Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Presentations of Infants to Emergency Departments in Alberta, Canada, for Bronchiolitis: A Large Population-Based Study

Objectives: Bronchiolitis is the most common lower respiratory tract disease among infants and results in 35 admissions per 1000 infants in Canada. We describe the epidemiology of bronchiolitis presentations to emergency departments (EDs) made by infants (aged ≤2 years) in Alberta, Canada. Methods: Provincial administrative databases were used to obtain all ED encounters for bronchiolitis during April 1999 to March 2005. Information included demographics, ED visit timing, and subsequent visits to non-ED settings. Data analysis included summaries and standardized rates. Results: There were 26,742 ED visits for bronchiolitis made by 18,155 infants. Most (74.9%) had only 1 bronchiolitis-related ED visit; males (60.6% of ED visits, 59.8% of infants) more commonly presented than females. The standardized rates increased from 23.2 to 46.7 per 1000 in 1999/2000 to 2000/2001 and decreased gradually to 38.8 per 1000 in 2004/2005. Of the total visits, 22.6% required hospitalization. In a discharged subset, 10.4% had a repeat ED visit within 7 days. Most infants (63.3%) had yet to have a non-ED follow-up visit by 1 week; median time to the first follow-up was 18 days. Conclusions: Bronchiolitis is a common presenting problem in Alberta EDs, and further study of these trends is required to understand variation in presentations. The important findings include different trends in rates for the first 3 years before a gradual decrease, disparities based on age, sex, and socioeconomic/cultural status, and the low rate of early follow-up. Targeted interventions could be implemented to reduce bronchiolitis-related hospitalizations.
The Moffittization of Criminology

One of the most important theoretical developments of the last 20 years is Moffitt's (1993) developmental taxonomy, which articulates a three-part typology of individuals. Abstainers are persons who do not engage in antisocial behavior. Adolescence- limited offenders are persons who engage in deviance briefly during their adolescence and life-course-persistent offenders were those who display antisocial conduct across life. In the taxonomy, abstainers and life-course-persistent offenders are pathological in statistical terms and represent about 5% to 10% of a population. Conversely, adolescence-limited offenders are normative in statistical terms and represent the remain- der of a population. The taxonomy can be best understood as a heuristic device to understand highly prosocial individuals, mostly prosocial individuals who dabble in antisocial conduct in various ways, and extremely antisocial individuals who rarely dabble in prosocial conduct. Although the developmental taxonomy has received extensive empirical attention, it is at times taken too literally and held to a pure typological argument that the theory frankly never made (see Moffitt, 2007, on this critique). The basic premise of the taxonomy has been supported by large-scale epidemiological studies (Vaughn, DeLisi, et al., 2011; Vaughn, Fu, et al., 2011), and it is understood that within normative and pathological types of offenders, there is natural variance.
The Rare Phenotype En(a‐) in a French‐Canadian Family

Abstract. A French‐Canadian En(a‐) propositus, whose red cells are phenotypically like the three previously reported, differs in the mode of reaction of this antibody which is apparently not immune. His consanguineous parents and 2 of this 4 sibs are heterozygous EnaEn, the other 2 being EnaEna. Sialic acid levels and the MN glycoprotein content of the red cells of the family and the PAS‐stained patterns of the red cell membranes of the propositus confirm the serological findings.
Analysis of the Interaction of Ebola Virus Glycoprotein with DC-SIGN (Dendritic Cell—Specific Intercellular Adhesion Molecule 3—Grabbing Nonintegrin) and Its Homologue DC-SIGNR

