Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
EFFICACY OF OKT3 MONOCLONAL ANTIBODY THERAPY IN STEROID‐RESISTANT, PREDOMINANTLY VASCULAR ACUTE REJECTION: A Report of three Cases with Morphologic and Immunophenotypic Evaluation

We describe three patients who became oliguric and uremic in the early posttransplantation period. Following treatment with pulse methylprednisolone, all had biopsy evidence of severe residual rejection that was predominantly vascular. T cells formed the bulk of the infiltrates. Subsequent treatment with the monoclonal antibody OKT3 was associated with an immediate diuresis and improvement in serum creatinine. Repeat renal biopsy, obtained in clinical remission, in two of the three patients, showed marked improvement in the vascular lesions. All three patients maintain normal renal function 9, 13, and 18 months later. We conclude that OKT3 was effective in reversing steroid-resistant rejection despite a predominantly vascular pattern of cellular infiltration not usually considered amenable to any antirejection therapy.
Negative Regulation of Mitotic Promoting Factor by the Checkpoint Kinase Chk1 in Simian Virus 40 Lytic Infection

ABSTRACT Lytic infection of African green monkey kidney (CV-1) cells by simian virus 40 (SV40) is characterized by stimulation of DNA synthesis leading to bypass of mitosis and replication of cellular and viral DNA beyond a 4C DNA content. To define mechanisms underlying the absence of mitosis, the expression levels of upstream regulatory molecules of mitosis-promoting factor (MPF) were compared in parallel synchronized cultures of SV40-infected and uninfected CV-1 cells. The DNA replication/damage checkpoint kinase Chk1 was phosphorylated in both uninfected and SV40-infected cultures arrested at G1/S by mimosine, consistent with checkpoint activation. Following release of uninfected cultures from G1/S, Chk1 phosphorylation was lost even though Chk1 protein levels were retained. In contrast, G1/S-released SV40-infected cultures exhibited dephosphorylation of Chk1 in S phase, followed by an increase in Chk1 phosphorylation coinciding with entry of infected cells into >G2. Inhibitors of Chk1, UCN-01 and caffeine, induced mitosis and abnormal nuclear condensation and increased the protein kinase activity of MPF in SV40-infected CV-1 cells. These results demonstrate that SV40 lytic infection triggers components of a DNA damage checkpoint pathway. In addition, chemical inhibition of Chk1 activity suggests that Chk1 contributes to the absence of mitosis during SV40 lytic infection.
The challenge of managing body weight in the modern world

Obesity prevalence has increased dramatically in parallel with rapid economic development and rising standards of living around the world. There is growing recognition that this ‘epidemic’ of overweight is being driven by environmental factors that affect our eating and physical activity behaviours. In effect, the environment overwhelms our biological capacity to maintain a healthy weight. There is little scientific evidence to quantify the relative contributions of various environmental factors to risk of overweight and obesity. However, it is easy to characterize the environment as one in which food is readily available, convenient, inexpensive and great tasting. Likewise, the modern environment discourages physical activity at work, at home and in the community, and attractive sedentary pursuits compete with activity for leisure time. In fact, the causes of obesity in our society are so manifold as to be inseparable from the way we live. Many of the forces that drive individuals to eat too much and move too little are coupled to a desire for self-efficacy and increased productivity. It can be argued therefore that obesity is an unintended consequence of the emphasis we collectively place on productivity and a desire to achieve ‘the good life’. In this sense, obesity is not really a biological problem, but a social problem that requires a multifactorial social solution. In order to create demand for environmental change to promote healthy lifestyle behaviours, we will need to create a greater sense of crisis among average citizens. We will need to explore solutions that make economic sense for everyone. We will need to create a new social norm for healthy eating and active living. The magnitude of the challenge is daunting, but we can begin by engaging broad scale public private partnerships. After all, we are all part of the global community that is affected by this emerging crisis.
Childhood Vitamin A Capsule Supplementation Coverage in Nigeria: A Multilevel Analysis of Geographic and Socioeconomic Inequities

Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is a huge public health burden among preschool-aged children in sub-Saharan Africa, and is associated with a high level of susceptibility to infectious diseases and pediatric blindness. We examined the Nigerian national vitamin A capsule (VAC) supplementation program, a short-term cost-effective intervention for prevention of VAD-associated morbidity for equity in terms of socioeconomic and geographic coverage. Using the most current, nationally representative data from the 2008 Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey, we applied multilevel regression analysis on 19,555 children nested within 888 communities across the six regions of Nigeria. The results indicate that there was variability in uptake of VAC supplement among the children, which could be attributed to several characteristics at individual, household, and community levels. Individual-level characteristics, such as maternal occupation, were shown to be associated with receipt of VAC supplement. The results also reveal that household wealth status is the only household-level characteristic that is significantly associated with receipt of VAC, while neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage and geographic location were the community-level characteristics that determined receipt of VAC. The findings from this study have shown that both individual and contextual socioeconomic status, together with geographic location, is important for uptake of VAC. These findings underscore the need to accord the VAC supplementation program the much needed priority with focus on characteristics of neighborhoods (communities), in addition to individual-level characteristics.
1C-3 A Design for a High-Density Focused Ultrasound Array Addressing and Driving System

