Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Plasmodium lactate dehydrogenase assay to detect malarial parasites.

BACKGROUND Microscopic examination of blood smears remains the gold standard for the diagnosis of malaria. However, it is labour-intensive and requires skilled operators. Immunochromatographic dipstick assays provide a potential alternative. One such dipstick, the Plasmodium lactate dehydrogenase assay (pLDH), is based on detection of the Plasmodium intracellular metabolic enzyme, LDH. The differentiation of malarial parasites is based on the antigenic differences between the pLDH isoforms. This study was designed to assess the sensitivity and specificity of pLDH assays in detecting and differentiating between various malarial species compared with microscopy. METHODS Blood samples (n = 124) submitted to our laboratory for routine diagnosis of malaria were included in this study. From each blood sample, two thin films and a quantitative buffy coat (QBC) were made for microscopy. Thin films were stained with Giemsa and acridine orange. The pLDH assay was performed on all the samples according to the manufacturer's instructions. RESULTS Of the 124 blood samples, 84 were negative by all methods (Giemsa, acridine orange, QBC and pLDH assay). Of the 38 samples positive for Plasmodium falciparum on microscopy, pLDH assay correctly identified 36 at parasite counts as low as < 40 parasites/microl and had a sensitivity and specificity of 94.3% and 97.6%, respectively. Of the 21 samples positive for Plasmodium vivax, pLDH assay correctly identified 19 at parasite counts as low as < 80/microl, and had a sensitivity and specificity of 90.4% and 100%, respectively. However, it failed to identify two Plasmodium vivax infections at parasite counts of 5000/microl and > 200/microl, suggesting that plasmodial gene deletions could be responsible for non-expression of pLDH. CONCLUSIONS Our data demonstrate that pLDH assay, given its accuracy, rapidity (10-15 minutes), ease of performance and interpretation, can be a useful tool for the detection of malaria in countries where both plasmodial species are co-endemic and where laboratory support is limited.
Acute enteritis associated with Coxsackievirus A19 in a kidney transplant patient

Diarrhea is a frequent complication after kidney transplantation, with an incidence rate between 22% and 51%. In many cases, the cause remains unknown. We describe here the first case, to our knowledge, of persistent diarrhea associated with Coxsackievirus A19 (CVA19) in a kidney transplant recipient. The patient was a 46‐year‐old man who received a deceased‐donor kidney. He experienced delayed graft function because of donor kidney donation after circulatory determination of death. Maintenance immunosuppression consisted of low‐dose cyclosporine, high‐dose mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) (3 g/day), and prednisone (10 mg/day). He had severe diarrhea for 2 weeks associated with acute renal failure. No pathogens were found in the stool cultures. Enterovirus detection was positive by real‐time polymerase chain reaction, and sequence analysis found CVA19 (from Enterovirus C group). Area under the curve of MMF was 48 mg.h/L. Because of the persistence of diarrhea, MMF was stopped and replaced by azathioprine. The diarrhea disappeared, but serum creatinine did not return to baseline. CVA19 rarely causes gastroenteritis. This case illustrates that MMF is not always the direct cause of diarrhea, and that new clinical infectious diseases will be detected with the expansion of molecular‐based DNA diagnostics.
Contrast medium dose-to-gfr ratio: a measure of systemic exposure to predict contrast-induced nephropathy after percutaneous coronary intervention

