Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Diffusion of knowledge of Helicobacter pylori and its practical application by Nordic clinicians.

BACKGROUND The knowledge uptake by physicians in five Nordic countries about Helicobacter pylori and gastrointestinal disease was studied. METHODS Questionnaires were sent to 1832 general practitioners (GP) and gastroenterologists (GE), and central persons were interviewed in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland. RESULTS Half the GEs had heard of H. pylori by 1987 and had begun eradication treatment before 1991, and half the GPs had by 1989 and 1992, respectively. By 1996 this applied to more than 90% of both groups. The most important information sources were national journals for GPs and international journals and conferences for GEs. More than 80% of respondents considered H. pylori causative for peptic ulcer, less than 50% for stomach cancer, and 10% for non-ulcer dyspepsia. Variations between countries were mostly small. CONCLUSIONS GPs and GEs in the Nordic countries have knowledge of H. pylori, and there is broad agreement on diagnosis and treatment, although some differences exist.
On-line Trade Negotiations : A Study of Perceived Fairness of Negotiation-Support Tools Usage Chei

The proliferation of the digital economy has created a need for firms to negotiate business deals online. Negotiation support tools are likely to play a more critical role in web portal sites, manufacturer-supplier procurement sites, and on-line exchanges. Prior research has shown that negotiators concern themselves with fairness because they care about building and strengthening business relationships among trading partners, while some negotiators are even willing to forego material benefits to achieve it. Notwithstanding their importance, the impact of the different degree of sophistication of computer negotiation support on the perceived fairness of negotiation outcomes and processes are not well understood. This research addresses this gap by conducting laboratory experiments to investigate negotiating dyads’ perceived fairness of the negotiation process and outcome in multi-issue, on-line trade negotiations supported by three types of computer negotiation support tools with different degrees of sophistication – web-based electronic messaging (EM), negotiation support systems (NSS), and autonomous electronic bargaining agents (EBA). Two types of bargaining situation were investigated: integrative and distributive bargaining. Our findings show that the degree of sophistication in the negotiation support does affect different dimensions of the perceptions of fairness of negotiation outcomes and processes in integrative and distributive bargaining situations. EM was typically found to have the highest evaluations in perceived fairness of negotiation process and outcome in integrative and distributive negotiations, while there are no significant perceived differences in fairness of negotiation outcomes and processes in EBA and NSS-supported distributive negotiations. Implications for NSS and EBA implementation and research are drawn.
igh mTORC 1 signaling is maintained , while protein degradation athways are perturbed in old murine skeletal muscles in the fasted

This study investigated age-associated changes to protein synthesis and degradation pathways in the quadriceps muscles of male C57BL/6J mice at 5 ages, between 4 and 24 months (m). Sarcopenia was evident by 18 m and was accompanied by hyper-phosphorylation of S6K1, indicating increased mTORC1 signaling. Proteasomal and autophagosomal degradation pathways were also impacted by aging. In the 1% NP40 insoluble protein fraction, the abundance of MuRF1 increased at 24 m, while p62 increased at 15 m, and remained elevated at older ages. In addition, we investigated how protein synthesis and degradation pathways are modulated by fasting in young (4 m) and old (24 m) muscles, and showed that old mice respond to fasting less robustly compared with young. Overnight fasting for 16 h caused de-phosphorylation of AKT and molecules downstream of mTORC1 (S6K1, rpS6 and 4E-BP1) in young, but not old muscles. A longer time of fasting (24 h) was required to reduce phosphorylation of these molecules in old mice. Induction of MuRF1 and Fbxo32 mRNA was also more robust in young compared with old muscles following fasting for 16 h. In addition, a 16 h fast reduced ULK1 phosphorylation at the mTORC1 specific site Ser757 only in young muscles. The striking accumulation of insoluble p62 protein in muscles of all old male mice (fed or fasted), suggests age-related dysregulation of autophagy and protein aggregation. These data provide an insight into the mechanisms of metabolic responses that affect protein homeostasis in old skeletal muscles, with applications to design of clinical interventions that target sarcopenia.
Placental Abruption in Term and Preterm Gestations: Evidence for Heterogeneity in Clinical Pathways