Currently, most phased array systems intended for therapy are 1-dimensional and employ between 5 and 200 elements, with a few 2-dimensional systems using several hundred elements. The move towards lambda/2 inter-element spacing, which provides complete 3D beam steering, would require a large number of closely spaced elements (0.15 mm to 3 mm). The solution to the resulting problem of cost and cable assembly size, which this study examines, is to quantize the phases available at the array input. By connecting elements with similar phases to a single wire, a significant reduction in the number of incoming lines can be achieved, while maintaining focusing and beam steering capability. This study has explored the feasibility of such an approach using computer simulations and experiments with a test circuit driving a 100-element linear array. The simulation results demonstrated that adequate focusing can be obtained with only four phase signals, without large increases in the grating lobes or the dimensions of the focus. The experiments showed that the method can be implemented in practice and adequate focusing can be achieved with four phase signals with a reduction of 20% in the peak pressure amplitude squared when compared with the infinite phase resolution case. The results indicate that the use of this technique would make it possible to drive more than 10000 elements with 33 input lines. The implementation of this method could have a large impact on ultrasound therapy and diagnostic devices
The Effectiveness of the Progression of Widex Zen Tinnitus Therapy: A Pilot Study.

Purpose The aim of this study was to measure the progression of benefits to individuals with tinnitus from providing informational counseling, hearing aids, a brief tinnitus activities treatment and Zen therapy. Method Several magnitude estimation scales and tinnitus handicap scales were administered for the duration of the study to 20 participants. Results Results indicated that all participants benefited from this sequential approach of providing different components of this tinnitus treatment. Large benefits were observed following the tinnitus activities treatment and the Zen treatments. Conclusion We conclude that the progressive approach of treatment demonstrated here should be of benefit to most individuals with tinnitus and that the Widex Zen sound therapy is a worthwhile treatment for many tinnitus sufferers.
Modeling flue pipes-subsonic flow, lattice Boltzmann, and parallel distributed computers

Abstract : The problem of simulating the hydrodynamics and the acoustic waves inside wind musical instruments such as the recorder the organ, and the flute is considered. The problem is attacked by developing suitable local-interaction algorithms and a parallel simulation system on a cluster of non-dedicated workstations. Physical measurements of the acoustic signal of various flue pipes show good agreement with the simulations. Previous attempts at this problem have been frustrated because the modeling of acoustic waves requires small integration time steps which make the simulation very compute-intensive. In addition, the simulation of subsonic viscous compressible flow at high Reynolds numbers is susceptible to slow-growing numerical instabilities which are triggered by high-frequency acoustic modes. The numerical instabilities are mitigated by employing suitable explicit algorithms: lattice Boltzmann method, compressible finite differences, and fourth-order artificial-viscosity filter. Further, a technique for accurate initial and boundary conditions for the lattice Boltzmann method is developed, and the second-order accuracy of the lattice Boltzmann method is demonstrated. The compute-intensive requirements are handled by developing a parallel simulation system on a cluster of non-dedicated workstations. The system achieves 80 percent parallel efficiency (speedup/processors) using 20 HP-Apollo workstations. The system is built on UNIX and TCP/IP communication routines, and includes automatic process migration from busy hosts to free hosts. (AN)
A Statistically Rigorous Analysis of 2D Path-Planning Algorithms

Path-planning is a well-known studied problem in Artificial Intelligence. Given two points in a map, path-planning algorithms search for a path that joins those two points, avoiding obstacles. It is a challenging problem with important practical applications in a wide range of applications: autonomous mobile robotics, logistics or video games, just to mention some of them. Given its importance, it has attracted much research, resulting in a large number of algorithms, some classical, such as A*, other more specialized, such as swarms. However, despite all the literature dedicated to this problem, the statistics used to analyze experimental results in most cases are näıve. In this paper we position in favor of the need of incorporating stronger statistical methods in path-planning empirical research and promote a debate in the research community. To this end we analyze some 2Dgrid classical path-planning algorithms in discrete domains (i.e. A* and A* with post processing) and more recent algorithms in continuos domains (i.e. Theta* and S-Theta*). Given the differences of these algorithms, we study them under different criteria: Run-time, number of heading changes, number of expanded vertices and path-length.
Fundamental limitations of crystal oscillator tolerances on FMCW radar accuracy

