Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Perioperative care following complex laryngotracheal reconstruction in infants and children

Laryngotracheal reconstruction (LTR) involves surgical correction of a stenotic airway with cartilage interpositional grafting, followed by either placement of a tracheostomy and an intraluminal stent (two-stage LTR) or placement of an endotracheal tube with postoperative sedation and mechanical ventilation for an extended period of time (singlestage LTR). With single-stage repair, there may be several perioperative challenges including the provision of adequate sedation, avoidance of the development of tolerance to sedative and analgesia agents, the need to use neuromuscular blocking agents, the maintenance of adequate pulmonary toilet to avoid perioperative nosocomial infections, and optimization of postoperative respiratory function to facilitate successful tracheal extubation. We review the perioperative management of these patients, discuss the challenges during the postoperative period, and propose recommendations for the prevention of reversible causes of extubation failure in this article. Optimization to ensure a timely tracheal extubation and successful weaning of mechanical ventilator, remains the primary key to success in these surgeries as extubation failure or the need for prolonged postoperative mechanical ventilation can lead to failure of the graft site, the need for prolonged Pediatric Intensive Care Unit care, and in some cases, the need for a tracheostomy to maintain an adequate airway.
Mortality among elder abuse victims in rural Malaysia: A two-year population-based descriptive study

ABSTRACT Our study aims at describing mortality among reported elder abuse experiences in rural Malaysia. This is a population-based cohort study with a multistage cluster sampling method. Older adults in Kuala Pilah (n = 1,927) were interviewed from November 2013 to May 2014. Mortality was traced after 2 years using the National Registration Department database. Overall, 139 (7.2%) respondents died. Fifteen (9.6%) abuse victims died compared to 124 (7.0%) not abused. Mortality was highest with financial abuse (13%), followed by psychological abuse (10.8%). There was a dose-response relationship between mortality and clustering of abuse: 7%, 7.7%, and 14.0% for no abuse, one type, and two types or more, respectively. Among abuse victims, 40% of deaths had ill-defined causes, 33% were respiratory-related, and 27% had cardiovascular and metabolic origin. Results suggest a link between abuse and mortality. Death proportions varied according to abuse subtypes and gender.
Effects of aminoglycoside antibiotics on bound calcium and contraction in guinea‐pig atria

1 We studied the effect of three aminoglycoside antiobiotics which have been shown to replace Ca from lipid monolayers on the superficially bound Ca of isolated beating left atria from guinea‐pigs. 2 The cellular Ca content was determined by means of 45Ca after having attained complete exchange. 3 The antibiotics dibekacin, sisomicin, and gentamicin, all reduced the cellular Ca content by 10–20% in a dose‐dependent manner. The loss of superficially bound Ca was accompanied by a decline of the contractile force by 40–90%. 4 It is concluded that in isolated atrial muscle it is the amount of Ca bound to the outer surface of the cardiac plasmalemma, rather than the extracellular Ca2+ concentration, that determines contraction height.
Trajectory planning for multi-vehicle system considering network connectivity and collision avoidance

In this paper we focus on keeping network connectivity and collision avoidance of multi-vehicle systems. Because a multi-hop wireless network between vehicles is often used in order to share informations, keeping the network connectivity is important concern. Vehicles need to get close when they desire stable communication, but on the other hand, vehicles may collide when they get too close. Here we propose a online trajectory planning method based on a receding horizon control, and this method fixes keeping connectivity and collision avoidance simultaneously. We describe a formulation of the system and the problem, the trajectory planning method we proposed, and show a computer simulation result.
Dynamics of component exchange at PML nuclear bodies

