Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of a P-glycoprotein inhibitor on brain and plasma concentrations of anti-human immunodeficiency virus drugs administered in combination in rats.

Most of the existing anti-human immunodeficiency virus agents enter the central nervous system (CNS) inefficiently and thus may allow slow viral replication in the brain. This may provide a sanctuary for the virus in the CNS and contribute to the development of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome dementia complex. This study evaluates a prodrug approach to improve the CNS delivery of the reverse transcriptase inhibitor 2',3'-dideoxyinosine (ddI) in combination with inhibition of P-glycoprotein-mediated efflux to increase the CNS delivery of the protease inhibitor nelfinavir and to determine whether any unanticipated drug interactions occur in this combination therapy. Three rats received either 6-chloro-2'3'-dideoxypurine (6-Cl-ddP), a prodrug of ddI activated by adenosine deaminase, nelfinavir, nelfinavir and 6-Cl-ddP, nelfinavir and N-(4-[2-(1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-6,7-dimethoxy-2-isoquinolinyl)ethyl]-phenyl)-9,10-dihydro-5-methoxy-9-oxo-4-acridine carboxamide (GF120918) (a P-glycoprotein inhibitor), 6-Cl-ddP and GF120918, or 6-Cl-ddP, nelfinavir, and GF120918. Both 6-Cl-ddP and nelfinavir were administered as i.v. infusions, whereas GF120918 was given as an i.v. bolus 2 h before sampling. Plasma and brain tissue concentrations of 6-Cl-ddP, ddI, and nelfinavir were determined. Neither nelfinavir nor GF120918 was shown to alter the brain/plasma ratios of 6-Cl-ddP or ddI. GF120918, however, increased the plasma concentrations of 6-Cl-ddP and ddI, resulting in increased brain concentrations. GF120918 increased the brain/plasma ratio of nelfinavir significantly (approximately 100-fold). The brain/plasma ratios of nelfinavir were reduced nearly 2-fold in rats treated with nelfinavir, 6-Cl-ddP, and GF120918 compared with rats receiving only nelfinavir and GF120918, suggesting a modest inhibition of nelfinavir uptake by 6-Cl-ddP. Overall, combined 6-Cl-ddP, nelfinavir, and GF120918 administration enhances the brain/plasma ratios of both ddI and nelfinavir.
randomised cross-over trial user preferences and nicotine delivery : withdrawal , ( e cigarette ) on desire to smoke and Effect of an electronic nicotine delivery device

Objectives To measure the short-term effects of an electronic nicotine delivery device (“e cigarette”, ENDD) on desire to smoke, withdrawal symptoms, acceptability, pharmacokinetic properties and adverse effects. Design Single blind randomised repeated measures cross-over trial of the Ruyan V8 ENDD. Setting University research centre in Auckland, New
Hypercoagulability as a Cause of Stroke in Adults

Arterial hypercoagulability can lead to cerebrovascular disease. Common causes of venous thromboembolism, including factor V Leiden, the prothrombin 20210 mutation, deficiencies of proteins C and S, and antithrombin deficiency are not likely to be associated with stroke. Rather, polymorphisms in fibrinogen, the factor XIII gene, and platelet glycoproteins are congenital abnormalities that have been associated with stroke. Similarly, the acquired conditions, lupus anticoagulants, and heparin-induced thrombocytopenia have a strong association with cerebrovascular disease. This article reviews arterial hypercoagulability as a cause of stroke in adults and identifies an appropriate hypercoagulability workup for patients with idiopathic stroke.
Low-profile wake-up radio mechanism for resource-constrained wireless devices

Achieving low power consumption, size reduction, and space optimization are all challenges in resource-constrained wireless devices such as Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) nodes. For instance, WSN nodes use duty cycle to improve their power efficiency, and wake-up radio (WUR) is used as a control channel to wake the nodes up. With its highly flexible features, a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) is one of the attractive candidates for implementing part of WSN devices. In this work, a low-profile WUR scheme is proposed and implemented using FPGA to address the fundamental challenge of power consumption for resource-constrained wireless devices. First, a new design to partition WUR from the remaining main radio component and data processing module using a chipset with flash-freeze technology is proposed and implemented. Second, a new WUR mechanism for register-less single-hop unicast, broadcast, and pseudo multicast (a new one-to-many casting) communication is proposed and implemented. An elimination of unnecessary power consumption results in significant cumulative power reduction for resource-constrained wireless devices with a range of direct neighbor nodes1.
Prevalence of Stroke Survivors in Rural South Africa: Results From the Southern Africa Stroke Prevention Initiative (SASPI) Agincourt Field Site