Background: The contrast medium (CM) dose-to-eGFR (estimated glomerular filtration rate) ratio has recently been advocated to express systemic exposure to CM in assessing the risk of contrast medium-induced nephropathy (CIN). Purpose: To evaluate how CIN risk might vary with decreasing eGFR at fixed CM-dose/eGFR ratios and other CIN risk factors, and to find a relatively safe CM-dose/eGFR ratio. Material and Methods: 391 patients underwent primary coronary angioplasty for ST-segment elevation acute myocardial infarction. CM dose (grams iodine; g I), eGFR (ml/min), and preprocedural CIN risk factors were entered into a multiple logistic regression model. From the established statistical model, the probability of CIN (≥44.2 µmol/l serum creatinine rise or oliguria/anuria) was calculated at various eGFR levels based on g-I/eGFR ratios of 1:2, 1:1, 2:1, and 3:1. Results: At a g-I/eGFR ratio <1 the risk of CIN was 3%, while it was 25% at a g-I/eGFR ratio ≥1. Independent predictors of CIN were CM dose, eGFR, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and cardiogenic shock (ROC area =0.87). An estimated CIN risk of 10% would for example occur at a g-I/eGFR ratio of 1.5:1 in patients with 50% LVEF without shock. At a 1:2, 1:1, 2:1, and 3:1 g-I/eGFR ratio with 50% LVEF without shock, the CIN risk was about 2, 6, 18, and 30%, respectively, over a wide range of eGFR values (30–90 ml/min). At a 1:1 g-I/eGFR ratio with 50% LVEF+shock, 25% LVEF without shock, or 25% LVEF+shock, the CIN risk was 20, 55, and 80%, respectively. Conclusion: Relating CM dose to eGFR appears to be an attractive pharmacotoxic model to assess CIN risk. At fixed CM-dose/eGFR ratios, CIN risk increased marginally with decreasing eGFR. Limiting the CM dose in g I numerically to the eGFR value in ml/min or less may be relatively safe with regard to CIN, unless multiple risk factors are present.
Rigorous decimation-based construction of ground pure states for spin-glass models on random lattices.

A constructive scheme for determining pure states at very low temperature in the 3-spins glass model on a random lattice is provided, in full agreement with Parisi's one step replica symmetry breaking (RSB) scheme. Proof is based on the analysis of a partial decimation procedure and of the statistical properties of its output, i.e., a reduced Hamiltonian acting on a subset of the initial spins. The number of ground states (GS) in each state, the number of states, and the distances between GS are calculated and correspond to RSB predictions.
Loss of heterozygosity on chromosome 9q and p53 alterations in human bladder cancer

Somatic loss of the 9q allele as well as alteration of the tumor suppressor p53 occurs commonly in bladder cancers. Although alteration of p53 has been strongly associated with invasive stage disease, the prognostic significance of 9q loss of heterozygosity (LOH) and the relations between these alterations are less well defined.
Minimally ablative resurfacing with the confluent 2,790 nm erbium:YSGG Laser: A pilot study on safety and efficacy

The 2,790 nm Er:YSGG wavelength has a lower water absorption coefficient than the 2,940 nm Er:YAG, but a higher coefficient than the 10,600 nm CO2 laser. This allows ablative resurfacing with mild thermal coagulation, which may increase clinical efficacy while reducing patient downtime.
Analysis of unit commitment problem through Lagrange relaxation and priority listing method

This paper shows how the Lagrange Relaxation dual optimization algorithm is incorporated in solving a thermal unit commitment problem. The Lagrange relaxation procedure solves the unit commitment problem by temporarily relaxing the coupling constraints and solving the problem as if they do not exist. The performance of this technique is tested by running the algorithm on MATLAB using a 10-unit system with a 24-hour load requirement data. The same problem is solved using Priority listing method on MATLAB and the results obtained are compared with the results obtained through the dual optimization algorithm to check the performance of the relaxation technique. Minimum up time, down time constraints and startup costs are considered in this case study. Ramp rate constraints and reserve capacity constraints are ignored and shut down cost is taken as zero.
The outer membrane of yeast mitochondria: isolation of outside‐out sealed vesicles

The yeast mitochondrial outer membrane was isolated and 10 of its major polypeptides were identified (mol. wts. 109, 70, 57, 45, 45, 42, 33, 29, 25 and 14 kd). The membrane has no major polypeptide in common with either mitochondrial inner membrane or rough microsomes. Protease treatment and immunochemical techniques showed that virtually all of the isolated outer membrane vesicles are sealed and display the same surface orientation as in the intact mitochondrion.
Room-Coverage Improvements in UHF RFID with Commodity Hardware [Wireless Corner]