PML nuclear bodies (NBs) are involved in the regulation of key nuclear pathways but their biochemical function in nuclear metabolism is unknown. In this study PML NB assembly dynamics were assessed by live cell imaging and mathematic modeling of its major component parts. We show that all six nuclear PML isoforms exhibit individual exchange rates at NBs and identify PML V as a scaffold subunit. SP100 exchanges at least five times faster at NBs than PML proteins. Turnover dynamics of PML and SP100 at NBs is modulated by SUMOylation. Exchange is not temperature-dependent but depletion of cellular ATP levels induces protein immobilization at NBs. The PML-RARα oncogene exhibits a strong NB retention effect on wild-type PML proteins. HIPK2 requires an active kinase for PML NB targeting and elevated levels of PML IV increase its residence time. DAXX and BLM turn over rapidly and completely at PML NBs within seconds. These findings provide a kinetics model for factor exchange at PML NBs and highlight potential mechanisms to regulate intranuclear trafficking of specific factors at these domains.
The impact of knowledge management on job satisfaction

Purpose This paper aims to propose that knowledge management (KM) could be a way to nurture job satisfaction and examine how KM can increase individual employees’ job satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach A theoretical model concerning the connections between five facets of KM (knowledge acquisition, knowledge sharing, knowledge creation, knowledge codification and knowledge retention) and job satisfaction is proposed. It is then empirically tested with a structural equation modelling partial least squares analysis of a survey data set of 824 observations, collected from the members of a Finnish municipal organisation. Findings Existence of KM processes in one’s working environment is significantly linked with high job satisfaction. Especially intra-organisational knowledge sharing seems to be a key KM process, promoting satisfaction with one’s job in most employee groups. Interestingly, significant knowledge-based promoters of job satisfaction differ as a function of job characteristics. Practical implications KM has a strong impact on employee job satisfaction, and therefore, managers are advised to implement KM activities in their organisations, not only for the sake of improving knowledge worker performance but also for improving their well-being at work. Originality/value This paper produces knowledge on a type of consequence of KM that has been largely unexplored in previous research, individual job satisfaction. Also, it promotes moving the KM literature to the next stage where the impact of KM practices is not explored as a “one size fits all” type of a phenomenon, but rather as a contingent and contextual issue.
Evaluation of an Automatic Blood Pressure Device for Use in Blood Pressure Screening Programs

Summary An automatic blood pressure recorder (Bosch Tonotest) was evaluated on a subsample of the study population of the Munich Blood Pressure Study I (MBS I). The purpose of this evaluation was to test an automatic device for its usability in screening programs like the Munich Blood Pressure Program (MBP). For all subjects in MBS I three blood pressure measurements were taken using the random-zero sphygmomanometer. For a subsample of subjects, in addition to the three blood pressure measurements with the random-zero sphygmomanometer, two measurements were made, one again with the random-zero sphygmomanometer and one with the automatic device. These last measurements were made in alternating sequence (cross-over design). The automatic device tends to underestimate the systolic blood pressure while the diastolic blood pressure readings agree well. The ability to identify people with high blood pressure was worse for the automatic device. The differences between the automatic device and the random-zero sphygmomanometer in sensitivity, specificity, error rates and their implications for a screening program are discussed.
Simulation Study of Tissue-Specific Positron Range Correction for the New Biograph mMR Whole-Body PET/MR System

Positron range is a limiting factor in spatial resolution of positron emission tomography (PET) imaging. In this work we investigated the tissue-dependent nature of positron range and its effect on imaging with the new Biograph mMR 3 T whole-body PET/MR system. Positron range simulations were performed for Rb-82 and Ga-68 in homogeneous and non-homogeneous configurations of soft and lung tissue using Geant4. In addition, a 3D MLEM reconstruction framework was extended to incorporate correction kernels that compensate for the effect of positron range. We developed methods for selecting and adapting such correction kernels based on the MR-derived attenuation map and pre-simulated positron range data. The methods were evaluated using Monte Carlo (MC) simulation data on a model of the mMR system including the 3 T magnetic field (MF) and the MR body coil. The results prove that the use of tissue-specific positron range kernels results in better spatial resolution. Especially, the application of generalized kernels at the borders of different tissue types has the potential to provide better contrast and lesion localization.
Sex ratio and gamete size across eastern North America in Dictyostelium discoideum, a social amoeba with three sexes

