Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Regional anesthesia in patients with pre-existing neurologic disease

Purpose of review Regional anesthesia is controversial in patients with pre-existing neurologic disease. This study reviews the published evidence regarding the utilization and outcomes of regional anesthetics in this population. Recent findings Although publications are sparse, neuraxial and peripheral regional techniques have been successfully described in patients with spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, Guillain–Barre disease, neurofibromatosis, diseases of the neuromuscular junction, and Charcot–Marie Tooth disease without neurologic complications. Ultrasound guidance may aid in reduction in local anesthetic dose, anatomical evaluation and avoidance of needle trauma. Summary Regional anesthesia can be safely utilized in patients with pre-existing neurological disease and may have benefits over general anesthesia; however, a conservative approach is warranted. In addition, further publications regarding regional techniques in this population are needed.
Debugging Decomposition Data—Comparative Taphonomic Studies and the Influence of Insects and Carcass Size on Decomposition Rate

Abstract: Comparison of data from a variety of environments and ambient temperatures has previously been difficult as few studies used standardized measures of time/temperature and decomposition. In this paper, data from previous studies and recent experiments are compared using simple conversions. These conversions allow comparison across multiple environments and experiments for the first time. Plotting decomposition score against logADD allows the exponential progression of decomposition to be expressed as a simple linear equation. Data comparison from many environments and temperatures shows no difference in decomposition progression when measured using Accumulated Degree Days. The major effector of change in rate was insect presence, regardless of depositional environment, species, or season. Body size is significant when carcasses are accessed by insects; when insects are excluded, while bodies are indoors, submerged, or buried, then decomposition progresses at the same rate regardless of body size.
Myocardial infarction in acute leukemia. Report of a case in a young man.

ELECTROCARDIOGRAPHIC changes have frequently been reported in cases of acute leukemia, 1-6 but they have most commonly occurred as the result of myocardial or pericardial infiltration, 1-5,7,8 , bleeding into the heart itself, 1,4,9 chronic anoxia, 10 or infiltration of the conduction tissue 6 and valve leaflets. 8 Myocardial infarction is rarely mentioned as a concomitant of acute leukemia in large series of such cases. We recently treated a 33-year-old man whose second relapse of acute granulocytic leukemia was complicated by transmural inferolateral myocardial infarction from which he recovered without incident. Report of a Case The patient was a 33-year-old white man who was initially admitted to the Graduate Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania on Sept 10, 1964, because of marked elevation of his white blood cell count (WBC) and cellulitis and deep calf thrombophlebitis of the left leg. Smears of the peripheral blood and aspirated bone marrow were consistent with acute granulocytic leukemia. The cellulitis
Heat shock and thermotolerance of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in a model beef gravy system and ground beef

Duplicate beef gravy or ground beef samples inoculated with a suspension of a four‐strain cocktail of Escherichia coli O157:H7 were subjected to sublethal heating at 46 °C for 15–30 min, and then heated to a final internal temperature of 60 °C. Survivor curves were fitted using a linear model that incorporated a lag period (TL), and D‐values and ‘time to a 4D inactivation’ (T4D) were calculated. Heat‐shocking allowed the organism to survive longer than non‐heat‐shocked cells; the T4D values at 60 °C increased 1·56‐ and 1·50‐fold in beef gravy and ground beef, respectively. In ground beef stored at 4 °C, thermotolerance was lost after storage for 14 h. However, heat‐shocked cells appeared to maintain their thermotolerance for at least 24 h in ground beef held at 15 or 28 °C. A 25 min heat shock at 46 °C in beef gravy resulted in an increase in the levels of two proteins with apparent molecular masses of 60 and 69 kDa. These two proteins were shown to be immunologically related to GroEL and DnaK, respectively. Increased heat resistance due to heat shock must be considered while designing thermal processes to assure the microbiological safety of thermally processed foods.
R-symmetry , supersymmetry breaking and metastable vacua in global and local supersymmetric theories