This work studies the three-dimensional (3D) identification performance of UHF RFID systems with commodity hardware. Detailed three-dimensional propagation modeling is developed, with ray-tracing that allows examination of tag- as well as reader-antenna diversity. It is shown that multipath can enhance identification performance compared to free-space conditions. Furthermore, it is found that tag diversity can enhance identification performance on the order of 10%. Reader-antenna diversity becomes beneficial only when special attention is given to controlling the destructive summation of the transmitted fields and simple, general antenna-installation rules are provided. Performance can be further enhanced with the introduction of a phase shifter or appropriate transmission scheduling, and various examples are discussed. Measurements inside a room with a dense three-dimensional grid of passive RFID tags confirmed the results. Finally, a method to perform power-measurements with commodity RFID hardware that exploits the sensitivity-during-read threshold of each tag is put forth.
The continuum of spreading depolarizations in acute cortical lesion development: Examining Leão’s legacy

A modern understanding of how cerebral cortical lesions develop after acute brain injury is based on Aristides Leão’s historic discoveries of spreading depression and asphyxial/anoxic depolarization. Treated as separate entities for decades, we now appreciate that these events define a continuum of spreading mass depolarizations, a concept that is central to understanding their pathologic effects. Within minutes of acute severe ischemia, the onset of persistent depolarization triggers the breakdown of ion homeostasis and development of cytotoxic edema. These persistent changes are diagnosed as diffusion restriction in magnetic resonance imaging and define the ischemic core. In delayed lesion growth, transient spreading depolarizations arise spontaneously in the ischemic penumbra and induce further persistent depolarization and excitotoxic damage, progressively expanding the ischemic core. The causal role of these waves in lesion development has been proven by real-time monitoring of electrophysiology, blood flow, and cytotoxic edema. The spreading depolarization continuum further applies to other models of acute cortical lesions, suggesting that it is a universal principle of cortical lesion development. These pathophysiologic concepts establish a working hypothesis for translation to human disease, where complex patterns of depolarizations are observed in acute brain injury and appear to mediate and signal ongoing secondary damage.
Patent Citations Reexamined

Existing measures of innovation often rely on patent citations to indicate intellectual lineage and impact. We show that the data generating process for patent citations has changed substantially since citation-based measures were validated a decade ago. Today, far more citations are created per patent, and the mean technological similarity between citing and cited patents has fallen significantly. These changes suggest that the use of patent citations for scholarship needs to be re-validated. We develop a novel vector space model to examine the information content of patent citations, and show that methods for sub-setting and/or weighting informative citations can substantially improve the predictive power of patent citation measures. We make data for a basic correction available for future scholarship through the Patent Research Foundation.
Longer sleep is associated with lower BMI and favorable metabolic profiles in UK adults: Findings from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey

Ever more evidence associates short sleep with increased risk of metabolic diseases such as obesity, which may be related to a predisposition to non-homeostatic eating. Few studies have concurrently determined associations between sleep duration and objective measures of metabolic health as well as sleep duration and diet, however. We therefore analyzed associations between sleep duration, diet and metabolic health markers in UK adults, assessing associations between sleep duration and 1) adiposity, 2) selected metabolic health markers and 3) diet, using National Diet and Nutrition Survey data. Adults (n = 1,615, age 19–65 years, 57.1% female) completed questions about sleep duration and 3 to 4 days of food diaries. Blood pressure and waist circumference were recorded. Fasting blood lipids, glucose, glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), thyroid hormones, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP) were measured in a subset of participants. We used regression analyses to explore associations between sleep duration and outcomes. After adjustment for age, ethnicity, sex, smoking, and socioeconomic status, sleep duration was negatively associated with body mass index (-0.46 kg/m2 per hour, 95% CI -0.69 to -0.24 kg/m2, p < 0.001) and waist circumference (-0.9 cm per hour, 95% CI -1.5 to -0.3cm, p = 0.004), and positively associated with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (0.03 mmol/L per hour, 95% CI 0.00 to 0.05, p = 0.03). Sleep duration tended to be positively associated with free thyroxine levels and negatively associated with HbA1c and CRP (p = 0.09 to 0.10). Contrary to our hypothesis, sleep duration was not associated with any dietary measures (p ≥ 0.14). Together, our findings show that short-sleeping UK adults are more likely to have obesity, a disease with many comorbidities.
Domestic consumption simulation and management using a continuous consumption management and optimization algorithm

