Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fetal Release of Copeptin in Response to Maternal Oxytocin Administration: A Randomized Controlled Trial

OBJECTIVE: To test whether an oxytocin challenge test raises neonatal levels of copeptin, the C-terminal portion of proarginine vasopressin, a sensitive stress marker elevated in neonates born by vaginal delivery as opposed to elective cesarean delivery. METHODS: In a randomized controlled trial in women with a singleton pregnancy undergoing elective cesarean delivery at greater than 36 weeks of gestation and no contractions or rupture of membranes, we compared arterial umbilical cord plasma concentrations of copeptin between neonates exposed to an oxytocin challenge test before elective cesarean delivery and those administered saline infusion (placebo group). Women randomized to an oxytocin challenge test received 5 international units/500 mL oxytocin Ringer lactate infused at a rate of 12 mL/h and doubled every 10 minutes until it induced three uterine contractions per 10-minute interval, at which point it was discontinued. Neonatal copeptin levels were the primary endpoint. Secondary endpoints included biochemical and physiologic parameters of fetal and maternal well-being. RESULTS: From January 2012 to October 2012 and from September 2013 to January 2015, 78 women underwent an oxytocin challenge test and 78 placebo infusion, of whom 12 and 11, respectively, were excluded as a result of insufficient blood sample volume for analysis. Umbilical cord plasma copeptin levels [median (range)] were higher in neonates who underwent an oxytocin challenge test than those who underwent placebo infusion: 22.2 (3.22–2,319) compared with 7.39 (2.5–344.6) pmol/L (P<.001). There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups in secondary outcomes. CONCLUSION: Oxytocin challenge test-induced contractions before elective cesarean delivery trigger fetal copeptin release. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, https://clinicaltrials.gov, NCT01962701.
The Picture of Inflammation: A New Concept That Combines the White Blood Cell Count and Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate into a New Hematologic Diagnostic Modality

Background: Physicians who work in small clinics, far away from medical centers, cannot obtain relevant information regarding the acute phase response at low cost and real time. Methods: We adopted a simple slide test and image analysis to determine the number of white blood cells in the peripheral blood, their degree of adhesiveness/aggregation as well as that of the red blood cells. Three independent observers scored the images into categories of no (1), mild (2), moderate (3) or severe (4) inflammation. Results: A substantial interobserver agreement was noted for all three observers. No patient classified as having no (1) inflammation was given a score of moderate (3) or severe (4) inflammation and vice versa. The one-way analysis of variance (age- and gender-adjusted) confirmed that the data obtained from the image analyzer are significantly different between the above-mentioned four categories. Conclusions: It is possible to use a simple slide test and image analysis to discriminate effectively between various degrees of inflammation intensity. Since it is possible to send the pictures via telephone, Inter- or Intranet to a physician somewhere else, it might be attractive for medical personnel who work in small clinics not equipped with sophisticated laboratory facilities. This technique is currently being evaluated for possible Telemedicine and E-Health uses.
An 85 dB SNDR third-order ΔΣ modulator for audio applications

A 1.8 V 1 mW single-loop third-order delta sigma modulator is presented for audio applications, which achieves 85.1 dB SNDR in 20 kHz signal bandwidth with a sampling frequency of 5.12 MHz. The modulator is implemented by using the fully differential switched-capacitor circuit to compose a discrete-time system. The cascade of integrators with feedforward summation architecture is used to reduce the performance of the amplifier, so the amplifier is enabled to decrease the power dissipation. By considering the characteristics of the modulator, an operational amplifier is designed with low-quiescent current. The chip is implemented in a standard 0.18-μm CMOS process with the area of 0.24-mm2.
Naloxone increases the angiotensin II stimulated rise of arginine vasopressin and oxytocin secretion in man.