We study N = 1 global and local supersymmetric theories with a continuous global U(1)R symmetry as models of dynamical supersymmetry (SUSY) breaking. We introduce explicit R-symmetry breaking terms into such models, in particular a generalized O’Raifeartaigh model. Such explicit R-symmetry breaking terms can lead to a SUSY preserving minimum. We classify explicit R-symmetry breaking terms by the structure of newly appeared SUSY stationary points as a consequence of the R-breaking effect, which could make the SUSY breaking vacuum metastable. We show that the R-breaking terms are basically divided into two categories. One of them does not generate a SUSY solution, or yields SUSY solutions that disappear in the case of supergravity when we tune a parameter so that the original SUSY breaking minimum becomes a Minkowski vacuum. We also show that the general argument by Nelson and Seiberg for a dynamical SUSY breaking still holds with a local SUSY except for a certain nontrivial case, and present concrete examples of the exception.
Analysis of HBV genotype, drug resistant mutations, and pre‐core/basal core promoter mutations in Korean patients with acute hepatitis B

Acute hepatitis B, caused by hepatitis B virus (HBV) strains with drug resistant mutations or pre‐core/basal core promoter (PC/BCP) mutations, is a public health concern, because this infection is often associated with poor disease outcome or difficulty in therapeutic choice. The HBV genotype, the prevalence of drug resistant mutations, and PC/BCP mutations in Korean patients with acute hepatitis B were studied. From 2006 to 2008, 36 patients with acute hepatitis B were enrolled prospectively in four general hospitals. Among them, 20 showed detectable HBV DNA (median value was 4.8 log copies/mL). HBV genotyping and analysis of HBV mutations that conferred resistance against lamivudine, adefovir, or entecavir and of PC/BCP mutations were performed using highly sensitive restriction fragment mass polymorphism (RFMP) analysis. All 20 patients were infected with HBV genotype C, which causes almost all cases of chronic hepatitis B in Korea. No patient showed mutations that conferred resistance against lamivudine (L180M, M204V/I), adefovir (A181T, N236S), or entecavir (I169M, A184T/V, S202I/G, M250V/I/L). However, four patients had BCP mutations, and two had PC mutations. Platelet counts were significantly lower in the four patients with PC/BCP mutations compared to those with wild type. In this study, all acute hepatitis B patients had genotype C HBV strains with no drug resistant mutations. However, 20% showed PC/BCP mutations. This highlights the need for further study on the significance of PC/BCP mutations. J. Med. Virol. 87:993–998, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Diseases Caused by Enterovirus 71 Infection

The purpose of this review was to explore the epidemiology, pathogenesis, virology, and management of enterovirus 71 (EV71) infection. Published literature was surveyed by Medline using the keyword “EV71. ” The reported incidence of cases of hand-foot-mouth disease/herpangina varied from year to year; seasonal variations in incidence were observed, with a peak in incidence during the summer season. Most cases of hand-foot-mouth disease/herpangina hospitalized for complications occurred in children less than 5 years old. The brainstem was the most likely major target of EV71 infection. Different enteroviruses cocirculate in the community annually. The emergence of the EV71 epidemic in the Asia Pacific region has been associated with the circulation of 5 genetic lineages (genotypes B3, B4, C1, C2, C4) that appear to be undergoing rapid evolutionary changes. The relationship between the gene structure of the EV71 virus and the factors that ensure its survival, ease of transmission, and evasion of immunity is still unclear. EV71 central nervous system involvement causes serious clinical illness, death, and long-term neurologic and psychiatric disorders in young children. EV71 infection has emerged as an important public health problem. Vaccine development is recommended for the prevention of EV71 infection in the future.
Destabilization of alpha wave during and after listening to unpleasant and pleasant acoustic stimuli

