Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Primary care summary of the British Thoracic Society Guidelines for the management of community acquired pneumonia in adults: 2009 update. Endorsed by the Royal College of General Practitioners and the Primary Care Respiratory Society UK.

INTRODUCTION The identification and management of adults presenting with pneumonia is a major challenge for primary care health professionals. This paper summarises the key recommendations of the British Thoracic Society (BTS) Guidelines for the management of Community Acquired Pneumonia (CAP) in adults. METHOD Systematic electronic database searches were conducted in order to identify potentially relevant studies that might inform guideline recommendations. Generic study appraisal checklists and an evidence grading from A+ to D were used to indicate the strength of the evidence upon which recommendations were made. CONCLUSIONS This paper provides definitions, key messages, and recommendations for handling the uncertainty surrounding the clinical diagnosis, assessing severity, management, and follow-up of patients with CAP in the community setting. Diagnosis and decision on hospital referral in primary care is based on clinical judgement and the CRB-65 score. Unlike some other respiratory infections (e.g. acute bronchitis) an antibiotic is always indicated when a clinical diagnosis of pneumonia is made. Timing of initial review will be determined by disease severity. When there is a delay in symptom or radiographic resolution beyond six weeks, the main concern is whether the CAP was a complication of an underlying condition such as lung cancer.
‘Generation Rent’ and Intergenerational Relations in The Era of Housing Financialisation

Homeownership has been in decline in a number of developed societies since the early 2000s driven, primarily, by declining entry among younger households who have been increasingly pushed into the rental sector. This trend has been associated with a growing intergenerational divide, or even conflict, and the emergence of ‘Generation Rent’. This paper explores the conditions surrounding diminishing access to owner-occupation among new households with a focus on the historic maturation of homeownership sectors, the restructuring of the political economy (financialization) around housing wealth and the inter-cohort dynamics surrounding the accumulation and transfer of housing wealth. The paper takes an international perspective drawing on evidence from two parallel, but contrasting cases: Japan and the UK. The analysis illustrates the interrelatedness of inter- and intra-generational inequalities, with the former reinforcing the latter. It also focuses on the role of families as both a moderator of generational inequity at the micro level as well as an enhancer of socioeconomic inequalities overall.
Heterogeneous Fenton oxidation of ofloxacin drug by iron alginate support

ABSTRACT A new catalytic wet peroxide oxidation of ofloxacin antibiotic is presented in this work. The removal was achieved using a biodegradable sodium alginate-iron material. Several parameters were studied such as iron content, drying duration of the catalytic support, temperature, solid amount and initial drug concentration. The process showed a strong oxidative ability; at optimum conditions, a nearly complete removal of the drug (around 98%) has been reached after three h of treatment. A relatively low decrease of support activity (around 10%) has been observed after three successive oxidation runs and a low iron leaching has been detected (1.2% of the incorporated quantity). The removal of the substrate has been also examined in the absence of hydrogen peroxide in order to discriminate between the contributions of simple adsorption and oxidation processes in the drug disappearance. We also discussed the influence of the studied experimental parameters on the removal kinetic. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT
Using small metasurface lens for antenna gain echancement

A small metasurface (MS) lens is proposed to enhance the gain of antennas. The small MS lens has a circular shape with diameter 1λ, where λ is wavelength in free space. The unit cells on the MS lens has rectangular shapes and are designed according to the gradient index (GRIN) in the y-axis direction. The MS lens is placed at λ/2 from a source antenna. A slot and patch antennas are used for studies as the source antenna. The source antenna with the small MS lens, here called a small MS lens antenna (SMLA), is studied using computer simulation. Results show that the small MS lens can effectively reduce the main beam and thus enhance the gain of both the source antennas.
Multi-spectral demosaicing: A joint-sparse elastic-net formulation

This work proposes techniques for demosaicing multi-spectral images obtained from a single sensor architecture. This is a new problem. Compressed Sensing (CS) based formulations can recover images by exploiting the sparsity of the images in the wavelet domain. In this work, we improve upon existing techniques by accounting for the hierarchical (tree-structured) correlation that exists among the wavelet coefficients of piecewise smooth signals. For a single image, this turns out to be an elastic -net problem. Since our problem involves multi-spectral images, the proposed formulation leads to a joint-sparse elastic-net optimization problem which is solved via Split Bregman type algorithm. Our proposed improvement yields considerably better recovery results compared to existing techniques.
Interventions for treating oral lichen planus: a systematic review

Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a common chronic inflammatory disease associated with cell‐mediated immunological dysfunction. Symptomatic OLP is painful and complete healing is rare. The aim of this review was to assess the evidence for the efficacy and safety of treatments for symptomatic OLP. The Cochrane Oral Health Group Trials Register, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched in January 2011 to identify all randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating any intervention for the treatment of symptomatic OLP. A total of 28 trials were included in this Cochrane review. There was no evidence from three RCTs that topical pimecrolimus is better than placebo in reducing pain from OLP. There was weak evidence from two RCTs that topical aloe vera may be associated with a reduction in pain compared with placebo. There was weak and unreliable evidence from two small trials, at high risk of bias, that topical ciclosporin may reduce pain and clinical signs of OLP. There was no evidence (from five trials each evaluating a different steroid and/or calcineurin inhibitor) that there is a difference between treatment with topical corticosteroids (TCSs) compared with topical calcineurin inhibitors with regard to reducing pain associated with OLP or that any specific steroid therapy is more or less effective at reducing pain. Although TCSs are considered to be the first‐line treatment, we did not identify any RCTs that compared TCSs with placebo in patients with symptomatic OLP. From the 28 trials included in this systematic review, the wide range of interventions compared means there is insufficient evidence to support the superior effectiveness of any specific treatment.
Proteomic Identification of In Vivo Substrates for Matrix Metalloproteinases 2 and 9 Reveals a Mechanism for Resolution of Inflammation1

Clearance of allergic inflammatory cells from the lung through matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) is necessary to prevent lethal asphyxiation, but mechanistic insight into this essential homeostatic process is lacking. In this study, we have used a proteomics approach to determine how MMPs promote egression of lung inflammatory cells through the airway. MMP2- and MMP9-dependent cleavage of individual Th2 chemokines modulated their chemotactic activity; however, the net effect of complementing bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of allergen-challenged MMP2−/−/MMP9−/− mice with active MMP2 and MMP9 was to markedly enhance its overall chemotactic activity. In the bronchoalveolar fluid of MMP2−/−/MMP9−/− allergic mice, we identified several chemotactic molecules that possessed putative MMP2 and MMP9 cleavage sites and were present as higher molecular mass species. In vitro cleavage assays and mass spectroscopy confirmed that three of the identified proteins, Ym1, S100A8, and S100A9, were substrates of MMP2, MMP9, or both. Function-blocking Abs to S100 proteins significantly altered allergic inflammatory cell migration into the alveolar space. Thus, an important effect of MMPs is to differentially modify chemotactic bioactivity through proteolytic processing of proteins present in the airway. These findings provide a molecular mechanism to explain the enhanced clearance of lung inflammatory cells through the airway and reveal a novel approach to target new therapies for asthma.
Mobile radio propagation path loss simulation for two districts of different buildings structures in Mosul-city

In this paper two theoretical models have been considered for the prediction of path loss for two different districts in Mosul city, using MATLAB 7.4 program. The Walfisch-Ikegami (W-I) model for uniform heights and similar buildings in the Karama district. The other model is Okumura-Hata (OH) model applied for irregular and dissimilar buildings in the Almajmoa'a district. The information buildings heights are obtained from the civil Eng. Depart. in Mosul university. In this paper it can be shown that The effect of distance in regular area (karama) on path loss is about 10 dB larger than irregular area (Almajmoa'a), and The effect of varying antenna height in regular area (karama) on path loss is about 7 dB greater than irregular area (Almajmoa'a) for 40 meter variation.
Fast protein network clustering algorithm: a new approach for clustering protein-protein interaction networks to detect functional modules

Proteins are responsible for health disorder, evolution of species. These tasks are carried out by forming functional modules. Each functional module possesses community structure. For identifying the functional modules, a lot of community detection or clustering algorithms are designed, but most of the algorithms suffer by either high computational time or inappropriate clustering results. We propose an algorithm based on relative vertex-to-vertex clustering value and agglomerative hierarchical method, known as Fast Protein Network Clustering algorithm. It is faster than existing algorithms and resolves the most common clustering problem-clustering any vertex (protein) of degree one from its neighbour. We also tested our algorithm with the most popular four algorithms in respect to functional module mapping and efficiency analysis. FPNC algorithm successfully outperformed existing algorithms which is the current state-of-the-art agglomerative approach to functional module identification.
Exchange rate volatility in West African countries: is there a shred of Spillover?

