Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Role of Nitrous Oxide and Other Factors in Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting: A Randomized and Blinded Prospective Study

Postoperative nausea and vomiting have been reported to be associated with the use of nitrous oxide. To further investigate this possibility, 780 patients undergoing anesthesia and surgery were randomly divided into four groups: group I: enflurane/nitrous oxide/oxygen; group II: enflurane/air/oxygen; group III: isoflurane/nitrous oxide/oxygen; and group IV: isoflurane/air/oxygen. The frequency of postoperative nausea and vomiting was ascertained in the recovery room and at 24-h follow-up by blinded observers. Other data collected included gender, age, body mass index, previous history of postoperative nausea and vomiting, and postoperative narcotic use. The authors found no association between the use of nitrous oxide and subsequent development of postoperative nausea and vomiting. Use of the 95% confidence interval allowed the authors to project a maximum potential increase in the frequency of postoperative nausea and vomiting associated with nitrous oxide to be 5.4% with enflurane and 9.7% with isoflurane in the immediate postoperative period. Female gender, younger age, and a previous history of postoperative nausea and vomiting, but not body mass index, were found to be associated with postoperative nausea and vomiting (P < 0.05). It is concluded that there is no association between the use of nitrous oxide and the development of postoperative nausea and vomiting.
Outcome of oral sildenafil in neonatal persistent pulmonary hypertension of non-cardiac causes.

BACKGROUND Despite recent treatment modalities, mortality from persistent pulmonary hypertension (PPHN) remains significant. In instances where infants do not respond to inhaled nitric oxide (iNO), oral sildenafil could hold promise as a selective pulmonary vasodilator. Further studies are still needed to explore its efficacy and safety in newborns with PPHN. OBJECTIVES To validate the efficacy of oral sildenafil on oxygenation and its short-term safety in newborns with persistent pulmonary hypertension. METHODS A total of 27 newborns ≥36 weeks gestational age were admitted to NICU with oxygenation index (OI) ≥15 and confirmed diagnosis of PPHN with echocardiography. Oral sildenafil given at a dose of 1-2 mg/kg every 6 hours. We monitored improvement in oxygenation, safety and short-term outcomes. RESULTS Among 27 newborns, oral sildenafil was efficacious in 21 patients (78%) with reduction of OI from 34.9 ± 9.6 to 13 ± 3.2 (p < 0.001), increase of PaO2 from 42.4 ± 13.5 to 78 ± 11.5 mmHg (<0.001), and reduction of FiO2 from 1.0 ± 0 to 0.3 ± 0.06 (<0.001). OI decreased by 6.3 % from baseline after the first dose of sildenafil and continued to decrease with subsequent doses. In 6 patients (22%) sildenafil did not work; 5/6 patients (18%) transferred to another tertiary NICU and one patient (4%) died of sepsis. None of the patients had significant systemic hypotension. CONCLUSION Oral sildenafil is a promising pulmonary vasodilator in patients with PPHN, particularly in medical facilities with no available iNO and ECMO. It is well tolerated with no significant short term complications.
B-Splines Based Data Association Method for the SLAM Problem in Complex Environments

This paper presents a new proposal to solve the problem of data association for SLAM used to build of maps of complex environments. The main idea of this proposal is to use B-spline curves as a way to describe obstacles with complex geometries found in the environment and use the information contained in them to find characteristic points that may be associated. The use of this information for a more accurate association process is one of the major contributions of this work, because a robust association has a direct impact on the localization of the robot and thus the quality of the final map. The data association problem was initially addressed by comparing the control points that form both the curves representing the obstacles observed at a given time, and those that represent the obstacles stored in the map being constructed, relating those that are close enough. Then, the curvature of the related B-spline is obtained to extract characteristic points (inflection points and corners) contained in the curves. Finally, the matching information will be used to correct the position of the robot and the detected obstacles. We carried out numerous experiments by using real and simulated information in order to validate the processes and algorithms proposed in our approach. Our method achieves a great precision in map construction of complex environments, which is nearly impossible with techniques that currently exist.
Small‐scale pattern formation in a cortical area of the embryonic chicken telencephalon

