Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Die Klassifikationen GOLD I–IV vs. GOLD A–D in der Alltagsversorgung

Zusammenfassung Patienten mit COPD, die sich in der gemeinsamen Behandlung von Allgemeinärzten und Pneumologen befanden, wurden in die GOLD-Klassifizierungen I–IV bzw. A–D eingruppiert, um zu überprüfen, ob sich aus der neueren GOLD-Klassifizierung A–D Fortschritte für Therapie-Entscheidungen ableiten lassen. Es ergab sich eine sehr kleine Gruppe C mit erhöhtem Risiko und geringen Symptomen aufgrund der CAT-Trennung bereits bei 10 Punkten (Vorgabe GOLD A–D). Es wird beschrieben, wie sich CAT-Schwellenwerte von 15 und 20 Punkten auf die Größe der Gruppen A–D in der pneumologischen Praxis auswirken würden. Das neuere A–D-System gab gegenüber dem I–IV-System bessere Signale für Exazerbationen. Es zeigte sich, dass die Patienten weitgehend unabhängig von der Betrachtung der Klassifizierung I–IV oder A–D eine beträchtliche Übertherapie (niedrige Schweregrade) bzw. Untertherapie (hohe Schweregrade) aufwiesen. Lediglich der Einsatz von Prednisolon bzw. Roflumilast wies eine erkennbare Indikations-Beziehung zu vermehrten Exazerbationen in System A–D auf. Aus einer Reihe unterschiedlicher Gründe setzen sich offensichtlich die Prinzipien weder der alten I–IV-Klassifikation noch der neuen A–D-Klassifikation bei der Versorgung im untersuchten Setting durch. Soweit die Aufmerksamkeit für Exazerbationen nach A–D gesteigert ist, darf dies als Fortschritt betrachtet werden. Ein möglicher Nachteil der A–D-Klassifikation besteht in potenziell markanten erheblichen Schweregrad-Wechseln kurzfristig im interindividuellen Verlauf, die dem globalen Krankheitsgeschehen des Patienten nicht gerecht werden.
Data Mining on Mobile Devices for Personalisation

There has been a lot of research into the concept of personalising a user’s experience while interacting with software services. The proposed and implemented applications of personalisation vary greatly in terms of their scope, from simple aesthetic changes of an interface to full blown ubiquitous systems that micro-manage a user’s daily life. Along with this variation in scope comes a variation in the devices used to provide users with a personalised experience. Purely software-based solutions have been popular with e-commerce sites such as Amazon and search engines such as Google, and are important examples of building user profiles for the task of personalisation. However, the focus of this paper is personalisation on mobile devices, such as audio and video recorders, cameras, GPS devices and mobile phones, and how data mining techniques can be applied to the data generated by these devices in order to build profiles of their users. Data mining is a fundamental concept in the field of Information Retrieval (IR). It is the process of analysing vast amounts of data in order to discover meaning beyond its explicit face value. For example, after collecting the browsing history of a user over a period of three months we could define a list of websites that the user visited and the time at which those sites were visited. A very simple application of data mining might be to then count the frequency with which each site was visited, and from this determine the user’s favourite websites. We could also look at patterns in the time at which certain sites were visited; if the user visits the Sydney Morning Herald’s website at 9am each morning this is a trend that we might want to incorporate into a user profile somehow. More complex patterns might also be present, allowing for work flows to be designed around a user’s habits. These are just a few trivial examples some more complex applications of data mining will be discussed throughout this paper. Mobile devices have opened up access to new, richer types of data that were once difficult, if not impossible, to obtain. Users of mobile devices can record their surroundings with visual and audio capture devices, transmit their location to online services with GPS-capable devices, and provide a myriad of other useful contextual cues for software services to use in the construction of a user profile. Dedicated devices were once required for each of these forms of data, but with the power of modern mobile phones it is becoming easier to generate this data with a single device and provide a more complete ubiquitous experience. Applying data mining to this rich data allows for the construction of complex user profiles, or for the delivery of sophisticated services. For example, using a GPS-capable device it is possible to provide information related to the user’s current location, and with a
Female Sex Hormones Regulate Macrophage Function After Trauma-Hemorrhage and Prevent Increased Death Rate From Subsequent Sepsis