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate selected West African currencies/US dollar exchange rates for the evidence of volatility spillover. Specifically, the paper examines West African CFA franc, Gambian dalasi and Nigerian naira exchange rates in relation to the USD, for any evidence of shock and volatility spillover. Design/methodology/approach The author employs multivariate GARCH (1,1)–BEKK model which enables the evaluation of the interaction within the volatility of two or more series because of its capability to detect volatility spillover among time series observations, as well as the persistence of volatility within each series. Findings The major findings of this study are as follows: there is evidence of volatility clustering in West African CFA franc, Gambian dalasi and Nigerian naira exchange rates in relation to the USD. There is evidence of bi-directional shock and volatility spillover between the Nigerian naira and West African CFA franc/USD exchange rates, and uni-directional shock spillover from the Gambian dalasi to the West African CFA franc/USD exchange rates. There is, however, no evidence of exchange rate shock and volatility spillover between Nigerian naira and Gambian dalasi. Originality/value Although considerable literature exists on the volatility of exchange rate in West Africa and comparative analysis of exchange rates volatility in few countries of West Africa, there is absence of empirical studies on exchange rate volatility spillover among countries in the region. Since containing exchange rate volatility is one of the major objectives of monetary policy, understanding the nature and direction of exchange rate volatility spillover would propel formulation exchange rate policies that would minimise exchange rate uncertainty and entrench sustainable development. In addition, the nature of exchange rate volatility spillover between West African countries would provide basis for international traders and foreign portfolio investors to develop effective strategies for hedging against exchange rate shocks that are propagated across countries by designing appropriate risk management techniques.
Selectivity-enhanced glucose measurement in multicomponent aqueous solution by broadband dielectric spectroscopy

We demonstrate the detection of physiological-range glucose in a multicomponent aqueous solution through multivariate analysis of broadband dielectric spectra from 500 MHz to 50 GHz. To enhance the selectivity to glucose, we applied spectral preprocessing on dielectric spectra to extract the feature values of glucose and bovine serum albumin (BSA). Using the regression models derived from different concentrations of glucose and BSA, the analysis was carried out on the solutions with the physiological range of both components. The prediction error of glucose concentration was estimated at less than 73 mg/dL even in various concentrations of BSA. This technique is easily implemented with a microwave blood glucose sensor or in other biomedical applications that essentially require multicomponent analysis.
O USO DOS RELATÓRIOS DE SUSTENTABILIDADE COMO FONTE DE PESQUISAS ACADÊMICAS: TENDÊNCIAS E GAPS A SEREM EXPLORADOS

This article aims to analyze the existent literature on sustainability reports and its use on academic research, looking forward to contribute by identifying gaps and tendencies. A search on the world’s main research bases was narrowed down to 45 relevant articles. These articles were then analyzed and classified into 6 categories, previously defined by a panel of experts. They were: 1) stakeholder engagement; 2) quality and credibility of the reports; 3) tools and practices of sustainability reporting; 4) motivations and consequences of sustainability reporting; 5) sector/local corporate social responsibility practices; and 6) specific subjects. Results uncovered relevant gaps in the motivations and consequences of sustainability reporting, as well as the use of techniques to improve credibility of the documents, for the sake of accountability. It is also important to highlight the lack of studies focused on Latin America and Africa, impairing further development in sustainable practices on those regions. It is also worth emphasizing the originality of this article, since no similar articles were found in literature.
Innovation strategies of Swiss firms: identification, dynamics and intra-industry heterogeneity

Abstract The study aims at providing new evidence with respect to the still unresolved question, whether the innovation behaviour of firms reflects industry-specific characteristics (“technological regime approach”), or whether it is the outcome of firm-specific strategies to gaining a competitive edge (“strategic management view”). To this end, the author firstly identifies a set of innovation strategies (cluster analysis), whose adequacy he evaluates using the “economics of innovation” as reference. Secondly, the author investigates the dynamics of innovation strategies to get some insights into structural change of the economy. Thirdly, he examines, based on a large number of 4-digit industries, the intra-industry heterogeneity of innovation strategies. Finally, the author analyses in a production function framework the relative importance of a company’s innovation strategy and its industry affiliation as determinants of firm performance. The third part of the paper tends to support the “strategic management view” (high intraindustry heterogeneity), while the final one is rather in line with the “technological regime approach” (industry affiliation is more important as a factor determining firm performance). These opposite findings indicate that a company has a certain room of manoeuvre to choose an innovation strategy in line with its specific capabilities, but some structural characteristics at industry level restrict its strategic options.
Overexpression, purification, and biochemical characterization of the extracellular human CD83 domain and generation of monoclonal antibodies.