Abstract Background. The lectin DC-SIGN (dendritic cell-specific intercellular adhesion molecule 3-grabbing nonintegrin) augments Ebola virus (EBOV) infection. However, it its unclear whether DC-SIGN promotes only EBOV attachment (attachment factor function, nonessential) or actively facilitates EBOV entry (receptor function, essential). Methods. We investigated whether DC-SIGN on B cell lines and dendritic cells acts as an EBOV attachment factor or receptor. Results. Engineered DC-SIGN expression rendered some B cell lines susceptible to EBOV glycoprotein (EBOV GP)-driven infection, whereas others remained refractory, suggesting that cellular factors other than DC-SIGN are also required for susceptibility to EBOV infection. Augmentation of entry was independent of efficient DCSIGN internalization and might not involve lectin-mediated endocytic uptake of virions. Therefore, DC-SIGN is unlikely to function as an EBOV receptor on B cell lines; instead, it might concentrate virions onto cells, thereby allowing entry into cell lines expressing low levels of endogenous receptor(s). Indeed, artificial concentration of virions onto cells mirrored DC-SIGN expression, confirming that optimization of viral attachment is sufficient for EBOV GP-driven entry into some B cell lines. Finally, EBOV infection of dendritic cells was only partially dependent on mannose-specific lectins, such as DC-SIGN, suggesting an important contribution of other factors. Conclusions. Our results indicate that DC-SIGN is not an EBOV receptor but, rather, is an attachmentpromoting factor that boosts entry into B cell lines susceptible to low levels of EBOV GP-mediated infection.
Assessing the excitable gap in reentry by resetting. Implications for tachycardia termination by premature stimuli and antiarrhythmic drugs.

BACKGROUND The shortest excitable gap during reentry may determine responses to pacing and antiarrhythmic drugs. The resetting response has been used clinically to assess the excitable gap, but it cannot directly indicate the shortest excitable gap. METHODS AND RESULTS We studied resetting in the in vitro canine atrial tricuspid ring using an adjustable reentry preparation in which the ring was cut and reconnected electronically with an adjustable delay to vary the cycle length and excitable gap. We reset the tachycardias using 31 delays in 12 experiments. Tachycardias were terminated by premature stimuli in 16 delays. The reset window overestimated the shortest excitable gap by 25 +/- 14 ms, and the maximum degree of advancement of tachycardia underestimated the shortest excitable gap by 22 +/- 11 ms. The slope of the increasing portion of the resetting response curve was steeper in tachycardias terminated by premature stimuli than in those not terminated (-0.69 +/- 0.2 versus -0.37 +/- 0.2, P < .01). The effective refractory period difference between the sites of pacing and of block correlated with the slope of the resetting response curve. Damped cycle length oscillation after a long return cycle during resetting was always present when there was a partially excitable gap. CONCLUSIONS The reset window during pacing within the circuit and the maximum degree of advancement provided equally good estimates bracketing the shortest excitable gap. The slope of the resetting response curve predicted the likelihood of termination by premature stimuli. Damped cycle length oscillation after resetting detected a partially excitable gap.
Effects of neurotrophic factors on motoneuron survival following axonal injury in newborn rats

Using two different lesion models, the spinal root avulsion and the distal nerve axotomy, the present study investigated effects of known neurotrophic factors on motoneuron survival in newborn rats. Results of the present study show that 100% of motoneurons in the lesioned spinal segment die at 1 week following root avulsion, and more than 80% of them die at 2 weeks following distal nerve axotomy. Local application of GDNF can rescue 92% of motoneurons up to 1 week from degeneration due to root avulsion and almost 100% of them up to 2 weeks from degeneration due to distal nerve axotomy. Local application of BDNF fails to prevent any motoneuron death in newborn rats following root avulsion, but it can rescue about 50% of motoneurons up to 2 weeks from degeneration due to distal nerve axotomy. CNTF and IGF-1 fail to prevent any motoneuron death following either distal nerve axotomy or root avulsion. Thus, comparing all the neurotrophic factors tested in this study, GDNF is most effective in preventing death of motoneurons following axonal injury in newborn rats.
Age at onset of Alzheimer's disease

We examined the pattern of cognitive impairment and rate of cognitive and functional decline as a function of age at symptom onset in 127 patients with probable Alzheimer's disease (AD). At baseline, early-onset (before age 65) and late-onset groups were mildly and comparably impaired on the modified Mini-Mental State Examination (mMMS) and the Blessed Dementia Rating Scale-Part 1 (BDRS). Repeated-measures analysis of variance revealed significantly more rapid decline in early-onset subjects over a 2-year follow-up period. Multivariate linear regression analyses indicated that age at symptom onset strongly predicted rate of decline on the mMMS and the BDRS, even after controlling for symptom duration, gender, family history of dementia, and baseline mMMS and BDRS scores. Early- and late-onset AD subjects also differed in terms of pattern of performance on the mMMS. Early-onset subjects scored significantly lower than late-onset subjects on attentional items of the mMMS at baseline and follow-up. Conversely, late-onset subjects scored significantly lower than early-onset subjects on memory and naming items at baseline, and the two groups were comparable on these tasks at follow-up. Results provide longitudinal evidence of more rapid cognitive and functional decline in subjects with early-onset AD and suggest that early-onset AD may be characterized by predominant impairment of attentional skills.
Dityrosine formation in calmodulin: cross-linking and polymerization catalyzed by Arthromyces peroxidase.