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the magnitude of associations of acute and chronic processes with abruption in preterm and term gestations. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was performed using data on women that delivered singleton live births and stillbirths at 20 or more weeks of gestation in the United States, 1995–2002 (n = 30,378,902). Rates of 1) acute-inflammation–associated clinical conditions (premature rupture of membranes and intrauterine infection); 2) chronic processes associated with vascular dysfunction or chronic inflammation (chronic and pregnancy-induced hypertension, preexisting or gestational diabetes, small for gestational age, and maternal smoking); and 3) both acute and chronic processes, were examined among women with and without abruption. Rates were examined separately among preterm (< 37 weeks) and term births, with adjustment for confounders. Relative risk (RR) for aforementioned groups in relation to abruption was derived from multivariate logistic regression models after adjusting for potential confounders. RESULTS: At preterm gestation, the rates of acute-inflammation–associated conditions were higher among women with than without abruption (12.0% compared with 10.2%; RR 1.38, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.34–1.42). At term, acute-inflammation–associated conditions were present in 4.2% and 3.3% of births with and without abruption, respectively (RR 1.39, 95% CI 1.33–1.45). At preterm gestation, the rates of chronic processes were 43.9% and 30.0% among women with and without abruption, respectively (RR 1.87, 95% CI 1.85–1.90). At term, the corresponding rates of chronic processes were 41.0% and 22.7%, respectively (RR 2.37, 95% CI 2.34–2.41). Association between both acute and chronic processes and abruption are similar to those of acute-inflammation–associated conditions. CONCLUSION: Among women with placental abruption, conditions associated with acute inflammation are more prevalent at preterm than term gestations, whereas chronic processes are present throughout gestation. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: II-2
The Effect of Anticonvulsants on the Dexamethasone Suppression Test

Rates of non-suppression on the DST were compared in 19 psychiatric inpatients and anticonvulsants and 38 psychiatric inpatients not on anticonvulsants who were matched for age, sex, and diagnosis. Patients on anticonvulsants had a significantly higher rate of nonsuppression.
Selective three‐dimensional visualization of the coronary arterial lumen using arterial spin tagging

Conventional coronary magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) techniques display the coronary blood‐pool along with the surrounding structures, including the myocardium, the ventricular and atrial blood‐pool, and the great vessels. This representation of the coronary lumen is not directly analogous to the information provided by x‐ray coronary angiography, in which the coronary lumen displayed by iodinated contrast agent is seen. Analogous “luminographic” data may be obtained using MR arterial spin tagging (projection coronary MRA) techniques. Such an approach was implemented using a 2D selective “pencil” excitation for aortic spin tagging in concert with a 3D interleaved segmented spiral imaging sequence with free‐breathing, and real‐time navigator technology. This technique allows for selective 3D visualization of the coronary lumen blood‐pool, while signal from the surrounding structures is suppressed. Magn Reson Med 47:322–329, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
VIRUS INFECTIONS OF THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM IN CHILDREN WITH PRIMARY IMMUNE DEFICIENCY DISORDERS

in the etiology of cerebral palsy: a reassessment of the evidence. ’ Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology. 23, 1 19120. 4. Adelstein, A. M. (1975) ‘National statistics. ’ In: Barltrop, D. (Ed.) Paediutrics and the Environment. London: Fellowship of Postgraduate Medicine. pp. 57-67. 5. Drillien, C. M. (1978) ‘The first feed of low birthweigh infants: changing attitudes in the twentieth century. ’ Archives of Disease in Childhood, 53, 604-605. 6. Douglas, J. W. B. , Gear, R. (1976) ‘Children of low birthweight in the 1946 national cohort: behavior and educational achievement in adolescence. ’ Archives of Disease in Childhood. 51,
A technique for isolating the enamel organ of the rat incisor for histologic studies.

— The present report describes a new method for rapidly and gently isolating the enamel organ of the rat incisor for use in histologic studies. Incisors from 3-month-old rats were fixed by perfusion with glutaraldehyde or formaldehyde. The jaws were trimmed, and, using a technique that controlled the fracture of the alveolar bone, the enamel organ was denuded along its entire length. After 3 d in an EDTA solution, the denuded enamel organ could be isolated in three parts. The apical cone representing the growing end of the incisor was cut off. The intermediate portion adjacent to the thick, immature enamel was separated from the dentin by blunt dissection, and the remaining part on the mature enamel was readily lifted away from the tooth surface. The specimens were dehydrated, taking special precautions against twisting due to shrinkage, and embedded in polyester wax. Sections of such enamel organs show excellent cellular preservation with no disruption of histologic relationships.
Twenty-Five Years After Federal Pension Reform