CD83 is a 45-kDa glycoprotein and member of the immunoglobulin (Ig) superfamily. It is the best known marker for mature dendritic cells. Although the precise function of CD83 is not known, its selective expression and upregulation together with the costimulators CD80 and CD86 suggests an important role of CD83 in the induction of immune responses. To perform functional studies and to elucidate its mode of action it is vital to obtain recombinant expressed and highly purified CD83 molecules. Therefore, the external Ig domain of human CD83 (hCD83ext) was expressed as a GST fusion protein (GST-hCD83ext) and the soluble protein was purified under native conditions. The fusion protein was purified using GSTrap columns followed by anion-exchange chromatography. GST-hCD83ext was then cleaved using thrombin and soluble hCD83ext was further purified using GSTrap columns and finally by a preparative gel filtration as a polishing step and used for further characterization. The purified GST-hCD83 fusion protein was also used to generate monoclonal anti-CD83 antibodies in a rat system. Two different monoclonal antibodies were generated. Using these antibodies, CD83 was specifically recognized in FACS and Western blot analyses. Furthermore, we showed that native CD83 is glycosylated and that this glycosylation influences the binding of the antibodies in Western blot analyses. Finally, the purified hCD83ext protein was analyzed by one-dimensional NMR and these analyses strongly indicate that hCD83ext is folded and could therefore be used for further structural and functional studies.
Regulation of cytokinesis during corticogenesis: focus on the midbody

Development of the cerebral cortices depends on tight regulation of cell divisions. In this system, stem and progenitor cells undergo symmetric and asymmetric divisions to ultimately produce neurons that establish the layers of the cortex. Cell division culminates with the formation of the midbody, a transient organelle that establishes the site of abscission between nascent daughter cells. During cytokinetic abscission, the final stage of cell division, one daughter cell will inherit the midbody remnant, which can then maintain or expel the remnant, but mechanisms and circumstances influencing this decision are unclear. This review describes the midbody and its constituent proteins, as well as the known consequences of their manipulation during cortical development. The potential functional relevance of midbody mechanisms is discussed.
A systematic performance evaluation of brain and body temperature sensors using ultra-stable temperature references

The impact of a rise in the temperature of the human brain in patients who have suffered cerebral damage is not completely understood. Current studies are ambiguous; some show that a high brain temperature, and others a low brain temperature, is an indicator of poor prognosis. The reported effect is often very subtle, at the <0.5°C level, and this may be due to the performance, or even the location of the temperature sensor. This study investigates the first of these issues, i.e. the performance of the sensor. Here performance validation is undertaken for three commonly used temperature sensors for brain and body temperature measurement, using ultra-stable temperature references. At body temperature all three sensor types performed within manufacturer's specifications. Given that only a small number of temperature sensors were tested, the indication is that, provided the sensors are located correctly, the small observed differences in temperature are real – though the issue of clinical significance is still to be addressed.
Blood-Borne Tissue Factor Activity Predicts Major Cerebrovascular Events in Patients Undergoing Carotid Endarterectomy: Results from a 1-Year Follow-Up Study

Background: Tissue factor (TF) expression is increased in inflammatory atherosclerotic plaques and has been related to plaque thrombogenicity. Blood-borne TF activity seems to contribute to a procoagulant state in patients with vascular risk factors. The aim of this study was to assess whether the expression of TF in carotid plaques from patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy (CEA) or/and blood-borne (‘circulating’) TF activity could predict future vascular complications. Methods: A total of 105 consecutive patients (85 male and 20 female aged 61–77years)undergoing CEA for high-grade internal carotid artery were included in the study. Carotid artery specimens were classified into active (n = 52; rich in inflammatory cells) and nonactive plaques (n = 53; poor in inflammatory cells or fibrous). TF mRNA levels in carotid plaques were assessed by real-time PCR (TaqMan Low-Density Arrays) and TF protein levels by Western blot. Blood-borne TF activity and other biochemical parameters, including low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLc) levels and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, were measured prior to surgery. Patients were followed up for 1 year and vascular and nonvascular complications were scored. Results: TF expression was higher in active CEA plaques. Patients with active CEA plaques exhibited higher plasma LDLc levels (3.6 ± 0.7 vs. 2.1 ± 1 mM, p < 0.05) that positively correlated with plaque TF mRNA levels (p = 0.0125; r = 0.9). Blood-borne TF activity did not correlate with plasma LDLc levels and was unrelated to the anatomo-pathological characteristic of the CEA plaques (thrombosis, rupture, inflammation, lipid core, necrosis or calcification). Circulating TF activity predicted vascular complications at 1 year, including fatal (OR, 1.18; 95% CI, 0.6–2.2, p < 0.01) and nonfatal ischemic stroke (OR, 1.22; 95% CI, 0.5–2.0, p < 0.05) and symptomatic peripheral vascular disease (OR, 1.48; 95% CI, 0.4–2.6, p < 0.005). Conclusions: Blood-borne TF activity prior to CEA but not local TF expression or plasma LDLc levels predict cerebrovascular and peripheral vascular disease events at 1 year in elderly patients subjected to CEA for high-grade carotid stenosis.