The parahippocampal area is a cortical region of the avian dorsomedial telencephalon. In the chicken embryo, it contains discrete clusters of cadherin‐7–positive cells, which are embedded in a cadherin‐7–negative matrix. In the present work, the development and spatial distribution of these clusters is studied in whole‐mount specimens. The clusters form a complex, coherent pattern of patches of variable size, spacing, and staining intensity. The pattern is especially prominent and regularly spaced in the rostral part of the caudolateral parahippocampal area. Here, it consists of stripes and connecting bridges with an average periodicity of approximately 0.3 mm. This pattern vaguely resembles some animal fur patterns and the ocular dominance domain of the mammalian visual cortex. The cadherin‐7–positive patches also differ from their surrounding area by their cytoarchitecture and their increased acetylcholinesterase activity, suggesting that they represent functionally specialized subregions within the parahippocampal area. During development, the patchiness is first observed between 9 and 10 days of incubation and gradually becomes more prominent until 15 days of incubation. Our results indicate that the patchy organization of cortical gray matter on a small scale of periodicity (below 1 mm), which is well studied in the mammalian neocortex, is also found in the avian telencephalon. J. Comp. Neurol. 456:95–104, 2003. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Genetic polymorphisms of MDM2, cumulative cigarette smoking and nonsmall cell lung cancer risk

Abnormalities of the tumor suppressor TP53 pathway are critical in the development of many cancers since it regulates cell cycle components and apoptosis. Murine double minute‐2 (MDM2) protein is a central node in the p53 pathway and a direct negative regulator of p53. The MDM2 SNP309 (rs2279744) polymorphism increases MDM2 RNA and protein levels, attenuating the p53 pathway. The MDM2 SNP309 polymorphism was investigated in 1,787 Caucasian nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients and 1,360 healthy controls. Cases and controls were analyzed for associations with genotype and adjusted for age, gender, histology and smoking history. There were no overall associations between the MDM2 genotypes and risk of lung cancer (adjusted odds ratios [AORs] = 0.82 [95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.6–1.1] for the T/G genotype and AOR = 1.32 [95% CI = 0.9–2.0] for the G/G genotype). A statistically significant interaction (p = 0.01) was found between smoking and MDM2 genotypes. Consistent with this interaction, stratified analysis by pack‐years of smoking demonstrated that the AORs of G/G vs. T/T were 1.56 (1.0–2.7), 1.46 (1.0–2.2), 0.80 (0.5–1.3) and 0.63 (0.4–1.1), respectively, for never, mild (<30 pack‐years), moderate (30–57 pack‐years) and heavy smokers (≥58 pack‐years). In conclusion, a strong gene‐smoking interaction was observed between the MDM2 SNP309 and NSCLC risk. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Hades∗: Scanning Kernel Extensions to Trust the Untrustworthy

Modern monolithic OSes leverage the loadable kernel module paradigm to add functionality to the kernel and allow a system to communicate with an increasing number of I/O devices. This paradigm is convenient as OS designers can outsource extra functionality to third parties and keep the original kernel from growing too large. On the other hand, this paradigm represents an avenue for exploitation as extensions become part of the kernel. Proposed kernel defense and driver containment solutions have not been widely deployed mostly because they require custom kernels and/or hypervisors. This paper proposes a practical solution to guide a system administrator in the challenging task of trusting the untrustworthy: a VM-based tool, Hades, which performs a fine-grained scan of module’s execution with the generation of a report file. Hades assumes the non-enforced kernel security policy that extensions should only interact with the kernel through a set of exported functions. It determines whether a module accesses a kernel data structure (static or dynamic), its name, type of access and also which non-exported functions were accessed. Experimental results with 14 benign modules and drivers and 7 rootkits show that even some benign extensions attempt to circumvent the kernel exported interface, and the vast majority of rootkits need to tamper with kernel data structures and invoke non-exported functions. Hades incurs negligible overhead to the guest OS (less than 2%) and a 1.25X slowdown to the VM, which is acceptable for an offline tool.
Integrating motion estimation and convolutional neural network for video super-resolution