Background and Purpose— The importance of stroke in low-income regions such as sub-Saharan Africa has recently been emphasized. However, little is known about the burden of stroke in sub-Saharan Africa. We investigated the prevalence of stroke survivors in the Agincourt Health and Population Unit, a demographic surveillance site in the rural northeast of South Africa. Methods— Census workers asked household informants 2 screening questions for stroke during the annual census. If either question was answered positively, a clinician visited individuals aged ≥15 years to confirm the likely diagnosis of stroke. We performed a detailed assessment and defined stroke according to the World Health Organization criteria. Results— A total of 42 378 individuals were aged ≥15 years. There were 982 positive responses to the questionnaire, and we examined 724 individuals (74%). We identified 103 strokes (crude prevalence, 243/100 000). After adjustment for those we did not examine, the prevalence was 300/100 000 (95% CI, 250 to 357). Sixty-six percent of stroke survivors needed help with at least 1 activity of daily living (Segi age-standardized prevalence, 200/100 000). Conclusions— Stroke prevalence in rural South Africa is higher than previously documented in Africa but lower than in high-income countries. However, the prevalence of stroke survivors requiring help with at least 1 activity of daily living is already at high-income country levels. South Africa suffers from a huge burden of HIV/AIDS and diseases of poverty and violence and now faces the challenge of adapting its health systems to face the coming epidemic of vascular disease.
Perfectly matched plane wave source in FDTD via an efficient mixed time-frequency block filter formulation

The Total Field Scattered Field formulation (TF/SF) in the FDTD method is a powerful tool for simulating scattered fields reflected from objects with extremely complex geometries and heterogeneities [1]. Although the formulation requires two sets of tangential soft-source to populate two closed Huygen's surfaces exterior to the scatterer, it is important to recognize that only one set of this soft-source is actually responsible for radiating the desired incident wave into the scatterers. In particular, a wave/source always radiates into every direction. The purpose of the second tangential soft-source, which encloses both the the first set of the soft-source and the scatterers, is not to illuminate the scatterers. Instead, its existence is to annihilate the unwanted incident wave generated by the first set but radiating away from the scatterers. Subtracting the unwanted incident wave at the simulation stage makes the computational domain discontinuous. The SF region contains only the scattered field whereas the TF region contains both the scattered and incident fields. In short, the underlying mathematics of the TF/SF formulation is rooted in the field discontinuity equations.
Content of a cross‐reactive idiotype in nonimmune A/J sera

The anti‐p‐azophenylarsonate antibodies of A/J mice express a major intrastrain cross‐reactive idiotype (CRIA). Using a sensitive radioimmunoassay we were unable to detect significant quantities of molecules bearing CRIA in nonimmune A/J sera. The upper limit is 140 ng/ml. Possible reasons for variability of such data in the published literature are discussed.
Modal and impact analysis of modern portable electronic products

Drop impact responses of various modern cell-phones and portable digital assistants (PDAs) are analyzed in terms of the impact forces and accelerations and strains induced on the printed circuit boards (PCBs). The severity of impact induced on the interior PCBs and their electronic components can be determined from product-level drop tests. The results complement board level tests designed to simulate actual drop conditions experienced by PCBs within the portable products. This paper reports impact performances of recent portable products such as handphones from Samsung, Panasonic and Nokia as well as PDAs from Compaq and Sony. This is a continuation of the research done by Lim et al, 2003.
A MEMS-based temperature-compensated vacuum sensor for low-power monolithic integration

This paper presents a MEMS resonator-based vacuum sensor with a low-power transimpedance amplifier and a mixer-based frequency-to-digital converter. The MEMS resonator is fabricated in a CMOS-compatible process, and a 130 nm CMOS technology is used to design the integrated circuitry. The vacuum sensor operates in the pressure range from 10 to 1200 mbar with a resolution of ~2 mbar. The system is temperature-compensated between −10°C and 60°C. The simulated power consumption of the entire system is less than 495 μW from a 1 V supply.
Simultaneous Removal of Albumin-bound Toxins in Liver Support Devices: Bilirubin and Tryptophan Adsorption on Activated Carbon

Simultaneous Removal of Albumin-Bound Toxins in Liver Support Devices: Bilirubin and Tryptophan Adsorption on Activated Carbon M. Cristina Annesini, Vincenzo Piemonte*, Luca Turchetti University of Rome “La Sapienza” Department of Chemical Engineering Materials & Environment, via Eudossiana 18, 00184 Rome, Italy University Campus Bio-medico of Rome Faculty of Engineering , via Alvaro del Portillo 21, 00128 Rome, Italy v.piemonte@unicampus.it
Apolipoprotein-E gene polymorphism and lipid profiles in Alzheimer's disease.