The recent changes concerning the consumers' active participation in the efficient management of load devices for one's own interest and for the interest of the network operator, namely in the context of demand response, leads to the need for improved algorithms and tools. A continuous consumption optimization algorithm has been improved in order to better manage the shifted demand. It has been done in a simulation and user-interaction tool capable of being integrated in a multiagent smart grid simulator already developed, and also capable of integrating several optimization algorithms to manage real and simulated loads. The case study of this paper enhances the advantages of the proposed algorithm and the benefits of using the developed simulation and user interaction tool.
Three Sides of a Coin in the Life of People Living with HIV (PLWH)

Background: Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is a global epidemic, a major challenge as a health care problem of modern times. As the survival of life increases from the time of an HIV-positive diagnosis, growing concern for the quality of the life has been extended. Objectives: To assess and correlate the coping, social support and quality of life. Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at antiretroviral therapy (ART) clinic of AIIMS, New Delhi. The sample comprised people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) who were seropositive for last six months. The tools used to assess the coping, social support and quality of life were BREF COPE, MOS social support survey and WHO QOL-HIV BREF, respectively. Permission was taken from the authors of the tools. The ethical permission was taken from the center. The coping, social support and quality of life were assessed and their association was observed. Data were analyzed using SPSS 17. Results: The most commonly used coping styles were acceptance and religion. The social support used by most of PLWHA was tangible support and affectionate support, while the least used support was positive social interaction. The lowest quality of life is seen in social relations, followed by physical quality of life. There was positive association seen between coping and quality of life as well as social support and quality of life. Conclusion: There was positive association between coping, social support and quality of life.
The role of product innovation on export behavior of firms: Is it innovation input or innovation output that matters?

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the role of innovation on the export behavior of firms. Design/methodology/approach Using two waves of Swedish Community Innovation Survey merged with register data on firm-level, the authors estimate the influence of the innovation output and innovation input of firms on their export propensity and intensity. Findings The authors find that the innovation output of firms (measured as sales due to innovative products) has a positive and significant effect on their subsequent export behavior, particularly on export intensity. The results also show that there is no direct effect of innovation input (innovative efforts) on export behavior. Originality/value This is one of the first paper that clearly distinguishes between input and output parts of innovation process and empirically investigate their differentiated impact on export behavior of a representative sample of firms in an entire economy.
Rapid detection of cytomegalovirus pneumonia from lung lavage cells.

Because cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a common cause of fatal pneumonia in the immunocompromised host, a rapid and reliable method to confirm this diagnosis is essential. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) has proved to be a rapid, safe, and sensitive method for the diagnosis of several forms of pneumonia in these patients, but its efficacy for confirming CMV pneumonia remains to be established. In this study, we compared the sensitivity and specificity of conventional viral culture, immunocytochemical staining, and cytological examination performed on cells recovered by BAL for establishing CMV as the cause of pneumonia in 71 BAL specimens from 56 immunocompromised patients. Pneumonia due to CMV was confirmed by stated criteria in 14 of these patients. Virus was isolated by culture in BAL specimens from all patients with CMV pneumonia (sensitivity 100%), but also in 17 specimens from patients who did not have CMV pneumonia (specificity 70%). On cytologic examination, CMV inclusions were found in 3 of the 14 specimens from patients with CMV pneumonia (sensitivity 21%) and also in 1 patient at risk for pneumonia but who did not fulfill the criteria (specificity 98%). Thus, a positive culture and positive cytology virtually confirmed CMV pneumonia, whereas a negative culture excluded it. Immunocytochemistry proved to be particularly useful when the culture was positive and cytology was negative. In this situation, specific labeling of CMV antigen by monoclonal antibody was found in 9 of the 11 patients with CMV pneumonia (sensitivity 82%). Thus, the absence of specific staining in BAL cells tended to exclude CMV as a cause of pneumonia in patients with positive cultures and negative cytologies. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Total mortality and cause-specific mortality of Swedish shift- and dayworkers in the pulp and paper industry in 1952-2001.

