Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Serum Interleukin 6 Before and After Therapy with Tocilizumab Is a Principal Biomarker in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Objective. Biologic treatments including the humanized anti-interleukin 6 (anti-IL-6) receptor antibody tocilizumab (TCZ) provide therapeutic options for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We investigated useful biomarkers to predict the responsiveness to TCZ by measurement of serum proinflammatory cytokine concentrations. Methods. Serum samples were collected from 61 patients with RA before biologic treatment and at 4 weeks after initial administration of either TCZ (n = 32) or infliximab (IFX; n = 29) and from 13 healthy serum donor controls. Disease Activity Score of 28 joints (DAS28) was determined at baseline and after treatment. Results. Although IL-1β, IL-2, IL-6, IL-17A, IL-17F, interferon-α, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were all increased in sera from patients with RA compared with controls, only the IL-6 level was significantly correlated with DAS28 before treatment. The IL-6 level before treatment was positively correlated with DAS28 after TCZ treatment, and was significantly lower in TCZ-responsive patients (as judged by a post-treatment DAS28 < 3.2) than in TCZ-resistant patients (post-treatment DAS28 ≥ 3.2). DAS28 after TCZ was significantly lower than after administration of IFX in patients with low pretreatment IL-6 (< 51.5 pg/ml, the mean baseline value of IL-6 in all RA patients), but not in those with high pretreatment IL-6. These results indicate that low serum IL-6 is associated with a favorable response to TCZ. Conclusion. Although both TNF-α and IL-6 are major targets of therapeutic intervention in RA, baseline serum IL-6 but not baseline TNF-α level is a potential biomarker reflecting disease activity. Measurement of serum IL-6 in RA before treatment may be useful to estimate residual disease activity after TCZ treatment and to predict responsiveness to TCZ treatment.
The prevalence and perceived health consequences of hunger in emergency department patient populations.

OBJECTIVES Hunger is associated with chronic poor health and may force patients to make choices that acutely impact their health. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of hunger, some of the choices it forces, and its perceived health effects among emergency department (ED) patients. METHODS A validated survey about hunger, choosing between food and medicine, and perceived adverse health outcomes was administered in English, Spanish, and Somali to non-critically ill ED patients or their parents. Demographics, rates of hunger, numbers of yearly ED visits, and decisions between buying commodities or medications were assessed. Relationships between variables were summarized with odds ratios (ORs), 95% confidence intervals, and logistic regression. RESULTS Of 930 respondents, 23.7% screened positive for hunger and 17.6% bought food instead of medications. Among the hunger-positive respondents, 44% believed this choice caused illness, and of these, 69% sought ED assessment and 35% believed they were hospitalized because of this choice. Predictors of hunger were low income (OR = 3.3), illicit drug use (OR = 5.5), chronic illness (OR = 2.1), Hispanic ethnicity (OR = 1.9), and lack of insurance (OR = 1.8). Buying food instead of medicine was predicted by low income (OR = 2.5), chronic illness (OR = 2.4), and lack of insurance (OR = 3.4). Predictors of illness were chronic illness (OR = 1.8), lack of insurance (OR = 2.8), African American race (OR = 2.0), and "poor" health (OR = 1.9). CONCLUSIONS These ED patients have high rates of hunger and often choose to buy food instead of medications. Many believe that this choice results in ED visits and hospitalizations. Socioeconomic factors may predict hunger and subsequent ill health.
Combination of PCA and SVM for diagnosis of Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative brain disorder that occurs when approximately 60% to 80% of the dopamine-producing cells are damaged. PD is the second common neurodegenerative disorder after Alzheimer. PD could be diagnosed by various signals such as EEG, gait and speech. Approximately, 90 percent of people with PD suffer from speech disorder, thus it might be considered as the easiest way to this aim. This paper investigates a new method for detection of Parkinson form speech signals at which PCA combines extracted features form the data and the classification is done using SVM network. The classification accuracy percent of 91.5 per 3 optimized features is obtained.
Peritoneal Dialysis Solution Biocompatibility Testing in Animals

T he correct definition of "biocompatibility" of peritoneal dialysis solutions is an essential first step if in vitra experimentation in animals and in man is to be tackled in a rational way. The various definitions proposed to date have not satisfied the many implications ofbiocompatibility and cannot be correctly applied to peritoneal dialysis solutions( 1-3). Our group has been using the following definition: the biocompatibility of a peritoneal dialysis solution is its capacity to leave the anatomical and functional characteristics of the peritoneum unmodified in time. This definition emphasizes that biocompatibility, which is conveniently tested in mesothelial cell cultures, must also be tested in experimental animals in order to have an evaluation in time. Moreover, if the definition is correct, it implies that biocompatibility studies must cover a vast range of aspects, for example, histological modifications of the peritoneum, cytological and cytochemical modifications of the various cells composing the serous membranes, mesothelial secretions, and peritoneal function. The latter includes the function of permitting frictionless sliding of the viscera and that of the dialysis membrane.
Disablement following stroke.

