Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Recent advances in interstitial lung disease research

The interstitial lung diseases are a diverse collection of disorders characterized by impaired gas exchange, restricted physiology on lung function testing, and diffuse parenchymal lung infiltrates on radiography. Although the interstitial lung diseases are many (Table 1), in routine clinical practice, the most commonly encountered in general internal medicine practice are sarcoidosis, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, and connective tissue disease-associated interstitial lung diseases. In immunocompromised patients, infection is the most common cause of diffuse lung infiltrates and must be ruled out before any attempt to treat with immune altering agents like corticosteroids. This review will focus on the more clinically significant recent advances in the broad field of interstitial lung disease research, with emphasis on the more common interstitial lung diseases occurring in immunocompetent hosts. Advances in the classification of idiopathic interstitial lung diseases Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (cryptogenic fibrosing alveolitis in the British literature), is one of the commonly encountered interstitial lung diseases, with an estimated prevalence of 5-20 per 100,000. 1 Formerly, the term idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis was used to describe a variety of idiopathic interstitial pneumonias (listed in Table 1), characterized clinically by finger clubbing and bibasilar “velcro” crepitations on examination. It is now apparent that these findings are not specific, and may be associated with any of the idiopathic interstitial pneumonias listed in Table 1.
Comparison of spectral-spatial classification for urban hyperspectral imagery with high resolution

For urban hyperspectral imagery with high spatial resolution, both spectral and spatial information are important and should be combined together to improve classification accuracy. In this paper, different combination strategies are investigated. In particular, a two-stage algorithm is developed where the pixel shape index (PSI)-based features are extracted as low level spatial features which are combined with dimensionality-reduced spectral features as inputs to a support vector machine (SVM) for classification. Then the resulting classification is refined with high level class spatial neighborhood information to further improve the classification accuracy. The preliminary result shows the effectiveness of this two-stage algorithm.
Towards a Mobile Galvanic Skin Response Measurement System for Mentally Disordered Patients

This paper outlines the design and implementation of a mobile galvanic skin response (GSR) measurement system applied to feet. The system comprises an off-the-shelf node featuring acceleration and GSR sensors with customized firmware and a mobile phone with a customized Android application. The app serves as graphical user interface (GUI) and remote control for the sensor node. The devices communicate wirelessly while implementing a power-saving strategy to limit the amount of communication. The technical feasibility of the system is demonstrated through data recording in a study comprising 28 measurements from 11 patients. In each measurement, two conditions are recorded. 12 statistically and highly significant GSR features for these two conditions are identified, with the number of maxima in the second derivate of the GSR signal being the most significant one.
Stability and plasticity in the neural representation of linguistic pitch patterns

In this paper we discuss evidence that early, long-term experience with a tonal language leaves a stable and lasting influence on the neural encoding of linguistic pitch patterns. We will also demonstrate that plastic changes in the neural representation of linguistic pitch are possible during adulthood, after just a few hundred trials of sound-to-category mapping training that establish behavioral relevance of the incoming stimuli. Notably, such category training creates large individual differences in learning success, the reasons for which are unclear. Within the context of a novel theoretical approach, the dual-learning systems (DLS) model, we will discuss the mechanisms underlying tone learning in adulthood, sources of individual differences, and the potential to design optimized training approaches that reduce individual differences.
Tubulin‐colchicine complex (TC) inhibits microtubule depolymerization by a capping reaction exerted preferentially at the minus end

