Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Inactivation Of Hepatitis B Virus By Heat In Antithrombin III Stabilized With Citrate

The recent report that antithrombin III (AT-III) prepared in solution with 0.5 M sodium citrate can withstand heating at 60°C for 10 hours suggested that this method of preparation could permit the heat-inactivation of hepatitis B virus (HBV) which might be present. Although heating at 60°C for 10 hours will inactivate HBV in albumin, this will not inactivate HBV in whole plasma or in some purified hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) preparations. HBV, subtype ayw, hepatitis B e antigen positive, containing 103.5 chimpanzee infectious doses per ml, was added to each of two vials containing 690 plasma units each of AT- III. One was kept at 4°C for 10 hours (unheated AT-III), the second was heated at 60°C for 10 hours. The contents of both vials were separately dialyzed and inoculated intravenously into chimpanzees with no prior exposure to hepatitis B virus and with no serologic evidence of prior hepatitis B infection. No evidence of hepatitis B was detected in the chimpanzee inoculated with the heated AT-III during six months of evaluation. Aspartate and alanine aminotransferase levels (AST, ALT) remained within or near the normal range. Neither HBsAg, antibody to hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc), nor antibody to HBsAg (anti-HBs) was detected in any of the weekly serum samples. The chimpanzee inoculated with the unheated AT-III developed hepatitis B. AST and ALT became elevated 13 weeks after inoculation; HBsAg (subtype ayw) was detected six weeks after inoculation and remained detectable; anti-HBc became detectable 12 weeks after inoculation. Liver biopsies obtained 20 and 23 weeks after inoculation showed histologic changes of acute hepatitis. This study shows that the application of heat at 60°C for 10 hours to AT-III stabilized with 0.5 M sodium citrate can inactivate > 1,000 chimpanzee infectious doses of HBV.
Robust Fault Diagnosis and Accommodation for a Robotic Manipulator under Human Interaction ?

This paper addresses the problem of fault diagnosis in a robotic manipulator designed for human interaction. Faults in the external force sensor are addressed with a constant or slowly time-varying profile. A model-based strategy is considered that takes into account uncertainty in the mathematical representation, where a proportional-integral (PI) observer is in charge of estimating the fault profile. This estimation stage incorporates tools from adaptive estimation theory in order to employ in the design stage the uncertainty information, and a compact set of variation for the fault profile. The robotic manipulator includes a nominal control algorithm based on impedance philosophy to address the human-robot interaction. The nominal controller embeds a fault accommodation structure to add fault-tolerance to the closed-loop response. The effectiveness of the proposed approach was verified in simulation under model uncertainty and human-robot interaction, where the results clearly illustrate an accurate fault diagnosis stage and an improved closed-loop response after fault accommodation.
Low complexity sphere decoding for space-frequency-coded MIMO-OFDM systems

Space-frequency coded MIMO-OFDM wireless communication systems provide diversity and coding gains at high transmission rates. The practical implementation of such systems, however, requires the development of receiver structures with reasonable computational complexity. In this paper, we present a sphere decoding algorithm for space-frequency coded MIMO-OFDM systems. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm provides considerable reduction in computation complexity as compared to other techniques without any performance degradation.
Immunopathogenesis and antifungal therapy for severe asthma with fungal sensitization and allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis

19 Declaration . 20 Copyright statement . 21 Dedication . 22 Acknowledgements . 23 The Author . 24 Authors contribution and own Lab work . 25 CHAPTER 1: GENERAL INTRODUCTION AND LITERATURE REVIEW . 30 1.0 BACKGROUND . 31 1.1 Definitions of diagnosis of assessment tools . 32 1.1.1 Asthma. 32 1.1.1.1 Definition of asthma . 32 1.1.1.2 Diagnosis of asthma. 33 1.1.1.3 Bronchial challenge tests . 34 1.1.2 ASTHMA CONTROL. 36 1.1.2.1 GINA criteria for asthma control. 36 1.1.2.2 Gaining Optimal Asthma Control (GOAL) . 37 1.1.2.3 The 2013 ERS/ATS criteria for poor control . 38 1.1.3 Asthma assessment tools . 38 1.1.3.1 Annual recording of the Royal College of Physicians three questions (RCP3Q) . 39 1.1.3.2 Asthma control test (ACT) . 39 1.1.3.3 Asthma control questionnaire (ACQ) . 40 1.2 SEVERE ASTHMA . 41 1.2.1 Definitions of severe asthma . 42
Collaborative Experience Prototyping of Automotive Interior in VR with 3D Sketching and Haptic Helpers

