Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Genetic Characterization of Campylobacter jejuni O:41 Isolates in Relation with Guillain-BarréSyndrome

ABSTRACT Campylobacter jejuni O:41 strains are found in association with Guillain-Barré syndrome in South Africa. Strains of this serotype collected over 17 years were characterized by amplified fragment length polymorphism and flagellin typing to determine their clonal nature. Despite minor variation in GM1 expression, all of the strains were genetically indistinguishable, indicating that they are representative of a genetically stable clone.
Coordinated Control of Distributed Energy-Storage Systems for Voltage Regulation in Distribution Networks

In this paper, distributed energy-storage systems (ESSs) are proposed to solve the voltage rise/drop issues in low-voltage (LV) distribution networks with a high penetration of rooftop photovoltaics (PVs). During the peak PV generation period, the voltages are mitigated by charging the ESSs, and the stored energy is discharged for voltage support during the peak load period. The impact of storage devices integrated with the PV source on feeder voltages is investigated in detail. A coordinated control method, which includes distributed and localized controls, is proposed for distributed ESSs. The distributed control using the consensus algorithm regulates the feeder voltages within the required limits, while the localized control regulates the state of charge (SoC) of each ESS within the desired SoC range. The entire control structure ensures voltage regulation while effectively utilizing storage capacity under various operation conditions. The proposed control method is evaluated in LV distribution networks, and the simulation results validate the effectiveness of this method.
Variation in WNT genes expression in different subtypes of chronic lymphocytic leukemia

The Wnt molecules are a family of secretory glycoproteins implicated in proliferation and differentiation of both normal and malignant cells. Despite extensive investigation of the WNT genes expression profile in various tumors, little is known about their expression in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). In this study, the expression profile of 14 WNT genes was investigated in a large number of Iranian patients with CLL. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR was performed on peripheral blood leukemic cells obtained from 62 patients with CLL. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells isolated from 11 age matched normal subjects served as control to determine baseline expression level of these genes. Our results have demonstrated significant up-regulation of WNT-3, WNT-4, WNT-5B, WNT-7B, WNT-9A, WNT-10A, and WNT-16B in patients with CLL compared to normal subjects (p < 0.05 to p < 0.0001). WNT gene expression analysis in different CLL subtypes showed a similar pattern of expression in progressive and indolent clinical subtypes. Over-expression of WNT-5A and WNT-9A genes was observed in patients with no mutation in their immunoglobulin (Ig) variable region heavy chain (Ig VH) genes compared to those with mutated Ig VH genes. Comparison between patients expressing VH1 (n = 9), VH3 (n = 40) and VH4 (n = 12) gene families, revealed down-regulation of WNT-3 and WNT-9A in VH3 positive patients. Our results indicate up-regulation of many members of the WNT gene family in CLL suggesting involvement of the Wnt canonical and/or noncanonical signaling pathways in CLL tumorigenesis.
Inactivating mutations of KILLER/DR5 gene in gastric cancers.

BACKGROUND & AIMS The KILLER/death receptor (DR)5 has been identified as a potent inducer of apoptosis, and mapped to chromosome 8p21-22, showing frequent allelic loss in gastric cancer. The p53-induced apoptosis is an important biological process to prevent the development of cancer, and is mediated in part by expression of KILLER/DR5 only in cells with wild-type p53 protein, but not in those lacking p53 function. The aim of this study was to determine whether genetic alterations of KILLER/DR5 could be involved in the tumorigenesis of gastric cancer. METHODS We analyzed the genetic alterations of KILLER/DR5 and p53 in 43 gastric cancers and the loss of function of KILLER/DR5 mutants, detected in this study. RESULTS We found 3 KILLER/DR5 missense mutations (7%), and 2 of them showed allelic loss in the remaining allele. Interestingly, all the mutants inhibit apoptotic cell death in transfection studies. We also found 6 p53 mutations (14%). Interestingly, the tumors containing the KILLER/DR5 mutation did not carry the p53 mutation. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that inactivation of KILLER/DR5 caused by mutations of KILLER/DR5 may be one of the possible escaping mechanisms against KILLER/DR5-mediated apoptosis and that inactivating mutation of KILLER/DR5 may contribute to the development or progression of a subset of gastric cancers.
Improving the scalability of checkpoint recovery for networks-on-chip

