Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Paroxysmal atrial fibrillation is associated with increased intra-atrial conduction delay.

AIMS A novel electrophysiological technique, paced electrogram fractionation analysis (PEFA), which measures activation delay of stimulated beats through the myocardium, has shown that long delays in activation are strongly associated with sudden cardiac death due to ventricular fibrillation. The aim of our study was to determine whether there are differences in intra-atrial conduction in patients with and without paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF) using PEFA. Twenty patients (15 women) in the mean age 54.7 +/- 16.6 years, scheduled for transcatheter ablation of their arrhythmias, were divided into two groups: 10 controls without PAF and 10 patients with PAF. METHODS AND RESULTS During PEFA, pacing and recording catheters were placed in the coronary sinus (three sites: distal, mid, and proximal) and at four right atrium sites: crista terminalis (one site), RA isthmus (one site), and interatrial septum (two sites). The PEFA protocol involves pacing from one site and recording electrograms from other six sites. A decremental sequence, delivered at one site, had a cycle length of 490 ms (S1S1) with an extrastimulus inserted every third beat whose coupling interval (S1S2) is reduced by 1 ms on each occasion. This process is repeated from each atrial site. The S1S2 at which electrogram duration starts to prolong, and the increase in electrogram duration is determined at all sites. In three patients from the PAF group, atrial fibrillation was induced during PEFA and it was terminated by electrical cardioversion. No other complications were noted. The patients with PAF, compared with the control group, have abrupt increases in the electrogram duration, which occur, at significantly longer S1S2 (P < 0.0001). There were also significantly longer intra-atrial delays in the intrinsic deflection of the electrogram in PAF patient vs. control group (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS Comparison of PAF and non-AF patient groups showed that intra-atrial conduction delay start in the PAF group earlier (with longer S1S2 intervals) and they are significantly longer in the PAF group. This suggests that atria in patients with PAF are diffusely diseased and that the measured activation delays form one component of an arrhythmogenic substrate.
Representation and computation of human intuitive spatiotemporal concepts as mental imagery

Nowadays, location measurement systems like GPS are widely utilized to acquire locations in the global coordinates system and have already been applied to location-aware systems of practical use such as vehicle-navigation systems. It is, however, not very common for people to refer to these coordinates but intuitive spatial relations such as `at', `around', `along', etc. in their casual communication. Such natural concepts are considered to reflect human cognitive activities toward the world. Therefore they can be subjective to each human individual but as well can be common to the human beings in the macroscopic qualities of their conceptualization. This paper describes a method for systematic representation and computation of human intuitive spatiotemporal concepts as mental imagery.
Neural Blind Beamformers for Multi-Users

New neural blind beamformer for multi-users are presented in this paper. The weighting vectors of beamformers can be estimated blindly by minimizing a new cost function based on least-squares constant modulus algorithm so as to separate the multi-users and find the direction. At the same time, a developed neural network is used to compute the inverse of a matrix, which not only improve the computing speed but also use easily hardware to carry out the blind beamforming. The performance of the new beamformers is analyzed with computer simulation.
[Comparison of quality of life between kidney transplant and hemodialysis patients].

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to discover kidney transplant and hemodialysis patients' quality of life(QOL) and provide basic data to improve their QOL. METHOD One hundred two hemodialysis patients and 106 kidney transplant patients were given a self-administered questionnaire from Mar. 6 to Mar. 31, 2006. The instrument consisted of demographic variables, therapeutic-related characteristics and QOL. Collected data was processed using the SPSS 12.0 statistical program for real numbers, percentages, ANCOVA, t-test, ANOVA, Stepwise multiple regression and the Scheffe test. RESULTS Kidney transplantpatients' QOL was higher than hemodialysis patients. The demographic variables which showed a significant difference in overall QOL were religion, children and monthly income for kidney transplantpatients and educational background for hemodialysis patients. The therapeutic-related variable which showed a significant difference in overall QOL was the patients' perceived health condition for both groups. The influencing factor on overall QOL for both groups was the health condition perceived by themselves. The total variance of the variable for QOL was 42% for kidney transplant patients and 19% for hemodialysis patients. CONCLUSION This study revealed that kidney transplant patients have a higher QOL and how patients perceive their health is the strongest influencing factor for QOL. However, there is a large difference between the demand and supply of kidney donors. To solve this problem the standards for donation should be reviewed and revised.
Diurnal Variations of Plasma Melatonin Concentrations in Pregnant or Pseudopregnant Mink (Mustela vison) Maintained Under Different Photoperiods