ObjectiveTo determine whether reduction of circulating female sex hormones by ovariectomy causes suppression of macrophage (M&phgr;) function after trauma-hemorrhage and increases susceptibility to subsequent sepsis. Summary Background DataStudies indicate that immune functions are markedly depressed in males but not in proestrus females after trauma-hemorrhage. Although male sex steroids are immunosuppressive, it remains unknown whether female sex hormones are immunoprotective after trauma-hemorrhage. MethodsCirculating female sex hormones were reduced by ovariectomy of 8-week-old female CBA/J mice. Two weeks afterward, ovariectomy and proestrus sham-ovariectomy mice were subjected to laparotomy (i.e., soft tissue trauma) and hemorrhagic shock (35 ± 5 mm Hg for 90 minutes, then resuscitated) or sham operation. Two hours afterward, splenic and peritoneal M&phgr; and Kupffer cells were isolated and cytokine production was assessed. In a second series of experiments, animals were subjected to sepsis by cecal ligation and puncture at 24 hours after trauma-hemorrhage or sham operation, and survival was assessed. ResultsRelease of interleukin-1 and interleukin-6 by splenic and peritoneal M&phgr; from proestrus mice was maintained after trauma-hemorrhage, whereas release of interleukin-1 and interleukin-6 by M&phgr; from ovariectomized mice was depressed by approximately 50%. In contrast, trauma-hemorrhage resulted in a fourfold increase of Kupffer cell release of tumor necrosis factor-alpha in ovariectomized females and a fivefold increase in plasma concentrations of tumor necrosis factor-alpha. Release of tumor necrosis factor-alpha and plasma concentrations were unchanged in proestrus mice under such conditions. When proestrus and ovariectomized animals were subjected to sepsis by cecal ligation and puncture at 24 hours after trauma-hemorrhage or sham operation, ovariectomized mice had a significantly higher death rate than proestrus mice. ConclusionsThese findings suggest that female sex hormones play a critical role in maintaining immune responses after trauma-hemorrhage by suppressing the elaboration of tumor necrosis factor-alpha and prevent the increased lethality from subsequent sepsis. Thus, female sex hormones may be a useful adjunct in preventing trauma-induced immunodepression and increased susceptibility to subsequent sepsis.
Scale effect challenges in urban hydrology highlighted with a distributed hydrological model

Abstract. Hydrological models are extensively used in urban water management, development and evaluation of future scenarios and research activities. There is a growing interest in the development of fully distributed and grid-based models. However, some complex questions related to scale effects are not yet fully understood and still remain open issues in urban hydrology. In this paper we propose a two-step investigation framework to illustrate the extent of scale effects in urban hydrology. First, fractal tools are used to highlight the scale dependence observed within distributed data input into urban hydrological models. Then an intensive multi-scale modelling work is carried out to understand scale effects on hydrological model performance. Investigations are conducted using a fully distributed and physically based model, Multi-Hydro, developed at Ecole des Ponts ParisTech. The model is implemented at 17 spatial resolutions ranging from 100 to 5 m. Results clearly exhibit scale effect challenges in urban hydrology modelling. The applicability of fractal concepts highlights the scale dependence observed within distributed data. Patterns of geophysical data change when the size of the observation pixel changes. The multi-scale modelling investigation confirms scale effects on hydrological model performance. Results are analysed over three ranges of scales identified in the fractal analysis and confirmed through modelling. This work also discusses some remaining issues in urban hydrology modelling related to the availability of high-quality data at high resolutions, and model numerical instabilities as well as the computation time requirements. The main findings of this paper enable a replacement of traditional methods of “model calibration” by innovative methods of “model resolution alteration” based on the spatial data variability and scaling of flows in urban hydrology.
Transcriptional and translational regulation of the marRAB multiple antibiotic resistance operon in Escherichia coli

