Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The most commonly altered type of Peyronie’s disease deformity under oral colchicine treatment is lateral curvature that mostly shifts to the dorsal side

The aim of the present study was to evaluate changes in clinical characteristics of Peyronie’s disease (PD) patients under oral colchicine treatment in comparison with the initial clinical evaluation with a special emphasis on patients with altered deformity after treatment. A total of 118 patients under oral treatment with colchicine for at least 3 months in the acute phase of PD were retrospectively evaluated with combined infection and stimulation test. PD patients were followed up in four groups according to the clinical course of the deformity: improved, remained unchanged, deteriorated deformities or altered localisation of the deformity. Among 116 patients who completed the treatment, penile curvatures improved in 27.6% (n = 32), remained unchanged in 39.7% (n = 46) and deteriorated in 12.1% (n = 14) of the patients after a follow‐up of 8.6 ± 3.2 (6–17) months, while localisation of the deformities changed in 20.7% (n = 24) of the patients. In this group, the initial side of the deformities were lateral, ventral, ventrolateral in 41.6% (n = 10), 29.1% (n = 7) and 8.3% (n = 2) of the patients and of hourglass and notching type (n = 4, 16.6%) respectively. Six (60%) patients with lateral, five (71.4%) with ventral curvatures completed their follow‐up period with dorsal curvatures. In conclusion, lateral curvature is the most commonly altered deformity that mostly shifts to the dorsal sise of the penis after colchicine therapy.
Maternal employment and time with children: Dramatic change or surprising continuity?

Despite the rapid rise in mothers’ labor force participation, mothers’ time with children has tended to be quite stable over time. In the past, nonemployed mothers’ time with children was reduced by the demands of unpaid family work and domestic chores and by the use of mother substitutes for childcare, especially in large families. Today employed mothers seek ways to maximize time with children: They remain quite likely to work part-time or to exit from the labor force for some years when their children are young; they also differ from nonemployed mothers in other uses of time (housework, volunteer work, leisure). In addition, changes in children’s lives (e.g., smaller families, the increase in preschool enrollment, the extended years of financial dependence on parents as more attend college) are altering the time and money investments that children require from parents. Within marriage, fathers are spending more time with their children than in the past, perhaps increasing the total time children spend with parents even as mothers work more hours away from home.
Validation of the Portuguese self-administered computerised 24-hour dietary recall among second-, third- and fourth-grade children.

BACKGROUND Current methods for assessing children's dietary intake, such as interviewer-administered 24-h dietary recall (24-h DR), are time consuming and resource intensive. Self-administered instruments offer a low-cost diet assessment method for use with children. The present study assessed the validity of the Portuguese self-administered, computerised, 24-h DR (PAC24) against the observation of school lunch. METHODS Forty-one, 7-10-year-old children from two elementary schools, in Lisbon, were observed during school lunch followed by completion of the PAC24 the next day. Accuracy for reporting items was measured in terms of matches, intrusions and omissions; accuracy for reporting amounts was measured in terms of arithmetic and absolute differences for matches and amounts for omissions and intrusions; and accuracy for reporting items and amounts combined was measured in terms of total inaccuracy. The ratio of the estimated weight of food consumed with the actual weight consumed was calculated along with the limits of agreement using the method of Bland and Altman. RESULTS Comparison of PAC24 against observations at the food level resulted in values of 67.0% for matches, 11.5% for intrusions and 21.5% for omissions. The mean for total inaccuracy was 3.44 servings. For amounts, accuracy was high for matches (-0.17 and 0.23 servings for arithmetic and absolute differences, respectively) and lower for omissions (0.61 servings) and intrusions (0.55 servings). PAC24 was found to under-estimate the weight of food on average by 32% of actual intake. CONCLUSIONS PAC24 is a lower-burden procedure for both respondents and researchers and, with slight modification, comprises a promising method for assessing diet among children.
The Regional Myocardial Flow–Function Relationship: A Framework for an Understanding of Acute Ischemia, Hibernation, Stunning and Coronary Microembolization

This pioneering article was the first to quantitatively relate regional myocardial blood flow (microspheres) to regional contractile function (sonomicrometry). Regional flow and function were more or less proportionately reduced during acute ischemia in conscious dogs. The notion that myocardial ischemia arises from an imbalance between oxygen demand and supply goes originally back to the characterization of hemodynamic determinants of myocardial oxygen consumption in the whole heart and the observation that decreases or increases, respectively, in heart rate or ventricular function decrease or increase, respectively, the severity of ischemic injury.1 However, myocardial ischemia is in most instances a regional event. It was not until into the 1970s that experimental techniques became available to measure myocardial blood flow and contractile function on a regional level, notably the microsphere technique2 and sonomicrometry.3 Stephen Vatner in his classic article4 was the first to use both techniques simultaneously and quantitatively relate subendocardial segment shortening to subendocardial blood flow. He characterized the flow–function relationship as exponential during acute coronary stenosis in conscious dogs, with a more steep and almost linear part at more severe stenosis. Admittedly, the measurements were restricted to only the subendocardial layer, and segment …
Hypotonic Stress-induced Down-regulation of Claudin-1 and -2 Mediated by Dephosphorylation and Clathrin-dependent Endocytosis in Renal Tubular Epithelial Cells*

