Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Surgical infections in the traumatized spine.

UNLABELLED Patients with acute spinal injury who require operative intervention may be at increased risk for postoperative surgical-site infection when compared with patients having elective spinal surgery. Various local, systemic, and iatrogenic factors predispose this unique population of patients to post-surgical infection. Nonmodifiable risk factors for surgical-site infection in spine trauma include age, medical comorbidities, and neurologic status. Modifiable risk factors include poor postoperative nutritional status, delay from time of injury to surgical intervention, posterior surgical approach, higher number of levels stabilized, length of postoperative stay in the intensive care unit, and treatment by a single specialty team (versus treatment by successive orthopaedic and neurosurgical teams). When treating patients with spine trauma, a high index of suspicion should be maintained for patients with multiple risk factors for infection and every effort should be made to minimize the modifiable risk factors. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Level V (expert opinion). Please see the Guidelines for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
Adaptive working schedule for duty-cycle opportunistic mobile networks

In Opportunistic Mobile Networks (OppNets), a large amount of energy is consumed by idle listening, instead of infrequent data exchange. This makes energy saving a challenging and fundamental problem in OppNets, since nodes are typically battery-powered. Asynchronous duty-cycle operation is a promising approach for energy saving in OppNets, however, if its working schedule is not effectively designed, it may also cause significant network performance degradation. Therefore, it is pressing to design an energy-efficient working schedule for duty-cycle OppNets. In this paper, we first analyze the contact process in duty-cycle OppNets, then propose an adaptive working schedule for duty-cycle OppNets. The proposed schedule uses the past recorded contact histories to predict the future contact information, so as to adaptively configure the working schedule of each node in the network. Finally, extensive real trace-driven simulations are conducted to evaluate the performance of our proposed schedule. The results show that our proposed adaptive working schedule is superior to the random working schedule in terms of delivery ratio and delivery delay.
Interaction of TNF with TNF Receptor Type 2 Promotes Expansion and Function of Mouse CD4+CD25+ T Regulatory Cells1

Although TNF is a major proinflammatory cytokine, increasing evidence indicates that TNF also has immunosuppressive feedback effects. We have demonstrated in this study that, in both resting and activated states, mouse peripheral CD4+CD25+ T regulatory cells (Tregs) expressed remarkably higher surface levels of TNFR2 than CD4+CD25− T effector cells (Teffs). In cocultures of Tregs and Teffs, inhibition of proliferation of Teffs by Tregs was initially transiently abrogated by exposure to TNF, but longer exposure to TNF restored suppressive effects. Cytokine production by Teffs remained continually suppressed by Tregs. The profound anergy of Tregs in response to TCR stimulation was overcome by TNF, which expanded the Treg population. Furthermore, in synergy with IL-2, TNF expanded Tregs even more markedly up-regulated expression of CD25 and FoxP3 and phosphorylation of STAT5, and enhanced the suppressive activity of Tregs. Unlike TNF, IL-1β and IL-6 did not up-regulate FoxP3-expressing Tregs. Furthermore, the number of Tregs increased in wild-type mice, but not in TNFR2−/− mice following sublethal cecal ligation and puncture. Depletion of Tregs significantly decreased mortality following cecal ligation and puncture. Thus, the stimulatory effect of TNF on Tregs resembles the reported costimulatory effects of TNF on Teffs, but is even more pronounced because of the higher expression of TNFR2 by Tregs. Moreover, our study suggests that the slower response of Tregs than Teffs to TNF results in delayed immunosuppressive feedback effects.
Power spectrum analysis of heart rate variability in human cardiac transplant recipients.