Removal of the superior cervical ganglia suppresses the inhibitory role of short days in prolactin secretion and luteal activity in pregnant or pseudopregnant mink. Alternatively, timed injections of melatonin replicate the inhibitory role of short days in females maintained under long days. To understand if the diurnal variation of melatonin secretion is part of the mechanism by which the mink measure day length, diurnal variations in plasma melatonin concentrations have been measured in intact and ganglionectomized females maintained under long or short days after mating. Melatonin was measured by radioimmunoassay according to Brun et al. [Adv. Biosci. 53: 41–45]. In intact females, plasma concentrations ranged from nondetectable levels to 40 pg/ml during the day, increased shortly after the onset of the dark phase, and reached peak values during the middle of the night. The duration of the elevated levels was roughly proportional to the length of the night. No diurnal variations could be detected in ganglionectomized females; melatonin levels never exceeded the day values observed in intact females.
Research Paper: Evaluating Internet End-to-end Performance: Overview of Test Methodology and Results

Objective: An evaluation of Internet end-to-end performance was conducted for the purpose of better understanding the overall performance of Internet pathways typical of those used to access information in National Library of Medicine (NLM) databases and, by extension, other Internet-based biomedical information resources. Design: The evaluation used a three-level test strategy: 1) user testing to collect empirical data on Internet performance as perceived by users when accessing NLM Web-based databases, 2) technical testing to analyze the Internet paths between the NLM and the user's desktop computer terminal, and 3) technical testing between the NLM and the World Wide Web (“Web”) server computer at the user's institution to help characterize the relative performance of Internet pathways. Measurements: Time to download the front pages of NLM Web sites and conduct standardized searches of NLM databases, data transmission capacity between NLM and remote locations (known as the bulk transfer capacity [BTC], “ping” round-trip time as an indication of the latency of the network pathways, and the network routing of the data transmissions (number and sequencing of hops). Results: Based on 347 user tests spread over 16 locations, the median time per location to download the main NLM home page ranged from 2 to 59 seconds, and 1 to 24 seconds for the other NLM Web sites tested. The median time to conduct standardized searches and get search results ranged from 2 to 14 seconds for PubMed and 4 to 18 seconds for Internet Grateful Med. The overall problem rate was about 1 percent; that is, on the average, users experienced a problem once every 100 test measurements. The user terminal tests at five locations and Web host tests at 13 locations provided profiles of BTC, RTT, and network routing for both dial-up and fixed Internet connections. Conclusion: The evaluation framework provided a profile of typical Internet performance and insights into network performance and time-of-day/day-of-week variability. This profile should serve as a frame of reference to help identify and diagnose connectivity problems and should contribute to the evolving concept of Internet quality of service.
Depression in older adults.

Have you lost interest in the activities you used to enjoy? Do you struggle with feelings of helplessness and hopelessness? Are you finding it harder and harder to get through the day? If so, you’re not alone. Depression can happen to any of us as we age, regardless of our background or achievements. But depression is far from an inevitable part of getting older. With the right support, treatment, and self-help strategies you can boost the way you feel, cope better with life’s changes, and make your senior years a healthy, happy, and fulfilling time.
Chemokines and Chemokine Receptors in Scleroderma

Scleroderma is a connective tissue disease with unknown etiology characterized by excessive deposition of extracellular matrix in the skin. Cellular infiltrates of certain immune cells and proinflammatory mediators are suggested to play a crucial role in cutaneous fibrosis, forming complicated networks between fibroblasts and immune cells via cell-cell communications. Tissue-selective trafficking of leukocytes is mediated by combinations of adhesion molecules and chemokines. Recent studies have shown that an increase in proinflammatory chemokines has been associated with the initiation and/or development of skin fibrosis/sclerosis, suggesting that chemokines and their receptors may be important mediators of inflammation and fibrosis in scleroderma. This review will focus on the roles of chemokines and their receptors during the process of cutaneous sclerosis and will also provide a current insight into the potential mechanisms of scleroderma.
Disseminated Mycoplasma fermentans in AIDS patients: several case reports