The marRAB multiple antibiotic resistance operon of Escherichia coli is autorepressed by MarR. MarR binds to two palindromic sequences in vitro: site I lies between and overlaps the −35 and −10 hexamers for RNA polymerase binding; site II lies between the transcription start site and the GTG initiation codon of marR. To assess the importance of these sites in vivo, the effects of mutant sites on transcription were analysed using fusions to lacZ in the presence and absence of wild‐type MarR. When both sites were wild type, transcription in the derepressed marR‐deleted strain was 19‐fold that of the wild‐type strain; when only site I or site II was wild type, this ratio was reduced to 4.3‐ and 2.6‐fold, respectively, showing that full repression requires both sites, but some repression can occur at one site independently of the other. Translational fusions of the wild‐type promoter to lacZ demonstrated that marR translation proceeds at only 4.5% of the transcription rate. Analysis of translational fusions with mutant leader sequences demonstrated that the principal reason for inefficient translation is a weak Shine–Dalgarno (SD) sequence, AGG(G). Although the SD sequence is located within the potential stem–loop structure of site II, no evidence for occlusion of the SD sequence was found in the wild‐type strain. However, a single basepair mutation that strengthens the stem–loop structure drastically reduced the translational efficiency. Substitution of ATG for GTG as the initiation codon increased translational efficiency by 50%. Increasing the 5 bp spacing between the SD sequence and the GTG codon by one to four bases reduced the translational efficiency by 50–75%. Inefficient translation of marR may help to sensitize the cell to environmental signals.
Auxiliary Marker-Assisted Classification in the Absence of Class Identifiers

Constructing classification rules for accurate diagnosis of a disorder is an important goal in medical practice. In many clinical applications, there is no clinically significant anatomical or physiological deviation that exists to identify the gold standard disease status to inform development of classification algorithms. Despite the absence of perfect disease class identifiers, there are usually one or more disease-informative auxiliary markers along with feature variables that comprise known symptoms. Existing statistical learning approaches do not effectively draw information from auxiliary prognostic markers. We propose a large margin classification method, with particular emphasis on the support vector machine, assisted by available informative markers to classify disease without knowing a subject's true disease status. We view this task as statistical learning in the presence of missing data, and introduce a pseudo-Expectation-Maximization (EM) algorithm to the classification. A major difference between a regular EM algorithm and the algorithm proposed here is that we do not model the distribution of missing data given the observed feature variables either parametrically or semiparametrically. We also propose a sparse variable selection method embedded in the pseudo-EM algorithm. Theoretical examination shows that the proposed classification rule is Fisher consistent, and that under a linear rule, the proposed selection has an oracle variable selection property and the estimated coefficients are asymptotically normal. We apply the methods to build decision rules for including subjects in clinical trials of a new psychiatric disorder and present four applications to data available at the University of California, Irvine Machine Learning Repository.
Quantum mechanical model assembly study on the energetics of binding of arabinose, fucose, and galactose to L‐arabinose‐binding protein

Binding energies ofL‐arabinose, D‐fucose, and D‐galactose to L‐arabinose‐binding protein was investigated theoretically. The calculated binding energies were composed of three contributions: (1) direct ligand‐active site interaction energies calculated using static ab initio model assemblies; (2) solvation energies of the ligands; and (3) long‐range electrostatic interaction energies between the ligands and the protein matrix. The calculated binding energies and the contributions of the energy components were used to analyze the experimental affinities of the ligands. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
In Vitro Activity of a New Antifungal Azolyl-substituted Indole Against Aspergillus fumigatus