OBJECTIVES The study investigated the relationship between shiftwork and mortality, both total mortality and cause-specific mortality from coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke, and diabetes. Methods The cohort consisted of 2354 shiftworkers and 3088 dayworkers in two pulp and paper manufacturing plants. The mortality of the cohort was monitored from 1 January 1952 to 31 December 2001 by linkage to the national Cause of Death Register. Groups of workers defined by different durations of shiftwork exposure were compared with dayworkers by calculating standardized relative rates (SRR). RESULTS Death due to any cause (total mortality) was not higher among the shiftworkers than among the dayworkers [SRR 1.02, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.93-1.11]. A longer duration of shiftwork was associated with an increased risk of CHD, and shiftworkers with >30 years of shiftwork had the highest risk of CHD (SRR 1.24, 95% CI 1.04-1.49) Diabetes was more common as the number of shift years of exposure increased [b(linear coefficient) = 4.14 x 10(-5), 95% CI 2.46 x 10(-5) -5.81 x 10(-5)]. Compared with dayworkers, shiftworkers had a greater risk of death due to stroke (SRR 1.56, 95% CI 0.98-2.51). CONCLUSIONS In the present study, no general increase in mortality was observed among shiftworkers when they were compared with dayworkers. However, the results demonstrate an increased mortality from CHD among shiftworkers with a long duration of shiftwork exposure. Mortality due to diabetes also increased as the number of shift years and mortality due to ischemic stroke in shiftworkers increased.
Effect of Plasmonic Gold Nanoparticles on Benign and Malignant Cellular Autofluorescence: A Novel Probe for Fluorescence Based Detection of Cancer

Due to the strong surface fields of noble metal nanoparticles, absorption and scattering of electromagnetic radiation is greatly enhanced. Noble metallic nanoparticles represent potential novel optical probes for simultaneous molecular imaging and photothermal cancer therapy using the enhanced scattering and absorption of light. Further, gold nanoparticles can affect molecular fluorescence via chemical, electronic, or photonic interactions. Live cells generate fluorescence due to intracellular and extracellular molecules. Differences in the biochemical composition between healthy and malignant cells can be exploited in vivo to help identify cancer spectroscopically. The interaction of gold nanoparticles with cellular autofluorescence has not yet been characterized. We hypothesized that gold nanoparticles delivered to live cells in vitro would alter cellular autofluorescence and may be useful as a novel class of contrast agent for fluorescence based detection of cancer. The fluorescence of two fluorophores that are responsible for tissue autofluorescence, NADH and collagen, and of two oral squamous carcinoma cell lines and one immortalized benign epithelial cell line were measured in vitro. Gold nanoparticles of different shapes, both spheres and rods, quenched the fluorescence of the soluble NADH and collagen. Reduction of NADH fluorescence was due to oxidation of NADH to NAD+ catalyzed by gold nanoparticles (results we previously published). Reduction of collagen fluorescence appears due to photonic absorption of light. Furthermore, a mean quenching of 12/8% (p<0.00050) of the tissue autofluorescence of cell suspensions was achieved in this model when nanospheres were incubated with the live cells. Gold nanospheres significantly decrease cellular autofluorescence of live cells under physiological conditions when excited at 280nm. This is the first report to our knowledge to suggest the potential of developing targeted gold nanoparticles optical probes as contrast agents for fluorescence based diagnoses of cancer.