Technological advances and socioeconomic disruptions such as self-driving cars, car-sharing services and artificial intelligence assistance may fundamentally alter interactions inside the future car. However, existing design tools and processes geared toward static physical authoring are ill-equipped for such interaction design. We propose a new design workflow that combines experience prototyping methods typically used by the user interface and product design communities with 3D sketching and haptic helper techniques to help automotive designers ideate, prototype, experience and evaluate multi-sensory interactions in a collaborative manner. Using our workflow, designers use 3D sketching to quickly and expressively author 3D shape and motion ideas in space; augment them with tactile and other sensory feedback through physical proxies and other available gadgets; and immediately enact and immersively experience them to progressively explore and develop them.
Multilocus genetic determinants of LDL particle size in coronary artery disease families.

Recent interest in atherosclerosis has focused on the genetic determinants of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) particle size, because of (i) the association of small dense LDL particles with a three-fold increased risk for coronary artery disease (CAD) and (ii) the recent report of linkage of the trait to the LDL receptor (chromosome 19). By utilizing nonparametric quantitative sib-pair and relative-pair analysis methods in CAD families, we tested for linkage of a gene or genes controlling LDL particle sizes with the genetic loci for the major apolipoproteins and enzymes participating in lipoprotein metabolism. We confirmed evidence for linkage to the LDL receptor locus (P=.008). For six candidate gene loci, including apolipoprotein(apo)B, apoAII, apo(a), apoE-CI-CII, lipoprotein lipase, and high-density lipoprotein-binding protein, no evidence for linkage was observed by sib-pair linkage analyses (P values ranged from .24 to .81). However, in addition, we did find tentative evidence for linkage with the apoAI-CIII-AIV locus (chromosome 11) (P=.06) and significant evidence for linkage of the cholesteryl ester transfer protein locus (chromosome 16) (P=.01) and the manganese superoxide dismutase locus (chromosome 6) (P=.001), thus indicating multilocus determination of this atherogenic trait.
Automated theory selection using agent based models

Models are used as a tool for theory induction and decision making in many contexts, including complex and dynamic commercial environments. New technological and social developments — such as the increasing availability of real-time transactional data and the rising use of online social networks — create a trend towards modelling process automation, and a demand for models that can help decision making in the context of social interaction in the target process. There is often no obvious specification for the form that a particular model should take, and some kind of selection procedure is necessary that can evaluate the properties of a model and its associated theoretical implications. Automated theory selection has already proven successful for identifying model specifications in equation based modelling (EBM), but there has been little progress in developing automatic approaches to agent based model (ABM) selection. I analyse some of the automation methods currently used in EBM and consider what innovations would be required to create an automated ABM specification system. I then compare the effectiveness of simple automatically specified ABM and EBM approaches in selecting optimal strategies in a series of encounters between artificial corporations, mediated through a simulated market environment. I find that as the level of interaction increases, agent based models are more successful than equation based methods in identifying optimal decisions. I then propose a fuller framework for automated ABM model specification, based around an agent-centric theory representation which incorporates emergent features, a model-to-theory mapping protocol, a set of theory evaluation methods, a search procedure, and a simple recommendation system. I evaluate the approach using empirical data collected at two different levels of aggregation. Using macro level data, I derive a theory that represents the dynamics of an online social networking site, in which the data generating process involves interaction between users, and derive management recommendations. Then, using micro level data, I develop a model using individual-level transaction data and making use of existing statistical techniques — hidden Markov and multinomial discrete choice models. I find that the results at both micro and macro level offer insights in terms of understanding the interrelationship between exogenous factors, agent behaviours, and emergent features. From a quantitative perspective, the automated ABM approach shows small but consistent improvements in fit to the target empirical data compared with EBM approaches.
General Regulatory Factors (GRFs) as Genome Partitioners*

