Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cervical Artery Dissection: Risk Factors, Treatment, and Outcome; A 5-Year Experience From a Tertiary Care Center

ABSTRACT Background: Cervical artery dissection (CAD) is a common cause of stroke in young individuals. Risk factors, treatment, and outcome of CAD are not well established. Our aim is to identify risk factors, outcome, and discuss treatment of CAD. Methods: We reviewed medical records of patients seen at our institution between 2004 and 2009, using ICD-9 codes for CAD, for risk factors, treatment, type, and outcome. Poor outcome was defined as modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score within 6 months of >1 or recurrent stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA). Results: A total of 47 patients were identified. Twenty-four patients had spontaneous dissections (52%); 30 (63%) involved the carotid. As compared with spontaneous dissections, traumatic dissections occurred in younger patients (mean age 41.0 vs. 47.7 years, p = .064), were more likely to involve the vertebral artery (52% vs. 21%, p = .036, and caused less neurological deficits on presentation (48% vs. 75%, p = .075). Conversely, spontaneous dissections were more likely to occur in patients with hypertension (63% vs. 30%, p = .041) and hypercholesterolemia (46% vs. 9%, p = .008). Patients having no stroke had better outcomes (100% vs. 54%, p < .001). Anticoagulation was used in 17 patients (36%) and antiplatelets in 31 (64%). Outcome and adverse events were similar in the two groups. Conclusion: Hypertension and hypercholesterolemia were risk factors in spontaneous dissections, speaking for vascular wall abnormalities as potential contributors to pathophysiology of CAD. There was no evidence supporting one type of treatment over the other. A large ongoing prospective study should quell this controversy.
Components of length growth variation in infants from the same population but different environments

Growth in length of infants in Khartoum is profoundly related to whether or not their mothers are in paid employment. Some of this relationship appears to be due to levels of infectious disease, which are much higher in the infants of working mothers. Exponential decay curves do not fit longitudinal measurements of length growth particularly well in either group of infants, but they do yield distinctive temporal patterns of residuals. Simulation demonstrates that these patterns accord with a “catch‐down” form of growth in infants of working mothers and a “catch‐up” form in infants of housewives. Attempts to allow for these phenomena by providing for the opportunity of a single pulse of negative sine form in the former and a similar pulse of positive sine form in the latter reduces the level of residuals and tends to reduce temporal pattern in them. Most strikingly, it leads to average growth curves for the two groups of children becoming almost identical. It is hypothesized that these decay curves represent the underlying curves of infant growth in Khartoum free from the effects of environmental variation. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 13:197–203, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
An EMD-SG Algorithm for Spectral Noise Reduction of FBG-FP Static Strain Sensor

Random noises in the reflection spectra of fiber Bragg grating (FBG) typically limit the resolution of static-strain sensor based on FBG. We use the empirical mode decomposition (EMD) and the Savitzky–Golay (SG) filter to denoise reflection spectra from a pair of FBG-based Fabry–Perot interferometers (FBG-FPs) for achieving high static-strain resolution. The EMD is proposed for extracting adaptive basis functions from two FBG-FPs’ reflection spectra. The SG filter is proposed for smoothing and denoising basis functions. These basis functions are used to reconstruct the reflection spectra, which can be used to calculate the relative wavelength difference. A simulation and two experiments are conducted to verify the performance of the proposed technique. The results of experiment conducted in the noisy laboratory and in the quiet basement are consistent with the simulation result. When SNR is less than 10 dB, the resolution of the EMD-SG method is approximately ten times the resolution of the traditional cross correlation. A minimumstatic strain resolution of 0.68 $\text{n}\varepsilon $ is achieved.
Facial flushing: an uncommon presentation of serotonin toxicity.