In this study, the relationship between lipid profiles of sera and apolipoprotein E (apo E) gene polymorphism was investigated in 35 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and 29 healthy people. Apo E genotypes and allele frequencies of the AD patient group were: apo E2/3, 2 (5.7 percent); apo E2/4, 1 (2.9 percent); apo E3/3, 26 (74.3 percent); apo E3/4, 5 (14.3 percent); apo E4/4, 1 (2.9 percent); epsilon 2, 3(4.2 percent); epsilon 3, 59 (84.2 percent); epsilon 4, 8 (11.4 percent). The healthy group's apo E genotypes and allele frequencies were: apo E2/3, 1 (3.4 percent); apo E3/3, 27 (93.1 percent); apo E3/4, 1 (3.4 percent); epsilon 2, 1 (1.7 percent); epsilon 3, 56 (96.5 percent); epsilon 4, 1 (1.7 percent). In Alzheimer's cases, epsilon 4 allele frequencies increased significantly as compared to the healthy group (p < 0.05). When the effects of the apo E isoforms on lipid profiles were evaluated, a relationship between apo E epsilon 4 allele and high total levels of serum cholesterol was found, whereas of apo E epsilon 2 allele was associated with the low total cholesterol of serum, although the difference was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). This study confirms the association of apo E epsilon 4 allele with lipid profiles in AD patients.
Percutaneous Lumbar Zygapophysial (Facet) Joint Neurotomy Using Radiofrequency Current, in the Management of Chronic Low Back Pain: A Randomized Double-Blind Trial

Study Design. A randomized controlled study of percutaneous radiofrequency neurotomy was conducted in 40 patients with chronic low back pain (20 active and 20 controls). Objective. The aim of the study was to evaluate the possible beneficial effect of percutaneous radiofrequency zygapophysial joint neurotomy in reducing pain and physical impairment in patients with pain from the lumbar zygapophysial joints, selected after repeated diagnostic blocks. Summary of Background Data. Facet or zygapophysial joint pain may be one of the causes of chronic low back pain and may be treated by a percutaneous radiofrequency denervation. Patients may possibly be identified by a positive diagnostic block. These blocks need to be repeated as false positive responses to single blocks occur. In all previous studies patients treated with radiofrequency denervation have been selected after single diagnostic blocks resulting in a varying degree of relief. Methods. All patients were examined by an orthopedic surgeon before and 6 months after the treatment (sham or active). Inclusion criteria were 3 separate positive facet blocks. Denervation was achieved by multiple lesions at each level in an effort to provide effective denervation. Results. The active treatment group showed statistically significant improvement not only in back and leg pain but also back and hip movement as well as the sacro-iliac joint test. Pre operative sensory deficit and weak or absent ankle reflex normalized (P < 0.01) and (P < 0.05), respectively. There was significant improvement in quality of life variables, global perception of improvement, and generalized pain. The improvement seen in the active group was significantly greater then that seen in the placebo group with regard to all the above-mentioned variables. None of our patients had any complication other than transient postoperative pain that was easily managed. Conclusion. Our study indicates that radiofrequency facet denervation is not a placebo and could be used in the treatment of carefully selected patients with chronic low back pain.
Semantics-Driven Collocation Discovery

The present work has been funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO), through a predoctoral grant (BES-2012-057036) in the framework of the project HARenES (FFI2011-30219-C02-02) and the Maria de Maeztu Excellence Program (MDM-2015-0502).
Applying human factors principles to alert design increases efficiency and reduces prescribing errors in a scenario-based simulation.