The effect of systemic angiotensin II (ANG II) administration on the posterior pituitary function was investigated in normal men. In addition, the role of endogenous opioids in the control of arginine vasopressin (AVP) and/or oxytocin (OT) responses to ANG II was evaluated with the administration of the opioid antagonist naloxone. ANG II (i.v. infusion for 60 min of successively increasing doses of 4, 8 and 16 ng/kg min; each dose for 20 min) was given to 7 normal men, alone or together with naloxone (10 or 20 mg injected i.v. just before ANG II infusion). In all subjects, control experiments with naloxone (10 or 20 mg) alone were also performed. ANG II induced a significant increase in plasma concentrations of AVP and OT. The AVP and OT responses to ANG II had a similar magnitude and followed a similar pattern. The mean peak levels of both hormones were reached at 60 min after the beginning of ANG II infusion. The administration of 10 or 20 mg naloxone alone did not modify the circulating concentrations of AVP and OT. The pretreatment with naloxone significantly increased both ANG II-induced AVP and OT increases twofold, without changing the time course and the secretory pattern of the hormonal responses. These data demonstrate that systemic administration of ANG II in man induces similar simultaneous increments in plasma levels of both AVP and OT. Furthermore, these data suggest the involvement of a naloxone-sensitive opioid mechanism in the regulation of both AVP and OT responses to ANG II in man.
DCT-Based HDR Exposure Fusion Using Multiexposed Image Sensors

It is difficult to apply existing exposure methods to a resource-constrained platform. Their pyramidal image processing and quality measures for interesting areas that need to be preserved require a lot of time and memory. The work presented in this paper is a DCT-based HDR exposure fusion using multiexposed image sensors. In particular, it uses the quantization process in JPEG encoding as a measurement of image quality such that the fusion process can be included in the DCT-based compression baseline. To enhance global image luminance, a Gauss error function based on camera characteristics is presented. In the simulation, the proposed method yields good quality images, which balance naturalness and object identification. This method also requires less time and memory. This qualifies our technique for use in resource-constrained platforms.
Mechanisms of erythrocyte development and regeneration: implications for regenerative medicine and beyond

ABSTRACT Hemoglobin-expressing erythrocytes (red blood cells) act as fundamental metabolic regulators by providing oxygen to cells and tissues throughout the body. Whereas the vital requirement for oxygen to support metabolically active cells and tissues is well established, almost nothing is known regarding how erythrocyte development and function impact regeneration. Furthermore, many questions remain unanswered relating to how insults to hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells and erythrocytes can trigger a massive regenerative process termed ‘stress erythropoiesis’ to produce billions of erythrocytes. Here, we review the cellular and molecular mechanisms governing erythrocyte development and regeneration, and discuss the potential links between these events and other regenerative processes. Summary: This Review describes cellular and molecular mechanisms governing red blood cell development and regeneration, and potential links between these events and other regenerative processes.
Effort–Reward Imbalance and Burnout Among ICU Nursing Staff: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background Occupational stress is commonly observed among staff in intensive care units (ICUs). Sociodemographic, organizational, and job-related factors may lead to burnout among ICU health workers. In addition, these factors could modify the balance between efforts done and rewards perceived by workers; consequently, this imbalance could increase levels of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization and decrease a sense of personal accomplishment. Objective The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between effort–reward imbalance and burnout dimensions (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment) among ICU nursing staff in a university hospital in Santiago, Chile. Methods A convenience sample of 36 registered nurses and 46 nurse aides answered the Maslach Burnout Inventory and Effort–Reward Imbalance Questionnaire and provided sociodemographic and work-related data. Results Age and effort–reward imbalance were significantly associated with emotional exhaustion in both registered nurses and nurse aides; age was negatively correlated with emotional exhaustion, whereas effort–reward imbalance was positively correlated. Age was negatively associated with depersonalization. None of the predictors were associated with personal accomplishment. Discussion This study adds valuable information about relationships of sociodemographic factors and effort–reward imbalance and their impact on dimensions of burnout, particularly on emotional exhaustion.
Estimation of A Posteriori Computational Error by the Higher Order Multipoint Meshless FDM

The main objective of this paper is to present a possibility of high quality a posteriori error evaluation based on reference solutions obtained by means of the new multipoint meshless finite difference method. Due to its higher order approximation, the multipoint results may be used as improved reference solution instead of the true analytical one to estimate the errors. Several types of a posteriori error estimators which can be used to evaluate the calculation error are described here. The results of selected numerical benchmarks are considered.
Punjabi document classification using vector evaluation method