The study by Sands et all reported promising results with the mathematical technique of power spectrum analysis of heart rate variability to detect graft rejection. We were surprised, however, to learn that they did not find spectral peaks in transplant recipients. In a similar study,2 we detected peaks at the so-called Mayer wave frequency (0.1 Hz) as well as at the frequency of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA). Furthermore, we found that the RSA peak had better repeatability at two weeks (r=0.81) than the Mayer wave frequency and was significantly lower during rejection periods (p=0.039). We suspect that part of the difference in our findings may be attributable to the different techniques used. Specifically, Sands et al used a smoothing technique that, in effect, created a low-pass filter. Although this is acceptable, this often results in large, low-frequency spectral peaks that may "swamp" or interfere with small, higher-frequency peaks such as the RSA.3 To avoid this problem, we high-pass filtered the data at approximately 0.04 Hz to remove the low-frequency drift or aperiodic trend. This technique may also introduce spurious peaks near the corner frequency of the filter. However, we believe it highly unlikely that this filtering procedure affected the RSA peaks because the RSA frequencies were sufficiently higher. Furthermore, one of our subjects demonstrated clear, unequivocal Cheyne-Stokes respirations that modulated the heart rate and were clearly evident on the tachogram.4,5 We agree with Sands et al that this technique is of potential benefit to transplant recipients and that larger, more-controlled studies are warranted.
Rule Extraction from Medical Data without Discretization of Numerical Attributes

Association rule mining is a popular technique used to find associations between attributes in a dataset. When using deterministic algorithms, if the attributes have numerical values the usual approach is to discretize them defining proper intervals. But the discretization can notably affect the quality of the rules generated. This work presents a method based on a deterministic exploration of the interval search space without a previous discretization of the numerical attributes. It has been applied to medical data from an atherosclerosis study. The quality of the obtained rules seems to support this method as a valid alternative for this kind of rule extraction.
Epidemiology of malaria and helminth interaction: a review from 2001 to 2011

Purpose of reviewMalaria and helminthiasis are endemic in the same geographic areas, and may coinfect the same host. In the literature there is some controversy about the effect of helminth infection on malaria. Recent findingsLarge studies have been undertaken to clarify this interaction at the molecular and immunological level, we undertake a review of the epidemiology of the interaction between helminths and malaria in areas where both are endemic. A search of the literature from 2001 to 2011 showed that several studies have been conducted on the interaction of helminths and malaria. Most of the studies had a cross-sectional or longitudinal design, whereas few were interventional studies of school children and pregnant women. The main finding is that there is a trend toward a protective effect of Ascaris lumbricoides and Schistosoma hematobium, and worsening effect of hookworm and S. mansoni on the pathogenesis and incidence of malaria, respectively. It is important also to put emphasis on the general protective effect of helminth infection against severe malaria. SummaryHookworm, A. lumbricoides and Schistosoma species were found to associate differently with malaria, which might explain the conflicting reports on interaction between helminths and malaria. It is therefore important to further investigate these three major helminths in relation to malaria, using universally accepted ‘gold standard’ study designs, which would be able to clearly define the nature of the interaction between malaria and helminth species. A better understanding of helminths and malaria coinfection may strengthen malaria control programmes in coendemic areas.
Preliminary Observations on State of Insulin in Human and Bovine Pancreas.∗

Summary A major fraction of insulin in human and bovine pancreas is readily adsorbed on cationic exchange resin, in sodium form, from homogenates prepared in 0.15 M sodium chloride at pH 6.6 ± 0.4. These studies suggest that this fraction of insulin in pancreas may be in a complex form, possibly with basic proteins, the insulin complex being adsorbed on the resin under specified conditions.
Chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of peppermint ( Mentha piperita L . ) Essential oil

Peppermint with antiseptic and known healing properties is a plant from the Labiatae family. In this study, we analyzed the chemical composition of essential oil from the flowering aerial part of peppermint by GC and GC/MS. Its antimicrobial activity was evaluated against bacteria, fungi and yeast by micro broth dilution assay. The fractional inhibitory concentration (FIC) and FIC Index (FICI) and related isobologram curve were determined by check board micro titer assay. The results exhibited that the MIC, MLC value of peppermint oil against different kinds of microorganisms were in the range of 0.125-2 and 0.125>64 μl/ml, respectively. Candida albicans was the most sensitive microorganism and Pseudomonas aeruginosa was the less sensitive ones. The oil showed synergistic activities with vancomycin, gentamycin, and amphotericin B with the FICI less of 0.5. This oil could be used as natural antibiotics and may decrease the effective dose of antibiotics.
Somatosensory evoked potentials in cerebral malaria. A preliminary study.