This paper proposes a method of improving the scalability of checkpoint recovery for network-on-chip based systems in terms of checkpointing latency and memory requirements. The improvement considers the broadcasts implied in the checkpointing protocol. It combines the reduction of the number of broadcasts in the checkpoint synchronization protocol with the use of a more efficient broadcast method at network level.
Cyclosporine treatment of refractory T‐cell lymphomas

Background. Cyclosporine (cyclosporin A, CSA) prolongs the survival of transplanted organs by reducing the transcription of cytokines, especially interleukin‐2, that are thought to mediate T‐cell expansion and subsequent graft rejection. Recently, CSA has been suggested as a potentially effective agent in the treatment of T‐cell neoplasms. As a result, a Phase II trial of CSA was done in patients with refractory T‐cell lymphomas.
The Complexity of the Union of (alpha, beta)-Covered Objects

An $(\alpha,\beta)$-covered object is a simply connected planar region $c$ with the property that for each point $p\in\partial c$ there exists a triangle contained in $c$ and having $p$ as a vertex, such that all its angles are at least $\alpha>0$ and all its edges are at least $\beta\cdot{\rm \diam}(c)$-long. This notion extends that of fat convex objects. We show that the combinatorial complexity of the union of $n$ $(\alpha,\beta)$-covered objects of "constant description complexity" is $O(\lambda_{s+2}(n) \log^2n\log\log n)$, where $s$ is the maximum number of intersections between the boundaries of any pair of given objects, and $\lambda_s(n)$ denotes the maximum length of an $(n,s)$-Davenport--Schinzel sequence. Our result extends and improves previous results concerning convex $\alpha$-fat objects.
Preceptor Perceptions of New Graduate Nurse Readiness for Practice

Preparing nursing graduates for entry into practice is a priority for academic and healthcare institutions. To effectively prepare competent entry-level practitioners, it is important to understand clinical agency expectations. Most clinical agencies utilize some form of a precepted orientation experience for new graduate nurses. The purpose of this study was to examine preceptors' perceptions of the competence of new graduate nurses. Data analysis indicated several areas of weakness in new graduate nurses' clinical skills. This information can be used by academic nursing programs to revise clinical experiences to better prepare graduates for entry into practice. Findings can also be utilized to assist healthcare institutions with designing orientation programs for new graduate nurses. Suggestions are provided to help train preceptors for their important role. It is essential, particularly in today's complex healthcare environment, that strategies be explored to facilitate success of the emerging nursing workforce.
Biodegradable Mg/HA/TiO2 Nanocomposites Coated with MgO and Si/MgO for Orthopedic Applications: A Study on the Corrosion, Surface Characterization, and Biocompatability

In the field of orthopedics, magnesium (Mg) and magnesium-based composites as biodegradable materials have attracted fundamental research. However, the medical applications of magnesium implants have been restricted owing to their poor corrosion resistance, especially in the physiological environment. To improve the corrosion resistance of Mg/HA/TiO2 nanocomposites, monolayer MgO and double-layer Si/MgO coatings were fabricated layer-by-layer on the surface of a nanocomposite using a powder metallurgy route. Then, coating thickness, surface morphology, and chemical composition were determined, and the corrosion behavior of the uncoated and coated samples was evaluated. Field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) micrographs show that an inner MgO layer with a porous microstructure and thickness of around 34 μm is generated on the Mg/HA/TiO2 nanocomposite substrate, and that the outer Si layer thickness is obtained at around 23 μm for the double-layered coated sample. Electrochemical corrosion tests and immersion corrosion tests were carried out on the uncoated and coated samples and the Si/MgO-coated nanocomposite showed significantly improved corrosion resistance compared with uncoated Mg/HA/TiO2 in simulated body fluid (SBF). Corrosion products comprising Mg(OH)2, HA, Ca3(PO4)2, and amorphous CaP components were precipitated on the immersed samples. Improved cytocompatibility was observed with coating as the cell viability ranged from 73% in uncoated to 88% for Si/MgO-coated Mg/HA/TiO2 nanocomposite after nine days of incubation.
Multiple factors underlying the maximum motility of Escherichia coli as cultures enter post-exponential growth