Insulators are sequences that uncouple adjacent chromosome domains. Here we have shown that Saccharomyces cerevisiae Rap1p and Abf1p proteins are endowed with a potent insulating capacity. Insulating domains in Rap1p coincide with previously described transcription activation domains, whereas four adjacent subdomains spanning the whole of the Abf1p C terminus (440–731) were found to display autonomous insulating capacity. That both Rap1p and Abf1p silencing domains either contain or largely overlap with an insulating domain suggests that insulation conveys some undefined chromosome organization capacity that also contributes a function in silencing. Together with Reb1p and Tbf1p, previously involved in the activity of Saccharomyces cerevisiaesubtelomeric insulators, insulating potential emerges as a supplementary common property of General Regulatory Factors (GRFs). Thus GRFs, which bind to sites scattered throughout the genome within promoters, would not only play a key role in regulating gene expression but also partition the genome in functionally independent domains.
The cultured branchial epithelium of the rainbow trout as a model for diffusive fluxes of ammonia across the fish gill.

A novel branchial epithelial preparation grown in L-15 medium in culture was used as a model system for understanding the diffusion of ammonia across the gills of the rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss. The epithelium is known to contain both respiratory and mitochondria-rich cells in the approximate proportion in which they occur in vivo and to exhibit diffusive fluxes of Na+ and Cl- similar to in vivo values, but does not exhibit active apical-to-basolateral transport of Na+. Transepithelial resistance and paracellular permeability are also known to increase when the apical medium is changed from L-15 medium (symmetrical conditions) to fresh water (asymmetrical conditions). In the present study, net basolateral-to-apical ammonia fluxes increased as basolateral total ammonia concentration, basolateral-to-apical pH gradients and basolateral-to-apical P(NH(3)) gradients were experimentally increased and were greater under asymmetrical than under symmetrical conditions. The slope of the relationship between ammonia flux and P(NH(3)) gradient (i.e. NH(3) permeability) was the same under both conditions and similar to values for other epithelia. The higher fluxes under asymmetrical conditions were explained by an apparent diffusive flux of NH(4)+ that was linearly correlated with transepithelial conductance and was probably explained by the higher electrochemical gradient and higher paracellular permeability when fresh water was present on the apical surface. In this situation, NH(4)(+) diffusion was greater than NH(3) diffusion under conditions representative of in vivo values, but overall fluxes amounted to only approximately 20% of those in vivo. These results suggest that branchial ammonia excretion in the intact animal is unlikely to be explained by diffusion alone and, therefore, that carrier-mediated transport may play an important role.
Family physicians' use of medical abstracts to guide decision making: style or substance?

BACKGROUND Many physicians rely on the abstracts of research articles to guide their clinical decision making. This need for expediency is one basis for many journals to reformat their abstracts. METHODS To determine whether the format of medical abstracts affects physician decision making, we surveyed family physicians in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. All participants were members of the American Academy of Family Physicians. The survey included three case scenarios (corneal abrasion, fibromyalgia, and hyperlipidemia) followed by structured and open-ended assessments of usual management. After assessing their usual management in each scenario, the respondents were provided with an abstract of a valid research paper. The format of abstracts (unstructured, IMRAD [introduction, methods, results, and discussion], structured, and POEM [patient-oriented evidence that matters]) were randomly assigned. After reading the abstract, we assessed changes in management of the case scenario. RESULTS Two hundred eighty-nine family physicians responded to the survey. At baseline, 187 (65%) of physicians patched corneal abrasions. After reading the abstract, 142 (76%) would no longer use eye patches. Two hundred forty-five (83%) of physicians did not use the combination of fluoxetine and amitriptyline for managing fibromyalgia. After reading the abstract, 179 (73%) would use combination therapy. Two hundred thirty-four (84%) of physicians used "statins" when managing hyperlipidemia. After reading the abstract, 211 (90%) would continue using statins. The format of abstract had no significant effect on physicians' decision making. CONCLUSIONS Whereas the format of abstract in this study had no effect on physician decision making, having valid information available in the context of a clinical scenario appeared to influence decisions.
Dynamic Acclimation to High Light in Arabidopsis thaliana Involves Widespread Reengineering of the Leaf Proteome