PURPOSE Stroke is the most disabling chronic condition, newly affecting 35000 persons in Canada each year. Because of declining fatality, a growing number of persons will have to cope with stroke-related disability. The purpose of this paper is to describe the disabilities experienced by persons with stroke during the first year and explore the evolution of impairment, disability, handicap and health-related quality of life. SUBJECTS The data for this paper come from a series of longitudinal and cross-sectional studies, collectively known as the McGill Stroke Rehabilitation Research Program. RESULTS Within the first week post-stroke, getting out of bed and walking over a short distance, even with assistance, was a strong predictor of discharge home. Most of the improvement in measures of impairment and disability occurred during the first month and, by 3 months, there was still considerable room for improvement in all measures: 85% of persons were still impaired on gait speed, 78% had not reached age-specific norms for upper extremity function, 68% still demonstrated slow physical mobility, 37% needed some assistance with basic activities of daily living and 29% were still impaired on balance. By 1 year, 73% of persons scored the maximum for basic activities of daily living but 51 and 67% of persons reported their physical health and mental health to be lower than expected. Among a hardy group of stroke survivors, still living in the community 1 year post-stroke, the most striking area of difficulty was endurance, as measured by the 6 minute walk test. Those subjects well enough to complete this task (50% of sample) were able to walk, on average, only 250 metres, equivalent to 40% of their predicted ability. This series of snapshots taken at different points in time suggests that much of the improvement in impairment and disability occurs during the first month and then reaches a plateau. Handicap and quality of life continue to be issues later. Rehabilitation strategies need to consider the multifaceted nature of disablement, which in itself changes with time post-stroke.
Reduction of rotor losses in multi layer interior permanent magnet synchronous motors by introducing novel topology of rotor flux barriers

A novel topology of flux barriers in multi-layer interior permanent magnet motors is proposed in order to reduce the rotor losses including magnet eddy-current loss for the purpose of preventing thermal demagnetization of permanent magnets. First, the mechanism of rotor-loss generation is investigated by using three-dimensional finite element analysis that considers inverter carrier. The electromagnetic field is decomposed into time-harmonic components in order to understand the main factors that cause the rotor losses. From the observations, a novel topology of rotor flux barriers, which is jointed between poles, is invented. Finally, prototype motors are manufactured in order to confirm the validity of the calculation. From both results of the experiments and the calculations, it is revealed that the rotor loss of the proposed motor is significantly reduced, whereas the decrease in the peak torque is only a few percent, as compared with the conventional multi-layer motors.
CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE AND PROGNOSTIC VALUE OF LOW MOLECULAR WEIGHT ‘ TUBULAR ’ PROTEIN , APHA-1-ACID GLYCOPROTEIN IN DIABETES

Background: Tubular damage as suggested by tubular proteinuria is a recognized feature of glomerulonephritis in diabetics. Study Design: Study endeavoured to find out the level of alpha1-acid glycoprotein (AGP) in urine of diabetic patient and tired to correlate the functional outcome of AGP with the patterns of proteinuria. Material and Methods: Fifty registered Type II diabetic patients were studied. Patients were divided on the basis of age into group A (41–60 yrs) and group B (>60 yrs) admitted in medical and visited the out door department of Sir Ganga Ram Hospitals, Lahore were included in the study. Duration of study was period of one year (from Jan 2005 to Jan 2006). Twenty normal subjects with no history of diabetes were taken as controls. Main Outcome Measures: Blood and urine samples of patients were collected and estimated the pH, specific gravity and protein level by strip and chemical method. Level of urinary AGP was found by using the technique of SDS gel electrophoresis. Level of blood glucose was estimated by auto analyzer. Results: Comparison of biochemical and other parameters in different age group of diabetics with normal subjects was carried out. Mean age of group A was 50 yrs and of group B was 65.80 yrs. The pH of urine was low in both groups as compared to normal subjects. A slight change in the specific gravity of urine was observed in group B and normal subjects while specific gravity of urine of group A was similar to normal control. Although the level of urinary protein of group A and B was greater than normal subjects but this shows no significant difference. Average raw volume of AGP was markedly increased in both groups A and B as compared to normal subjects. Level of blood sugar was significantly increased in group B as compared to group A. Conclusion: The best predictive value for either CRF outcome or for response to therapy was provided by the level of AGP. By screening this marker protein we may able to prevent or delay the progression of the disease.
Island aware JINTRAC simulations of JET pulses with neutron deficit

