Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
People with coexisting diabetes, chronic kidney disease and hypertension report the psychosocial effects of being prescribed multiple medications

Commentary on: Williams A, Manias E. Exploring motivation and confidence in taking prescribed medicines in coexisting disease: a qualitative study. J Clin Nurs 2014;23:471–81. [OpenUrl][1][CrossRef][2][PubMed][3] Adherence to prescribed medication is estimated to occur in only 50% of patients. As the numbers of comorbid conditions and medications increase, the risk of medication non-adherence also increases. Interventions to improve medication adherence are often complex, multifactorial and individualised.1 Rooted in this individualised approach is a need to understand the behavioural motivations … [1]: {openurl}? query=rft.jtitle%253DJ%2BClin%2BNurs%26rft.volume%253D23%26rft.spage%253D471%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Adoi%252F10.1111%252Fjocn.12171%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Apmid%252F24028554%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [2]: /lookup/external-ref? access_num=10.1111/jocn.12171&link_type=DOI [3]: /lookup/external-ref? access_num=24028554&link_type=MED&atom=%2Febnurs%2F18%2F1%2F18.atom
Construção de Mapa de Tópicos Semânticos Baseado na Integração de Fontes Heterogêneas

Nowadays one of the main challenges in the area of Information Retrieval (IR) is the development of systems that process correctly the idea or concept behind the queries issued by users. Conventional IR systems usually limit their indexing and retrieval capabilities to keywords, which creates poor results when indexing terms that are not listed in the query. Queries such as: “The king of Brazilian popular music” and “Roberto Carlos”, even using a different group of words, are essentially the same idea or concept, and thus the system should return the same answer set. However, for IR systems that do not consider the semantic aspect, both queries will return different answer set. This paper presents an architectural backbone focused on indexing and retrieval of objects (texts, links, videos, images, maps .) semantically related together and structured in a topic map. In this approach, topics represent conceptual units that condense: features and dictionary, encyclopedic and common sense information. The associations between topics will be given through lexical-semantic relations of the standard language. All content of topics and associations is obtained through external sources of information such as WordNet, Wikipedia, ConceptNet, Yago and AcronymFynder. Resumo. Um dos principais desafios da atualidade no campo da Recuperação de Informação (RI) é o desenvolvimento de sistemas que processem corretamente a ideia ou conceito por trás das consultas emitidas pelos usuários. Sistemas convencionais de RI geralmente limitam suas funcionalidades à indexação e recuperação por palavras-chave, fato que gera resultados fracos quando termos indexados não são mencionados na consulta. Consultas tais como: “O rei da música popular brasileira” e “Roberto Carlos”, mesmo utilizando um distinto grupo de palavras, podem representar a mesma ideia ou conceito e, portanto, o sistema deveria retornar o mesmo conjunto resposta. Entretanto, para sistemas de RI que não consideram o aspecto semântico, ambas consultas retornarão conjuntos respostas distintos. Este artigo apresenta em detalhe um arcabouço arquitetural como um novo enfoque na indexação e recuperação de objetos (textos, links, vídeos, imagens, mapas, etc.) semanticamente relacionados, estruturado em mapa de tópicos. Neste enfoque, tópicos representam unidades conceituais que condensam características e informações de dicionário, enciclopédicas e de sentido comum. Já as associações entre os tópicos dar-se-ão por meio de relações léxico-semânticas da língua padrão. Todo conteúdo de tópicos e associações é obtido por meio de fontes externas de informação tais como: WordNet, Wikipédia, ConceptNet5, Yago e AcronymFynder.
The Role of Conduits in Nerve Repair: A Review

The restoration of effective and meaningful axonal function following peripheral nerve injury continues to be a considerable clinical challenge. The use of conduits to bridge the gap between severed ends is a contemporary experimental maneuver that isolates the microenvironment of regenerating axons. Entubulation has allowed analysis and manipulation of putative influences upon nerve regeneration. A review is provided of the research efforts that have explored the neurobiological and mechanical factors that guide nerve regeneration within conduits. Levels of specificity, from tissue specific growth to end-organ specific growth, are outlined within the framework of the theories of Neurotropism, Contact Guidance and Neurotrophism. Included are investigations utilizing different conduit materials and the few clinical applications of these conduits. A number of chamber manipulations, extra-cellular matrix substrates and growth factors and their molecular receptors have been implicated in enhanced regeneration specificity. This information has been extended to the conduit model. The interposition of healthy nerve segments into conduits is proposed as a means of extending the length of successful nerve regeneration.
Intravenous Lidocaine Treatment in Classical Trigeminal Neuralgia With Concomitant Persistent Facial Pain

Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is a facial pain disorder described by the International Classification of Headache Disorders-beta (ICHD-3 beta) as unilateral pain characterized by brief electric shock-like sensations, limited to one or more divisions of the trigeminal nerve. The pain may last for several seconds to 2 minutes, and is often provoked by innocuous stimuli to the affected side of the face, such as brushing the teeth, talking, shaving, or tactile stimuli. The classical form is due to neurovascular compression by the superior cerebellar artery. Between paroxysms, most patients are asymptomatic. However, in certain cases, there is prolonged background pain in the affected area. This is classified under ICHD-3 beta as “Classical trigeminal neuralgia with concomitant persistent facial pain. ” Previously used terms for this disorder were atypical TN or TN type 2. This disorder responds poorly to conservative treatment and to neurosurgical interventions. There have been several reports in the literature about lidocaine treatment for chronic daily headaches, trigeminal autonomic cephalalgias, neuropathic pain, oro-facial, and postoperative pain. We administered intravenous lidocaine to a patient with intractable TN.
Practical investigation of the gate bias effect on the reverse recovery behavior of the body diode in power MOSFETs

This work considers an alternative method of reducing the body diode reverse recovery by taking advantage of the MOSFET body effect, and applying a bias voltage to the gate before reverse recovery. A test method is presented, allowing the accurate measurement of voltage and current waveforms during reverse recovery at high di/dt. Different bias voltages and dead times are combined, giving a loss map which makes it possible to evaluate the practical efficacy of gate bias on reducing the MOSFET body diode reverse recovery, while comparing it to the well known methods of dead time optimization. A selection of 60V devices for synchronous rectification are compared for their suitability for gate bias, while a selection of 600V devices are compared for the efficacy of gate bias for the zero voltage transition converter application. The results show that many of the tested devices benefit from greatly reduced reverse recovery after the application of gate bias.
The Utility of the BANA Test for Monitoring Anaerobic Infections due to Spirochetes (Treponema denticola) in Periodontal Disease

Treponema denticola, Porphyromonas gingivalis, and Bacteroides forsythus each possesses an enzyme(s) that hydrolyzes the synthetic substrate benzoyl-DL-arginine-naphthylamide (BANA). The presence of these organisms in a subgingival plaque sample can be determined by the ability of the plaque to hydrolyze BANA. In the present study, we describe the usefulness of the BANA test at various stages of a clinical trial of the efficacy of metronidazole in the treatment of periodontal disease. A BANA-positive test was significantly associated with high levels and proportions of spirochetes in the plaque, so that it provided information comparable with that which could be obtained by a microscopic examination of the plaque. Patients with such anaerobic spirochetal infections were randomly assigned to a group receiving either metronidazole or placebo (250 mg, three times a day) for one week and whose teeth were scaled and root-planed. The advantages of the decision that metronidazole be used were apparent from the comparison with the results obtained in the patients who received only the scaling and root planing. The initially BANA-positive teeth in the patients treated with metronidazole, scaling, and root planing gained attachment and exhibited a significant reduction in the need for periodontal surgery, when compared with the BANA-positive teeth in the patients who received only placebo, scaling, and root planing. After the conclusion of this therapy, those teeth with persistent BANA-positive plaques had significantly higher proportions and levels of spirochetes than did the teeth with BANA-negative plaques. A tooth site which tested BANA-positive after the initial therapy lost significantly more attachment in the year following active treatment than did a tooth site that tested BANA-negative, i.e., a mean difference of 0.48 mm per year. The ability of the BANA test to detect an anaerobic infection due to the BANA-positive species and possibly to predict future attachment loss indicates that this test may be helpful in the management of the periodontally diseased patient.
EMI investigation yield by single-phase PFC pre-regulators