Most information is stored as text, managing a vast amount of documents in digital forms is vital in text mining applications. Text Mining is a field that extracts hidden, useful information from the text document according to user's query. Text Categorization is the most important part of Text Mining. Text Categorization, also known as Text Classification or topic spotting, is defined as a classification of text documents under predefined categories. Although Punjabi text categorization is a promising field, not much work has been done as compared to English text categorization. This paper proposes a method which uses a categorized Punjabi documents corpus, and then the weights of the tested document's words are calculated to determine the document keywords which will be compared with the keywords of the corpus to determine the tested document's best category.
Silencing of natural transformation by an RNA chaperone and a multitarget small RNA

Significance Natural transformation is a major mechanism of horizontal gene transfer (HGT) by which bacteria take up exogenous DNA directly in their environment and integrate it in their genome. Acquiring new genetic information may confer an adaptive advantage but an uncontrolled uptake of foreign DNA may be harmful. We document a previously unsuspected means to control HGT by natural transformation in the human pathogen Legionella pneumophila. We found that the DNA uptake system required for natural transformation is subjected to silencing. A member of the widespread ProQ/FinO domain-containing protein family acts as an RNA chaperone and allows the targeting of the mRNAs of the genes coding the DNA uptake system by a newly identified trans-acting small RNA. A highly conserved DNA uptake system allows many bacteria to actively import and integrate exogenous DNA. This process, called natural transformation, represents a major mechanism of horizontal gene transfer (HGT) involved in the acquisition of virulence and antibiotic resistance determinants. Despite evidence of HGT and the high level of conservation of the genes coding the DNA uptake system, most bacterial species appear non-transformable under laboratory conditions. In naturally transformable species, the DNA uptake system is only expressed when bacteria enter a physiological state called competence, which develops under specific conditions. Here, we investigated the mechanism that controls expression of the DNA uptake system in the human pathogen Legionella pneumophila. We found that a repressor of this system displays a conserved ProQ/FinO domain and interacts with a newly characterized trans-acting sRNA, RocR. Together, they target mRNAs of the genes coding the DNA uptake system to control natural transformation. This RNA-based silencing represents a previously unknown regulatory means to control this major mechanism of HGT. Importantly, these findings also show that chromosome-encoded ProQ/FinO domain-containing proteins can assist trans-acting sRNAs and that this class of RNA chaperones could play key roles in post-transcriptional gene regulation throughout bacterial species.
SDN-Based Data Transfer Security for Internet of Things

The exponential growth of devices connected to the network has resulted in the development of new Internet of Things (IoT) applications and online services, which may have diverse and dynamic requirements on received quality. Although, the emerging software-defined networking (SDN) approach can be leveraged for the IoT environment, to dynamically achieve differentiated quality levels for different IoT tasks in very heterogeneous wireless networking scenarios, the open interfaces in SDN introduces new network attacks, which may make SDN-based IoT malfunctioned. The challenges lies in securely using SDN for IoT systems. To address this challenge, we design a SDN-based data transfer security model middlebox-guard (M-G). M-G aims at reducing network latency, and properly manage dataflow to ensure the network run safely. First, according to different security policies, middleboxes related to the defined secure policies, are placed at the most appropriate locations, using dataflow abstraction and a heuristic algorithm. Next, to avoid any middlebox becoming a hotspot, an offline integer linear program (ILP) pruning algorithm is proposed in M-G, to tackle switch volume constraints. In addition, an online linear program (LP) formulation is come up to handle load balance. Finally, secure mechanisms are proposed to handle different attacks. And network routing is solved flexibly, through dataflow management protocol, which are formulated via combining tunnels and tags. Experimental results demonstrate that this model can improve security performance and manage dataflow effectively in SDN-based IoT system.
In vivo and in vitro Modulation of Immune Stimulatory Capacity of Primary Dendritic Cells by Adenovirus-Mediated Gene Transduction