Leaves of Arabidopsis thaliana transferred from low to high light increase their capacity for photosynthesis, a process of dynamic acclimation. A mutant, gpt2, lacking a chloroplast glucose-6-phosphate/phosphate translocator, is deficient in its ability to acclimate to increased light. Here, we have used a label-free proteomics approach, to perform relative quantitation of 1993 proteins from Arabidopsis wild type and gpt2 leaves exposed to increased light. Data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD006598. Acclimation to light is shown to involve increases in electron transport and carbon metabolism but no change in the abundance of photosynthetic reaction centers. The gpt2 mutant shows a similar increase in total protein content to wild type but differences in the extent of change of certain proteins, including in the relative abundance of the cytochrome b6f complex and plastocyanin, the thylakoid ATPase and selected Benson-Calvin cycle enzymes. Changes in leaf metabolite content as plants acclimate can be explained by changes in the abundance of enzymes involved in metabolism, which were reduced in gpt2 in some cases. Plants of gpt2 invest more in stress-related proteins, suggesting that their reduced ability to acclimate photosynthetic capacity results in increased stress.
Generalized inverse-based recurrent algorithm for TS fuzzy system identification

This paper presents a recurrent algorithm based on generalized inverses for identifying consequent parameters of Takagi-Sugeno (TS) fuzzy systems. For identification of antecedent parameters, the piecewise linear initialization (PLI) algorithm is used. The capabilities of the algorithms in solving data approximation problems are tested on 14 datasets from the KEEL repository.
A new index for assessing surgical outcome in unilateral cleft lip and palate subjects aged five: reproducibility and validity.

OBJECTIVE This study assessed the reproducibility, reliability, and predictive validity of a previously developed index by the authors for assessing surgical outcome in unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) children aged 5. METHODS Sixty randomly selected study models of 5- to 6-year-old complete UCLP subjects were obtained and the index was used to assess their surgical outcomes. RESULTS Assessment of these study models using the new index demonstrated excellent intra-examiner agreement. The inter-examiner agreement was shown to be good. The corresponding longitudinal models at 16 to 18 years of 54 of the initial 5- to 6-year-old sample were also acquired. These subjects had undergone orthodontic treatment but not orthognathic surgery. The need for osteotomy amongst these models was assessed. Between 13% and 18% (depending on examiner) of 5-year-olds' models were scored in the groups likely to require orthognathic surgery. In the corresponding 16- to 18-year-olds' models, 9% were assessed as likely to benefit from an osteotomy. However, on an individual basis, it was not possible to predict future growth from study models at age 5. CONCLUSIONS This study has provided a reliable and reproducible index for assessing the outcome of surgery in UCLP subjects earlier than indices already available. True validation of the index was not possible but it appears that it relies on face validity.
Smart High Voltage Substation Based on IEC 61850 Process Bus and IEEE 1588 Time Synchronization

This paper describes the experience from the world first installation of Smart High Voltage substation with IEC 61850 Process Bus where IEEE 1588 Time Synchronization and dynamic multicast filtering have been used. IEC 61850 is one the 30 standards identified by NIST as key elements for achieving interoperability in the Smart Grid. This paper describes the experience from a high voltage substation in China where Smart Grid had been made reality by replacing large number of copper wires by intelligent electronic devices and fiber optic communications and enabling robust protection, monitoring and control functions to enhance the grid reliability. The authors provide brief introduction to the concept of digital substation and process bus, then provide overview of IEEE 1588 standard for precise time synchronization and finally describe the details of network design and IEC 61850 engineering in a substation where the novel approach with process bus and IEEE 1588 has been implemented. Part of this 110/10kV substation had been equipped with electronic CTs and PTs and Merging Units devices that convert analog signals to IEC 61850-9-2 digital format. Time synchronization had been realized with IEEE 1588 version II, implemented features regarding this standard included Transparent Clocks, peer-to-peer path delay measurement and Best Master Clock selection algorithm for dynamic selection of the clock.
Loudness dependence of evoked dipole source activity during acute serotonin challenge in females

