviewers using the guidelines of the American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine. A total of 74 articles were identified, of which 16 met the inclusion criteria. Three studies were randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and half were case series or case reports. Areas investigated were movement quality, spatial orientation and mobility, and motivational aspects. Thirteen studies presented positive findings. Two of the three RCTs investigating movement quality and one level III study examining spatial orientation showed no significant improvements. Interactive computer play is a potentially promising tool for the motor rehabilitation of children but the level of evidence is too limited to assess its value fully. Further and more convincing research is needed.
An improved design of combinational digital circuits with multiplexers using genetic algorithm

This paper presents a new approach to the design of combinational digital circuits with multiplexers using Evolutionary techniques. Genetic Algorithm (GA) is used as the optimization tool. Several circuits are synthesized with this method and compared with two design techniques such as standard implementation of logic functions using multiplexers and implementation using Shannon's decomposition technique using GA. With the proposed method complexity of the circuit and the associated delay can be reduced significantly.
Content-Based 3-D Model Retrieval: A Survey

As the number of available 3D models grows, there is an increasing need to index and retrieve them according to their contents. This paper provides a survey of the up-to-date methods for content-based 3D model retrieval. First, the new challenges encountered in 3D model retrieval are discussed. Then, the system framework and some key techniques of content-based 3D model retrieval are identified and explained, including canonical coordinate normalization and preprocessing, feature extraction, similarity match, query representation and user interface, and performance evaluation. In particular, similarity measures using semantic clues and machine learning methods, as well as retrieval approaches using nonshape features, are given adequate recognition as improvements and complements for traditional shape-matching techniques. Typical 3D model retrieval systems and search engines are also listed and compared. Finally, future research directions are indicated, and an extensive bibliography is provided.
Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation for Management of Limb Spasticity: A Systematic Review

ABSTRACT The purpose of this systematic review was to summarize the effect of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) for management of limb spasticity. Randomized controlled trials were searched using electronic databases through July 2015. Fourteen randomized controlled trials were included, involving 544 participants. Intervention protocols fit within three categories: 1) TENS vs. no TENS or placebo TENS (n = 7), 2) TENS vs. another TENS protocol or another intervention for spasticity management (n = 7), and 3) TENS as an adjunct to another intervention for spasticity management (n = 4). There was level 1 and 2 evidence for TENS improving spasticity-related outcome measures within the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health domains of body structure and function (e.g., Modified Ashworth Scale) as well as activity (e.g., gait). Better responses in outcome measures in the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health activity domain were seen when TENS was used in combination with active therapy (e.g., exercise and task-related training) vs. as a single therapeutic modality.
Rabbit Run: Gaze and Voice Based Game Interaction

Modern eye tracking technology allows an observer’s gaze to be determined in realtime by measuring their eye movements. Recent studies have examined the viability of using gaze data as a means of controlling computer games. This paper investigates the combination of gaze and voice recognition as a means of hands-free interaction in 3D virtual environments. A novel game evaluation framework is implemented controllable by input from gaze and voice as well as mouse and keyboard. This framework is evaluated both using quantitative measures and subjective responses from participant user trials. This is the first evaluation study performed comparing gaze and voice against mouse and keyboard input. The main result indicates that, although game performance was significantly worse, participants reported a higher level of immersion when playing using gaze and voice.
Molecular characterization of a genomic region associated with virulence in Dichelobacter nodosus

The major pathogen implicated in footrot, a highly contagious disease of sheep, is the strict anaerobe Dichelobacter nodosus (formerly Bacteroides nodosus). Sequence analysis of a 2,262-bp segment of the D. nodosus genome which is more prevalent in virulent isolates than in other isolates showed the presence of four open reading frames which appeared to have consensus transcriptional and translational start signals. These virulence-associated genes have been designated vapABCD. Two of the three copies of the vap region in the genome of the reference strain D. nodosus A198 were shown to carry all of the vap genes, whereas one copy contained only the vapD gene. The VapD protein was gel purified, shown to contain the predicted amino-terminal sequence, and used to raise rabbit antibodies. Western blots (immunoblots) showed that all of the D. nodosus strains tested that contained the vap region produced the VapD protein. The VapD protein had significant amino acid sequence identity with open reading frame 5 from the cryptic plasmid of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and the vapBC operon had sequence similarity with the trbH region of the Escherichia coli F plasmid. It is proposed that these gene regions evolved from the integration of a conjugative plasmid from another bacterial species into the D. nodosus chromosome.
Extent of Measles Virus Spread and Immune Suppression Differentiates between Wild-Type and Vaccine Strains in the Cotton Rat Model (Sigmodon hispidus)

ABSTRACT Infection of humans with wild-type measles virus leads to strong immune suppression and secondary infections, whereas immunization with an attenuated vaccine strain does not. Using the cotton rat model (Sigmodon hispidus), we investigated whether vaccine and wild-type viruses differ in viral spread and whether this is correlated with inhibition of of proliferation of spleen cells ex vivo after mitogen stimulation. After intranasal infection of cotton rats with wild-type and vaccine strains, it was found that wild-type virus replicates better in lung tissue, spreads to the mediastinal lymph nodes, and induces a more pronounced and longer-lasting inhibition of proliferation of spleen cells ex vivo after mitogen stimulation than does vaccine virus. To induce the same degree of proliferation inhibition, 1,000-fold less wild-type virus was required than vaccine virus. With this system, the virulence of various measles virus isolates and recombinant viruses was tested. Four (in humans and/or monkeys) highly pathogenic virus strains were immunosuppressive, whereas viruses of vaccine virus genotype A were not. Using virus pairs which, due to passage on fibroblasts versus lymphoid cells or due to a point mutation in the hemagglutinin (N481 → Y), differed in their usage of the two receptor molecules CD46 and CD150 on human cells, it was found that viruses using exclusively CD150 in vitro spread to mediastinal lymph nodes and induced strong immune suppression. These data demonstrate that important parameters of virulence seen in humans, such as viral spread and immune suppression, are reflected in the cotton rat model.
Hospital closure: a review of current and proposed research.

This paper reviews available data describing issues and research findings with implications for hospital closings. Factors contributing to fiscal problems of hospitals (e.g., inadequate reimbursement, inflation, management problems, organizational structure, societal factors) are discussed. Selected studies offering examples of hospital and community characteristics associated with closure are presented. This review suggests that future directions for research should focus not only on hospital cost control but also on insuring equity in the distribution of hospital services. Specifically, research is needed that further describes the hospital closure phenomenon, the effects of closure, and the policy choices that might be pursued to insure equity in the continuation of hospital services to disadvantaged populations.
Multivariate classification of fMRI images

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) gives vast amount of information on the neural activity of the brain. Researchers analyse fMRI data to investigate the functions and structure of the brain. Using machine learning tools that have been widely used in recent years in fMRI area, has enabled to predict the cognitive states of subject which is called “brain reading” also. In this study, fMRI data is taken from Ishai et. al. who explored the representation of object categories in brain. By using Naive Gauss Classifier and Support Vector Machines, it is tried to identify the patterns of objects and by analyzing fMRG images prediction on the cognitive state of the subject is performed.