Theory indicates that numbers of mating types should tend towards infinity or remain at two. The social amoeba, Dictyostelium discoideum, however, has three mating types. It is therefore a mystery how this species has broken the threshold of two mating types, but has not increased towards a much higher number. Frequency‐dependent selection on rare types in combination with isogamy, a form of reproduction involving gametes similar in size, could explain the evolution of multiple mating types in this system. Other factors, such as drift, may be preventing the evolution of more than three. We first looked for evidence of isogamy by measuring gamete size associated with each type. We found no evidence of size dissimilarities between gametes. We then looked for evidence of balancing selection, by examining mating type distributions in natural populations and comparing genetic differentiation at the mating type locus to that at more neutral loci. We found that mating type frequency varied among the three populations we examined, with only one of the three showing an even sex ratio, which does not support balancing selection. However, we found more population structure at neutral loci than the mating type locus, suggesting that the three mating types are indeed maintained at intermediate frequencies by balancing selection. Overall, the data are consistent with balancing selection acting on D. discoideum mating types, but with a sufficiently weak rare sex advantage to allow for drift, a potential explanation for why these amoebae have only three mating types.
Replication of avian infectious bronchitis virus in African green monkey kidney cell line VERO.

Avian infectious bronchitis virus (IBV), a coronavirus, requires initial isolation in, and adaptation to, chicken embryos (CE) before transfer to primary avian cell and chicken tracheal organ cultures. These are the only presently known cell cultures in which IBV replicates and produces cytopathic effects (c.p.e.) in serial passage (Estola, 1966; Cunningham, 1970). Monkey kidney cells have been reported (Fahey & Crawley, 1956; Steele & Luginbuhl, 1964) to support relication of IBV without c.p.e. when first inoculated with virus propagated in CE. Attempts apparently were not made to passage the virus in these cells. Direct haemagglutination (HA) is not a normal property of IBV (Biswal, Nazerian & Cunningham, 1966) or of the human coronaviruses (Kapikian, 1969). However, human coronaviruses OC 38 and OC 43 adapted to suckling mouse brain (McIntosh et al. 1969) cause direct HA (Kaye & Dowdle, 1969) and produce syncytia and plaques in African green monkey kidney and BSC-1 cells (Bruckova, cited by Bradburne & Tyrrell, 1971).
Gln145Met/Leu Changes in Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Reverse Transcriptase Confer Resistance to Nucleoside and Nonnucleoside Analogs and Impair Virus Replication

ABSTRACT The frequencies of multidrug resistance-associated mutations at codons 145, 151, and 69 of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) reverse transcriptase (RT) gene in strains from a group of 3,595 highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART)-experienced patients were 0.22, 2.36, and 0.86%, respectively. Several amino acid substitutions different from the recently reported Gln145Met change (S. Paolucci, F. Baldanti, M. Tinelli, G. Maga, and G. Gerna, AIDS 17:924-927, 2003) were detected at position 145. Thus, amino acid substitutions selected at position 145 were introduced into the wild-type HIV type 1 (HIV-1) RT gene by site-directed mutagenesis, and recombinant HIV strains were assayed for their drug susceptibilities. Only Met and Leu substitutions at position 145 of the HIV-1 RT conferred multidrug resistance, while other amino acid changes did not. Lower levels of replication of the Gln145Met recombinant strain compared with those of both Gln151Met and wild-type recombinant strains were observed. In in vitro inhibition assays, expression and purification of the recombinant Gln145Met HIV-1 RT revealed a strong loss of catalytic efficiency of the mutated enzyme, as well as significant resistance to both zidovudine and efavirenz. Specific amino acid substitutions in the HIV RT nucleotide-binding pocket might affect both antiretroviral drug recognition and binding and decrease the level of virus replication, possibly by interfering with the enzyme activity. This finding may explain the lower frequency of Gln145Met/Leu mutations observed compared with the frequencies of Gln151Met/Leu mutations and the insertion at position 69 in HAART-experienced patients.
Efficient MPC Optimization using Pontryagin's Minimum Principle