Somatosensory evoked potentials were recorded in patients of cerebral malaria by (R) median nerve stimulation. Important observations of this study were delayed absolute latency of N20, increased N13-N20 IPL i.e. central conduction time and distorted and dispersed waveforms of N9 and N20 peaks. The possible pathologic mechanism is discussed.
Glacial ocean overturning intensified by tidal mixing in a global circulation model

Due to lower sea levels during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), tidal energy dissipation was shifted from the shallow margins into the deep ocean. Here using a high‐resolution tide model, we estimate that global energy fluxes below 200 m depth were almost quadrupled during the LGM. Applying the energy fluxes to a consistent tidal mixing parameterization of a global climate model results in a large intensification of mixing. Global mean vertical diffusivity increases by more than a factor of 3, and consequently, the simulated meridional overturning circulation accelerates by ~21–46%. In the model, these effects are at least as important as those from changes in surface boundary conditions. Our findings contrast with the prevailing view that the abyssal LGM circulation was more sluggish. We conclude that changes in tidal mixing are an important mechanism that may have strongly increased the glacial deep ocean circulation and should no longer be neglected in paleoclimate simulations.
Effect of Org OD14 (LIVIAL) and its metabolites on human estrogen sulphotransferase activity in the hormone-dependent MCF-7 and T-47D, and the hormone-independent MDA-MB-231, breast cancer cell lines.

The concentration of estrogen sulphates (ES) is particularly high in tumoural breast tissues in post-menopausal women. It is well known that during the post-menopausal phase the levels of circulating estrogens are very low, suggesting the local production of these hormones in the breast cancer tissue itself. Breast cancer cells possess all the enzymes involved in the last steps of estradiol (E2) formation, as well as in its transformation (e.g.: sulphotransferase). As ES are not biologically active, the formation of this conjugate is an important transformation pathway in the control of E2. Consequently, it was interesting to investigate the factors which regulate the sulphotransferase activity. In the present study, we explored the effect of Org OD14; the active substance in Livial, and of its main metabolites (Org 4094, Org 30126, Org OM-38) on the estrogen sulphotransferase activity in the hormone-dependent: MCF-7, T-47D, and hormone-independent: MDA-MB-231, human breast cancer cell lines. After 24 hours incubation at 37 degrees C of physiological concentrations of estrone ([3H]-E1: 5 x 10(-9) mol/l), it was observed that the sulphotransferase activity is detectable in MCF-7 and T-47D cells, since the concentrations of ES found were 14.90 and 17.30 pmol/mg DNA, respectively, whereas in MDA-MB-231 cells the concentration of ES found was only 2.01 pmol/mg DNA. Sulphates are found exclusively in the culture medium, which suggests that as soon as the sulphate is biosynthesized it is secreted into the medium. Org OD14, Org 30126, and Org 4094 have a biphasic effect on sulphotransferase activity in the hormone-dependent cells only. At low doses (5 x 10(-8) mol/l) these compounds stimulate this enzyme by 63, 101, and 51%, respectively in the MCF-7 cells, and by 41, 102, and 80%, respectively in the T-47D cells. No stimulatory effect was detected with Org OM-38. At high concentrations (5 x 10(-5) mol/l) Org OD14 and its three metabolites inhibit the sulphotransferase activity in MCF-7 and T-47D cells by 50-70%. In conclusion, the stimulatory effect provoked at low doses by Org OD14 and its metabolites (Org 4094, Org 30126) on the estrogen sulphotransferase involved in the biosynthesis of the inactive estrogen sulphates in estrogen-dependent breast cancer cells, can contribute to the protection of breast tissue in postmenopausal women with hormone replacement therapy.
Disparity in smoking prevalence by education: can we reduce it?