We describe the clinical course of 2 HIV-positive patients in whom Mycoplasma fermentans was disseminated and persistent. We identified individuals in whom M. fermentans had been detected in a peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) or bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) specimen. Of this group a number had archival specimens of interest: liver and/or bone marrow, taken to investigate a systemic illness, and a few had M. fermentans positive tissues. Two patients, NC and DP, had recurrent episodes of lower respiratory tract infection and fever and both had been investigated by bronchoscopy on 4 occasions. M. fermentans was detected in specimens taken 18 and 27 months apart for NC and DP respectively, and in between, and repeatedly in respiratory tract tissues of DP. Granuloma were identified in the liver of NC that was M. fermentans positive but no further evidence of opportunistic infection was found during his illness. Both patients had M. fermentans positive bone marrow specimens. Assessment of the patients' records suggested that in one patient M. fermentans may have contributed to the respiratory disease and in the other to the systemic disease.
Biological dosimetry of radiation workers at the Sellafield nuclear facility.

The British Nuclear Fuels plc facility at Sellafield performs a range of nuclear-related activities. The site has been in operation since 1950 and has, in general, employed a stable work force, many of whom have accumulated relatively high occupational exposures to ionizing radiation. This paper compares the physical dosimetry with two biological end points for evaluating radiation exposure: fluorescence in situ hybridization with whole-chromosome painting probes to quantify stable chromosome aberrations (translocations and insertions), and glycophorin A (GPA) analysis of variant erythrocytes. For the cytogenetic analyses, 81 workers were evaluated in five dose categories, including 23 with minimal radiation exposure (< or = 50 mSv) and 58 with exposures ranging from 173 to 1108 mSv, all but 3 being > 500 mSv. In a univariate analysis, the mean stable chromosome aberration frequencies showed a significant increase with dose category (P = 0.032), and with cumulative dose when dose is treated as a continuous variable (P = 0.015). The slope of the dose response for stable aberrations is 0.79 +/- 0.22 aberrations per 100 cells per sievert (adjusted for smoking status), which is less than that observed among atomic bomb survivors, and suggests a dose and dose-rate effectiveness factor for chronic exposure of about 6. Analyses of the data for GPA N/O and N/N variants from 36 workers revealed no correlation with dose. Neither was there a correlation between the frequencies of N/O GPA variants and stable aberrations, although a weak negative association was observed between N/N variant frequency and stable aberrations (r = -0.38, P = 0.05). These results provide clear evidence for the accumulation of stable aberrations under conditions of chronic occupational exposure to ionizing radiation and show that stable chromosome aberrations are a more sensitive indicator for chronic radiation exposure than GPA variants. In comparison with human studies of brief exposure, chronic low-dose exposures appear substantially less effective for producing somatic effects as reflected by stable chromosome aberrations.
A Practical Algorithm for Realizing GDFE Precoder for Multiuser MIMO Systems

It is well known that multiuser multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) systems can achieve superior data rates compared to single user MIMO links. The improvement in data rates offered by the MU-MIMO systems is dependent on the design of precoding scheme for the broadcast channel (BC). A precoding scheme based on generalized decision feedback equalizer (GDFE) is known to achieve MIMO BC capacity. However, GDFE precoder suffers from huge computational complexity and is not suitable for practical systems. Much of computational cost of implementing a GDFE precoder can be attributed to its reliance on the covariance matrix corresponding to the ``least favorable noise'', which has prohibitive computational complexity. In this paper, we provide an alternative framework for realizing a GDFE precoder, which avoids the need to compute ``least favorable noise''. While maintaining capacity optimality of the GDFE precoder, the proposed algorithm has significantly lower complexity that is comparable to other MU-MIMO precoding schemes. Additionally, the proposed algorithm provides a useful tradeoff between desired complexity and performance.
Efficient infectious cell culture systems of the hepatitis C virus prototype strains HCV-4 1 and H 77 5