Motility and chemotaxis allow cells to move away from stressful microenvironments. Motility of Escherichia coli in batch cultures, as measured by cell swimming speed, was low in early-exponential-phase cells, peaked as the cells entered post-exponential phase, and declined into early stationary phase. Transcription from the flhB operon and synthesis of flagellin protein similarly peaked in late exponential and early post-exponential phases, respectively. The increase in swimming speed between early-exponential and post-exponential phases was correlated with twofold increases in both flagellar length and flagellar density per cell volume. This increased investment in flagella probably reflects the increased adaptive value of motility in less favorable environments. The decrease in speed between post-exponential and stationary phases was correlated with a threefold decrease in torque produced by the flagellar motors and presumably reflects decreased proton motive force available to stationary-phase cells.
Design and Analysis of a Conductance Compensator for Keeping Constant Bandwidth and Output Impedance in Average Current Mode Control

Take the case of parallel modules in battery discharging regulator of power conditioning unit, which is based on Weinberg topology, a conductance compensator used in average current mode control is proposed in this paper, which could ensure constant loop bandwidth and output impedance when the number of operating parallel modules changes. The design principle of conductance compensator is shown as that the total conductance coefficient keeps constant when the number of operating parallel modules changes. Besides, a circuit of the conductance compensator, and the timing between the regulation of conductance compensator and ON/OFF of parallel modules, as well as the frequency-domain constraints of each function part in outer voltage control loop, are also illustrated. Additionally, measurements of the loop characteristic and output impedance of regulated power bus with different numbers of operating parallel modules, as well as the voltage ripple and current waveforms at the ON/OFF moment of parallel modules (four parallel modules in total), have been carried out, validating the design purpose of the proposed conductance compensator.
Inappropriate therapy for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus: Resource utilization and cost implications*

Background:Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus causes significant morbidity and mortality. Initially inappropriate antibiotic therapy for methicillin-resistant S. aureus increases the risk for mortality. The impact of initially inappropriate antibiotic therapy on hospital length of stay and costs remains unknown. Methods:We identified patients admitted with nonnosocomial methicillin-resistant S. aureus sterile-site infections during a 3 yr period and compared those given appropriate antibiotic therapy with those given initially inappropriate antibiotic therapy. Appropriate therapy was defined based on timely administration of an anti-infective to which the pathogen was in vitro susceptible. Hospital length of stay served as the primary end point whereas total hospital costs represented a secondary end point. We attempted to adjust for multiple potential confounders including demographics, comorbid illnesses, infection characteristics, and severity of illness. We conducted subgroup analyses in patients who survived their hospital stay and in those requiring admission to the intensive care unit. Results:The cohort included 291 patients and 77% received initially inappropriate antibiotic therapy. Approximately one in five patients died during their hospitalization. The median length of stay among the appropriately treated population was 2 days shorter than those given initially inappropriate antibiotic therapy (7.1 vs. 9.3 days, p = .050). After adjusting for covariates in a Cox proportional hazards model, initially appropriate therapy remained associated with a reduced length of stay (hazard ratio: 0.69, 95% confidence interval: 0.51–0.92, p = .013). Median crude costs in those treated appropriately were $13,688 compared with $19,427 (p = .019). Restricting the analysis to either hospital survivors or to those needing intensive care did not alter our observations. Conclusion:Initially inappropriate antibiotic therapy for methicillin-resistant S. aureus prolongs length of stay and increases hospital costs. Efforts to lower rates of initially inappropriate antibiotic therapy for methicillin-resistant S. aureus sterile-site infections will likely improve outcomes for both patients and for healthcare institutions.
Determination of food portion size by image processing