Can an intervention program that is highly effective in reducing the prevalence of an unhealthy behavior in the general population also reduce the disparity among its subgroups? That depends on what measure of disparity is used. Using simple algebraic models, this study demonstrates that disparity measured in terms of relative difference between two groups tends to increase when the prevalence of the behavior is in decline. The study then shows an empirical example, by analyzing the effects of the California tobacco control program on smoking prevalence of two education groups, the lowest (less than 12 years) and the highest (16 years or more). It examines the data from four California Tobacco Surveys covering the years 1996, 1999, 2002, and 2005. The effects of three components of the tobacco control program known to be effective in decreasing prevalence (media, worksite policy, and price) on the two education groups are assessed. The smoking prevalence for the two groups is obtained from these four surveys and a regression line is computed for each education group from 1996 to 2005. Results show that the California program is effective with both low education and high education groups and that the rate of decline in smoking prevalence from 1996 to 2005 is no smaller for the low education group than for the high education group. The paper then discusses that an analysis of disparity based on relative difference, however, could result in misleading recommendations that an intervention like the California tobacco program needs to change from its current whole-population approach to one that focuses on targeting subgroups because it has not reduced disparity. It proposes that research should focus more on increasing the rate of change among less advantaged groups and less on the relative disparity compared to some other group.
Time trends and gender differences in prevention guideline adherence and outcome after myocardial infarction: Data from the SWEDEHEART registry

Background While secondary prevention improves prognosis after acute myocardial infarction (AMI), previous studies have suggested suboptimal guideline adherence, lack of improvement over time and gender differences. This study contributes contemporary data from a large national cohort. Method We identified 51,620 patients <75 years examined at two and/or twelve months post AMI in the Swedish Web-system for Enhancement and Development of Evidence-based care in Heart disease Evaluated According to Recommended Therapies (SWEDEHEART). Risk factor control and readmissions at one year were compared between the 2005 and 2012 cohorts, and between genders. Results Lipid control (LDL-cholesterol <2.5 mmol/L) improved from 67.9% to 71.1% (p = 0.016) over time, achieved by 67.9% vs 63.3%, p < 0.001 of men vs women. Blood pressure control (<140 mmHg systolic) increased over time (59.1% vs 69.5%, p < 0.001 in 2005 and 2012 cohorts) and was better in men (66.4% vs 61.9%, p < 0.001). Smoking cessation rate was 55.6% without differences between genders or over time. Cardiac readmissions occurred in 18.2% of women and 15.5% of men, decreasing from 2005 to 2012 (20.8% vs 14.9%). Adjusted odds ratio was 1.22 (95% CI 1.14–1.32) for women vs men and 0.94 (95% CI 0.92–0.96) for the 2012 vs the 2005 cohort. Conclusions Although this study compares favourably to previous studies of risk factor control post AMI, improvement over time was mainly seen regarding blood pressure, revealing substantial remaining preventive potential. The reasons for gender differences seen in risk factor control and readmissions require further analysis.
Evaluation of tryptophan role on some biochemical and histological alterations in irradiated rats .

The effect of tryptophan daily oral dose (81.7 mg/kg wt) for 21 days on some biochemical and histological parameters in female albino rats exposed to gamma irradiation at dose 7 Gray (Gy) was investigated. The hematological studies revealed that there were significant reduction in red blood cell count, hemoglobin, hematocrit, platelets and leucocytes values in irradiated rats and elevation of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances level. Catalase activity decreased significantly after irradiation. Some histological changes were noticed in both lymph nodes and spleen of irradiated rats. Tryptophan administration dose (81.7 mg/kg wt) revealed ameliorative effects in mean corpuscular hemoglobin, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration and some biochemical and histological changes occurred due to gamma irradiation.
Shannon ’ s Noisy-Channel Theorem

Realistic channels generally a certain amount of noise associated with them, that is, information is not losslessly transmitted. In this article we formalize the notion of communication over a noisy-channel and prove the result of Shannon’s Noisy-Channel theorem. Shannon’s Noisy-Channel Theorem states that for codes with less than 2nR codewords, where R is the rate, it is possible to communicate over a noisy-channel with arbitrarily small error when the rate of information transmitted is smaller than capacity. Where capacity is the maximum amount of information that can be send such that the error is arbitrarily small, a formal notion justified in its intuitive sense of capacity by Shannon’s noisy-channel theorem. We will also provide some thoughts on the practical applications of this theorem. Titel: Shannon’s Noisy-Channel Theorem Auteur: Amon Elders, C.Schaffner@uva.nl, 6127901 Begeleiding: Christian Schaffner Einddatum: February 6, 2016 Korteweg-de Vries Instituut voor Wiskunde Universiteit van Amsterdam Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam http://www.science. uva.nl/math
In vivo antiviral effects of mismatched double‐stranded RNA on duck hepatitis B virus