Hypotonic stress decreased claudin-1 and -2 expression levels in renal tubular epithelial HK-2 and Madin-Darby canine kidney cells. Here, we examined the regulatory mechanism involved in this decrease. The hypotonicity-induced decrease in claudin expression was inhibited by the following: SB202190, a p38 MAPK inhibitor, but not by U0126, a MEK inhibitor; Go6983, a protein kinase C inhibitor; or SP600125, a Jun N-terminal protein kinase inhibitor. Hypotonic stress increased transepithelial electrical resistance, which was inhibited by SB202190. The mRNA expression level of claudin-1 was decreased by hypotonic stress but that of claudin-2 was not. Hypotonic stress decreased the protein stability of claudin-1 and -2. The hypotonicity-induced decrease in claudin expression was inhibited by the following: chloroquine, a lysosome inhibitor; dynasore and monodansylcadaverine, clathrin-dependent endocytosis inhibitors; and siRNA against clathrin heavy chain. Claudin-1 and -2 were mainly distributed in the cytosol and tight junctions (TJs) in the chloroquine- and monodansylcadaverine-treated cells, respectively. Hypotonic stress decreased the phosphorylation levels of claudin-1 and -2, which were inhibited by the protein phosphatase inhibitors okadaic acid and cantharidin. Dephosphorylated mutants of claudin-1 and -2 were mainly distributed in the cytosol, which disappeared in response to hypotonic stress. In contrast, mimicking phosphorylation mutants were distributed in the TJs, which were not decreased by hypotonic stress. We suggest that hypotonic stress induces dephosphorylation, clathrin-dependent endocytosis, and degradation of claudin-1 and -2 in lysosomes, resulting in disruption of the TJ barrier in renal tubular epithelial cells.
Response Timing Accuracy of Long-Distance Movements

The inverse relationship between movement speed and movement accuracy is mathematically represented byFitts' law (Fitts, 1954) and has been confirmed across a range ofmovement conditions and populations (Kerr, 1973; York & Biederman, 1988). It has been reported, however,that the relationship does not hold when the response demands require timing accuracy as opposed to spatial accuracy (Newell, 1980). Using a curvilinear and a rotary (hand crank) positioning device in two separate experiments,jasiewicz and Simmons (1996) reported that timing variability (as indexed by variable error; VE) decreased as movement velocity increased, whereas directional bias (indicated byconstant error; CE) remained relativelystable about the criterion target They also established that completing short movements at slow velocities resulted in significantly smaller VE than when the same velocities were maintained during medium or long movements (Simmons & Williams, 1994). This distance effect wasreduced asvelocityincreased, even at the longest distance tested (720°), with the hand crank. The results suggested that directional timing accuracy (CE) and variability (VE) are independent of movement distance at high velocities (i.e., a distance effect). What remains unclear iswhether the distance effect continues to decrease with longer movements. Using the same freely
Pathways Targeting Tumor Lymphangiogenesis

Tumor metastasis to sentinel lymph nodes represents the first step of tumor dissemination in most human cancers and serves as a major prognostic indicator for disease progression. Recent studies have revealed that tumors can actively induce the formation of lymphatic vessels, and that tumor lymphangiogenesis is correlated with lymph node metastasis in experimental cancer models and in several types of human cancers. Metastatic tumor cells may continue to promote lymphatic vessel growth even after their metastasis to sentinel lymph nodes, likely promoting further cancer spread. Vascular endothelial growth factor-C (VEGF-C) and VEGF-D were the first specific lymphangiogenesis factors identified, acting predominantly via VEGF receptor-3 (VEGFR-3) that is expressed by lymphatic endothelial cells, and a large number of clinical studies have shown a correlation between tumor expression of VEGF-C or VEGF-D and lymph node metastasis. VEGFR-3 activation promotes lymphatic endothelial cell proliferation, migration, and survival via the extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2, the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/AKT, and the c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase 1/2 pathways. Additional tumor lymphangiogenesis factors have been recently identified, including VEGF-A. Importantly, blockade of the VEGFR-3 pathway by specific antibodies, by soluble receptor constructs, and by small molecule kinase inhibitors efficiently inhibits experimental tumor lymphangiogenesis and metastasis and might also represent a novel therapeutic avenue for the treatment of human cancers.
Broadband parallel stubs phase shifter