The presence of an NTM island in a tokamak is known to potentially harm the integrity of the machine and to degrade confinement. For this reason, large effort both from the experimental and from the analytical / numerical point of view has been put on the study of MHD instability on one side and of transport on the other. Recent studies suggest one of the mechanism through which the island degrades tokamak performance could be the expulsion of part of the fast ions from the core of the plasma, thus reducing the rate of nuclear reactions, and ultimately producing a neutron yield lower than expected. Fast ion dynamics simulations with the Monte Carlo code ASCOT [1], in which the underlying magnetic flux grid has been modified to account for the magnetic island presence, confirm qualitatively this pattern when compared with tokamak data. In this work we analyse the effects of an NTM island in JET pulses where both a neutron yield less than expected and the presence of the island have been assessed. The suite of transport codes JINTRAC [2] has been specifically modified in order to account for the change in magnetic topology in a self-consistent way. ASCOT has been substituted with the version used in [1] while, inside JETTO, transport coefficients have been dramatically raised in the island region, whose position and width are determined post-processing experimental data (mainly Mirnov coils and electron cyclotron emission signals). We run JINTRAC with the Bohm/Gyro-Bohm model in a predictive way and we find that, after the simulation of one second of discharge, calculated electron temperature and density profiles appear closer to the experimental ones when the island is accounted for. This shows the importance of tackling MHD driven transport problems in an integrated way. Moreover, always when the island is accounted for, the rate of nuclear reaction is reduced and the kinematics of the fast ions suggests that they migrate from the core toward an external, colder region, as expected from the expulsion mechanism above mentioned.
Introdução a Modelagem 3D com Blender 3D

Esse artigo tem por objetivo apresentar a ferramenta Blender 3D aplicada a modelagem de objetos em 3D. O Blender 3D e uma ferramenta open-source que possibilita ao usuario a manipulacao de imagens, criacao de objetos tridimensionais, edicao de filmes e desenvolvimento de jogos pelo seu proprio motor grafico o Blender Game Engine. Desta forma a ferramenta e utilizada para diversos usos como: animacoes, desenvolvimento de jogos e propagandas.
A phylogeographic survey of brook charr (Salvelinus fontinalis) in Algonquin Park, Ontario based upon mitochondrial DNA variation

Forty‐nine populations of brook charr (Salvelinus fontinalis) from Algonquin Park lakes and rivers were analysed for mitochondrial DNA variation. Haplotypic distributions of wild fish in the Algonquin Park region of Ontario, Canada, predominantly reflect postglacial dispersal patterns into the region in spite of substantial hatchery plantings. Two major refugial groupings colonized this region. Northern and eastern watersheds (Amable du Fond, Bonnechere, and northern Petawawa), were colonized primarily by haplotype 1 fish (B1 phylogenetic assemblage), while Oxtongue River, southern Petawawa, and York River populations were colonized predominately by fish from the B2 and A mtDNA phylogenetic assemblages. Fish with haplotypes in the A and B2 phylogenetic assemblages are common in the Lake Huron drainage. All watersheds in the Park drain into the Ottawa River, except the Oxtongue drainage (part of the Lake Huron watershed). This suggests that early glacial outflows south of the Algonquin Park region (Kirkfield‐Trent) may have been colonized by fish that initially invaded ‘Ontario island’ (south‐western Ontario), while fish which invaded northern Algonquin Park were derived from a different refugial grouping(s) which may have involved colonization both up the Ottawa River drainage, and/or from a more westerly (Mississippian) refugial grouping. A majority of the populations in Algonquin Park have been planted with hatchery reared brook charr since the 1940s. The Hills Lake or ‘Domestic’ strain was used almost exclusively for these plantings. Comparisons of mtDNA haplotypic distributions in hatchery and wild fish suggests that hatchery females had minimal spawning success and/or their progeny had poor survivorship in the wild.
On the choice of filters bank for phase congruency computing in noisy images