Spatiotemporal responses of brain alpha wave to unpleasant and pleasant acoustic stimuli are investigated in terms of the amplitude and phase of the alpha wave. The amplitude of the alpha wave is significantly reduced not only during listening to unpleasant acoustic stimuli but also after listening to the stimuli such as teeth gnashing and a single frequency tone with a frequency of 5 K Hz. Amplitude fluctuation is monotonically increased from the onset to 100 s after the offset of listening to the unpleasant stimuli. Such amplitude instability is also observed during listening to pleasant acoustic stimuli such as classical music and babble of a stream, but is not statistically significant after listening to the stimuli. Temporal phase change rate of the alpha wave is significantly increased during and after listening to the unpleasant acoustic stimuli, whereas it is not significantly changed for the pleasant music. The destabilization effect of the unpleasant stimuli on the alpha wave seems to remain for a longer period than that of the pleasant stimuli.
Diode Laser Stapedotomy vs Conventional Stapedotomy in Otosclerosis

Objectives To assess and compare the efficacy of diode laser stapedotomy (DLS) and conventional manual stapedotomy (CMS) in the treatment of otosclerosis. Study Design Randomized clinical trial. Setting Tertiary health center. Subjects and Methods We randomly assigned 60 patients with otosclerosis planned for primary stapedotomy to receive either DLS or CMS. Primary outcome measure was hearing gain measured by pure-tone audiometry (PTA) performed preoperatively and postoperatively. Hearing gain was compared within and between the groups. Secondary outcome measures were the incidence of intraoperative (bleeding and fractured footplate) and postoperative (vomiting, vertigo, sensorineural hearing loss, tinnitus, facial nerve paralysis, and hospital stay) morbidities. Results Sixty primary stapedotomies (30 in the CMS group and 30 in the DLS group) done for 60 patients (male, n = 42; female, n = 18) were included in the analysis. Preoperative mean air-bone (AB) gap in the DLS and CMS groups was 38.51 ± 8.643 dB and 36.42 ± 8.678 dB, respectively. Mean AB gap at 6 month was 10.86 ± 5.383 dB and 11.05 ± 5.236 dB in the CMS and DLS groups, respectively. Air conduction was improved by 24.98 ± 5.348 dB in the DLS group and 24.08 ± 5.911 dB in the CMS group at 6 months. No statistically significant differences were found in hearing gain between the 2 groups at 6 months (P > .05). A decreased rate and severity of intraoperative bleeding, postoperative vertigo, and vomiting were observed with the diode laser (0%, 6.6%, and 10%) compared with the conventional technique (16.7%, 16.7%, and 16.7%), but these differences were not statistically significant (P > .05). Conclusion Hearing outcomes and complications of DLS were similar to CMS. These study findings confirm the efficacy of the diode laser in stapedotomy, but DLS offers no advantages over CMS for otosclerosis surgery.
Cell Splitting for Energy-Efficient Massive MIMO

In this paper, we propose a novel cell splitting approach for massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) base stations to improve energy efficiency. The user equipments (UEs) in the cell are divided into two groups based on their distances to the base station. These two UE groups are scheduled at different time slots, which effectively splits a cell into inner and outer cells. The number of transmitting and receiving antennas together with the downlink and uplink transmission powers are adapted according to the number of cell edge and center UEs to maximize energy efficiency. We propose two algorithms to optimize the number of antennas and transmission powers. Cell splitting is able to reach energy efficiency (EE) gain of 11-41 % depending on the UE density when compared to a conventional load-adaptive massive MIMO system. The inevitable loss of cell edge UE rates can be controlled by setting a target UE rate, which also reduces the search space of the optimization algorithm.
Cardiac cell therapy--mixed results from mixed cells.