1 and H77 5 Yi-Ping Li †,* , Santseharay Ramirez † , Lotte Mikkelsen and Jens Bukh # 6 Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Research 7 Centre, Hvidovre Hospital, DK-2650 Hvidovre, and Department of International Health, Immunology and 8 Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, DK-2200 Copenhagen N, University of 9 Copenhagen, Denmark. 10 11 Running title: Robust infectious culture systems for HCV-1 and H77 12 13
UC781 Microbicide Gel Retains Anti-HIV Activity in Cervicovaginal Lavage Fluids Collected following Twice-Daily Vaginal Application

ABSTRACT The potent nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor UC781 has been safety tested as a vaginal microbicide gel formulation for prevention of HIV-1 sexual transmission. To investigate whether UC781 retained anti-infective activity following exposure to the female genital tract, we conducted an ex vivo analysis of the UC781 levels and antiviral activity in cervicovaginal lavage (CVL) fluids from 25 Thai women enrolled in a 14-day safety trial of twice-daily vaginal application of two concentrations of the UC781 microbicide gel. CVL samples were collected from women in the 0.1% (n = 5), 0.25% (n = 15), and placebo (n = 5) gel arms following the first application of gel (T15 min) and 8 to 24 h after the final application (T8-24 h) and separated into cell-free (CVL-s) and pelletable (CVL-p) fractions. As UC781 is highly hydrophobic, there were significantly higher levels of UC781 in the CVL-p samples than in the CVL-s samples for the UC781 gel arms. In T8-24 h CVL-p samples, 2/5 and 13/15 samples collected from the 0.1% and 0.25% UC781 gel arms, respectively, efficiently blocked infection with ≥4 log10 50% tissue culture infective dose (TCID50) of a CCR5-tropic CRF01_AE HIV-1 virus stock. Independent of the arm, the 11 CVL-p samples with UC781 levels of ≥5 μg/CVL sample reduced infectious HIV by ≥4 log10 TCID50. Our results suggest that the levels and anti-infective activities of UC781 gel formulations are likely to be associated with a cellular or pelletable component in CVL samples. Therefore, cellular and pelletable fractions should be assayed for drug levels and anti-infective activity in preclinical studies of candidate microbicides.
Hierarchical dose response of E. coli O157:H7 from human outbreaks incorporating heterogeneity in exposure

SUMMARY The infectivity of pathogenic microorganisms is a key factor in the transmission of an infectious disease in a susceptible population. Microbial infectivity is generally estimated from dose–response studies in human volunteers. This can only be done with mildly pathogenic organisms. Here a hierarchical Beta-Poisson dose–response model is developed utilizing data from human outbreaks. On the lowest level each outbreak is modelled separately and these are then combined at a second level to produce a group dose–response relation. The distribution of foodborne pathogens often shows strong heterogeneity and this is incorporated by introducing an additional parameter to the dose–response model, accounting for the degree of overdispersion relative to Poisson distribution. It was found that heterogeneity considerably influences the shape of the dose–response relationship and increases uncertainty in predicted risk. This uncertainty is greater than previously reported surrogate and outbreak models using a single level of analysis. Monte Carlo parameter samples (α, β of the Beta-Poisson model) can be readily incorporated in risk assessment models built using tools such as S-plus and @ Risk.
Sex and hormonal status influence the effects of psyllium on lipoprotein remodeling and composition.