Overweight and obesity have become an epidemic in many parts of the world threatening the health of over one billion people. In order to combat this epidemic effectively, it is desirable to develop new methods to monitor individual's food intake and provide quantitative information about the nutrients and calories consumed in people's daily life. We present an electronic photographic approach and associated image processing algorithms to estimate food portion size, which is then utilized to obtain the required information. Our experiments show that our approach is accurate, providing an effective tool for people to track their nutritional and energy intake.
Concurrent communication among multi-transceiver stations over shared media (computer networks, spread spectrum)

Presently, most local-area networks employ a single broadcast bus to interconnect single-transceiver stations. In order to increase a network's throughput beyond a single bus's data rate without using dedicated switching nodes, multiple buses and multi-transceiver stations are required. We explore the design space of single-hop interconnections among such stations; i.e., interconnections that provide a passive transmission path between any two stations. For example, we present interconnections whose throughput can grow quadratically with the number of transmitters and receivers per station. They consist of a collection of buses, each of which interconnects only a proper subset of the stations using one of their transceivers. Yet, for any two stations, there is at least one bus to which they are both connected. We refer to these as selective-broadcast interconnections, or SBI's. The use of unidirectional media significantly enriches the design space of SBI's since, unlike with bidirectional media, the sets of receivers that hear two transmissions need not be identical or disjoint. A graph-theoretic criterion for determining whether or not transmissions over a specified pair of paths would interfere with each other is established. It is then used in studying the performance of various SBI's. Implementation-related issues, such as power budget in fiber optic implementations, are discussed in the context of local-area networks. Lastly, the concept of SBI's is shown to also apply to memory-processor interconnection, as well as to additional domains. A spread-spectrum channel can accommodate several concurrent successful transmissions, and a single-transceiver node can thus utilize only a small fraction of the channel's capacity. In order to allocate the appropriate fraction of capacity to a "busy" node, we propose to equip it with several transmitters and receivers, thereby turning it into a "supernode". Several architectures and operation policies for supernodes are suggested and compared; it is shown that a supernode can significantly outperform a collection of independent conventional nodes with the same total numbers of transmitters and receivers. Packet-radio networks with half-duplex nodes, as well as networks with full-duplex nodes, are considered.
Neoadjuvant chemotherapy and radical surgery versus exclusive radiotherapy in locally advanced squamous cell cervical cancer: results from the Italian multicenter randomized study.

PURPOSE Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) and radical surgery (RS) have emerged as a possible alternative to conventional radiation therapy (RT) in locally advanced cervical carcinoma. In 1990, a phase III trial was undertaken to verify such a hypothesis in terms of survival and treatment-related morbidity. PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients with squamous cell, International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage IB2 to III cervical cancer were eligible for the study. They received cisplatin-based NACT followed by RS (type III to V radical hysterectomy plus systematic pelvic lymphadenectomy) (arm A) or external-beam RT (45 to 50 Gy) followed by brachyradiotherapy (20 to 30 Gy) (arm B). RESULTS Of 441 patients randomly assigned to NACT+RS or RT, eligibility was confirmed in 210 and 199 patients, respectively. Treatment was administered according to protocol in 76% of arm A patients and 72% of arm B patients. Adjuvant treatment was delivered in 48 operated patients (29%). There was no evidence for any significant excess of severe morbidity in one of the two arms. The 5-year overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) rates were 58.9% and 55.4% for arm A and 44.5% and 41.3% for arm B (P =.007 and P =.02), respectively. Subgroup survival analysis shows OS and PFS rates of 64.7% and 59.7% (stage IB2-IIB, NACT+RS), 46.4% and 46.7% (stage IB2-IIB, RT) (P =.005 andP =.02), 41.6% and 41.9% (stage III, NCAT+RS), 36.7% and 36.4% (stage III, RT) (P =.36 and P =.29), respectively. Treatment had a significant impact on OS and PFS. CONCLUSION Although significant only for the stage IB2 to IIB group, a survival benefit seems to be associated with the NACT+RS compared with conventional RT.
Retargetable multi-level debugging in HW/SW codesign