The effects of colchicine and tubulin‐colchicine complex (TC) on microtubule depolymerization were studied using the axoneme‐subunit system described previously [Bergen LG, Borisy GG; J Cell Biol 84:141–150, 1980]. This system allows the independent analysis of the polymerization kinetics at both the plus and minus ends of a microtubule. Depolymerization was induced by isothermal dilution with 10 volumes of an experimental solution containing colchicine, TC, or buffer alone. Colchicine alone (5–100 μM) blocked depolymerization at the minus end, whereas depolymerization at the plus end occurred at almost control rates. A similar effect was produced by TC (0.4 : 1–1 : 1 molar ratio to free tubulin). High molar ratios of TC to tubulin (10:1) blocked depolymerization at both plus and minus ends, and intermediate molar ratios of TC:T allowed depolymerization of the plus ends but at attenuated rates. The blockage was not readily reversible; TC‐affected ends neither shortened upon dilution nor grew longer upon incubation with additional tubulin. We conclude that TC at suprastoichiometric ratios to tubulin inhibits microtubule depolymerization by a capping reaction and that this effect is exerted preferentially at the minus end.
Cerebral asymmetry in the control of cardiovascular functioning: Evidence from lateral vibrotactile stimulation

Research has supported hemispheric specialisation in the regulation of cardiovascular functioning, with the left hemisphere being associated with parasympathetic functioning and the right hemisphere with sympathetic functioning. We sought to investigate this relationship further using vibrotactile stimulation applied to the palms. Our prediction was that vibrotactile stimulation applied to the left hand would result in increased heart rate and blood pressure, and that stimulation applied to the right hand would result in decreased heart rate and blood pressure. The results indicated significant differences in heart rate change scores in the predicted direction. No differences were noted for systolic or diastolic blood pressure. Hence the findings provide partial support for the lateralisation of autonomic functions.
Stress Fractures of the Femoral Diaphysis in Children: A Report of 5 Cases and Review of Literature

The authors report five new cases of the stress fracture of the femoral diaphysis in children. These injuries usually occurred without a history of recent increase of activity. Recently regained normal activity after long-term immobilization and a fibrous cortical defect were predisposing factors. The periosteal reactions were usually identified in the initial radiograph and were not confined to the medial cortex of the distal femur; they might occur in any part of the femoral diaphysis, and also concomitantly on the multiple cortex. The atypical radiographic presentations frequently required MRI for differential diagnosis. Even though the MRI may be confusing to the inexperienced observer, it can lead to the diagnosis of a stress fracture with confidence, negating the need for biopsy. Clinicians should be aware of this diagnostic entity in the differential diagnosis of femoral diaphyseal lesions in children because the occurrence might be more common than reported. Serial simple radiographic examinations taken at intervals to look for the evidence of progressive fracture healing and the restriction of activity or immobilization may be an adequate approach for management.
The technique of the Syme amputation.

The Syme amputation has not in the past been fully utilized by most surgeons in this country. A Syme amputation which meets all the requirements of good function is the best major amputation in the lower extremity. As such, it has definite advantages over amputation below the knee and over most short foot stumps. The chief disadvantage is the degree of skill and attention on the part of the surgeon, which are required for the best results. If the Syme amputation does not meet the requirements of good function, or if it cannot be made to do so, amputation below the knee is preferable. The preoperative indications, the operative technique, and the postoperative care are equally important. It is unfortunate that such a small proportion of patients requiring amputations of the lower extremity have the preoperative indications for this procedure, but the experience gained in observing this group of patients has convinced the authors of the superiority of the Syme stump over other stumps of the lower extremity. It is recommended strongly that the Syme amputation be performed, whenever possible, instead of the more widely accepted mid-leg amputation.
[Classifications and prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma].