A method of solving the online optimization in model predictive control (MPC) of input-constrained linear systems is described. Using Pontryagin's Minimum Principle, the matrix factorizations performed by general purpose quadratic programming (QP) solvers are replaced by recursions of state and co-state variables over the MPC prediction horizon. This allows for the derivation of solvers with computational complexity per iteration that depends only linearly on the length of the prediction horizon. Parameterizing predicted input and state variables in terms of the terminal predicted state results in low computational complexity but can lead to numerical sensitivity in predictions. To avoid ill-conditioning an alternative parameterization is derived using Riccati recursions. Comparisons are drawn with the multiparametric QP solution, and the computational savings are demonstrated over generic QP solvers
Spatial Variation in Stream Water Quality in Relation to Riparian Buffer Dimensions in a Rural Watershed of Eastern New York State

Abstract Studies of forested rural watersheds provide estimates of background contamination for comparison with streams and rivers in other settings. We performed a landscape analysis and measured major dissolved ions and benthic macroinvertebrates for a small rural watershed in Albany County, NY, to determine spatial variation in water quality. An estimated 73% of the surface cover is post-agricultural forest, with only 2.3% of the watershed covered by roads and other impervious surfaces. Although water quality was consistently high in most of the creek, we detected three relatively distinct zones separated by impoundments; zonation was most apparent in relative concentrations of major ions, less so with benthic macroinvertebrate community similarity. At ten sample stations, buffer size, measured as upstream land cover and distance to nearest road, did not correlate well with chemical water quality indicators. In particular, we found the highest levels of chloride, indicative of road-salt contamination, in areas of maximum forest buffer. Small feeder creeks that drain nearby roads may function as “leaks” in otherwise well-buffered watersheds with low road densities.
Cycling injuries.

Bicycle-related injuries have increased as cycling has become more popular. Most injuries to recreational riders are associated with overuse or improper fit of the bicycle. Injuries to racers often result from high speeds, which predispose riders to muscle strains, collisions, and falls. Cyclists contact bicycles at the pedals, seat, and handlebars. Each is associated with particular cycling injuries.
Organization of orientation and direction selectivity in areas 17 and 18 of cat cerebral cortex.

1. The organization of subunits and sequences subserving preferred stimulus orientation and preferred direction of stimulus motion in cat cerebral cortical areas 17 and 18 was determined by making vertical, tangential, and oblique microelectrode penetrations into those areas. 2. Quantitative measurements of direction selectivity indicated that not all shades of direction selectivity are equally represented in area 17. Peaks in the distribution of direction indices may correspond to the bidirectional, direction biased, and direction selective categories used in qualitative studies. 3. The relationship between preferred direction and location in the visual field was examined for units with receptive fields centered more than 15 degrees from the area centralis. Simple cells had orientation preferences that tended to be parallel to radii extending out from the area centralis. Wide-field complex cells had orientation preferences that tended to be parallel to concentric circles centered on the area centralis; the direction preferences of this group were biased toward motion away from the area centralis. 4. Unit pairs separated by 200 microns or less were 4.2 times as likely to have the same preferred direction as to have opposite preferred directions, indicating that, on average, strings of five neurons have similar direction preferences. 5. Tracks in area 18 showed a similar pattern to those in area 17. 6. In the vertical tracks in area 17 a small proportion (12%) of the units recorded in infragranular layers had preferred orientations that deviated 30 degrees or more from the first unit recorded in the same column. The presence of these cells most likely reflects the relative crowding of columns in infragranular layers, which occurs at the crown of the lateral gyrus. Columns with such large jumps in preferred orientation were not observed in area 18, which occupies a relatively flat region of cortex. 7. In both areas 17 and 18 direction preference in vertical tracks usually reversed at least once, either between supra- and infragranular layers or within infragranular layers. Along these same tracks, orientation preference usually did not change. 8. In tangential tracks, preferred direction and orientation preferences changed together in small increments. Occasionally a large jump in preferred direction would occur with only a small change in preferred orientation. These large jumps were considered to mark the boundaries of the direction sequences. Most frequently these boundaries were separated by 400-600 microns. This value is approximately half the size of a complete set of orientation preferences (700-1,200 microns). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Guidance on Public Reporting of Healthcare-Associated Infections: Recommendations of the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee

Consumer demand for healthcare information, including data about the performance of healthcare providers, has increased steadily during the past decade. Many state and national initiatives are under way to mandate or induce healthcare organizations to publicly disclose information regarding institutional and physician performance. Mandatory public reporting of healthcare performance is intended to enable stakeholders, including consumers, to make more informed choices on healthcare issues. Public reporting of healthcare performance information has taken several forms. Healthcare performance reports (report cards and honor rolls) typically describe the outcomes of medical care in terms of mortality, selected complications, or medical errors and, to a lesser extent, economic outcomes. Increasingly, process measures (ie, measurement of adherence to recommended healthcare practices, such as hand hygiene) are being used as an indicator of how well an organization adheres to established standards of practice with the implicit assumption that good processes lead to good healthcare outcomes. National healthcare quality improvement initiatives, notably those of the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and the Hospital Quality Alliance, use process measures in their public reporting initiatives.
In Vitro Antagonism with the Combination of Vancomycin and Clindamycin Against Staphylococcus aureus

th ,Chicago,Ill,2001. ABSTRACT The activity of vancomycin in combina- tion with clindamycin against methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and methicillin sensitive Staphylococcus aureus(MSSA) was evaluated.Fractional inhibitory concen- tration (FIC) testing and traditional time-kill experiments were performed, with each drug alone and in combina- tion at concentrations ranging from 0.25- 50x the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). Vancomycin and clindamycin MICs were 1,0.25 and 1,0.5 µg/mL,while FICs were 16 and 8 for the MRSA and MSSA strains respectively. Bacterial kill at 8 and 24 hours showed vancomycin 10,20x-clindamycin 0.25- 50x MIC to be highly antagonistic.
Piperacillin: Human Pharmacokinetics After Intravenous and Intramuscular Administration

The pharmacokinetics of piperacillin were studied in a total of 26 Caucasian normal male volunteers. Single intramuscular doses of 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 g were given to three groups, each containing eight volunteers. Mean peak serum concentrations of 4.9, 13.3, and 30.2 μg/ml were assayed at 30 to 50 min, and measurable levels were present up to 4, 6, and 8 h, respectively, after dosing. Single intravenous bolus doses of 1.0, 2.0, 4.0, and 6.0 g were given to four groups of five subjects, and mean serum concentrations of 70.7, 199.5, 330.7, and 451.8 μg/ml were measured at the end of the injections. The antibiotic had a mean terminal serum half-life of 60 to 80 min after the intramuscular doses and 36 to 63 min after intravenous administrations, depending on the dose. The apparent distribution volume was 20 to 24 liters/1.73 m2, and distribution volume at steady state was 16 to 19 liters/1.73 m2. Mean urinary recovery in 24 h was 74 to 89% for the intravenous doses and 57 to 59% for the intramuscular doses. The piperacillin-creatinine clearance ratios indicated that the proportion of renal excretion of piperacillin through tubular secretion was 56 to 73%, and this was confirmed by the renal clearance data from eight volunteers receiving probenecid treatment before the piperacillin dose. Probenecid (1 g given orally before administration of piperacillin) increased peak serum concentration by 30%, terminal serum half-life by 30%, and the area under the plasma concentration curve by 60%, and it decreased the apparent distribution volume by 20% and the renal clearance of the intramuscularly administered (1 g) antibiotic by 40%. Injections of piperacillin by both parenteral routes were well tolerated.