A woman presented with recent onset of episodic nonpruritic flushing. She denied having any associated symptoms, such as palpitations, wheezing, or diarrhea, or any identifiable triggers, including foods, ethanol, laughter, and exercise. Notably, her medication regimen included daily use of a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) and occasional use of sumatriptan for migraines. Facial erythema is a common presenting complaint at contact dermatology clinics. Common causes to consider in a middle-aged woman include contact dermatitis and rosacea. Carcinoid syndrome, a rare but important malignant cause of flushing, should also be considered. Table 1 lists other potential causes of facial flushing. Facial erythema is an uncommon presentation of mild serotonin toxicity. There is a spectrum of clinical manifestations of serotonin toxicity, from mild cases of diarrhea and tremor to severe toxicity (serotonin syndrome) with resulting changes in mental status, neuromuscular irritability and autonomic instability, and an 11% mortality rate. Although the precise pathophysiology of serotonin toxicity remains under investigation, 5hydroxytryptamine 2A and 5-hydroxytryptamine 1A are believed to be important contributors. Numerous proserotoninergic medications with varying mechanisms have been associated with serotonin toxicity; these include SSRIs, selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), serotonin metabolism inhibitors (monoamine oxidase inhibitors), and serotonin-releasing agents (amphetamines, ecstasy). A 2006 US Food and Drug Administration public alert based on preliminary data cited the concomitant use of triptans and SSRIs as a potential risk factor for developing life-threatening serotonin syndrome. A review of the 29 reported cases that precipitated the alert has since called into question its clinical merit, noting that only seven cases met the lenient Sternbach criteria for serotonin syndrome and that none met the more stringent Hunter criteria (84% sensitivity, 97% specificity) for serotonin syndrome. A prospective study of 1,784 patients who were concomitantly treated with SSRIs and sumatriptan for up to 1 year found no cases of serotonin syndrome. According to the current literature, serotonin toxicity may occur in patients who are ingesting triptans and SSRIs; however, the incidence of severe life-threatening toxicity appears to be rare. The benefits and risks of concomitant use should be considered on an individual basis. However, physicians should be aware of both the possibility of serotonin toxicity in these patients and the spectrum of its clinical progression and should educate patients appropriately. From the University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Department of Dermatology, Cleveland, OH.
Dynamic scene analysis for a mobile robot in a man-made environment

Analysis of scene viewed continuously from a robot moving in a man-made environment, such as a building or a plant, yields useful information for the navigation. The knowledge on the environment, richness of the scene in vertical edges and the flatness of the floor, is arranged in constraints for the dynamic scene analysis. The rotational component of camera motion is estimated first from image points invarient from translation. After compensating for movements by the rotation between the consecutive images, the foci of expansion of translational motion of both the robot and moving objects are determined.
Unsteady Heat and Mass Transfer in MHD Flow of Nanofluids over Stretching Sheet with a Non-Uniform Heat Source/Sink

In this paper, the problem of heat and mass transfer in unsteady MHD boundary-layer flow of nanofluids over stretching sheet with a non uniform heat source/sink is considered. The unsteadiness in the flow and temperature is caused by the timedependent stretching velocity and surface temperature. The unsteady boundary layer equations are transformed to a system of non-linear ordinary differential equations and solved numerically using Keller box method. The velocity, temperature, and concentration profiles were obtained and utilized to compute the skin-friction coefficient, local Nusselt number, and local Sherwood number for different values of the governing parameters viz. solid volume fraction parameter, unsteadiness parameter, magnetic field parameter, Schmidt number, space-dependent and temperature-dependent parameters for heat source/sink. A comparison of the numerical results of the present study with previously published data revealed an excellent agreement. Keywords—Manetohydrodynamics, nanofluid, non-uniform heat source/sink, unsteady.
Etoposide (VP‐16) in the Treatment of Advanced Adenocarcinoma of the Pancreas

Twenty-six patients with advanced adenocarcinoma of the pancreas were treated with etoposide (VP-16), 100–180 mg/m2 i.v. , days 1, 2, and 3, monthly. Twenty-five had bidimensionally measurable disease and one had evaluable disease only. This regimen and dosage schedule were well tolerated, with minimal toxicity including myelosupression; a median WBC count nadir of 3,600 cells/mm3 (range 200–2,400); and a median platelet nadir of 215,000 cells/mm3 (range 15,000–405,000). However, no patients responded and only two had stable disease for 3.5 and 4 months, respectively. At this dosage and schedule, there is no role for VP-16 in the treatment of advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma.
Medical Complications in Lung Transplant Recipients with Pulmonary Fibrosis