Dendritic cells (DCs) are potent antigen-presenting cells which are key leukocytes in the initiation of cell-mediated organ graft rejection, antiviral immunity, and antitumor responses. In this study we demonstrate that genetic modification of primary human and mouse DCs by adenoviral gene transfer is an effective means of induction and modulation of antigen presentation by DCs. An adenovirus vector (AdLacZ) was used to express an intracellular model antigen β-galactosidase (β-gal) in DCs. Our results show that 30–40% of precursor dendritic cells (PDCs) derived from human umbilical cord blood and circulating mature blood DCs express high levels β-galactosidase (β-gal) after infection with AdLacZ with no cytopathic effect observed. In vitro, AdLacZ transduced PDCs and DCs demonstrated a 10- to 20-fold higher mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) stimulatory capacity as compared to that of monocytes. In vivo, immunization with AdLacZ transduced mouse DCs resulted in more potent cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) responses against the predicted H-2 restricted β-gal epitope as compared to CTL responses obtained by β-gal peptide pulsed DCs. Modulations of the MLR stimulatory capacity of DCs were examined by expression of mouse B7 and CTLA-4Ig. The results show that expression of mouse B7 by a recombinant adenoviral vector (Ad7) significantly enhances the MLR stimulatory capacity of human DCs. In contrast, expression of CTLA-4Ig (AdCTLA-4Ig) reduces the MLR stimulatory capacity of the transduced cells. We conclude that recombinant adenovirus can readily be used for genetic modulation DC-induced immune responses in vivo and in vitro. DCs targeted for induction of specific antigen responses or for modulation of the immune stimulatory capacity may have a potential use in the control of transplantation rejection or viral infections.
Bereitstellung unstrukturierter Daten und Verknüpfung mit strukturierten Daten in der Konzeptentwicklung von Automobilen

Die effiziente Verfugbarkeit relevanter Daten und Informationen stellt fur die Entwicklung von Fahrzeugkonzepten einen Erfolgsfaktor dar. Methoden und Werkzeuge des Datenmangements konnen derzeit nicht zureichend die Anforderungen dieser Phase erfullen. Die vorliegende Arbeit beschreibt Grundlagen und Methoden fur ein Informationssystem, das dem Anwender Entwicklungsinformationen und Produktdaten in der Phase der Konzeptentwicklung zuganglich macht. Es werden semantische Technologien herangezogen, um in unstrukturiertem und implizitem Wissen Strukturen und Beziehungen zu erkennen, diese explizit zu modellieren und somit fur den Benutzer navigierbar und zugreifbar zu machen.
The Clinical Burden of Rotavirus Gastroenteritis: A Prospective Study

Background In Saudi Arabia, there is a lack of recently published, appropriately conducted epidemiological studies on rotavirus (RV) diarrhea, which emphasizes the need for up-to-date and comprehensive studies. Objective Our objective was to provide more recent data on the clinical and epidemiological characteristics as well as the economic burden of RV diarrhea among young children admitted to a tertiary care hospital in the city of Riyadh in the year prior to the initiation of the RV vaccine. Design We conducted a prospective observational study at a children’s specialized hospital at King Fahad Medical City. We included children under five years of age who were hospitalized for gastroenteritis over a 12-month period from January 2012 to December 2012. Stool samples were collected on admission and tested for the presence of RV using an enzyme immunoassay. Results Of the 204 children included over the study period (mean age, 9.8 months ± 10.2; 124 males), 102 (50%) were RV-positive. Two-thirds (69.6%) were under one year old, and 38.2% were under six months of age. RV infections occurred throughout the year, with the highest proportion occurring during the spring and summer. RV-positive diarrhea was more severe than the RV-negative diarrhea as indicated by a significantly lower bicarbonate level (68.6% versus 31.3%, P-value < 0.0001), a higher frequency of severe dehydration (11.7% versus 3%, P-value = 0.015), and longer hospital stay (mean duration, 8.78 versus 6.56 days, P-value = 0.027). In addition, the financial burden of the RV-positive cases was greater than the RV-negative cases (median 1692 USD versus 1287 USD, P-value = 0.001). Conclusion Our study shows a high prevalence of RV infections among young children admitted to the hospital for acute gastroenteritis. Furthermore, RV infections are associated with severe diarrhea and significant financial burden.
Ventroposterolateral pallidotomy can abolish all parkinsonian symptoms.