Congress created the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) in 1986, in the most sweeping overhaul of retirement benefits for civilian workers in modern times. The law is now 25 years old, has changed little (other than modest expansion of investment choices), and remains the basis for retirement benefits provided to some 3 million civilian federal workers. With state governors and legislators currently grappling with many of the same issues Congress faced in 1986, FERS may provide useful background for their deliberations. This paper provides a legislative history of the arduous five-year effort to overhaul the federal retirement system by enacting FERS and how various forces affected the passage of the law. This landmark legislation resulted in large part from the need to shore up the Social Security system by broadening its base (by mandating coverage of the federal civilian work force), along with pressure from then-President Ronald Reagan to reduce federal spending. Through a remarkable combination of bipartisanship and trust among the key players in both the House and Senate (at the time, controlled by different parties), and shrewd legislative strategizing, lawmakers enacted a sweeping and cost-cutting law that fundamentally restructured the retirement benefits. The success of the law can be seen in the fact that, in the current debate over cutting federal spending, no sweeping proposals have been made to cut federal retirement benefits (although there is a proposal to raise workers’ contributions to their retirement plan). Congress created FERS with three basic elements: mandatory Social Security coverage of civilian federal workers as a base; a basic and mandatory defined benefit pension plan, but with a lower level of benefits than the rich plan that existed at the time; and a new voluntary thrift savings 401(k)-type plan (patterned after the private sector) where worker contributions matched by the employer would be invested in a limited variety of investment funds. The changes applied to most federal civilian workers hired after 1983, including the foreign service and intelligence agencies. Despite initial opposition from labor groups and veto threats from the Reagan administration, Congress ultimately enacted a plan that reduced federal spending and eventually won strong support from federal workers, particularly because of the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). Lawmakers deliberately and carefully insulated the TSP from political manipulation and minimized the impact of the federal workers’ investments in the financial markets.
Diagnosis and management of coagulopathy after major trauma

This is the third leading article in the Journal's series on major trauma. In it Karim Brohi, Professor of Trauma Sciences at Queen Mary University of London, deals with the important topic of the defects in blood coagulation that are often encountered after serious injury. Copyright © 2009 British Journal of Surgery Society Ltd. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Microzooplankton grazing in the oceans: impacts, data variability, knowledge gaps and future directions

Here we review all published data on phytoplankton growth and microzooplankton grazing using the dilution technique to better understand the role of this group of grazers in different regions of the oceans, and to identify the knowledge gaps that require future efforts. A total of 1525 data points assimilated from 110 studies were included and grouped using the biogeographic subsets defined by Longhurst et al. [(1995) An estimate of global primary production in the ocean from satellite radiometer data. J. Plankton Res., 17, 1245–1271]. Total median phytoplankton growth rates in each of the subsets varied between 0.15 (Polar Southern) and 0.83 day (Trades Atlantic), with the corresponding microzooplankton grazing rates ranging between 0.07 (Polar Southern) and 0.48 day (Trades Indian). The median percentage of primary production (PP) grazed by microzooplankton was relatively constant among the regions and ranged from 49
Training Multiagent Systems by Q‐Learning: Approaches and Empirical Results

Multiagent systems are increasingly present in computational environments. However, the problem of agent design or control is an open research field. Reinforcement learning approaches offer solutions that allow autonomous learning with minimal supervision. The Q‐learning algorithm is a model‐free reinforcement learning solution that has proven its usefulness in single‐agent domains; however, it suffers from dimensionality curse when applied to multiagent systems. In this article, we discuss two approaches, namely TRQ‐learning and distributed Q‐learning, that overcome the limitations of Q‐learning offering feasible solutions. We test these approaches in two separate domains. The first is the control of a hose by a team of robots. The second is the trash disposal problem. Computational results show the effectiveness of Q‐learning solutions to multiagent systems’ control.
Venous Air Embolism during Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery in an Awake Supine Patient

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus and globus pallidus is used to improve Parkinsonian symptoms and reduce levodopa-induced motor complications in Parkinson’s disease (PD). This procedure is usually performed with minimal or no sedation to allow accurate feedback from patients during surgery. Venous air embolism (VAE) has been previously reported in patients undergoing awake neurosurgical procedures for brain tumors or pallidotomy for PD. We describe a case of intraoperative VAE in an awake, supine patient while undergoing DBS surgery for PD who presented with coughing, tachypnea and hypoxemia. The difference in clinical presentation between VAE in awake vs. anesthetized patients is discussed as are intraoperative monitoring techniques and management options.
A randomised crossover comparison of manikin ventilation through Soft Seal®, i‐gel™ and AuraOnce™ supraglottic airway devices by surf lifeguards

Forty surf lifeguards attempted to ventilate a manikin through one out of three supraglottic airways inserted in random order: the Portex® Soft Seal®; the Intersurgical® i‐gel™; and the Ambu® AuraOnce™. We recorded the time to ventilate and the proportion of inflations that were successful, without and then with concurrent chest compressions. The mean (SD) time to ventilate with the Soft Seal, i‐gel and AuraOnce was 35.2 (7.2)s, 15.6 (3.3)s and 35.1 (8.5) s, respectively, p < 0.0001. Concurrent chest compression prolonged the time to ventilate by 5.0 (1.3–8.1)%, p = 0.0072. The rate of successful ventilations through the Soft Seal (100%) was more than through the AuraOnce (92%), p < 0.0001, neither of which was different from the i‐gel (97%). The mean (SD) tidal volumes through the Soft Seal, i‐gel and AuraOnce were 0.65 (0.14) l, 0.50 (0.16) l and 0.39 (0.19) l, respectively. Most lifeguards (85%) preferred the i‐gel. Ventilation through supraglottic airway devices may be considered for resuscitation by surf lifeguards.
Optimization and quality evaluation of freeze dried mutton manchurian.