Despite substantial advances in treatment, ischemic cardiac injury and the ventricular dysfunction it can provoke remain major causes of morbidity and mortality throughout the world. The endogenous regenerative capacity of the heart appears inadequate to repair injured myocardium, leading to the cumulative loss of cardiomyocytes over the lifetime of a patient. This may contribute to the prevalence of heart failure as a diagnosis at hospital admission — particularly among the elderly. For these reasons, experiments in animals suggesting that the transfer of cells derived from bone marrow (BMC) could dramatically improve cardiac function after infarction through regeneration of the myocardium .
The impact of teacher training in special education on the attitudes of Australian preservice general educators towards people with disabilities

Introduction Despite the continued movement toward inclusive practices in Australia, recent studies overseas have found that many teachers have less than positive attitudes towards students with disabilities and their inclusion in general education classrooms (D’Alonzo, Giordano, & Cross, 1996; Vaughn, Schumm, Jallad, Slusher, & Saumell, 1996). Teachers set the tone of classrooms, and as such, the success of inclusion may well depend upon the prevailing attitudes of teachers as they interact with students with disabilities in their classroom. This has implications for teacher training. Recently, major revisions to teacher education programs have been advocated (Lombard, Miller, & Hazelkorn, 1998; Milton & Rohl,1999). The need for improved teacher training arises from the limitations of many current teacher training programs. In many universities, general and special education programs continue to operate under a dual The Impact of Teacher Training in Special Education on the Attitudes of Australian Preservice General Educators towards People with Disabilities
Astrocyte‐specific protein and neuroglial differentiation. An immunofluorescence study with antibodies to the glial fibrillary acidic protein

The topographical features of the neuroglial network in the mature rat CNS and the differentiation of fibrous neuroglia in the neocortex and hippocampus have been studied by immunofluorescence using antibodies to the glial fibrillary acidic (GFA) protein. In the mature brain and spinal cord the distribution and appearance of neuroglia as observed with immunofluorescence were similar to those described by Weigert ('95) using his method for astrocytic fibers. In the developing rat immunofluorescence started to appear on the surface of the neocortex in the first week after birth. In 9‐day‐old rats a continuous external glial membrane had formed by immunofluorescence. Immunofluorescence of the perivascular glial membrane appeared later. Blood vessels completely surrounded by a fluorescent membrane were not observed in the middle cortical layers before the eighteenth day of life. An unexpected finding in the hippocampus was the sudden appearance in the 8‐day‐old rat of a radial system of immunofluorescent fibers crossing the granular layer and extending in the molecular layer. The radial fibers were still present in the adult rat. However, they became widely spaced and thus less prominent than in the immature animal. In fetal rats immunofluorescent fibers first appeared in the medial wall of the lateral ventricles on the eighteenth post‐conceptionaly day. The radial system of glial fibers extending from the ventricles to the surface of the brain and characteristic of this stage of development was not stained by immunofluorescence.
Overcoming obstacles to the effective immunotherapy of human cancer

Cancers can grow and spread in humans despite their expression of cancer-associated antigens and the presence, within the tumor, of immune lymphocytes that can recognize those antigens. One of the possible explanations for this paradox is discussed in the article by Bai et al. (1) in this issue of PNAS. They demonstrate that anti-tumor T cells can be tolerized in the tumor microenvironment and thus down-regulate their effector functions. This is but one element in a complex story.
Monoubiquitin-dependent endocytosis of the IRON-REGULATED TRANSPORTER 1 (IRT1) transporter controls iron uptake in plants

Plants take up iron from the soil using the IRON-REGULATED TRANSPORTER 1 (IRT1) high-affinity iron transporter at the root surface. Sophisticated regulatory mechanisms allow plants to tightly control the levels of IRT1, ensuring optimal absorption of essential but toxic iron. Here, we demonstrate that overexpression of Arabidopsis thaliana IRT1 leads to constitutive IRT1 protein accumulation, metal overload, and oxidative stress. IRT1 is unexpectedly found in trans-Golgi network/early endosomes of root hair cells, and its levels and localization are unaffected by iron nutrition. Using pharmacological approaches, we show that IRT1 cycles to the plasma membrane to perform iron and metal uptake at the cell surface and is sent to the vacuole for proper turnover. We also prove that IRT1 is monoubiquitinated on several cytosol-exposed residues in vivo and that mutation of two putative monoubiquitination target residues in IRT1 triggers stabilization at the plasma membrane and leads to extreme lethality. Together, these data suggest a model in which monoubiquitin-dependent internalization/sorting and turnover keep the plasma membrane pool of IRT1 low to ensure proper iron uptake and to prevent metal toxicity. More generally, our work demonstrates the existence of monoubiquitin-dependent trafficking to lytic vacuoles in plants and points to proteasome-independent turnover of plasma membrane proteins.
Signal Reconstruction by Using the Samples of Derivative Signal in Asynchronous Level-Crossing Converter