Stereotactic ventroposterolateral pallidotomy in 46 parkinsonian patients resulted in a complete or almost complete and long-lasting relief of rigidity and hypokinesia in 91% of the patients. Good tremor effect was obtained in 80% of them. The L-dopa-induced dyskinesias, gait and speech improved in most patients. Complications were observed in 7 cases after 51 pallidotomies, i.e. 14% (partial homonymous hemianopia in 6 and transient dysphasia and facial weakness in 1). We believe that the good effect of surgery is based on interruption of some striopallidal or subthalamopallidal pathways.
Altered matrix metalloproteinase 9 and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases 1 levels in children with primary hypertension

Background: Matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMP) are involved in cardiovascular remodeling in hypertension. Because metabolic abnormalities typical of metabolic syndrome is the dominant phenotype of primary hypertension in children, we hypothesized that MMP-9 and TIMP-1 plasma concentrations are altered in hypertensive children and correlate with metabolic abnormalities and target organ damage. Method: A total of 109 children (15.6, 10–17 years) with untreated primary hypertension were included to the study. The control group consisted of 74 healthy, normotensive children. Results: Plasma MMP-9, TIMP-1 concentrations, and MMP-9/TIMP-1 ratio were significantly elevated in hypertensive boys in comparison with normotensive boys (P = 0.0001, P = 0.04, and P = 0.001, respectively), whereas there were no differences between hypertensive and normotensive girls. The levels of MMP-9 and TIMP-1 as well as MMP-9/TIMP-1 ratio were not associated either with hypertension stage, left ventricular hypertrophy, or carotid intima–media thickness. However, in a subgroup of 30 hypertensive patients in whom arterial stiffness was measured, TIMP-1 concentrations correlated with aortic pulse pressure (P < 0.05; r = 0.367), augmentation pressure (P < 0.05; r = 0.428), and augmentation index (P < 0.05; r = 0.404). Only hypertensive boys presented negative correlations of both MMP-9 and TIMP-1 levels with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (r = −0.254, P = 0.01 and r = −0.241, P = 0.02, respectively). Conclusion: Hypertensive boys but not girls had elevated MMP-9 and TIMP-1 plasma concentrations, which indicates sex-related role of MMP/TIMP system in pediatric hypertension. The correlation between serum TIMP-1 and markers of arterial stiffness indicates on the involvement of TIMPs in arterial remodeling.
Daclatasvir and asunaprevir treatment in patients infected by genotype 1b of hepatitis C virus with no or subtle resistant associated substitutions (RAS) in NS5A‐Y93

In this study, we investigated the real‐world data of the first approved interferon‐free regimen in Japan, daclatasvir and asunaprevir (DCV+ASV), in chronic hepatitis C patients infected HCV genotype 1b with no or subtle amount of baseline resistant associated substitutions (RAS). Among 924 patients registered in our multicenter study, 750 patients who were proven not to be infected with NS5A‐Y93H RAS by direct sequencing and to have no or subtle amount (less than 20%) of NS5A‐Y93H RAS by probe assays (Cycleave or PCR invader assay) were included in this study. We investigated the anti‐viral effect and factors associated with SVR12. In statistical analysis, P < 0.05 was considered as significant. The SVR12 rate in this population was 92.1% (562/618). Factors associated with SVR12 were male (odds ratio: 2.128; 95%CI: 1.134‐4.000, P = 0.019); lower serum γGTP (odds ratio: 1.007; 95%CI: 1.002‐1.012, P = 0.006); lower HCV‐RNA (odds ratio: 1.848; 95%CI: 1.087‐3.145, P = 0.023), and RVR (odds ratio: 6.250; 95%CI: 2.445‐15.873, P < 0.001). No patients with γGTP ≧ 80 IU/L without RVR showed SVR12 (0/4, 0%) and one patients with γGTP ≧ 20‐< 80 IU/L and HCV‐RNA ≧ 6.5 logIU/mL without RVR (5/10, 50%) and two female patients with RVR but γGTP ≧ 80 IU/L and HCV‐RNA ≧ 6.5 logIU/mL (7/13, 53.8%) showed a low SVR12 rate. In the present study, we showed a good viral response with DCV‐ASV treatment and identified four predictive factors associated with SVR12. These four markers could be a good predictive markers for the viral effect of this treatment regimen in patients with no or subtle amount of RAS in NS5A‐Y93.