Lung transplantation is a therapeutic option for selected patients with severe interstitial disease who continue to have progressive clinical deterioration. There is a survival advantage for selected patients who undergo transplant, but it primarily improves quality of life after transplantation. Unfortunately, patients with IPF have worse outcomes following lung transplantation due to various factors. This review article will describe several common postoperative complications including an astamotic complications, allograft dysfunction, cardiovascular complications, thromboembolic phenomenon, renal failure, neurologic complications and complications related to the native lung in the single lung transplant recipients.
AMP‐activated protein kinase regulates nicotinamide phosphoribosyl transferase expression in skeletal muscle

• NAD is a substrate for sirtuins (SIRTs), which regulate gene transcription in response to specific metabolic stresses. • Nicotinamide phosphoribosyl transferase (Nampt) is the rate‐limiting enzyme in the NAD salvage pathway. • Using transgenic mouse models, we tested the hypothesis that skeletal muscle Nampt protein abundance would increase in response to metabolic stress in a manner dependent on the cellular nucleotide sensor, AMP‐activated protein kinase (AMPK). • Exercise training, as well as repeated pharmacological activation of AMPK by 5‐amino‐1‐β‐d‐ribofuranosyl‐imidazole‐4‐carboxamide (AICAR), increased Nampt protein abundance. However, only the AICAR‐mediated increase in Nampt protein abundance was dependent on AMPK. • Our results suggest that cellular energy charge and nutrient sensing by SIRTs may be mechanistically related, and that Nampt may play a key role for cellular adaptation to metabolic stress.
Survey of Data Mining Techniques Used for Real Time Churn Prediction

: Customer churn is perhaps the biggest challenge in telecommunication industry. Customer churn is the term which indicates the customer who is in the stage to leave the company or Customer churn means a customer can leave their service or service provider and move to another service or service provider. This rate is increasing day by day in all telecommunication companies. Data mining is one of the techniques which provide different methods and application to find out those customers who are going to churn and how to prevent them. The aim of this paper is to compare different algorithms of Data Mining which have been used for making distinction between customers into non churn and churn, so that appropriate steps can be taken into consideration in order to retain the churn customers to the company as customers are more valuable to the survival and development of the company.
The effects of TNF-α and anti-TNF-αMcAb in myocardial injury of rats with traumatic hemorrhagic shock

Objective: To study the effects of Tumor Necrosis Factor-α (TNF-α) and anti-TNF-α Monoclonal Antibody (McAb) in myocardial injury of rats with traumatic hemorrhagic shock. Methods: Twenty-four adult male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into the control group (A1 group), lactate Ringer's solution resuscitation group (A2 group) and anti-TNF-αMcAb resuscitation group (A3 group). A knife was used to cut about 5 cm in the middle of abdomen in rats of the A2 and A3 groups. Animal models of traumatic hemorrhagic shock were established through the femoral artery bleeding. The A2 group was treated with lactate Ringer's solution resuscitation, A3 group was treated with lactate Ringer's solution resuscitation containing anti-tumor necrosis factor-α monoclonal antibody (3 mg•kg-1), while the A1 group was under the same conditions without blood loss and trauma. The contents of Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) and Malondialdehyde (MDA) in myocardium were measured. The levels of serum TNF-α and CK-MB were detected in every group. The pathological changes of myocardium were observed by light microscopy. Results: The levels of serum TNF-α, CK-MB and the content of MDA in myocardium were increased in A2 and A3 groups comparing with A1 group (P<0.05), while the content of SOD was decreased (P<0.05). The levels of TNF-α (106.85 ± 14.65 pg/ml), CK-MB (535.3 ± 96.7 U/L) and the content of MDA (4.403 ± 0.979 nmol/mgprot) in myocardium in A3 group were much lower than those in the A2 group (P<0.05), but the content of SOD (36.125 ± 2.558 U/mgprot) was increased compared with the A2 group (SOD 28.200 ± 3.752 U/mgprot) (P<0.05). The changes of myocardium histopathology were minor in the A3 group while the A1 group had no manifest change. Conclusions: TNF-α is an important media in myocardial injury induced by traumatic hemorrhagic shock. Anti-tumor necrosis factor-α monoclonal antibody can reduce myocardial injury, the mechanism perhaps antagonistic activity of TNF-α.
Predictors of Long-Term Viral Failure Among Ugandan Children and Adults Treated With Antiretroviral Therapy