In this study are included 78 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In 22 the diagnosis is verified pathologically (obduction), while in the other patients the diagnosis is made by laparoscopy, laparoscopical ultrasonography and morphological verification (through FNAB cytology and/or histology). In 69.2% HCC is associated with cirrhosis. The prognosis of HCC associated with cirrhosis is evaluated through the classification of S. Chevret et all. , and is compared to the Child-Pugh scoring system. 38.9% of patients in Chevret's class C score are in class B in the Child-Pugh score, while 25.9% of patients are in class C in both classifications, but Child-Pugh's class C patients are most often in B-C transition. It might be assumed that the prognosis of HCC depends more on the tumor prognosis than on the prognosis of the liver cirrhosis itself. Every classification which does not take in to account the liver function (like TNM system) and the whole characteristics of the tumor, would be incomplete, in some extent, in the prognosis of HCC with cirrhosis. In HCC without cirrhosis, the BCLC classification reflects both the liver function and the tumor characteristics. In BCLC class A patients hepatic resection or transplantation is recommended but hyperbilirubinemia and ascites, which might be seen in A3 and A4 classes contraindicate resection of the liver. All scoring systems define lower HCC stage than it is really found (personal and reference data), so there are no arguments to take classification scores as absolute treatment decision making rules.
Winding function approach to simulate induction motors under sleeve bearing fault

This paper proposes dynamic modeling and simulation of squirrel cage induction motors under oil whirl fault within their sleeve bearings. Previous experimental results are used for defining an appropriate air gap function under the fault. This function is used in the winding function approach for the modeling and simulation purpose. Analytic approach and simulation results show presence of the same frequency components on the stator line current of the faulty motor. Some of these frequency components can be appropriate indices for diagnosing the fault.
Trust and Reputation in eLearning at the Workplace: The Role of Social Media

The aim of the paper is to address the question how social media can be successfully used for trust and reputation building in the learning function, in particular for eLearning at the workplace in organizations. The article consolidates the findings in a frame of reference with a two folded approach from a management perspective (using social media to organize learning) as well as from a learning design perspective (using social media to design learning environments).
Role of Chlamydia trachomatis and emerging Chlamydia-related bacteria in ectopic pregnancy in Vietnam

SUMMARY In this case-control study, we investigated the seroprevalence and molecular evidence of Chlamydia trachomatis and Waddlia chondrophila in ectopic pregnancies (EP) and uneventful control pregnancies in 343 women from Vietnam. Whereas presence of C. trachomatis IgG was strongly associated with EP [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 5·41, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2·58–11·32], its DNA remained undetected in all tubal lesions. We confirmed an independent association between antibodies against Waddlia and previous miscarriage (aOR 1·87, 95% CI 1·02–3·42). Further investigations are needed to understand the clinical significance of Waddlia's high seroprevalence (25·9% in control pregnancies) in this urban population.
Interpretations of Multiregional Evolution

Letters from: [ Milford H. Wolpoff ][1] [ Sarah A. Tishkoff, et al. ][1] The question of a unique African origin for modern humans, the “Eve” theory, is discussed by S. A. Tishkoff et al . in their article “Global patterns of linkage disequilibrium at the CD4 locus and modern human
Electrophoretic profile of hybrids between cryotolerant and non‐cryotolerant Saccharomyces strains

The chromosomal DNAs of cryotolerant Saccharomyces bayanus, non‐cryotolerant Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains and their intra and interspecific hybrids were separated by pulsed field electrophoresis (PFGE). The cryotolerant and non‐cryotolerant strains gave distinctly different electrophoretic profiles. The hybrids cryotolerant × cryotolerant and non‐cryotolerant × non‐cryotolerant were fertile and they gave the same electrophoretic karyotype as the respective parents. The cryotolerant × non‐cryotolerant hybrids were sterile and gave electrophoretic karyotypes which showed both the bands the parents have in common and those they do not share.
Association of 1 hydroxypyrene glucuronide in human urine with cigarette smoking and broiled or roasted meat consumption.

