Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Randomized comparison of nasojejunal and nasogastric feeding in critically ill patients.

OBJECTIVE Critically ill patients often develop large gastric residual volumes during nasogastric feeding as a result of poor gastroduodenal motility. Nasojejunal feeding may decrease the severity of this complication. The aim of this study was to determine whether nasojejunal feeding improved tolerance of enteral nutrition by reducing gastric residual volumes. DESIGN Randomized, prospective, clinical study. SETTING Intensive care unit of a university-affiliated hospital. PATIENTS Seventy-three intensive care unit patients expected to require nutritional support for at least 3 days. INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive enteral nutrition via a nasojejunal tube (placed endoscopically) (34 patients) or a nasogastric tube (39 patients). A strict protocol was followed, which included regular gastric residual volume measurement (in both groups), the use of predetermined criteria for intolerance, and an attempt at nasojejunal feeding for those nasogastrically fed patients who were intolerant of enteral nutrition. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Endoscopic placement of nasojejunal tubes was successful in 98% with no complications of insertion. Patients fed via a nasojejunal tube had 1) a reduced total gastric residual volume in both the first 24 (197 vs. 491 mL, p = .02) and 48 hrs (517 vs. 975 mL, p = .02); 2) a reduced incidence of a single gastric residual volume >150 mL (32% vs. 74%, p = .001); and 3) a trend toward a reduced incidence of intolerance of enteral nutrition (13% vs. 31%, p = .09). Only 13% of those nasogastrically fed patients who were initially intolerant of enteral nutrition remained intolerant once fed via a nasojejunal tube, and only 1.4% of all patients met criteria for commencement of parenteral nutrition. CONCLUSIONS Enteral nutrition delivered via a nasojejunal tube is associated with a significant reduction in gastric residual volume, a strong trend toward improved tolerance of enteral nutrition, and an extremely low requirement for parenteral nutrition.
Exploiting quantitative trait loci in gene discovery.

Developmental biologists prefer to study single gene mutations that produce large obvious changes, changes that may be accompanied by lethality or sterility. Such phenotypes are easy to find in genetic screens and reveal that the gene is required for early, fundamental processes, and thus is important for the organism. Natural variation, however, does not work that way; mutations that lead to sterility or embryonic lethality are quickly weeded out. The alleles selected by nature contribute to survival of the organism, not its detriment. In addition, the variation between two different, naturally occurring populations is not likely to be due to a single gene, but multiple allelic differences. A similar contrast exists when we consider breeding for agricultural purposes versus genetic studies in the laboratory. Breeders select for a consistent phenotype, and often the traits they select for are subtle, assayed quantitatively in large segregating populations. The traits are usually the result of many gene differences, not single Mendelian mutations. How do we find the genes that distinguish one population from another, or that distinguish a wild from domesticated species? Plants are particularly useful for such studies, as crossing barriers are often geographic, and thus, the experimenter can create F2 progeny that will segregate for the components of the two parental phenotypes. When the F2 individuals do not fall into discrete classes due to segregation at one or two genes, the trait is considered to be quantitatively inherited, and the loci that contribute to the differences between the parents are referred to as quantitative trait loci (QTL).
Design and Simulation of a Novel Dual Band Microstrip Antenna for LTE-3 and LTE-7 Bands

Long Term Evolution (LTE) is currently being used in many developed countries and hopefully will be implemented in more countries. An antenna operating in LTE-3 band can support global roaming in ITU Regions 1 and 3, Costa Rica, Brazil and partially in some Caribbean countries and antenna operating in LTE-7 band are appropriate for global roaming in ITU regions 1, 2 and 3. An antenna operating at both the bands will make the place taken by the antenna in a device into half and allow roaming in all the regions mentioned above. The geometry of the current available antenna operating in LTE-3 and LTE-7 bands has a considerably large size. A dual band microstrip antenna operating in LTE-3 and LTE-7 bands is proposed in this work with notable size reduction. The proposed antenna simulation shows resonant frequencies at 1.88GHz and 2.55GHz with return loss below -10dB that covers both LTE-3 and LTE-7 bands. Design and simulation of the proposed antenna is done by IE3D Zeland software. This proposed antenna is suitable for global roaming in ITU regions 1, 2 and 3, which cover most of the world telecom network.
Escherichia coli Rep DNA helicase and error‐prone DNA polymerase IV interact physically and functionally

Escherichia coli DNA polymerase IV, encoded by the dinB gene, is a member of the Y family of specialized DNA polymerases. Pol IV is capable of synthesizing past DNA lesions and may help to restart stalled replication forks. However, Pol IV is error‐prone, contributing to both DNA damage‐induced and stress‐induced (adaptive) mutations. Here we demonstrate that Pol IV interacts in vitro with Rep DNA helicase and that this interaction enhances Rep's helicase activity. In addition, Pol IV polymerase activity is stimulated by interacting with Rep, and Pol IV β clamp‐binding motif appears to be required for this stimulation. However, neither Rep's helicase activity nor its ability to bind DNA is required for it to stimulate Pol IV's polymerase activity. The interaction between Rep and Pol IV is biologically significant in vivo as Rep enhances Pol IV's mutagenic activity in stationary‐phase cells. These data indicate a new role for Rep in contributing to Pol IV‐dependent adaptive mutation. This functional interaction also provides new insight into how the cell might control or target Pol IV's mutagenic activity.
A Neurodynamic Optimization Approach to Bilevel Quadratic Programming