Studies were conducted on standardization and optimization of Mutton manchurian (MM) using Response Surface Methodology and evaluation of physico-chemical and microbial properties of optimized fresh (FP) and freeze dried (FD) MM products were carried out. The central composite rotatable design for two factors was used to optimize MM with tomato ketchup (80-120 grams) and onion garlic mix (80-120 grams) as independent variables and overall acceptability as a response. Optimized product was FD to extend shelf life and to retain sensory properties. Physico-chemical quality parameters like texture profiles, color values, density, water activity, pH, acidity, moisture, fat, protein, ash and microbial analysis of standard plate count, coli forms, yeast & mold count were determined for the fresh and freeze dried samples. Moisture content and water activity values decreased during FD whereas color, acidity, pH, protein, fat and ash content significantly increased in FD sample as compared to FP sample.
Renovascular Hypertension: Anatomic and Renal Function Changes During Drug Therapy

• Serial renal function studies were performed on 41 patients with renovascular hypertension (RVH) secondary to atherosclerotic renal artery disease who had been randomly selected for nonoperative management. In 19 patients, serum creatinine levels increased between 25% and 120%. The glomerular filtration rates dropped between 25% and 50% in 12 patients. Fourteen patients (37%) lost more than 10% of renal length. In four patients (12%), a significant stenosis progressed to total occlusion. Seventeen patients (41%) had deterioration of renal function or loss of renal size that led to operation. One patient required removal of a previously reconstructable kidney. Of the 17 patients with deterioration, 15 had acceptable blood pressure (BP) control during the period of nonoperative observation. Progressive deterioration of renal function in nonoperatively treated patients with atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis and RVH is common, and occurs even in the presence of BP control with drugs. ( Arch Surg 1981;116:1408-1415.
Sex Differences in Dimensions of Impulsivity in a Non-Clinical Sample

Impulsivity has been more closely associated with men than with women because men are more often involved in illegal behaviors. The few studies that have investigated sex differences in impulsivity have used self-report questionnaires and have obtained contradictory results. Two computerized behavioral tests were administered to 125 healthy undergraduate students (75 women, M age 23.8 yr.; 50 men, M age 25.0 yr.). Men exhibited higher scores on motor impulsivity, but there were no significant differences between men and women on attentional and non-planning impulsivity scores. These findings are discussed in terms of the relationship between impulsivity and low- and high-order control.
Biologic effects and potential clinical applications of Flt3 ligand

Flt3 ligand (FL) is a member of a small family of growth factors that stimulate the proliferation of hematopoietic cells by binding to and activating distinct tyrosine kinase receptors. Other members of this family include M-CSF and the c-kit ligand. Expression of the Flt3 receptor is primarily restricted to the most primitive hematopoietic progenitor cells, and FL stimulates the proliferation in vitro and the expansion and mobilization in vivo of stem and progenitor cells. FL as a single factor has little proliferative activity on these stem and progenitor cells, but it synergizes with a wide range of other colony-stimulating factors and interleukins to stimulate proliferation of these cells. FL is also an effective agent for mobilizing stem and progenitor cells to peripheral blood. Recent data demonstrating anti-tumor activity of FL suggest that this protein plays a major role in activating the immune system via its ability to stimulate the production of both dendritic and natural killer cells. These biologic activities of FL may potentially prove quite useful in a number of clinical settings.
Event Group Similarity Analysis using Latent Dirichlet Allocation Topics in the ACE 2005 Dataset Student : Urmilla Banerjee Thesis

An event, or a predicate and its arguments, is a semantic representation in the task of information extraction (IE) that provides little information beyond the sentence level. This paper describes event groups, sets of related events that encode semantic information across multiple sentences. We define an information retrieval task that uses our proposed event group representation as queries to create a more semantically oriented search. This task requires finding a method to measure event group similarity, which this paper addresses. Our approach approximates the similarity between pairs of event groups using distances between their topic distributions generated by a Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) model. We use the ACE 2005 dataset to manually construct a gold standard corpus with annotated event groups and ground truth pairwise similarity scores. We evaluate the LDA similarity scores against the gold standard and show an average Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient of 0.120.
Notice of RetractionCost-Benefit Analysis on the Information Sharing for Mitigating the Bullwhip Effect of Supply Chain

Bullwhip effect is a common phenomenon existing on supply chain. The most fundamental causes of the bullwhip effect is demand forecast updating, and the information sharing amongst the supply chain is the most effective approach to mitigate the detrimental impact of bullwhip effect. This paper analyzes the benefit and cost of the information acquisition which helps to judge if the information sharing planning is worthy or the actions should be taken to cut the information cost.