In this paper, we proposed a video super-resolution (SR) system. Image or video super-resolution has been studied for a long time. Recently, convolutional neural network (CNN) has been applied for image SR and provided impressive synthesized high-resolution results. Although CNN can provide better synthesized quality than traditional SR methods by preserving more high frequency information, the computational complexity is main concern for video super-resolution. In order to accelerate processing time, we integrated motion information into the SR system and then the SRCNN is used to reconstruct high resolution image. In other words, rather than reconstructing the whole frames for the input video, changed regions between two consecutive frames are explored and processed. Only unmatched patches were reconstructed via SRCNN in the proposed system. In addition, two additional strategies are proposed to speed up the processing time and reduce unexpected synthesized effects. According experimental results, the proposed system can save 37% computation time in one test video with dynamic changes.
The Biometrics Research Unit of the New York State Department of Mental Hygiene

The 1955–56 Annual Report of the Department of Research Psychology at the New York State Psychiatric Institute begins by noting that –Dr. Joseph Zubin, who had been Associate Research Scientist in this department since September, 1938, resigned January 15th, 1956 to become Principal Research Biometrician, heading a new Department [now Unit] of Biometrics Research…” While this move soon proved to be a stimulus for the development of significant new avenues of research, it by no means marked a sharp break with previous work. As Zubin has often noted, the late Carney Landis, when he was head of the Department of Research Psychology, actively fostered a variety of biometric studies, and indeed the annual reports of that department had eventually come to contain a separate section devoted to biometrics, in which the work of Zubin and his colleagues figured prominently. Much of this work would serve as the foundation of the new unit's research programme. In particular, an extensive study of prognosis in early and chronic schizophrenia had already been in progress for several years. In addition to interviews, a battery of tests was employed to sample a range of levels in the patients' functioning: psychophysical, psychophysiological, psychomotor, perceptual, behavioural, and conceptual.
Etiologic Studies of Old Dog Encephalitis

In 2 cases of old dog encephalitis (ODE), viral antigen to canine distemper was demonstrated in frozen brain tissue by means of the direct FA test. The distemper viral antigen was most abundant in cells of the gray matter of the cerebral cortex, thalamus, mesencephalon, and medulla. Also, in the 1 dog in which serum was available, there was a significantly elevated serum antibody titer to the distemper agent. Attempts to isolate a viral agent in tissue culture or to transmit disease to distemper-susceptible ferrets or distemper-immune adult dogs were unsuccessful. Results of this study indicate that the virus of distemper play a role in the pathogenesis of ODE. Also, the progressive disease with inflammatory reaction suggests that a slow viral infection rather than a totally masked or latent virus be involved.
Insulated gate driver for eGaN FET

EPC eGaN transistors have demonstrated performance improvements in comparison with Si MOSFETs ([1], [2] and [3]) but their gate is sensitive to overvoltage (recommended gate source voltage is 5V and the maximum is 6V). In this paper, an efficient insulated and fast gate driver topology is investigated considering parasitic elements. Then, a theoretical and experimental comparison is made. An IC is realized to reduce the gate circuit parasitic elements and its performances are compared with other gate circuit topologies.
A Role for Interleukin-6 in Host Defense against Murine Chlamydia trachomatis Infection

ABSTRACT Interleukin-6-deficient (IL-6−/−) knockout mice had significantly increased Chlamydia trachomatis levels in lung tissue and increased mortality compared to B6129F2/J controls early after intranasal infection. Gamma interferon production and chlamydia-specific antibody levels were consistent with a decreased but reversible Th1-like response in IL-6−/− mice. IL-6 is needed for an optimal early host response to this infection.
Effects of acid mine drainage on larval Chironomus (Diptera, Chironomidae) measured with the multispecies freshwater Biomonitor®