A new 2- (α -azolylbenzyl)indole derivative exhibited high in vitro activity against 10 strains of Aspergillus fumigatus. This active compound, MT18n, had MIC of 2 μg/mL and is slightly less active than itraconazole and amphotericin B. The mechanism of action of this compound was evaluated through scanning electron microscopy, ergosterol biosynthesis inhibition and phospholipase A 2 -like activity inhibition studies. Scanning electron microscopy allowed observation of the membrane perturbations caused by MT18n and inference of a critical role of MT18n in membrane synthesis inhibition. Like other azole derivatives MT18n inhibits ergosterol biosynthesis, with a minimal inhibitory concentration of 6 μM. On the other hand, MT18n (10 μM) decreased the secreted phospholipase A 2 -like activity of Aspergillus fumigatus, an enzyme involved in the invasion process of the host. These results show the high in vitro activity of MT18n against Aspergillus fumigatus and suggest that this compound disturbs the membrane structure via ergosterol biosynthesis inhibition and exhibits phospholipase activity inhibition.
Posterior capsule opacification and postoperative endophthalmitis following cataract surgery : Predictive and protective factors

Modern cataract surgery with implantation of an intraocular lens (IOL) is an increasingly safe and successful procedure, though complications still occur. This thesis addresses the most common complication, posterior capsule opacification (PCO) and the rare but serious complication postoperative endophthalmitis (POE). The pathogenesis of PCO is multifactorial and several surgical and IOL-related factors appear to play an important role in PCO formation. In this project the relation of PCO to IOLs of different materials and design was investigated and, furthermore, the association between PCO and the anterior capsulorhexis position. In a prospective study, patients were randomized to have implantation of a heparin-surface-modified (HSM) poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) IOL, a silicone IOL or a hydrophobic acrylic IOL after phacoemulsification (phaco). The HSM PMMA and the silicone IOL have rounded optic edges and the acrylic IOL has a sharp-edged optic. The PCO was assessed using the Evaluation of Posterior Capsule Opacification (EPCO) analysis system. After 2 years, patients with a hydrophobic acrylic IOL had significantly less PCO compared to those with a silicone or a HSM PMMA IOL. Three years postoperatively, the position of capsulorhexis in the silicone group and the acrylic group, were retrospectively analysed. Patients with the rhexis completely on the IOL optic had significantly less PCO than those with a decentred rhexis. Because of the potentially serious outcome after POE, various prophylactic regimes are used and putative risk factors are analysed. The object of this project was the investigation of the efficacy and safety of a previous undescribed prophylactic mode against POE, an intracameral injection of cefuroxime. Pharmacokinetic data on intraocular cefuroxime was analysed. Visual acuity, endothelial cell loss, laser flare intensity and IgE-mediated hypersensitivity were assessed. Furthermore, the project included a single-centre, retrospective clinical observation study of POE in association with prophylactic intracameral cefuroxime. National data on POE were investigated in a multi-centre prospective observational study and risk factors for POE were analysed in a single-centre case-control study. The studies showed that intracameral prophylactic cefuroxime appears safe and confers protection against POE, the latter in the sense that traditionally common species causing POE, such as staphylococci no longer are main aetiologies. Also, the general incidence of POE was very low.
Maternal Th1- and Th2-type reactivity to placental antigens in normal human pregnancy and unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortions.

Spontaneous abortion is the most common complication of pregnancy, but the etiology of a significant proportion of abortions is still unknown. We have examined the production of Th1- and Th2-type cytokines by women with unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) since it appears that successful murine pregnancy occurs in a Th2-dominant situation and that Th1-type immunity is associated with pregnancy failure. We have compared maternal reactivity toward placental antigens in women with a history of successful pregnancy with that in women with a history of RSA. This was done by coculturing maternal peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) with autologous placental cells and also by stimulating maternal PBMC with antigens from a choriocarcinoma cell line of trophoblastic origin. We detected significantly greater levels of the Th2 cytokines IL-6 and IL-10 in normal pregnancy compared to unexplained RSA and significantly higher levels of the Th1 cytokine IFN-gamma in RSA compared to normal pregnancy. These results suggest that women with normal pregnancy have a higher Th2 bias, while women with a history of RSA evince a bias toward Th1-type reactivity.
Individual cell growth rates of marine bacteria, measured by bromodeoxyuridine incorporation