This paper presents a new method which could reconstruct a signal by using the samples of derivative signal. Using this method in Asynchronous Level Crossing converters which introduced non-uniform samples, leads to a significant reduction in number of samples which are needed to reconstruct a signal. This method is beneficial for signals which could be estimated as a polynomial function in some part of its domain. The time instances of each sample should be sent too.
Visual detection of air-to-air refueling drogue

We present an approach for the automatic visual detection and position estimation of an air-to-air refueling drogue for unmanned aircraft. The drogue, which is dragged by an ahead flying tanker, is recorded by a passive color camera. Based on the flashy color of the drogue, the image is segmented in probable drogues and background. The drogues prediction is specified by a circle shape identification, to determine the drogue position in 3D camera frame also if parts of the drogue are covered. Finally, the drogue is tracked and classified over several images, to sort out one-time identifications. The presented approach is validated with a simulation setup that bases on real flight test experiences. The validation shows that the presented method generally enables a detection of the air-to-air refueling drogue. The results are discussed with respect to the effect of covering the drogue by tanker or image frame and the influence of the blooming effect during the distance estimation.
Practice of gastroenterologists in treating flaring inflammatory bowel disease patients with clostridium difficile: Antibiotics alone or combined antibiotics/immunomodulators?

Background: The optimal management of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) in flaring inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients has not been defined. Limited data suggest that coadministration of immunomodulators (IM) with antibiotics (AB) results in a worse outcome. We investigated the prevalent practice among North American gastroenterologists in this scenario. Methods: A structured questionnaire presented the clinical cases of two hospitalized patients with ulcerative colitis and concomitant CDI, either with or without prior IM treatment. The questionnaire was distributed to a sample of gastroenterologists at medical centers across North America. Respondents were requested to denote their therapeutic choices for these patients. Results: The survey included 169 gastroenterologists, 122 from the US and 47 from Canada, with an average of 12 ± 10 years of experience in gastroenterology. Forty‐two (25%) of the respondents were IBD experts. Seventy‐seven (46%) respondents elected to add an IM in combination with AB, whereas 82/169 (54%) treated the flare with AB alone (P = NS). The rate of administering combined AB+IM was similar for the IBD experts and the non‐IBD experts. Only 11% of respondents withdrew maintenance azathioprine upon the diagnosis of CDI. More IBD experts stopped azathioprine treatment compared to the non‐IBD experts (12/42 versus 6/127, P < 0.001). Overall, 65% of surveyed gastroenterologists stated they believe these patients are afflicted by two simultaneous but separate disease processes. Conclusions: There is significant disagreement among gastroenterologists on whether combination AB+IM or AB alone should be given to IBD patients with CDI‐associated flares. Controlled trials are needed to investigate the optimal management approach to this clinical dilemma. (Inflamm Bowel Dis 2010;)
A perspective on connector reliability

The operative definition of reliability is the probability that a product can perform its intended function in its intended environment for the intended product lifetime. The operating principle that defines the perspective in This work is that materials and design choices during the development of the connector, determine the potential degradation mechanisms that are intrinsic to the connector. The work presents two aspects of reliability in connectors, firstly how can reliability be designed and secondly how can the reliability be assessed. Performance testing is required to address the factors of reliability, and testing programs and protocols, exposures, durations and requirements are determined by the purpose of this test. Examples of generic test programs, protocols and requirements for each purpose is also reviewed.