This paper presents a neurodynamic optimization approach to bilevel quadratic programming (BQP). Based on the Karush–Kuhn–Tucker (KKT) theorem, the BQP problem is reduced to a one-level mathematical program subject to complementarity constraints (MPCC). It is proved that the global solution of the MPCC is the minimal one of the optimal solutions to multiple convex optimization subproblems. A recurrent neural network is developed for solving these convex optimization subproblems. From any initial state, the state of the proposed neural network is convergent to an equilibrium point of the neural network, which is just the optimal solution of the convex optimization subproblem. Compared with existing recurrent neural networks for BQP, the proposed neural network is guaranteed for delivering the exact optimal solutions to any convex BQP problems. Moreover, it is proved that the proposed neural network for bilevel linear programming is convergent to an equilibrium point in finite time. Finally, three numerical examples are elaborated to substantiate the efficacy of the proposed approach.
An Improved Active Load-pull Setup for Transistors Large Signal Characterization in the Ka Band

This paper presents an original active load-pull test bench for active device characterization in the Ka band. The setup enables measurement and optimization of load conditions for power operation using a modified active load pull technique with pre-matching. The proposed modified active loop with pre-matching offers a larger load reflection coefficient with higher linearity of the loop amplifier. Furthermore, a switch placed between the pre-matching circuit and the loop provides greater automation of the system: calibration, S-parameter and active load-pull measurements with pre-matching or not, can be carried out without dismantling components of the bench. Experimental characterization at 30 GHz of a GaAs PHEMT power transistor is presented as well as the results of the one-stage amplifier that was designed using the transistor load-pull characterization
Reeb graph based 3D shape modeling and applications

Avec le developpement recent des technologies 3D, les formes 3D sont devenues un type de donnees multimedia interactives de premiere importance. Leur representation la plus courante, le maillage de polygones, souffre cependant de grande variabilite face a des transformations canoniques preservant la forme. Il est donc necessaire de concevoir des techniques de modelisation intrinseque de forme. Dans cette these, nous explorons la modelisation topologique par l’etude de structures basees sur les graphes de Reeb. En particulier, nous introduisons une nouvelle abstraction de forme, appelee squelette topologique avance, qui permet non seulement l’etude de l’evolution topologique des lignes de niveau de fonctions de Morse mais aussi l’etude de leur evolution geometrique. Nous demontrons l’utilite de cette representation intrinseque de forme dans trois problemes de recherche lies a l’Informatique Graphique et a la Vision par Ordinateur.Tout d’abord, nous introduisons la notion de calcul geometrique sur les graphes de Reeb pour le calcul automatique et stable de squelettes de controle pour la manipulation interactive de forme. Ensuite, en introduisant les notions de cartes de Reeb et de motifs de Reeb, nous proposons une nouvelle methode pour l’estimation de similarite partielle entre formes 3D. Nous montrons que cette approche depasse les methodes participant au concours international de reconnaissance de forme 2007 (SHREC 2007) par un gain de 14%. Enfin, nous presentons deux techniques permettant de fournir une decomposition fonctionnelle d’une forme 3D, a la fois en considerant des heuristiques issues de la theorie de la perception humaine et des donnees 3D variant dans le temps.
Neuronal subpopulations in cat retina which accumulate the GABA agonist, (3H)muscimol: A combined Golgi and autoradiographic study

Golgi impregnation techniques were combined with, electron microscopic autoradiography of (3H)muscimol in order to provide morphological identification of labeled neurons in the cat retina. This γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA) agonist has been shown to label the same neurons which accumulate (3H)GABA. Selected cells were photographed and drawn by the aid of a camera lucida drawing tube prior to being thin sectioned for autoradiography.
Conversion from clinically isolated syndrome to multiple sclerosis: A large multicentre study