The antiviral activity and ability of mismatched double‐stranded RNA (m‐dsRNA), r(I)n′r(C12‐U)n′ to induce interferon (IFN) were evaluated in ducks chronically infected with duck hepatitis B virus (DHBV). When m‐dsRNA was administered intravenously at a single dose of 5 mg/kg, serum DHBV DNA concentrations decreased significantly for 3 days (P < 0.002). However, the DHBV DNA concentrations returned to the pretreatment levels 4 days after treatment. Inhibition of DHBV DNA replication in the liver was also observed 2 days after treatment. Serum IFN activity peaked 3 hours after administration of m‐dsRNA, then rapidly declined. 2′‐5′ Oligo‐adenylate synthetase (2′‐5′ AS) activity increased gradually after treatment and remained elevated for at least 48 hours. In ducks receiving m‐dsRNA once daily for 7 consecutive days, serum DHBV DNA concentrations on the last day of treatment were decreased by 76 ± 12% (P < 0.05) in ducks that received 0.2 mg of m‐dsRNA per kg and by 65 ± 12% (P < 0.05) in ducks that received 1 mg of m‐dsRNA per kg. This decrease persisted for at least 2 weeks after the cessation of treatment in all ducks. These results suggest that m‐dsRNA effectively inhibits DHBV replication in vivo, and that IFN induction and stimulation of 2′–5′AS activity contribute to the inhibition of DHBV replication by m‐dsRNA. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Phase-change materials for reconfigurable RF applications

In this talk, we report on GeTe RF switches on silicon substrate with state-of-the-art switch figure-of-merit of ~14 femtosecond or 11 THz, ~20x greater than all of current FET switches. This was accomplished using an embedded refractory micro-heater with reduced parasitics. The spectral responses of the GeTe-based RF switches were tested for the first time under W-CDMA signals. With a 15 dBm interferer, we did not see spectral regrowth of the switches. Under single tone, the harmonic powers were at 90 dBc at 35 dBm with GeTe width of 150 μm. While at a very early development stage, we report that GeTe PCM RF switches are a promising technology upon improved reliability for future wireless RF front-ends.
Asthma and atopy are associated with chromosome 17q21 markers in Chinese children

Background: Single‐nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)‐based genome‐wide association study revealed that markers on chromosome 17q21 were linked to childhood asthma but not atopy in Caucasians, with the strongest signal being detected for the SNP rs7216389 in the ORMDL3 gene. Such association was unknown in Chinese. This study delineated the allele and genotype frequencies of 10 SNPs at chromosome 17q21, and investigated the relationship between these SNPs and asthma and plasma IgE in southern Chinese children.
Surface core-level shifts of some 4d-metal single-crystal surfaces: Experiments and ab initio calculations.

High resolution measurements are reported of the surface core-level shift of the 3d level for the Rh(111), Rh(110), Pd(111), Pd(110), and Ag(111) single-crystal surfaces. These measurements and earlier ones for the Mo(110), Rh(100), and Pd(100) surfaces are analyzed by ab initio calculations of the surface core-level shift. The calculations are found to reproduce well the trends of the experimental shifts with the 4d metal and with the crystal plane. The comparison between these experimental and theoretical results demonstrates the importance of proper inclusion of final-state effects for accurate calculations of surface core-level shifts. A core hole in a surface atom is found to be better screened than one in a bulk atom for the 4d metals to the left of Pd in the Periodic Table. The use of the Z+1 approximation to describe the core hole is investigated both by explicit use of this approximation and by performing calculations for 1s and 3d core holes, respectively. The Z+1 approximation is found to be well obeyed in the case of Ag whereas for the rest of the 4d transition metals it is less precise, introducing errors of typically 0.1 eV.