This paper investigates the problem of electromagnetic interference (EMI) generated into power converters used to correct the power factor (PFC). The topologies discussed in this paper are the boost converter, interleaved boost and dual boost. The paths traveled by differential mode (DM) noise and common mode (CM) noise are illustrated. An analysis of the inductor parasitic capacitance impact over the conducted noise is realized. All converters were designed in a way that the total harmonic distortion (THD) of the input current be the same, in order to use the same input filter. The EMI filter designed to comply with the EMI standards and experimental results with filter are also shown.
Goffman rewind: La presentazione del self nel quotidiano digitale

L’articolo indaga il ruolo ambiguo giocato dall’attuale ambiente mediale sui processi di formazione identitaria, evidenziando limiti, rischi e paradossi nelle pratiche sociali incorporate nel quotidiano. Seguendo un approccio mediologico si elabora la tesi secondo cui la Rete, al contrario di quanto promette, non costituisca una struttura liberatoria per l’inveramento di una “societa antidrammaturgica”, ma al contrario imponga un nuovo ordine sociale, di complessita e rigidita maggiori rispetto a quelle sperimentate in passato. Tale riflessione va vista come tappa ulteriore di una ricerca che si propone lo scopo piu generale di attualizzare la teoria del medium e gli strumenti dell’analisi drammaturgica di Goffman. Nella fattispecie, l’assunto di partenza viene analizzato rispetto a tre aree problematiche che individuano altrettanti elementi di criticita connaturati alle affordance del nuovo ambiente mediale: la tensione tra processi di omologazione e individuazione; la questione del controllo dell’identita, compresa nei rischi connessi all’indeterminatezza e all’opacita delle interfacce; la contrapposizione tra le nuove possibilita di autodeterminazione del self e l’imposizione di un nuovo ordine disciplinare.
Efficiency of Modified Granular Activated Carbon Coupled with Membrane Bioreactor for Trace Organic Contaminants Removal

: The aim of the study is to improve removal of trace organic contaminants dissolved in activated sludge by the process of filtration with membrane bioreactor combined with modified activated carbon, for a maximum removal of organic compounds characterized by low molecular weight. Special treatment was conducted in laboratory on activated carbon. Tow reaction parameters: The pH of aqueous middle and the type of granular activated carbon were very important to improve the removal and to motivate the electrostatic Interactions of organic compounds with modified activated carbon in addition to physical adsorption, ligand exchange or complexation on the surface activated carbon. The results indicate that modified activated carbon has a strong impact in removal 21 of organic contaminants and in percentage of 100% of the process.
Phylogenetic diversity of transition and anoxic zone bacterial communities within a near-shore anoxic basin: Nitinat Lake.

At two stations surveyed in Nitinat Lake, a approximately 200-m-deep anoxic tidal fjord, sulfide was detected as close as 15 m from the surface. Biological characterization, determined from small subunit ribosomal RNA gene sequencing, of the chemocline and anaerobic zone revealed many sequences related to sulfur-oxidizing bacteria, suggesting that sulfur cycling is a dominant process. gamma- and epsilon-Proteobacteria related to thiotrophic symbionts, as well as Chlorobium sp. , dominated the transition zone. These are expected to play a role in dark and phototrophic CO(2) fixation, respectively. epsilon-Proteobacteria phylotype abundance increased with depth, eventually comprising 69-97% of all sequences recovered from the anoxic zone. The vast majority (74%) of these phylotypes were affiliated with a novel Acrobacter sp. group (NITEP5). Quantification of NITEP5 revealed that up to 2.8 x 10(5) cells ml(-1) were present in the anoxic zone. Surprisingly, although sequences related to known sulfate-reducing bacteria were recovered from the transition zone, quantification of the dsr gene and (35)SO(4)(2-) uptake tests suggest that sulfate-reduction within the water column is negligible. Overall, sequence diversity between different vertical zones was high, although the spatial segregation of gamma-Proteobacteria, Chlorobi, and epsilon-Proteobacteria did not appear to vary significantly between seasons.
Book Review: The creative destruction of medicine: how the digital revolution will create better healthcare