OBJECTIVE To apply human factors engineering principles to improve alert interface design. We hypothesized that incorporating human factors principles into alerts would improve usability, reduce workload for prescribers, and reduce prescribing errors. MATERIALS AND METHODS We performed a scenario-based simulation study using a counterbalanced, crossover design with 20 Veterans Affairs prescribers to compare original versus redesigned alerts. We redesigned drug-allergy, drug-drug interaction, and drug-disease alerts based upon human factors principles. We assessed usability (learnability of redesign, efficiency, satisfaction, and usability errors), perceived workload, and prescribing errors. RESULTS Although prescribers received no training on the design changes, prescribers were able to resolve redesigned alerts more efficiently (median (IQR): 56 (47) s) compared to the original alerts (85 (71) s; p=0.015). In addition, prescribers rated redesigned alerts significantly higher than original alerts across several dimensions of satisfaction. Redesigned alerts led to a modest but significant reduction in workload (p=0.042) and significantly reduced the number of prescribing errors per prescriber (median (range): 2 (1-5) compared to original alerts: 4 (1-7); p=0.024). DISCUSSION Aspects of the redesigned alerts that likely contributed to better prescribing include design modifications that reduced usability-related errors, providing clinical data closer to the point of decision, and displaying alert text in a tabular format. Displaying alert text in a tabular format may help prescribers extract information quickly and thereby increase responsiveness to alerts. CONCLUSIONS This simulation study provides evidence that applying human factors design principles to medication alerts can improve usability and prescribing outcomes.
Severe Acute Pancreatitis: Overall and Early Versus Late Mortality in Intensive Care Units

Objectives: To determine overall mortality and timing of death in patients with severe acute pancreatitis and factors affecting mortality. Methods: This was a retrospective, observational study of 110 patients admitted to a general intensive care unit (ICU) from January 2003 to January 2006. Results: The overall mortality rate was 53.6% (59/110); 25.4% (n = 15) of deaths were early (≤14 days after ICU admission). There were no significant differences in age, sex, or surgical/medical treatment between survivors and nonsurvivors. Median Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II score was higher among nonsurvivors than survivors (score = 26 vs 19, respectively; P < 0.001), and the duration of hospitalization before ICU admission was significantly longer (4 vs 1 day; P < 0.001). Among the 59 patients who died, those in the early-mortality group were admitted to the ICU significantly earlier than those in the late-mortality group (3 vs 6.5 days; P < 0.05). Conclusions: Overall mortality and median APACHE II score were high. Death predominantly occurred late and was unaffected by patient age, length of stay in the ICU, or surgical/medical treatment. An APACHE II cutoff of 24.5 and pre-ICU admission time of 2.5 days were sensitive predictors of fatal outcome.
An all-optical thin-film high-frequency ultrasound transducer

In this work we have created an all-optical ultrasound transducer by integrating an optically-absorbing polyimide thin-film into an etalon sensor. The optically-generated acoustic pulse had an amplitude of 4.3 MPa and a -3 dB bandwidth of 29 MHz centered at 27 MHz. The etalon sensor achieved a Noise-equivalent Pressure of 1.3 Pa / √Hz. When used in pulse-echo mode, the -6 dB upper cutoff frequency of the device's transmit/receive response reached 47 MHz. A 1-D synthetic aperture was created, and imaging results indicate an upper limit of 100 μm and 40 μm on the lateral and axial resolution, respectively. After the incorporation of fiber optics and 2-D beam scanning, potential applications will include endoscopic and intravascular ultrasound.
The origin and evolution of word order

Recent work in comparative linguistics suggests that all, or almost all, attested human languages may derive from a single earlier language. If that is so, then this language—like nearly all extant languages—most likely had a basic ordering of the subject (S), verb (V), and object (O) in a declarative sentence of the type “the man (S) killed (V) the bear (O). ” When one compares the distribution of the existing structural types with the putative phylogenetic tree of human languages, four conclusions may be drawn. (i) The word order in the ancestral language was SOV. (ii) Except for cases of diffusion, the direction of syntactic change, when it occurs, has been for the most part SOV > SVO and, beyond that, SVO > VSO/VOS with a subsequent reversion to SVO occurring occasionally. Reversion to SOV occurs only through diffusion. (iii) Diffusion, although important, is not the dominant process in the evolution of word order. (iv) The two extremely rare word orders (OVS and OSV) derive directly from SOV.
Comunicação de dados baseada no escalonamento de trabalho de nós vizinhos em redes de sensores sem fio