Humans are exposed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons PAHs from various occupational, dietary, environmental and medicinal sources. We measured 1 hydroxypyrene glucuronide 1 OHP gluc concentration in urines from male non smokers n = 50, smokers of blond tobacco n = 31, smokers of black tobacco n = 16, and pipe smokers n = 3 . Immunoaffinity chromatography was used as a preparative step and synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy as the quantitation method. The concentration of 1 OHP gluc in urine from smokers mean SE: 1.04 0.13 pmol ml-1 urine was significantly higher than in urine from non smokers 0.55 0.05 pmol ml-1 urine by the Wilcoxon rank sum test non smokers versus all smokers, p = 0.001; vs black tobacco smokers, p = 0.001; vs blond tobacco smokers, p = 0.007 . Urinary 1 OHP gluc concentration among subjects who had consumed roasted, grilled or broiled meat within the past 24 h was elevated compared with those who had not p = 0.025 . Multiple linear regression showed significant associations of urinary 1 OHP gluc with number of cigarettes smoked p = 0.002 and consumption of roasted, grilled or broiled meat p = 0.028 . Systemic CYP1A2 activity estimated by caffeine metabolism was significantly correlated with urinary 1 OHP gluc concentration. However, this association was probably due to cigarette smoking, since adjusting for cigarette smoking by multiple linear regression made the association between urinary 1 OHP gluc and CYP1A2 phenotype non significant. These results further support the use of urinary 1 OHP gluc as a biomarker of recent pyrene exposure through inhalation or diet.
Doppler shift estimator with MMSE parameter optimization for very low SNR environment in wireless communications

A novel iterative Doppler shift estimator is proposed in very low signal-noise-ratio (SNR) environments in single carrier mobile systems. The proposed method exploits the logarithm envelope (LE) of channel estimates, and iteratively finds the minimum mean square error (MMSE) estimation of Doppler shift. Extensive simulations conducted under a wide range of noise corruption clearly show that the proposed estimator substantially outperforms several existing estimators in terms of accuracy.
[Intraocular pressure variation after submaximal strength test in resistance training].

PURPOSE To verify the intraocular pressure (IOP) after sub-maximal strength test. METHODS 145 Physical Education freshmen (22.04 +/- 4.17 years old; female and male) from Superior Physical Education School of Jundiaí (ESEFJ) were evaluated in an observacional study. The exclusion criteria were: media opacity and eyeball absence or changes. All subjects agreed to take part in this research and signed up the Informed Consent. IOP was measured by Perkins tonometer: i) pretest: just before the submaximal strength test performance and ii) post-test: immediately after the strength test. The strength test consisted in the one-repetition-maximum-assessment through repetition until fatigue. Resistance training exercises such as bench press, pulley dorsal high, shoulder press, arm curl and leg press 45 masculine were performed. Statistical analyses were obtained through paired Student's 't' test. RESULTS Decrease of IOP was observed after the strength test: 13.48 +/- 3.32 vs.10. 20 +/- 3.72 (p<0.001) in the right eye and 13.13 +/- 3.96 vs.9. 74 +/- 3.33 (p<0.001) in the left eye. CONCLUSION IOP showed relevant decrease after submaximal strength test performance in college students.
Context of TQM application for NPD in developing countries: An empirical study on Deming Prize Winners from India and Thailand

Developing countries are challenged with intense market competition and are yet to make significant stride in their business performance. Although Total Quality Management (TQM) and New Product Development (NPD) can play major role in this case, empirical research done in justifying TQM's applicability for NPD is limited. Hence, this research is dedicated to study the applicability, methodology, and effects (tangible and non-tangible) of TQM on NPD. The result shows that TQM is effectively used for the development of adaptive products through improvements on Production Technology, NPD system, Product Development, Production process, and Employee know-how. It is also found that TQM revolutionizes conventional R&D system in reducing development costs and time enhancing the innovation capabilities with limited financial commitment in the developing countries.
Electroencephalographic Study of the GAB A‐Withdrawal Syndrome in Rats