We employ bovine brain calmodulin, a protein that is subject to photoactivated dityrosine formation [Malencik, D. A. , & Anderson, S. R. (1987) Biochemistry 26, 695; (1994) Biochemistry 33, 13363], as a model for the development of an efficient enzyme-catalyzed protein cross-linking technique. Key steps in the elaboration of the procedure are (1) identification of a peroxidase, from Arthromyces ramosus, that catalyzes dityrosine production in proteins that are not acted on by other common peroxidases, (2) monitoring of the intrinsic fluorescence of dityrosine to determine optimum reaction conditions, achieved with calmodulin in solutions containing boric acid-sodium borate (concentration > or = 0.2 M), approximately pH 8.3, approximately 40 degrees C, and (3) quenching of the reaction with reduced glutathione. Arthromyces peroxidase is the only common peroxidase able to catalyze significant dityrosine production in calmodulin, through a reaction that is largely intermolecular. Gel filtration yields fractions (accounting for approximately 40% of the initial calmodulin) that represent differing mobility ranges in NaDodSO4 polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and contain close to the maximum possible amounts of dityrosine. The various fractions undergo Ca2+-dependent conformational changes detected in sedimentation velocity and/or fluorescence anisotropy measurements. Most of the samples stimulate the Ca2+-dependent activity of smooth muscle myosin light chain kinase. In catalytic assays utilizing the synthetic phosphatic acceptor peptide, the average activities range from 50 to 100% of that determined for native calmodulin. However, only the least polymerized fraction and the photogenerated calmodulin dimers significantly enhance the p-nitrophenylphosphatase activity of calcineurin. The ability to prepare soluble calmodulin polymers that retain a substantial degree of biological activity and exhibit the intense visible fluorescence of dityrosine illustrates the potential usefulness of Arthromyces peroxidase in the zero-length cross-linking of proteins.
Observations of the Crab Pulsar with VERITAS

The Fermi space telescope has detected over 100 pulsars. These discoveries have ushered in a new era of pulsar astrophysics at gamma-ray energies. Gamma-ray pulsars, regardless of whether they are young, old, radio-quiet etc, all exhibit a seemingly unifying characteristic: a spectral energy distribution which takes the form of a power law with an exponential cut-off occurring between ~1 and ~10 GeV. The single known exception to this is the Crab pulsar, which was recently discovered to emit pulsed gamma rays at energies exceeding a few hundred GeV. Here we present an update on observations of the Crab pulsar above 100 GeV with VERITAS. We show some new results from a joint gamma-ray/radio observational campaign to search for a correlation between giant radio pulses and pulsed VHE emission from the Crab pulsar. We also present some preliminary results on Lorentz invariance violation tests performed using Fermi and VERITAS observations of the Crab pulsar.
Automatic segmentation of digital images applied in cardiac medical images

The digital image processing has been applied in several areas, especially where it is necessary use tools for feature extraction and to get patterns of the studied images. In an initial stage, the segmentation is used to separate the image in parts that represents a interest object, that may be used in a specific study. There are several methods that intends to perform such task, but is difficult to find a method that can easily adapt to different type of images, that often are very complex or specific. To resolve this problem, this project aims to presents a adaptable segmentation method, that can be applied to different type of images, providing an better segmentation. The proposed method is based in a model of automatic multilevel thresholding and considers techniques of group histogram quantization, analysis of the histogram slope percentage and calculation of maximum entropy to define the threshold. The technique was applied to segment the cell core and potential rejection of tissue in myocardial images of biopsies from cardiac transplant. The results are significant in comparison with those provided by one of the best known segmentation methods available in the literature.
Framing the 2000 US Presidential Election: The Coverage by the Brazilian Media