Debugging is a standard part of an embedded system design process. The debugger is used for a target application debugging and for a testing of the designed system. The target application debugging can be performed either on a statement-accurate level (i.e. source-language level debugging) or on an instruction-accurate level (i.e. assembly-language level debugging). The architecture design debugging is done on a cycle-accurate level. Nowadays embedded systems are often parallel-based. Therefore, it is important to allow debugging of systems with more than one application-specific instruction set processors (ASIP). Since the current trend of ASIP design is focused on automatic tool-chain generation, the debugger must be retargetable to arbitrary architecture. In this paper, we present the concept of an automatically generated multi-level retargetable debugger. This debugger can operate on each of the previously mentioned levels and it allows debugging of multiprocessor systems. The experimental results can be found at the end of the paper.
Automotive grade MIMO antenna setup and performance evaluation for LTE-communications

Multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) is a technique to achieve high data rates in mobile communication networks and is used by the Long-Term Evolution (LTE) standard. The integration of a two antenna MIMO system for usage in worldwide LTE networks into a conventional automotive roof top antenna is discussed. In-situ antenna measurement results of the final LTE MIMO configuration are shown. Furthermore initial test results of the integrated LTE antenna system in an 800 MHz live network are presented and a comparison to a reference system consisting of two quarter-wavelength monopole antennas with ideal spatial separation is provided.
Urinary catecholamines in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder with and without comorbid anxiety.

OBJECTIVE To determine whether there are differences in noradrenergic or adrenergic functioning in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with and without anxiety. METHOD ADHD children with and without a comorbid overanxious (ANX) disorder were compared to each other and to normal controls in terms of 2-hour urinary excretion of norepinephrine (NE), epinephrine (EPI), and their metabolites. All subjects performed a fixed series of mentally stressful tasks during the collection period. RESULTS Children with ADHD, regardless of comorbid anxiety, excreted more normetanephrine (NMN), the chief extracellular metabolite of NE, than controls, as well as more vanillylmandelic acid. Children with ADHD alone had lower NE/NMN and EPI/metanephrine ratios compared to controls. Children with ADHD/ANX excreted more EPI than ADHD children without anxiety. CONCLUSIONS Children with ADHD may have a higher tonic activity of the noradrenergic system than controls, while children with comorbid ADHD/ANX may be differentiated from those with ADHD alone by higher adrenergic activity.
Mixed infection (Pseudomonas and coagulase negative staphylococci) microbial keratitis associated with extended wear silicone hydrogel contact lens

Frontalis suspensions with alloplastic slings are well established.1,2 The thick eyebrow skin of infants is prone to scar formation. Forehead scars caused by frontalis suspension procedures can be problematic. We describe a technique of congenital ptosis surgery that avoids eyebrow incisions. This new procedure utilises a Nylon monofilament suture for frontalis suspension. The Nylon suture is passed in a circlage fashion via puncture wounds without making eyebrow incisions. Two puncture sites, approximately 10 mm apart, are marked 3 mm above the lash line centred over the area of desired maximal eyelid elevation. Another two puncture sites are marked above the eyebrow approximately in line with the lateral and medial canthi. The path of the circlage is marked out by joining the marked puncture sites. The eyelid and eyebrow are infiltrated with local anaesthetic with adrenaline (epinephrine). A Keith needle is dual threaded with a 4/0 …