Summary: The spatial and temporal EEG features of the epileptogenic syndrome induced by cessation of chronic intracortical GABA infusion in normal rats are described. In the initial stages, the paroxysmal discharges (PDs) induced by withdrawal from unilateral GABA application may appear either unilaterally or bilaterally, although with greater amplitude on the infused side. PDs are transitorily accompanied by behavioral signs of distal myoclonus of the body territory corresponding to the infused area (contralateral hindlimb). Later, the paroxysmal activity becomes more localized, circumscribed to the can‐nula‐infused site and with ipsilateral propagation to anterior cortical areas. The amplitude of PDs decreases progressively while their frequency increases, reaching its maximal value at about 4 h after the first PDs have appeared. In the final stages of the syndrome, which may last several days, clinical manifestations are absent and PDs are activated by slow‐wave sleep and reduced during REM sleep and waking. Chronic intracortical applications of taurine failed to induce any electroclinical changes on withdrawal and were unable to inhibit the focus elicited by GABA withdrawal, whereas reinstatement of GABA infusion into the epileptogenic area was effective in blocking the paroxysmal activity. Intracortical infusion of baclofen induced the appearance of an epileptogenic focus that waned on withdrawal. The GABA‐withdrawal syndrome appears to be a new model of focal status epilepticus; it may be useful as an experimental model of human partial epilepsy to investigate the role of GABAergic neurotransmission.
Integration molekularbiologischer Daten

Abstrakt: Molekularbiologische Forschung ist undenkbar geworden ohne den massiven Einsatz von Computern, sowohl zur Datenanalyse als auch zur Datenverwaltung. Bedingt durch die thematische und raumliche Fragmentierung der weltweiten Forschung in eine Vielzahl von Gruppen, Firmen und Konsortien spielt dabei die Integration von Daten eine herausragende Rolle. Zu diesem Zweck wurden sowohl Losungen entwickelt, die auf dem integrierten Zugriff auf verteilte Datensammlungen basieren, als auch solche, die das physikalische Kopieren der Ausgangsdaten in ein integriertes System vorsehen. Der folgende Artikel gibt einen Uberblick uber die spezifischen Probleme der Datenintegration in der Bioinformatik, stellt die wichtigsten Projekte und Produkte in diesem Gebiet vor und weist auf neue Entwicklungen und offene Forschungsthemen hin.
The associations between psychopathology and being overweight: a 20-year prospective study

Background. Psychiatric disorders and being overweight are major health problems with increasing prevalence. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that being overweight is associated with a range of psychiatric conditions including minor and atypical depressive disorders, binge eating, and aggression. Method. Prospective community-based cohort study of young adults (n=591) followed between ages 19 and 40. Information derived from six subsequent semi-structured diagnostic interviews conducted by professionals over twenty years. Outcomes were being overweight [body-mass index (BMI)>25] and average yearly weight change between ages 20 and 40 (BMI slope). Results. 18·9% of the participants were classified as being overweight. Being overweight turned out to be a stable trait: 77·7% of subjects were assigned to the same weight class at each interview. Atypical depression and binge eating were positively associated with both, increased weight gain and being overweight, while psychiatric conditions associated with aggressive behaviors (aggressive personality traits, sociopathy) were positively associated with being overweight, but were not related to the rate of weight change. Generalized anxiety disorder was negatively associated with overweight. These results persisted after controlling for substance use, levels of physical activity, demographic variables and family history of weight problems. Conclusions. This study shows relatively strong associations between eating-related and aggressive psychopathology and being overweight. Given the high prevalence rates of these conditions, this study encourages further research on the causality of psychopathology-overweight associations that might provide insight on novel preventive approaches for major health problems.
Subdividing trade area of cigarette retail stores based on big data analytics

The traditional partition method of trade area based on location information can not reflect changes of trade area, affects the launch of products and other marketing decisions with use of massive mobile terminals. Based on the analysis of the traditional partition method on trade area, this paper proposes a method to subdivide trade area based on big data analytics by focusing on the correlation and real-time data of trade area, which we name it micro trade area partition (MTA partition). By using about 700 retail stores' data of Guiyang Tobacco Company in a certain area from Jan to Mar in 2014, the validity of the proposed method has been verified. The result shows subdividing trade area with the proposed method is valuable for practical applications, and supports marketing decisions for Guiyang Tobacco Company.