Crystal oscillators (XOs) are widely used in fractional-N phase locked loops (Frac-N PLLs) as reference frequency sources due to their good phase noise performance. However, these XOs have manufacturing tolerances in the range of few tens of parts per million (ppm). When a Frac-N PLL is used in frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radar applications, the XO accuracy affects the frequency and timing accuracies of the radar chirps and so it directly affects the distance measurement accuracy. In this work, the fundamental limits of XO tolerance on distance measurement accuracy of FMCW radars are discussed and modelled. Moreover, an FMCW radar system hardware prototype is developed. Measurement results are in good agreement with the expectations of the simulation model.
Differentiated THP-1 Cells Exposed to Pathogenic and Nonpathogenic Borrelia Species Demonstrate Minimal Differences in Production of Four Inflammatory Cytokines.

Tick-borne borreliae include Lyme disease and relapsing fever agents, and they are transmitted primarily by ixodid (hard) and argasid (soft) tick vectors, respectively. Tick-host interactions during feeding are complex, with host immune responses influenced by biological differences in tick feeding and individual differences within and between host species. One of the first encounters for spirochetes entering vertebrate host skin is with local antigen-presenting cells, regardless of whether the tick-associated Borrelia sp. is pathogenic. In this study, we performed a basic comparison of cytokine responses in THP-1-derived macrophages after exposure to selected borreliae, including a nonpathogen. By using THP-1 cells, differentiated to macrophages, we eliminated variations in host response and reduced the system to an in vitro model to evaluate the extent to which the Borrelia spp. influence cytokine production. Differentiated THP-1 cells were exposed to four Borrelia spp. , Borrelia hermsii (DAH), Borrelia burgdorferi (B31), B. burgdorferi (NC-2), or Borrelia lonestari (LS-1), or lipopolysaccharides (LPS) (activated) or media (no treatment) controls. Intracellular and secreted interferon (IFN)-γ, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α were measured using flow cytometric and Luminex-based assays, respectively, at 6, 24, and 48 h postexposure time points. Using a general linear model ANOVA for each cytokine, treatment (all Borrelia spp. and LPS compared to no treatment) had a significant effect on secreted TNF-α only. Time point had a significant effect on intracellular IFN-γ, TNF-α and IL-6. However, we did not see significant differences in selected cytokines among Borrelia spp. TREATMENTS Thus, in this model, we were unable to distinguish pathogenic from nonpathogenic borreliae using the limited array of selected cytokines. While unique immune profiles may be detectable in an in vitro model and may reveal predictors for pathogenicity in borreliae of unknown pathogenicity, a larger panel of cytokines would be desirable to test.
Dynamic material picking schedule and communication protocols for warehouse picking system

This paper proposes dynamic material picking schedule, analyzes the problem of determining the formats of the communication infrastructure in a real-time picking system as well as determining the specifications of the communication protocols. An execution process of the sequence for picking/inputting tasks is defined. Relationship between communication specifications is discussed. Experimental results are shown that the proposed communication protocols provide good performance.
A Simple Cross Correlation Switched Beam System (XSBS) for Angle of Arrival Estimation

We propose a practical, simple and hardware friendly, yet novel and efficient, angle of arrival (AoA) estimation system. Our intuitive, two-phases cross-correlation-based system requires a switched beam antenna array with a single radio frequency circuitry, which is used to collect an omni-directional reference signal using a single element of the antenna array in the first phase. Our system applies energy detection on the collected reference signal to decide on the presence or absence of a transmitted signal. In the second phase, the system steers the main beam to scan the angular region of interest. The collected signal from each beam angle is cross correlated with the omni-directional reference signal to determine the angle of arrival of the received signal. The combined practicality and high efficiency of our system is demonstrated through performance and complexity comparisons with one of the literature’s best performing multiple signal classification (MUSIC) algorithm. Our proposed AoA estimation system has a negligible root mean square error at signal to noise ratio level greater than −16 dB, which is very comparable to MUSIC.
This Ain't Something You Can Pray Away: Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, A Photovoice Project

E day, across the nation, grandparents are making the difficult choice to either care for their grandchildren or lose them, possibly forever, into a state-run foster care program. For three weeks during Spring 2009, five grandparents from Project Guide: Grandparents Raising Grandchildren told their stories using Photovoice, a qualitative process in which photographs are used in more vulnerable populations to enable them to record and reflect on issues that affect them. It then powerfully promotes communication of those concerns to others. In their own words and with their own photographs the grandparents identified the objects, situations and settings they feel contribute to their quality of life and overall well-being. The This Ain’t Something You Can Pray Away: Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, A Photovoice Project hopes to offer important insights for educators, counselors, health and wellness professionals, and policymakers into the concerns and challenges of grandparents who are raising their children’s children.
Observations on Nanoscale Te Precipitates in CdZnTe Crystals Grown by the Traveling Heater Method Using High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy

Te precipitates in CdZnTe (CZT) crystals grown by the traveling heater method (THM) are investigated using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The results show that in THM-grown CZT crystals, Te precipitates are less than 10 nm in size—much smaller than those in Bridgman-grown CZT. They have hexagonal structure and form a coherent interface with zinc blend structure CZT matrix in the orientation relationship [ 1 ¯ 12 ] M / / [ 0001 ] P and ( 1 1 ¯ 1 ) M / / ( 1 ¯ 100 ) P . A ledge growth interface with the preferred orientation along the [ 1 1 ¯ 1 ] M and [ 110 ] M was found near Te precipitates. The growth and nucleation mechanism of Te precipitates are also discussed.
Morbidity and Mortality of Laparoscopic Gastrectomy Versus Open Gastrectomy for Gastric Cancer: An Interim Report—A Phase III Multicenter, Prospective, Randomized Trial (KLASS Trial)

Objective:The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety of this trial with respect to morbidity and mortality. Summary Background Data:Laparoscopic-assisted distal gastrectomy (LADG) is rapidly gaining popularity. However, there is limited evidence regarding its oncologic safety. We therefore conducted a phase III multicenter, prospective, randomized study comparing LADG with open gastrectomy (ODG). Methods:Patient eligibility criteria were pathologically-proven adenocarcinoma, 20 to 80 years of age, preoperative stage I, no history of other cancer, chemotherapy, or radiotherapy. The primary end point was to determine whether there is a difference in overall survival between 2 groups. The morbidity and mortality were compared to evaluate the safety of this trial. The time was decided on the hypothesis that the morbidity of this trial was not significantly different from that of previous reports on open gastric cancer surgeries (17%–20%). This study is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov and carries the following ID number: NCT00452751. Results:A total of 342 patients were randomized (LADG, 179 patients; ODG, 161 patients) between January 1, 2006 and July 19, 2007. There were no significant differences between the 2 groups in age, gender, and comorbidities. The postoperative complication rates of the LADG and ODG groups were 10.5% (17/179) and 14.7% (24/163), respectively (P = 0.137). Reoperations were required in 3 cases each group. The postoperative mortality was 1.1% (2/179) and 0% (0/163) in the LADG and ODG groups (P = 0.497), respectively. Conclusion:There was no significance difference in the morbidity and mortality between the 2 groups. Therefore, we conclude that this trial is safe and is thus ongoing.
Some Developments in Ramsey Theory

Ramsey Theory is a part of combinatorial mathematics that studies the behaviour of structures under partitions. Many Ramsey type results assert that complete disorder is impossible they find some regular substructures in general combinatorial structures. Generic results are due to F.P. Ramsey [R3] and B.L. van der Waerden [V]. The systematic study of these and related statements was initiated by the work of P. Erdös and R. Rado. This includes extending van der Waerden's theorem by giving a complete description of those systems of linear equations that are preserved under partitions [RI, R2], developing the partition calculus a theory which deals with transfinite extensions of Ramsey's theorem [EHR, EHMR] and setting many further directions for systematic study [Eri, E4]. Another step was done by Hales and Jewett [HJ], who found a new Ramsey type combinatorial principle, the theorem for partitions of words over finite alphabets. This result was further generalized by R.L. Graham and B.L. Rothschild [GR2] for partitions of multidimensional words (parameter words). This subsequently led R.L. Graham, K. Leeb and B.L. Rothschild [GLR] to the proof of the conjecture of G. C. Rota on finite vector spaces. Moreover, the Hales-Jewett Theorem played an important role in studying induced subgraphs, distributive lattices and (m, p, c)-sets. A survey of the work in this area can be found in the book "Ramsey Theory" by R.L. Graham, B.L. Rothschild and J. Spencer [GRS]. Most of the work in Ramsey theory has been focused toward two directions: structural Ramsey type theorems (finding new statements of Ramsey type) and quantitative Ramsey type theorems (evaluating the size and number of the corresponding objects). Results were found that deal with vector spaces (and their combinatorial analogues parameter words), set and relational-systems, groups and lattices, and other structures. Various generalizations were found for partitions restricted by topological concepts, (cf. [CS]) Ramsey type statements have a number of striking applications and connections to other parts of mathematics (e.g. [PH, CW, AH, KV] cf. also [NR11]). On the other hand some deep theorems were discovered using non-combinatorial means (e.g. [Fu, FK1, and FK2]).