A melhor forma de economizar energia em Redes de Snsores Sem Fio (RSSFs) e fazer com que os nos sensores adormecam sempre que possivel, fazendo com que eles fiquem indisponiveis periodicamente. No entanto, essa indisponibilidade oide afetar tarefas de rede como a comunicacao de dados. Protocolos para controle de acesso ao meio para essas redes tipicamente tratam o problema de escalonar a comunicacao de dados quando o proximo no estiver dormindo. Uma das abordagens usadas por esses protocolos (politica pro-ativa) e compartilhar seu escalonamento de trabalho com seus vizinhos e cada no emissor agenda sua transmissao para o momento em que o proximo no estiver acordado. Esse processo de compartilhamento e tipicamente baseado em troca de pacotes, o que aumenta o consumo de energia da rede. Outra abordagem (politica reativa) e descobrir quando o proximo no estara acordado e, depois, enviar o pacote nesse momento. Apesar dessa abordagem eliminar o custo de compartilhamento, suas descobertas tambem efetuam transmissoes adicionais. Dadas as limitacoes das duas abordagens, esta tese propoe tres solucoes para minimizar os custos de compartilhamento e descoberta. A primeira solucao e uma abordagem hibrida entre as duas politicas existentes. Nesse caso, cada no emissor insere seu escalonamento de trabalho em sua mensagem e cada receptor guarda essa informacao para usa-la em transmissoes futuras. A segunda solucao e um projeto combinado entre a politica reativa e o roteamento baseado no receptor. Essa abordagem de roteamento aumenta o numero de candidatos a proximo no, o que minimiza o custo de energia da descoberta reativa. Nesse projeto combinado, o no emissor tem que descobrir o escalonamento de um no especifico. A ultima solucao e o protocolo Gossiping Using the Energy Map (GEM), um projeto integrado envolvendo as camadas de rede e MAC para efetuar difusao de dados quando os nos sensores ficam quase sempre dormindo (por exemplo, durante 99% de seus tempos de vida). Nesse caso, quando um no emissor envia um pacote, nem todos seus vizinhos estarao acordados. A maioria das solucoes propostas para difusao de dadosem RSSFs desconsidera que os nos sensores podem ficar frequentemente dormindo. A ideia principal do GEM e criar uma arvore de difusao baseada no mapa de energia da rede (informacao sobre a energia restante em cada parte da rede) e fazer com que cada no sensor compartilhe informacoes apenas com um no vizinho que participa dessa arvore disseminando dados. Alem disso, o GEM usa o mapa de energia para adaptar o funcionamento basico dos nos localizados dentro de regioes de baixa energia, prolongando o tempo de vida da rede. Resultados de simulacao mostram que as solucoes propostas nesta tese reduzem a quantidade de transmissoes e consomem menos energia quando comparadas com outras solucoes propostas na literatura e avaliadas neste trabalho.
Responsiveness of the corpus luteum of the rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta) to gonadotrophin in vitro during spontaneous and prostaglandin F2 alpha-induced luteolysis.

The ability of luteal tissue from rhesus monkeys, collected from spontaneous and prostaglandin F2 alpha (PGF2 alpha) induced luteolytic cycles, to secrete progesterone in response to hCG or dibutyryl cAMP in vitro was assessed. It was expected that the corpus luteum exposed to PGF2 alpha would behave in a similar manner to the corpus luteum of normal cycles undergoing luteal regression. PGF2 alpha (10 ng microliters-1 h-1) or vehicle (1 microliter h-1) was infused into the corpus luteum from 7 days after the preovulatory oestradiol surge. Lutectomy was performed at 2, 3 and 4 days after the start of the intraluteal infusion and at menses. Luteal progesterone content was determined and the secretion of progesterone in response to hCG (10 miu ml-1) or dibutyryl cAMP (5 mmol l-) was evaluated in vitro. A third group of monkeys underwent lutectomy sequentially during the luteal phase and were grouped by luteal age from days after the preovulatory oestradiol surge: early luteal (days 4-6), mid-luteal (days 7-9), late luteal (days 10-14) and menses. Immediately before luteal excision, an ovarian venous blood sample was taken for progesterone determination. Approximately 2-5 mg of minced luteal tissue was incubated at 37 degrees C in 2 ml of Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate buffer for 2 h in the presence or absence of hCG or dibutyryl cAMP. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)