This paper presents a parallel stubs structure with simple matching network which can provide a constant differential phase shift using uniform transmission lines that can realise a wide bandwidth of more than 120%. For demonstration purposes, two broadband phase shifters are designed, fabricated, and measured to give excellent performance for wireless local area network and ultra wide band applications respectively.
Binaural Fusion, Masking Level Differences, and Auditory Brain Stem Responses in Children with Language‐Learning Disabilities

This report examines binaural fusion for dichotically and diotically presented pass-bands of filtered speech in a group of 18 normal children and 18 children with language-learning disabilities. Binaural masking level differences for tonal stimuli and auditory brain stem responses for click stimuli are also reported. Results indicate lower overall scores for the experimental group on the diotic as well as dichotic conditions for the binaural fusion tasks, although both groups scored relatively higher in the diotic condition. Masking level differences and auditory brain stem responses were not significantly different for the two groups. These findings suggest the potential usefulness of binaural fusion measures in the assessment of auditory processing abilities in children, although certain cautions regarding their application and interpretation must be exercised.
Sex differences in mortality after myocardial infarction: evidence for a sex-age interaction.

BACKGROUND Studies of sex differences in mortality after myocardial infarction (MI) have shown conflicting results. OBJECTIVES To test the hypothesis that sex differences in mortality after MI vary according to patients' age, with younger women, but not older women, having a higher mortality compared with men. METHODS We performed a retrospective cohort study of 1025 consecutive patients who met accepted criteria for MI in 1992 and 1993 in 15 Connecticut hospitals. Data for the study were abstracted from medical records. RESULTS Women had a 40% higher hospital mortality rate than men. Simple age adjustment eliminated the sex difference in mortality rate (odds ratio, 0.99; 95% confidence interval, 0.66-1.48). However, when the sample was subdivided into 2 age groups, women younger than 75 years showed twice as high a mortality rate as men in the same age group, while among older patients no difference in mortality was found. In multivariate analyses the interaction of sex with age was highly significant, even after adjusting for comorbid conditions, clinical severity, process of care, and hospital characteristics. In the fully adjusted model, this interaction indicated that among patients younger than 75 years women had 49% higher odds of hospital death than men, while in the age group 75 years or older women had 46% lower odds of death compared with men. CONCLUSIONS A higher mortality of women compared with men after MI is confined to the younger age groups. The sex-age interaction should be considered when examining sex differences in mortality after MI.
A behaviour model of the SopCast users

Despite the growing popularity of live P2P continuous media transmission applications, still limited the current understanding of important aspects of the behavior of the participants, like the arrival time between them and time spent on the network. This work aims to fill this gap by presenting a characterization of the behavior of participants in SopCast, one of the most popular live transmission applications on P2P. The analysis includes properties for the session, such as gaps between the arrival of new participants, staying time, number of sessions and inactivity time between sessions. We also present properties of partnerships among participants, such as number of partners. In addition, the study deals with different SopCast channels, highlighting differences in patterns of behavior depending on content. The characterizations present a model set of participants, which can be used as a basis for creating new protocols and generation of realistic synthetic loads for live broadcast on P2P.
An object-oriented distributed system integrating multimedia resources

A distributed system is introduced which provides extensible as well as integrated environments for users and applications programs to access and combine distributed resources conveniently. The system is based on the concept of object-oriented service bases. Distributed resources are abstracted as objects containing the metainformation of the resources. A service base in each node is constructed to manage these objects. There are three layered views (external, conceptual, and internal) of objects. A service base can be seen as a software package built on an existing operating system to provide mapping from the external view of objects to the internal view to realize transparency and to absorb heterogeneity and different media types. The modeling and an implementation of this distributed system are presented. <<ETX>>
Caring for patients of Islamic denomination: Critical care nurses' experiences in Saudi Arabia.