We tested the application of 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU), a thymidine analogue that becomes incorporated into DNA during growth, to measure growth rates of individual marine bacteria cells. Immunocytochemical detection of BrdU incorporation into bacterial DNA has the potential for single-cell-based growth measurement. Optimized procedure for immunocytochemistry was applicable to 14 marine heterotrophic bacterial isolates belonging to γ-proteobacteria, α -pro- teobacteria, Cytophaga-Flavobacterium-Bacteroides (CFB) group and Gram-positive bacteria. The relationship between cell-specific fluorescence intensity and specific growth rate was linearly corre- lated among CFB group isolates, which indicated a potential of the method for quantitative measure- ment. Analysis of the detection limit indicated that bacteria with <1 d doubling time could be detected in 5 h incubations using bacterial assemblages in seawater. The method was also applied to visualize actively growing bacteria on phytoplankton detritus in seawater and was sensitive enough to test the variation in growth rate of natural bacterial assemblages in coastal waters using incuba- tions of a few hours in duration. The method has the potential to yield insights into microspatial vari- ability in bacterial growth rates in seawater.
A novel asymmetric multilevel inverter with minimum number of switches for renewable power grid applications

A multilevel inverter (MLI), which is a dc-ac converter is widely used in high voltage and high power applications, as increased number of voltage levels produce less number of harmonics. In this paper, a novel asymmetric multilevel inverter is proposed which contains less number of switches and can be employed in renewable power grid applications. The proposed topology consists of 25 output levels with only 12 switches, thereby reducing gate driver circuitry and optimizing circuit layout. Asymmetric multilevel inverter is thus more advantageous than symmetric multilevel inverter in obtaining more number of output levels. The other advantages of proposed topology are low voltage stress and reduced total harmonic distortion (THD). The THD for inverter circuit with 12 switches and 50Hz frequency is only 4.98%. The results are verified by modeling and simulating in MATLAB/ SIMULINK.
Inhaled nitric oxide in adult patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome.

In some patients, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) leads to life-threatening refractory hypoxemia developing. Physicians may consider hypoxemic rescue therapies in an attempt to improve oxygenation in these patients while on conventional mechanical ventilation support. Use of inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) in ARDS is one of the most widely-studied pharmacological interventions over the past two decades. Its efficacy was examined in several randomized clinical trials and has undergone meta-analyses. Although iNO treatment was associated with improved oxygenation, researchers unfortunately never demonstrated a concomitant decrease in mortality or any improved outcome. Hence the current evidence suggests that iNO should not be routinely used in patients with ARDS however may be considered as adjunct therapy to tentatively improve oxygenation while other therapies are being considered in patients with severely hypoxemic ARDS.This review focuses on the therapeutic use of iNO in adult ARDS patients. We set out some recommendations for its use as rescue therapy against refractory hypoxemia.
The Effect of Benign and Malignant Liver Disease on the Tumour Markers CA19-9 and CEA

The serum concentrations of CA19-9 and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) were measured in 150 consecutive patients with histologically proven liver disease admitted to a liver unit for transplant assessment. A significant proportion of the cases studied had a CA19-9 above the upper limit of the reference range (35 kU/L): alcoholic liver disease (73%), primary sclerosing cholangitis (61%), primary biliary cirrhosis (60%), chronic hepatitis B (71%), chronic hepatitis C (84%), autoimmune hepatitis (36%) and hepatocellular carcinoma (54%). CEA was only elevated in a small proportion of the patients with benign liver disease and the degree of elevation was small (15-37 μg/L). Significantly raised CEA was observed in two patients (15%) with hepatocellular carcinoma. Statistically significant correlations were observed between the serum CA19-9 concentration and standard parameters of liver dysfunction: positive correlations with aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase and bilirubin and negative correlations with albumin and γ-glutamyltransferase. Positive relationships were also observed between CA19-9 and both CEA and creatinine. Both increased production of CA19-9 from biliary epithelial cells and decreased clearance due to cholestasis may be contributing to the elevation of CA19-9 in the bloodstream. Our data indicate that caution is needed in the interpretation of CA19-9 results in the presence of liver dysfunction.