Phase congruency (PC) shows a noticeable sensitivity to noise. In this paper, an evaluation of phase congruency edge detector for very noisy images using three filters bank is presented. Firstly, we present two usual filters bank used to compute phase congruency which are Stretched Gabor filters (SGF) based on new angular component and Gaussian based quadrature pairs of filters (GQPF). The performance of both filters is compared to log Gabor filters (LGF) across a range of underlying noise levels. Thus, synthetic and real images corrupted with Gaussian noise are used in our experiments. The performance of the three filters to extract correct edge pixels is also carried out. Finally, simulation results are performed to illustrate the better choice of filters bank for phase congruency computing in noisy images.
Rosetta comparative modeling for library design: Engineering alternative inducer specificity in a transcription factor

Structure‐based rational mutagenesis for engineering protein functionality has been limited by the scarcity and difficulty of obtaining crystal structures of desired proteins. On the other hand, when high‐throughput selection is possible, directed evolution‐based approaches for gaining protein functionalities have been random and fortuitous with limited rationalization. We combine comparative modeling of dimer structures, ab initio loop reconstruction, and ligand docking to select positions for mutagenesis to create a library focused on the ligand‐contacting residues. The rationally reduced library requirement enabled conservative control of the substitutions by oligonucleotide synthesis and bounding its size within practical transformation efficiencies (∼107 variants). This rational approach was successfully applied on an inducer‐binding domain of an Acinetobacter transcription factor (TF), pobR, which shows high specificity for natural effector molecule, 4‐hydroxy benzoate (4HB), but no native response to 3,4‐dihydroxy benzoate (34DHB). Selection for mutants with high transcriptional induction by 34DHB was carried out at the single‐cell level under flow cytometry (via green fluorescent protein expression under the control of pobR promoter). Critically, this selection protocol allows both selection for induction and rejection of constitutively active mutants. In addition to gain‐of‐function for 34DHB induction, the selected mutants also showed enhanced sensitivity and response for 4HB (native inducer) while no sensitivity was observed for a non‐targeted but chemically similar molecule, 2‐hydroxy benzoate (2HB). This is unique application of the Rosetta modeling protocols for library design to engineer a TF. Our approach extends applicability of the Rosetta redesign protocol into regimes without a priori precision structural information. Proteins 2015; 83:1327–1340. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Image Processing Tool Promoting Decision-Making in Liver Surgery of Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease

Preoperative assessment of the liver volume and function of the remnant liver is a mandatory prerequisite before performing major hepatectomy. The aim of this work is to develop and test a software application for evaluation of the residual function of the liver prior to the intervention of the surgeons. For this purpose, a complete software platform consisting of three basic modules: liver volume segmentation, visualization, and virtual cutting, was developed and tested. Liver volume segmentation is based on a patient examination with non-contrast abdominal Computed Tomography (CT). The basis of the segmentation is a multiple seeded region growing algorithm adapted for use with CT images without contrast-enhancement. Virtual tumor resection is performed interactively by outlining the liver region on the CT images. The software application then processes the results to produce a three-dimensional (3D) image of the “resected” region. Finally, 3D rendering module provides possibility for easy and fast interpretation of the segmentation results. The visual outputs are accompanied with quantitative measures that further provide estimation of the residual liver function and based on them the surgeons could make a better decision. The developed system was tested and verified with twenty abdominal CT patient sets consisting of different numbers of tomographic images. Volumes, obtained by manual tracing of two surgeon experts, showed a mean relative difference of 4.5%. The application was used in a study that demonstrates the need and the added value of such a tool in practice and in education.
The continuing case for the Renshaw cell

Renshaw cell properties have been studied extensively for over 50 years, making them a uniquely well‐defined class of spinal interneuron. Recent work has revealed novel ways to identify Renshaw cells in situ and this in turn has promoted a range of studies that have determined their ontogeny and organization of synaptic inputs in unprecedented detail. In this review we illustrate how mature Renshaw cell properties and connectivity arise through a combination of activity‐dependent and genetically specified mechanisms. These new insights should aid the development of experimental strategies to manipulate Renshaw cells in spinal circuits and clarify their role in modulating motor output.
The Causes of Asthma — Does Salt Potentiate Bronchial Activity? Discussion Paper

The epidemiological approach to determining aetiology begins with a study of the variations in the prevalence or incidence of the disease followed by a search for a risk factor whose distributon relates to these variations. The selection of possible risk factors may be guided by laboratory models that mimic the disease, a strong relation between the prevalence ofthe disease and those standard risk factors collected in descriptive surveys such as age, sex, occupation, social class or place ofresidence, or there may be a strong seasonal or secular trend in the incidence of the disease that may offer a clue to the risk factors that ought to be studied.