New York: Basic Books; 2012 ISBN: 0465025501 Hard cover, 303 pages Until my mentor recommended this book, I did not imagine the future of medicine, ‘digitalized and individualized’, seriously. Our world is rapidly digitalized and connected with each other. However, it seems that the medical field wants to be the last land to be changed. Have you ever imagined how the medicine will change when the super-convergence of smart phones combines with wearable biosensors as well as the knowledge of individual genome information? Eric Topol suggests that now, it is time to replace a stethoscope by a portable echocardiogram! Eric Topol is one of influential cardiologists and geneticist in the world, and the director of the Scripps Translational Science Institute. In this book, he argues that the digital revolution as well as individual genomic sequencing will fundamentally change the way of medicine and health care system. Paradigm is rapidly shifting from big group to each individual. Until now, modern medicine has been established on the basis of group data. Numerous clinical trials are population based, and median result is always recommended to most patients irrespective of individual differences. Individual variance can be explained mostly by genetics. Recently, the price of full genome sequencing is continuously getting lower, and the last remaining problem is how to interpret these large data usefully. As one example, pharmacogenomics will enable to tailor treatments to each individual. Topol suggested that genomic sequencing will come to be popular soon, and clinicians can predict the effects of a certain drug before using it. Physicians can modify the dose of a drug or change to other drugs on the basis of pharmacogenomics. In oncologic field, it will be very useful to choose the optimal cytotoxic drugs or targeting agents for specific patient in advance. Another way of individualized medicine begins by virtue of the development of diverse biosensors. Topol suggested that in the near future, personalized biosensors combined with Book Review
Reduction of clock jitter effect in 1-bit CT delta-sigma modulators by correlated clocks

A new technique to reduce the clock jitter effect on single-bit continuous-time delta-sigma modulators (CTDSM) is proposed. It utilizes a delay line to generate N highly correlated clock sources to reconstruct the feedback waveform. Theoretical analysis show that the jitter-induced random noise power is reduced by a factor of 1/N2. Simulation results confirming the analysis are reported.
Protein phosphatase 1α is a Ras‐activated Bad phosphatase that regulates interleukin‐2 deprivation‐induced apoptosis

Growth factor deprivation is a physiological mechanism to regulate cell death. We utilize an interleukin‐2 (IL‐2)‐dependent murine T‐cell line to identify proteins that interact with Bad upon IL‐2 stimulation or deprivation. Using the yeast two‐hybrid system, glutathione S‐transferase (GST) fusion proteins and co‐immunoprecipitation techniques, we found that Bad interacts with protein phosphatase 1α (PP1α). Serine phosphorylation of Bad is induced by IL‐2 and its dephosphorylation correlates with appearance of apoptosis. IL‐2 deprivation induces Bad dephosphorylation, suggesting the involvement of a serine phosphatase. A serine/threonine phosphatase activity, sensitive to the phosphatase inhibitor okadaic acid, was detected in Bad immunoprecipitates from IL‐2‐stimulated cells, increasing after IL‐2 deprivation. This enzymatic activity also dephosphorylates in vivo 32P‐labeled Bad. Treatment of cells with okadaic acid blocks Bad dephosphorylation and prevents cell death. Finally, Ras activation controls the catalytic activity of PP1α. These results strongly suggest that Bad is an in vitro and in vivo substrate for PP1α phosphatase and that IL‐2 deprivation‐induced apoptosis may operate by regulating Bad phosphorylation through PP1α phosphatase, whose enzymatic activity is regulated by Ras.
Réponse excitable et propriétés neuromimétiques de micropiliers lasers à absorbant saturable