An internal, loop dipole antenna for a mobile terminal is capable of operating in two distinct RF bands. The antenna includes a resonating element and a parasitic tuning element. The resonating element has a looped, dipole configuration including a primary tuning loop, a secondary tuning loop, and a ground loop. The parasitic tuning element is disposed in a plane spaced from the plane of the resonating element. The parasitic element includes a first portion that generally follows the ground loop on the resonating element, and a second portion that bisects the primary tuning loop on the resonating element. First and second tuning arms extend along opposing ends of the parasitic tuning element. The length of the tuning arms is adjusted to tune the resonance of the antenna in the primary and secondary operating bands.
Effects of early childhood lead exposure on academic performance and behaviour of school age children

Aim: To determine whether early lead exposure at levels below 10 μg/dl has an impact on educational and behavioural outcomes at school. Methods: Venous samples were taken from a subgroup of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) attending a research clinic at 30 months of age (n = 582), and lead levels were measured by atomic absorption spectrometry. Developmental, behavioural and standardised educational outcomes (Standard Assessment Tests, SATs) were collected on these children at age 7–8 years. In the analysis, blood lead concentration was investigated both as a continuous covariate and as a categorical variable. Results: 488 cases (84%) had complete data on confounders and outcomes. After adjustment for confounders and using a log dose–response model for lead concentration, blood lead levels showed significant associations with reading, writing and spelling grades on SATs, and antisocial behaviour. A doubling in lead concentration was associated with a 0.3 point (95% CI −0.5 to −0.1) decline in SATs grades. Treating lead levels categorically, with the reference group 0–2 μg/dl, no effects on outcomes were apparent at 2–5 μg/dl, but levels of 5–10 μg/dl were associated with a reduction in scores for reading (OR 0.51, p = 0.006) and writing (OR 0.49, p = 0.003). Lead levels >10 μg/dl were also associated with increased scores for antisocial behaviour (OR 2.9, p = 0.040) and hyperactivity (OR 2.82, p = 0.034). Conclusions: Exposure to lead early in childhood has effects on subsequent educational attainment, even at blood levels below 10 μg/dl. These data suggest that the threshold for clinical concern should be reduced to 5 μg/dl.
Modelling an aggregate agricultural panel with application to US farm input demands

A recent class of factor demand models is discussed and used to analyze U.S. state-level production data. The approach accommodates output risk, heterogeneous technologies, technological change, endogenous variables, aggregation across agents, and more general flexible functional forms than previous models. We find the approach to flexibility found in the consumer literature empirically useful in the analysis of producer behavior as our results suggest that standard flexible models that have been ubiquitous in agricultural and industrial research are strongly rejected here in favor of a more general and flexible specification. Further, there is substantial heterogeneity of conditional own-price elasticities across states.
Uptake of Skin Self-examination and Clinical Examination Behavior by Outdoor Workers

ABSTRACT This study investigated the association between outdoor work and response to a behavioral skin cancer early detection intervention among men 50 years or older. Overall, 495 men currently working in outdoor, mixed, or indoor occupations were randomized to a video-based intervention or control group. At 7 months post intervention, indoor workers reported the lowest proportion of whole-body skin self-examination (wbSSE; 20%). However, at 13 months mixed workers engaged more commonly in wbSSE (36%) compared with indoor (31%) and outdoor (32%) workers. In adjusted analysis, the uptake of early detection behaviors during the trial did not differ between men working in different settings. Outdoor workers compared with men in indoor or mixed work settings were similar in their response to an intervention encouraging uptake of secondary skin cancer prevention behaviors during this intervention trial.
mRNA Expression of Multiple Cytochrome P450 Isozymes in Four Types of Cultured Skin Cells