The abandoned São Domingos mine (Portugal) offers a pH and metal gradient of acid mine drainage (AMD), and is an ideal model for ecotoxicological studies. Short‐term 24‐h bioassays with water from the AMD (pH 3.3, 4.4, and 5.5, and control) were performed with fourth instars of Chironomus in the laboratory and in situ (AMD at pH 5.5) in artificial flow‐through channels. This was compared to reference water acidified to the respective pH values (acid only). Behavioral stress responses were monitored online with the Multispecies Freshwater Biomonitor® (MFB). The exposure to AMD and acid only was in the sublethal range (mortality 0–20%). The use of MFB chambers did not affect survival. Stress behavior of Chironomus consisted mainly of decreased locomotory activity in AMD and increased activity in acid‐only tests, indicating that the metals in the AMD played a role as stress factor. Field exposure in the AMD mixing zone (pH 5.5) generated similar activity as in the corresponding laboratory exposure.
Codes and Designs Related to Lifted MRD Codes

Lifted maximum rank distance (MRD) codes, which are constant dimension codes, are considered. It is shown that a lifted MRD code can be represented in such a way that it forms a block design known as a transversal design. A slightly different representation of this design makes it similar to a q -analog of a transversal design. The structure of these designs is used to obtain upper bounds on the sizes of constant dimension codes which contain a lifted MRD code. Codes that attain these bounds are constructed. These codes are the largest known constant dimension codes for the given parameters. These transversal designs can also be used to derive a new family of linear codes in the Hamming space. Bounds on the minimum distance and the dimension of such codes are given.
Evidence of a substantial genetic basis for risk of adult periodontitis.

BACKGROUND A few previous studies have suggested that risk for adult periodontitis (AP) has a genetic (heritable) component. We estimated genetic and environmental variances and heritability for gingivitis and adult periodontitis using data from twins reared together. METHODS One hundred seventeen (117) pairs of adult twins (64 monozygotic [MZ] and 53 dizygotic [DZ] pairs) were recruited. Probing depth (PD), attachment loss (AL), plaque, and gingivitis (GI) were assessed on all teeth by two examiners. Measurements were averaged over all sites, teeth, and examiners. Extent of disease in subjects was defined at four thresholds: the percentage of teeth with AL > or = 2, AL > or = 3, PD > or = 4, or PD > or = 5 mm. Genetic and environmental variances and heritability were estimated using path models with maximum likelihood estimation techniques. RESULTS MZ twins were more similar than DZ twins for all clinical measures. Statistically significant genetic variance was found for both the severity and extent of disease. AP was estimated to have approximately 50% heritability, which was unaltered following adjustments for behavioral variables including smoking. In contrast, while MZ twins were also more similar than DZ twins for gingivitis scores, there was no evidence of heritability for gingivitis after behavioral covariates such as utilization of dental care and smoking were incorporated into the analyses. CONCLUSIONS These results confirm previous studies and indicate that approximately half of the variance in disease in the population is attributed to genetic variance. The basis for the heritability of periodontitis appears to be biological and not behavioral in nature.
Comparison of Pharmacokinetics of Mycophenolic Acid and Its Glucuronide Between Patients With Lupus Nephritis and With Kidney Transplantation

The pharmacokinetics of mycophenolic acid (MPA) and its glucuronide (mycophenolic acid phenolic glucuronide, MPAG) in lupus nephritis (LN) have not been fully characterized. The aim of this study was to evaluate the pharmacokinetics of MPA and MPAG in LN patients by comparing the pharmacokinetics with those of kidney transplant (KT) recipients. Six LN patients (World Health Organization class IV and V) and 24 KT recipients [8 recipients treated with tacrolimus (Tac) and 16 with cyclosporine (CyA)] during the early posttransplantation period were enrolled. Pharmacokinetic parameters of MPA and MPAG were compared between LN patients and Tac-treated or CyA-treated KT recipients. The area under the concentration-time curve (AUC0-12) of MPA normalized to mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) dose (mg/kg) was significantly lower in LN patients and CyA-treated KT recipients than in Tac-treated KT recipients [median (range), 2.19 (0.87-4.23), 2.36 (1.13-5.74), and 4.86 (3.25-6.75) μg·h/mL per mg/kg, P < 0.05 and P < 0.01, respectively]. Dose-normalized MPAG AUC0-12 was significantly lower in LN patients and slightly lower in Tac-treated KT recipients than in CyA-treated KT recipients [median (range), 35.0 (8.34-69.8), 51.6 (34.4-94.8), and 84.1 (34.7-152) μg·h/mL per mg/kg, P < 0.05 and P = 0.13, respectively]. The ratio of MPA AUC5-12 to AUC0-12, an estimate of MPA enterohepatic recirculation, was slightly higher in LN patients and Tac-treated KT recipients than in CyA-treated KT recipients [median (range), 0.44 (0.35-0.56), 0.45 (0.42-0.61), and 0.34 (0.22-0.55), P = 0.29 and P = 0.10, respectively]. Serum creatinine was significantly lower in LN patients than in Tac-treated and CyA-treated KT recipients. In conclusion, the pharmacokinetics of MPA in LN patients is characterized by high MPA clearance and in CyA-treated KT recipients. Despite this higher clearance of MPA, MPAG AUC0-12 was lower in LN patients most likely due to better renal function in LN patients.
Positional structure analysis of information technology industry in Taiwan