L'excitabilite est une propriete bien connue des neurones biologiques. Il s'agit d'une reponse de type tout-ou-rien a une perturbation au dela d'un seuil caracteristique appele seuil excitable. D'autres proprietes importantes existent dans les neurones comme les periodes refractaires et la sommation temporelle ou spatiale de stimuli d'entree.L'excitabilite a ete etudiee dans certains composants actifs a semiconducteur et notamment les composants a semiconducteurs III-V. Leurs proprietes neuro-mimetiques pourraient permettre de traiter l'information de facon tout-optique avec une grande bande passante et une faible consommation. Grâce aux nouvelles techniques de micro-nano fabrication, il est devenu possible de fabriquer des micropiliers lasers a absorbant saturable. Ces micropiliers pourraient permettre la realisation de reseaux de micropiliers couples excitables analogues a des reseaux de neurones photoniques.Dans cette these j'ai etudie les proprietes neuro-mimetiques de micropiliers lasers a absorbant saturable integre. Les principaux resultats de cette these sont les suivants : 1) la technique de fabrication des micropiliers a ete amelioree conduisant a une augmentation de leur duree de vie et une diminution du seuil laser. 2) des proprietes de base des neurones biologiques, comme l'excitabilite, l'existence des periodes refractaires, la sommation temporelle, ont ete mises en evidence experimentalement et analysees a l'aide du modele de Yamada. 3) des effets de propagation d'excitations ont ete demontres dans des structures unidimensionnelles : des lasers ligne et des chaines de micropiliers couples.La demonstration des proprietes neuromimetiques de micropiliers lasers a absorbant saturable et la mise en evidence de la propagation d'excitations ouvrent la voie a la realisation de reseaux de micropiliers couples pour les traitements neuromimetiques des signaux qui pourront etre exploites pour de la logique codee a l'aide de pics excitables ainsi que pour du stockage d'information dans des circuits memoires tout-optiques.
Biochemical Function of Mouse Minichromosome Maintenance 2 Protein*

Minichromosome maintenance (MCM) proteins play an essential role in eukaryotic DNA replication and bind to chromatin before the initiation of DNA replication. We reported that MCM protein complexes consisting of MCM2, -4, -6, and -7 bind strongly to a histone-Sepharose column (Ishimi, Y., Ichinose, S., Omori, A., Sato, K., and Kimura, H. (1996) J. Biol. Chem. 271, 24115–24122). Here, we have analyzed this interaction at the molecular level. We found that among six mouse MCM proteins, only MCM2 binds to histone; amino acid residues 63–153 are responsible for this binding. The region required for nuclear localization of MCM2 was mapped near this histone-binding domain. Far-Western blotting analysis of truncated forms of H3 histone indicated that amino acid residues 26–67 of H3 histone are required for binding to MCM2. We have also shown that mouse MCM2 can inhibit the DNA helicase activity of the human MCM4, -6, and -7 protein complex. These results suggest that MCM2 plays a different role in the initiation of DNA replication than the other MCM proteins.
HIF-1 in cancer therapy: two decade long story of a transcription factor

Abstract Background: Oxygen (O2) homeostasis is an indispensable requirement of eukaryotes. O2 concentration in cellular milieu is defined as normoxia (∼21% O2), physoxia (∼1–13% O2) or hypoxia (∼0.1–1% O2). Hypoxia, a striking micro-environmental feature in tumorigenesis, is countered by tumor cells via induction of O2 governed transcription factor, hypoxia inducible factor-1 (HIF-1). Post discovery, HIF-1 has emerged as a promising anticancer therapeutic target during the last two decades. Recent reports have highlighted that enhanced levels of HIF-1 correlate with tumor metastasis leading to poor patient prognosis. Material and methods: A systematic search in PubMed and SciFinder for the literature on HIF-1 biology and therapeutic importance in cancer was carried out. Results: This review highlights the initial description as well as the recent insights into HIF-1 biology and regulation. We have focused on emerging data regarding varied classes of HIF-1 target genes affecting various levels of crosstalk among tumorigenic pathways. We have emphasized on the fact that HIF-1 acts as a networking hub coordinating activities of multiple signaling molecules influencing tumorigenesis. Emerging evidences indicate role of many HIF-induced proteomic and genomic alterations in malignant progression by mediating a myriad of genes stimulating angiogenesis, anaerobic metabolism and survival of cancer cells in O2-deficient microenvironment. Conclusions: Better understanding of the crucial role of HIF-1 in carcinogenesis could offer promising new avenues to researchers and aid in elucidating various open issues regarding the use of HIF-1 as an anticancer therapeutic target. In spite of large efforts in this field, many questions still remain unanswered. Hence, future investigations are necessary to devise, assess and refine methods for translating previous research efforts into novel clinical practices in cancer treatment.