We evaluated the influence of sex and hormonal status on the effect of psyllium (PSY) supplementation on parameters of plasma lipoprotein metabolism. Twenty-four men, 23 premenopausal women, and 21 postmenopausal women (PMW) were randomly assigned to a fiber supplement (15 g PSY/d) or a control, provided via cookies, in a crossover design. Plasma lipids, insulin, apoprotein (apo) B, apo CI, apo CIII, and apo E concentrations and the composition and size of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) particles were measured at the end of each 30-day treatment period. Compared with control, PSY intake decreased plasma LDL cholesterol by an average of 8% (P <.0001) in men and pre- and PMW. There was a fiber-sex/hormonal status interaction on plasma triglycerides (TG) in the response to the intervention. Men had a 17% decrease in TG, while PMW had a 16% increase with PSY (P <.01). Plasma levels of apo C III, apo E, and insulin followed the same pattern as plasma TG with PSY consumption and decreased by an average of 12% in men (P <.05), but increased by 10% in PMW (P <.05). These reductions in apoproteins suggest an increased peripheral removal of TG in men, perhaps due to decreased insulin resistance, while in PMW, the increases in apoproteins may be related to an enhanced VLDL production. The lack of effect of PSY on VLDL metabolism in premenopausal women could be associated with the protective effect of estrogen. No prominent changes in VLDL and LDL composition were observed with PSY intake other than an increase in LDL phospholipid (P <.05). In addition, compared with men and PMW, the amount of TG per VLDL particle was less, and VLDL diameter was smaller in premenopausal women (P <.05). These results indicate an important role of sex and hormonal status in determining the effects of PSY on lipoprotein metabolism.
Mobile hosting and sensor eco-system for radiation detection

Gamma ray is an electromagnetic radiation with a very high frequency that can be biologically hazardous. Most workers in the mining, manufacturing, security, and other industries find themselves in such hazardous environments and governments are trying to contain this issue. While traditionally, high gamma radiation detection sensors have been manufactured to be carried along by users, they are not good access point for actual dosage readings. With the recent advancement in mobile technology, this paper proposes a mobile hosting architecture to enable mobile-to-sensor communication following the edge-based technique. This means the sensor can detect the radiation and send readings to a smartphone device of the user. All other near-by mobile devices (which are authorized) will receive the notification to alert the people in the hazard zone. In this paper, the notification dissemination is developed based on the sequential flow pattern. The proposed work is tested and the results show that detected radiations are sent in soft real-time to the mobile devices.
Laboratorio en línea para el procesamiento automático de documentos

Resumen. Las grandes cantidades de informacion textual que actualmente se generan y almacenan digitalmente, junto con la dificultad que existe para analizarla, hace necesario el desarrollo de herramientas que faciliten este trabajo. Existen diferentes campos en las Ciencias de Computacion y la Lingǘistica que en conjunto posibilitan el desarrollo de este tipo de herramientas; en particular una de estas areas del conocimiento es el Procesamiento de Lenguaje Natural (PLN). El PLN investiga y formula mecanismos computacionalmente efectivos que facilitan la interaccion hombre-maquina permitiendo una comunicacion mucho mas fluida y menos ŕigida que los lenguajes formales. Sin embargo, para usuarios poco experimentados en este campo, asimilar este tipo de procesos no es algo trivial, situacion que desmotiva al uso de las mismas. Con la finalidad de apoyar el desarrollo y la investigacion en areas afines al PLN, en este articulo se presenta un Laboratorio Virtual en Ĺinea para el Procesamiento Automatico de Documentos desarrollado en la Universidad, donde se puedan realizar experimentos y ver resultados de forma inmediata, en diferentes tareas relacionadas con el procesamiento automatico del lenguaje.
Intellectual development of offspring of diabetic mothers

We prospectively evaluated the intellectual development of 33 children who were born to 33 diabetic Japanese mothers and compared them to 34 children born to non‐diabetic mothers (controls) during the same period at Kurume University Hospital between 1987 and 1989. Birthweight, maternal age and the infant's age at the time of intelligence testing did not differ significantly between the offspring of diabetic mothers (ODMs) and controls. Tanaka‐Binet intelligence scores were significantly lower in the ODMs at 3 years of age than in controls (98.4 ± 17.4 versus 113.4 ± 15.3) (p = 0.0005). No correlation was found between IQ and maternal haemoglobin A1c levels during pregnancy. Maternal age and infant IQ were inversely correlated in ODMs (p = 0.0298, r = −0.3984), but no such correlation was demonstrated in the controls. The results indicated that the ODMs may show a poorer intellectual development than those of non‐diabetic mothers.