Background:HIV RNA viral load testing is costly and is generally unavailable in resource-limited settings. We identified predictors of viral failure and documented genotypic mutations in a subset of patients with viral failure after 12 months on antiretroviral therapy (ART). Methods:From April 2004 to June 2005, consecutive treatment-naive patients beginning ART at a university clinic in Uganda were enrolled. Clinical information, CD4 cell count, and HIV RNA level were collected at baseline and every 3 to 6 months. Independent predictors of viral failure were identified using multivariate logistic regression. Genotypic drug resistance for 8 patients with viral failure at 12 months was measured at baseline and at 6 and 12 months. Results:Five hundred twenty-six adults and 250 children (0 to 18 years of age) were started on first-line ART regimens and followed for 12 months. Outcomes could not be assessed in 13% of patients (79 died and 21 were withdrawn). Children were almost twice as likely to have viral failure compared with adults (26% vs. 14%; P = 0.0001). In adults, the sole independent predictor of viral failure was treatment with stavudine (d4T)/lamivudine (3TC)/nevirapine (NVP) versus zidovudine (ZDV)/3TC/efavirenz (EFV) (odds ratio [OR] = 2.59, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.20 to 5.59). In children, independent predictors of viral failure included male gender (OR = 2.44, 95% CI: 1.20 to 4.93), baseline CD4% <5 (OR = 2.69, 95% CI: 1.28 to 5.63), and treatment with d4T/3TC/NVP versus ZDV/3TC/EFV (OR = 2.46, 95% CI: 1.23 to 4.90). All 8 patients with viral breakthrough and genotypic drug resistance results had nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI)- and 3TC-associated mutations. Conclusions:These data demonstrate the effectiveness of ART in a low-resource setting. Children and patients of all ages taking the d4T/3TC/NVP regimen were more likely to have viral failure. Our data suggest that viral failure occurring 6 months or more after the start of ART regimens commonly used in Uganda is likely to be associated with NNRTI- and 3TC-resistant virus.
The causes and risk of stroke in patients with asymptomatic internal-carotid-artery stenosis. North American Symptomatic Carotid Endarterectomy Trial Collaborators.

BACKGROUND The causes of stroke in patients with asymptomatic carotid-artery stenosis have not been carefully studied. Information about causes might influence decisions about the use of carotid endarterectomy in such patients. METHODS We studied patients with unilateral symptomatic carotid-artery stenosis and asymptomatic contralateral stenosis from 1988 to 1997. The causes, severity, risk, and predictors of stroke in the territory of the asymptomatic artery were examined and quantified. RESULTS The risk of stroke at five years after study entry in a total of 1820 patients increased with the severity of stenosis. Among 1604 patients with stenosis of less than 60 percent of the luminal diameter, the risk of a first stroke was 8.0 percent (1.6 percent annually), as compared with 16.2 percent (3.2 percent annually) among 216 patients with 60 to 99 percent stenosis. In the group with 60 to 99 percent stenosis, the five-year risk of stroke in the territory of a large artery was 9.9 percent, that of lacunar stroke was 6.0 percent, and that of cardioembolic stroke 2.1 percent. Some patients had more than one stroke of more than one cause. In the territory of an asymptomatic occluded artery (as was identified in 86 patients), the annualized risk of stroke was 1.9 percent. Strokes with different causes had different risk factors. The risk factors for large-artery stroke were silent brain infarction, a history of diabetes, and a higher degree of stenosis; for cardioembolic stroke, a history of myocardial infarction or angina and hypertension; for lacunar stroke, age of 75 years or older, hypertension, diabetes, and a higher degree of stenosis. CONCLUSIONS The risk of stroke among patients with asymptomatic carotid-artery stenosis is relatively low. Forty-five percent of strokes in patients with asymptomatic stenosis of 60 to 99 percent are attributable to lacunes or cardioembolism. These observations have implications for the use of endarterectomy in asymptomatic patients. Without analysis of the risk of stroke according to cause, the absolute benefit associated with endarterectomy may be overestimated.
Enhancing Service-oriented Holonic Multi-agent Systems with Self-organization *