AIM To describe the critical care nurses' experiences in caring for patients of Muslim denomination in Saudi Arabia. BACKGROUND Caring is known to be the essence of nursing but many health-care settings have become more culturally diverse. Caring has been examined mainly in the context of Western cultures. Muslims form one of the largest ethnic minority communities in Britain but to date, empirical studies relating to caring from an Islamic perspective is not well documented. Research conducted within the home of Islam would provide essential truths about the reality of caring for Muslim patients. DESIGN Phenomenological descriptive. Methods. Six critical care nurses were interviewed from a hospital in Saudi Arabia. The narratives were analysed using Colaizzi's framework. RESULTS The meaning of the nurses' experiences emerged as three themes: family and kinship ties, cultural and religious influences and nurse-patient relationship. The results indicated the importance of the role of the family and religion in providing care. In the process of caring, the participants felt stressed and frustrated and they all experienced emotional labour. Communicating with the patients and the families was a constant battle and this acted as a further stressor in meeting the needs of their patients. CONCLUSIONS The concept of the family and the importance and meaning of religion and culture were central in the provision of caring. The beliefs and practices of patients who follow Islam, as perceived by expatriate nurses, may have an effect on the patient's health care in ways that are not apparent to many health-care professionals and policy makers internationally. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE Readers should be prompted to reflect on their clinical practice and to understand the impact of religious and cultural differences in their encounters with patients of Islam denomination. Policy and all actions, decisions and judgments should be culturally derived.
bHLH-PAS heterodimer of methoprene-tolerant and Cycle mediates circadian expression of juvenile hormone-induced mosquito genes

Juvenile hormone (JH) governs a great diversity of processes in insect development and reproduction. It plays a critical role in controlling the gonadotrophic cycles of female mosquitoes by preparing tissues for blood digestion and egg development. Here, we show that in female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes JH III control of gene expression is mediated by a heterodimer of two bHLH-PAS proteins—the JH receptor methoprene-tolerant (MET) and Cycle (CYC, AAEL002049). We identified Aedes CYC as a MET-interacting protein using yeast two-hybrid screening. Binding of CYC and MET required the presence of JH III. In newly eclosed female mosquitoes, the expression of two JH-responsive genes, Kr-h1 and Hairy, was dependent on both the ratio of light to dark periods and JH III. Their expression was compromised by in vivo RNA interference (RNAi) depletions of CYC, MET, and the steroid receptor coactivator SRC/FISC. Moreover, JH III was not effective in induction of Kr-h1 and Hairy gene expression in vitro in fat bodies of female mosquitoes with RNAi-depleted CYC, MET or SRC/FISC. A sequence containing an E-box–like motif from the Aedes Kr-h1 gene promoter specifically interacted with a protein complex, which included MET and CYC from the female mosquito fat body nuclear extract. These results indicate that a MET/CYC heterodimer mediates JH III activation of Kr-h1 and Hairy genes in the context of light-dependent circadian regulation in female mosquitoes during posteclosion development. This study provides an important insight into the understanding of the molecular basis of JH action.
Design And Implementation Of DADDA Tree Multiplier Using Adiabatic Logic On FPGA

Low power circuit designs have been an important issue VLSI design areas. Multipliers play a major role in high performance systems. The Dadda tree multiplier is considered as faster than a simple array multiplier and is an efficient implementation of a digital circuit which is multiplies two integers such multiplier which is effective both in terms of speed and power. Adiabatic logic style is said to be an attractive solution for low power electronic applications. By using Adiabatic techniques energy dissipation in PMOS network can be minimized and some of energy stored at load capacitance can be recycled instead of dissipated as heat. In this work ECRL(Efficient Charge Recovery Logic) based Dadda tree multiplier is compared with Wallace tree multiplier. xilinx 9.1 tools are used for simulation and to implement Spartan 3E family FPGA KIT. Index Terms – Dadda tree multiplier,Adiabatic logic,ECRL.
Hybrid artificial neural network for data classification problem

The benchmarking databases for artificial neural network (ANN) include several datasets from several different domains. All datasets exhibit feasible problems which could be called diagnosis jobs and all but one contain genuine world data. Two such standard problems, for categorization are taken in this paper to analyze the capability of intelligent water drop (IWD), particle swarm optimization (PSO) and hybrid IWD-PSO with ANN. In this work, SI algorithm is tested on a set of two benchmark functions. Further a comparison is made between Swarm intelligence algorithm-ANN in terms of sum square error, Elapsed time. The research is chosen for finding primary weights and biases for an artificial neural network. The amalgamation of swarm intelligence (SI) optimization and ANN greatly help in quick convergence of ANN in classification to various benchmark problems. The result shows that utilization of swarm intelligence minimizes the classification error.
Usage of analytical diagnostics when evaluating functional surface material defects

R. Frischer, O. Krejcar, Faculty of Informatics and management, University of Hradec Králové, J. David, P. Švec, Faculty of Metallurgy and Material Engineering, VŠB – Technical University of Ostrava, Czech Republic. There are occurring defects due to defects mechanisms on parts of production devices surfaces. Outer defects pronouncement is changing throw the time with unequal speed. This variability of defect’s mechanism development cause that is impossible to evaluate technical state of the device in any moment, without the necessary underlying information. Proposed model is based on analytical diagnostics basis. Stochastic model with usage of Weibull probability distribution can assign probability of function surface defect occurrence on the operational information in any moment basis. The knowledge of defect range limiting moment, then enable when and in what range will be necessary to make renewal.