Background: Many drugs are known to induce allergic reactions in the skin. The metabolic activation of drugs resulting in the formation of protein adducts is thought to be a first step in the induction of these allergic reactions. We postulated that dermal tissue might be a site of drug activation by cytochrome P450 (CYP) isozymes. Methods: Messenger RNA was extracted from cultured Langerhans cells, keratinocytes, fibroblasts and melanocytes from 6 individuals, and CYP mRNA expression was analyzed by RT-PCR. Results: CYP1A1, 1B1 and 2E1 were found in all four cell types. CYP2A6, 2C, 2D6, 3A5, 3A7 and 4B1 mRNA was expressed in a cell-type- and/or individual-specific manner. CYP1A2, 2A7, 2B6 and 3A4 mRNA was not detectable. Conclusions: The mRNA for a variety of CYP isozymes was expressed in all four types of skin cells examined. These CYP enzymes may be involved in the pathogenesis of drug-induced allergic reactions in the skin.
cgpCaVEManWrapper: Simple Execution of CaVEMan in Order to Detect Somatic Single Nucleotide Variants in NGS Data

CaVEMan is an expectation maximization–based somatic substitution‐detection algorithm that is written in C. The algorithm analyzes sequence data from a test sample, such as a tumor relative to a reference normal sample from the same patient and the reference genome. It performs a comparative analysis of the tumor and normal sample to derive a probabilistic estimate for putative somatic substitutions. When combined with a set of validated post‐hoc filters, CaVEMan generates a set of somatic substitution calls with high recall and positive predictive value. Here we provide instructions for using a wrapper script called cgpCaVEManWrapper, which runs the CaVEMan algorithm and additional downstream post‐hoc filters. We describe both a simple one‐shot run of cgpCaVEManWrapper and a more in‐depth implementation suited to large‐scale compute farms. © 2016 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Obesity enhances Th 2 inflammatory response via natural killer T cells in a murine model of allergic asthma

Background: Obesity increases the incidence of asthma, but mechanism between asthma and obesity isn’t utterly understood. NKT cells are intermediary activist between the innate and adaptive immune. It may play an equally important role in both obesity and asthma. We studied an obese mouse model of allergic asthma to test whether NKT cells act as a linkage in the development of obesity with asthma. Methods: Balb/c mice were divided into control group (A), asthma model group (B), the obesity group (C) and obesity with asthma group (D), asthma model made by OVA. Obesity was induced. AHR were measured; HE staining of lung was made; NKT cells were detected and IL-4 and IFN-γ concentration were determined. Results: Lung histology showed airway inflammatory in obesity with asthma are significant than in asthma. IL-4 levels were increased compared with the control group. IFN-γ levels were decreased compared with the control group. More CD69+NKT cells of asthma group and obese asthma group correlated to the enhancement of airway inflammation and AHR. IFN-γ+NKT cells vary in different states not paralleling with CD69+NKT cells. Conclusion: The activity level of NKT cells in obesity with asthma mice enhances Th2 Inflammatory response by regulating IL-4 and IFN-γ secretion. The activation of NKT enhanced asthma TH2 inflammatory responce. NKT cells play an important role in the development of asthma in obesity.
ESTIMATES OF RADIATION DOSES TO THE SKIN FOR PEOPLE CAMPED AT WALLATINNA DURING THE UK TOTEM 1 ATOMIC WEAPONS TEST

A group of Aboriginal people was camped at Wallatinna in South Australia, ~170 km downwind from Emu Field, where an atomic test (the Totem 1 test) was carried out at 07.00 on 15 October 1953 local time (21.30 on 14 October 1953 GMT (Greenwich Mean Time)). They left the camp ~24 hours later. These people stated that a phenomenon that has become known as a 'black mist' rolled through their camp site ~5 hours after detonation and that some of them subsequently became sick, displaying skin reddening and nausea. They feared that the sickness was a result of exposure to high levels of radiation. The purpose of this paper is to determine if these people could have received ionising radiation doses high enough to cause the symptoms displayed. The methodology used for the dose estimates is described in the paper. The exposure modes considered were external exposure due to the passage of a contaminated plume over the camp site, inhalation of material from this plume, external exposure from material deposited on the ground as the plume passed, and consumption of contaminated food and water. The contaminants considered in the airborne cloud and the ground plume were fission products and unburnt plutonium from the nuclear detonation, and neutron activation products caused by vaporisation of the tower used to position the weapon. The source was approximated by a line source. An upper estimate of the effective doses received is ~4 mSv, which is well below the level at which acute radiation effects are observed. This estimate is consistent with earlier assessments, which did not consider inhalation of the contribution from neutron activation products.