Multi-agents systems and holonic manufacturing systems are suitable approaches to design a new and alternative class of production control systems, based on the decentralization of control functions over distributed autonomous and cooperative entities. However, in spite of their enormous potential they lack some aspects related to interoperability, migration, optimisation in decentralised structures and truly self-adaptation. This paper discusses the advantages of combining these paradigms with complementary paradigms, such as service-oriented architectures, and enhancing them with biologically inspired algorithms and techniques, such as emergent behaviour and self-organization, to reach a truly robust, agile and adaptive control system. An example of applying a stigmergy-based algorithm to dynamically route pallets in a production system is also provided.
The Effective Throughput of MISO Systems Over <formula formulatype="inline"><tex Notation="TeX">$\kappa$</tex></formula> –<formula formulatype="inline"><tex Notation="TeX">$\mu$</tex></formula> Fading Channels

The effective throughput of multiple-input-single-output (MISO) systems communicating over both independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) and independent and nonidentically distributed (i.n.i.d.) κ- μ fading channels is investigated under delay constraints. New analytical expressions are derived for the exact effective throughput of both channels. Moreover, we present tractable closed-form effective throughput expressions in the asymptotically high- and low-signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) regimes for i.i.d. κ- μ fading channels. These results enable us to investigate the impact of system parameters on the effective throughput of MISO κ- μ fading channels. We demonstrate that as the affordable delay tends to infinity, the effective throughput is increased to the classic ergodic capacity. By contrast, the effective throughput of delay-constrained near-real-time systems fails to approach the ergodic capacity.
Effect of Clonidine on Cardiovascular Morbidity and Mortality after Noncardiac Surgery

Background:Perioperative myocardial ischemia occurs in 20–40% of patients at risk for cardiac morbidity and is associated with a ninefold increase in risk of cardiac morbidity. Methods:In a prospective, double-blinded, clinical trial, we studied 190 patients with or at risk for coronary artery disease in two study groups with a 2:1 ratio (clonidine, n = 125 vs. placebo, n = 65) to test the hypothesis that prophylactic clonidine reduces the incidence of perioperative myocardial ischemia and postoperative death in patients undergoing noncardiac surgery. Clonidine (0.2 mg orally as well as a patch) or placebo (tablet and patch) was administered the night before surgery, and clonidine (0.2 mg orally) or placebo (tablet) was administered on the morning of surgery. The patch or placebo remained on the patient for 4 days and was then removed. Results:The incidence of perioperative myocardial ischemia was significantly reduced with clonidine (intraoperative and postoperative, 18 of 125, 14% vs. placebo, 20 of 65, 31%; P = 0.01). Prophylactic clonidine administration had minimal hemodynamic effects. Clonidine reduced the incidence of postoperative mortality for up to 2 yr (clonidine, 19 of 125 [15%] vs. placebo, 19 of 65 [29%]; relative risk = 0.43 [confidence interval, 0.21–0.89]; P = 0.035). Conclusions:Perioperative administration of clonidine for 4 days to patients at risk for coronary artery disease significantly reduces the incidence of perioperative myocardial ischemia and postoperative death.