The purpose of this research was to examine the interactions between the focal firm and its technological alliance, and to inquire into the technological alliance network in shaping the firm position from innovative dynamics environment. 2-mode network analysis was employed to explore the question of how technological position emerged from alliance interact. Specifically, we looked at the network structure of the sample by examining the interactions of technological alliance. Our empirical data was from the “Strategic Alliance Database” established by the National Science Council (NSC) in Taiwan. We identified technological position of firms from the 2-mode network analysis and to resolve the highlighted question. Some results that we found were as following: (1)The alliance network of IT technology approximated an ideal core/periphery structure. (2)The network structure apparently demonstrated that focal firm with higher centrality has better opportunity to locate in the central position of focal firms or in the core position in the technological network.
ASSESSMENT OF CYTOTOXIC EFFECTS OF METHANOL EXTRACT OF CALLIANDRA PORTORICENSIS USING BRINE SHRIMP ( ARTEMIA SALINA ) LETHALITY BIOASSAY

The aim of the present study is to focus on the cyt otoxicity of the aqueous and methanol extracts of the root bark of Calliandraportoricensisbelonging to the family mimosaeae on brine shrimp ( Artemiasalina) using brine shrimp lethality bioassay. The cytotoxicity was reported in terms of lethality concen tration (LC 50). The shrimps were hatched in sea water exposed to light after 48hours and active shrimps were collected and used for the assay. The extracts were prepared in concentrations of 1000, 100, and 10ppm. 10 active shrimps were added to the 0.5ml d iluted test solution and the surviving (larvae) shrimps were counted after 24 hours and lethality concentration LC 50 was assessed. Aqueous and methanol extracts ofCalliandraportorecensisexhibited potent brine shrimp lethality LC 50of 0.18 and 0.88% re spectively. This suggests that brine shrimp bioassay is simple, reliable and convenient method for assessment of bioactivity of medicinal plants andthat the methanol and aqueous extracts of Calliandra portoricensis contains useful potent bioactive compoun ds that can be harnessed and purified into useful therapeutic drugs.
Molecular Basis of Calmodulin Tethering and Ca2+-dependent Inactivation of L-type Ca2+ Channels*

Ca2+-dependent inactivation (CDI) of L-type Ca2+ channels plays a critical role in controlling Ca2+ entry and downstream signal transduction in excitable cells. Ca2+-insensitive forms of calmodulin (CaM) act as dominant negatives to prevent CDI, suggesting that CaM acts as a resident Ca2+ sensor. However, it is not known how the Ca2+ sensor is constitutively tethered. We have found that the tethering of Ca2+-insensitive CaM was localized to the C-terminal tail of α1C, close to the CDI effector motif, and that it depended on nanomolar Ca2+concentrations, likely attained in quiescent cells. Two stretches of amino acids were found to support the tethering and to contain putative CaM-binding sequences close to or overlapping residues previously shown to affect CDI and Ca2+-independent inactivation. Synthetic peptides containing these sequences displayed differences in CaM-binding properties, both in affinity and Ca2+dependence, leading us to propose a novel mechanism for CDI. In contrast to a traditional disinhibitory scenario, we suggest that apoCaM is tethered at two sites and signals actively to slow inactivation. When the C-terminal lobe of CaM binds to the nearby CaM effector sequence (IQ motif), the braking effect is relieved, and CDI is accelerated.