Direct challenge of cortical serotonergic (5‐hydroxytryptamine, 5‐HT) availability by tryptophan depletion test (TDT) was used to assess the hypothesized inverse relationship between central 5‐HT function and loudness dependence of auditory evoked potentials (LDAEPs). Gender must be taken into particular account here, since there are gender differences in 5‐HT brain synthesis, with women reacting more strongly to TDT.
The hospital appropriateness evaluation protocol in elderly patients: a technique to evaluate admission and hospital stay.

BACKGROUND Aging of the population represents one of the main challenges for health systems because of the increase in the demand for hospital services. To be able to count on tools that allow an objective evaluation of hospital-resource use becomes indispensable for health systems. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the reliability and validity of the Appropriateness Evaluation Protocol (AEP) regarding the appropriateness of admissions and hospital stays in elderly patients. In a scenario of scarce resources, to have a valid instrument will make it possible to evaluate the process of care in our growing elderly population in a standardized way. METHODS We carried out a retrospective study of 144 randomly chosen elderly patients admitted to the hospital with 394 even-numbered hospital-stay days. For the reliability analysis between the pair of nurses with the AEP and the pair of specialists, the details of the hospital admissions and the stay days were obtained from the clinical files. Criteria validity was conducted by pairs of physicians, including two internists, two general surgeons and two geriatricians. Only the agreements were compared with agreements of the AEP-trained nurses. Disagreements were excluded from the final analysis. RESULTS Inter-rater (inter-reviewer) agreement of hospital admissions and days spent by the patient presented a kappa coefficient of >0.70, while these admissions and hospital-stay days was >0.70. Sensitivity and positive predictor value to detect inappropriate admissions were not calculated because no agreement existed on inappropriate admissions. Specificity and negative predictive value to detect appropriate admission was >94.0% and >98.0%. Sensitivity and positive predictor value to detect inappropriate hospital-stay days was >44.0% and >10.0%, while specificity and negative predictor value for detecting appropriate hospital-stay days was >79.0% and >88.0%. CONCLUSIONS AEP's high-reliability and moderate-validity results with regard to clinical judgement positions it as a useful instrument for appropriate hospitalization screening in elderly patients.
Brain lesion contrast in MR imaging

Purpose: To compare the contrast effects of gadodiamide injection at 0.3 and at 1.5 T, at different concentrations in phantoms, and to correlate the results to clinical doses used for examining brain lesions. Material and Methods: Gel phantoms with T1 and T2 corresponding to brain gray matter were doped with different concentrations of gadodiamide injection and examined with T1-weighted sequences. Two different sets of phantoms were used, one for 0.3 T and one for 1.5 T. To express contrast, a quotient (RATIOphantom) between signals in each tube with gadodiamide injection and in the one without it was calculated. A corresponding quotient (RATIOpatient) between signals in brain metastases and in gray matter was calculated in 16 patients examined at 0.3 T (0.1 and 0.3 mmol Gd/kg b.w.) and in 5 patients examined at 1.5 T (0.1 mmol Gd/kg b.w.). Material and Methods: Gel phantoms with T1 and T2 corresponding to brain gray matter were doped with different concentrations of gadodiamide injection and examined with T1-weighted sequences. Two different sets of phantoms were used, one for 0.3 T and one for 1.5 T. To express contrast, a quotient (RATIOphantom) between signals in each tube with gadodiamide injection and in the one without it was calculated. A corresponding quotient (RATIOpatient) between signals in brain metastases and in gray matter was calculated in 16 patients examined at 0.3 T (0.1 and 0.3 mmol Gd/kg b.w.) and in 5 patients examined at 1.5 T (0.1 mmol Gd/kg b.w.). Conclusion: The contrast effect of Gd contrast media is higher at 1.5 T than at 0.3 T. Higher doses than presently used might prove useful especially at lower field strengths where the contrast effect of Gd is less pronounced. Heavy T1-weighting is also important.