Background and objective: We explored which clinical and biochemical variables predict conversion from clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) to clinically definite multiple sclerosis (CDMS) in a large international cohort. Methods: Thirty-three centres provided serum samples from 1047 CIS cases with at least two years’ follow-up. Age, sex, clinical presentation, T2-hyperintense lesions, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) oligoclonal bands (OCBs), CSF IgG index, CSF cell count, serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25-OH-D), cotinine and IgG titres against Epstein-Barr nuclear antigen 1 (EBNA-1) and cytomegalovirus were tested for association with risk of CDMS. Results: At median follow-up of 4.31 years, 623 CIS cases converted to CDMS. Predictors of conversion in multivariable analyses were OCB (HR = 2.18, 95% CI = 1.71–2.77, p < 0.001), number of T2 lesions (two to nine lesions vs 0/1 lesions: HR = 1.97, 95% CI = 1.52–2.55, p < 0.001; >9 lesions vs 0/1 lesions: HR = 2.74, 95% CI = 2.04–3.68, p < 0.001) and age at CIS (HR per year inversely increase = 0.98, 95% CI = 0.98–0.99, p < 0.001). Lower 25-OH-D levels were associated with CDMS in univariable analysis, but this was attenuated in the multivariable model. OCB positivity was associated with higher EBNA-1 IgG titres. Conclusions: We validated MRI lesion load, OCB and age at CIS as the strongest independent predictors of conversion to CDMS in this multicentre setting. A role for vitamin D is suggested but requires further investigation.
Cytokine Profiling of Macrophages Exposed to Porphyromonas gingivalis, Its Lipopolysaccharide, or Its FimA Protein

ABSTRACT To characterize the roles of Porphyromonas gingivalis and its components in the disease processes, we investigated the cytokine profile induced by live P. gingivalis, its lipopolysaccharides (LPS), and its major fimbrial protein, fimbrillin (FimA). Using cytokine antibody arrays, we found that P. gingivalis LPS and FimA induced a similar profile of cytokine expression when exposed to mouse peritoneal macrophages but that this profile differed significantly in response to live P. gingivalis. In vitro, mouse peritoneal macrophages were stimulated to produce interleukin-6 (IL-6), granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, and lymphotactin by live P. gingivalis, but not by P. gingivalis LPS or FimA, while RANTES, gamma interferon, IL-17, vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1), and vascular endothelial growth factor were induced by P. gingivalis LPS or FimA, but not by live P. gingivalis. In vivo, IL-6 mRNA was strongly induced only by live P. gingivalis while monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 mRNA was strongly induced only by P. gingivalis LPS and FimA in mouse calvarial scalp, further confirming the differences of cytokine profile induced in vitro. Cytokine antibody arrays using toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2)- and TLR4-deficient macrophages revealed that most of the cytokines induced by P. gingivalis LPS or FimA signal through TLR2, while most of cytokines induced by live P. gingivalis signal through both TLR2 and TLR4. Interestingly, the activation of TLR2 by live P. gingivalis inhibited the release of RANTES, VCAM-1, and IL-1α from mouse peritoneal macrophages. A tumor necrosis factor alpha enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay further confirmed that P. gingivalis LPS and FimA activate mouse peritoneal macrophages via TLR2. These results indicate that host immune cells sense live P. gingivalis and its components differently, which translates into the expression of different inflammatory cytokine profiles.
Novel host response therapeutic approaches to treat periodontal diseases.

A variety of treatment strategies have been developed to target the host response to periodontal infection. This review has sought to provide mechanistic overviews and clinical applications on the use of host modulatory therapeutic regimens for periodontal disease management. Matrix metalloproteinase inhibitors, such as low-dose formulations of doxycycline, have been used in combination with scaling and root planing or surgical therapy. In addition, high-risk patient populations, such as patients with diabetes or refractory periodontal disease, have benefited from systemic matrix metalloproteinase administration. Encouraging results have been shown using soluble antagonists of tumor necrosis factor and interleukin-1 delivered locally to periodontal tissues in non-human primates, as well as more recent evidence using gene therapy vectors to provide a longer-term delivery of tumor necrosis factor receptor antagonists at the periodontium. In addition, the use of lipoxins has demonstrated significant potential in the management of the host response to periodontitis (86, 159). Other therapeutic strategies being explored are aimed at inhibiting signal transduction pathways involved in inflammation. Pharmacological inhibitors of NF-κB and p38 MAPK pathways are actively being developed to manage rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bone diseases (1, 95). Using this novel strategy, inflammatory mediators, including pro-inflammatory cytokines (interleukin-1, tumor necrosis factor, interleukin-6), matrix metalloproteinases and others, would be inhibited at the level of cell-signaling pathways required for transcription factor activation necessary for inflammatory gene expression or mRNA stability. These therapies may provide the next wave of disease-specific chemotherapeutics to manage chronic periodontitis.
The space of minimal structures

For a signature L with at least one constant symbol, an L‐structure is called minimal if it has no proper substructures. Let SL be the set of isomorphism types of minimal L‐structures. The elements of SL can be identified with ultrafilters of the Boolean algebra of quantifier‐free L‐sentences, and therefore one can define a Stone topology on SL . This topology on SL generalizes the topology of the space of n‐marked groups. We introduce a natural ultrametric on SL , and show that the Stone topology on SL coincides with the topology of the ultrametric space SL iff the ultrametric space SL is compact iff L is locally finite (that is, L contains finitely many n‐ary symbols for any n
Radiographic Features of Superior Semicircular Canal Dehiscence in the Setting of Chronic Ear Disease

Objective To determine if radiologic chronic otitis media (COM), both with and without cholesteatoma, is associated with superior semicircular canal dehiscence (SSCD). Study Design Retrospective review of consecutive high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) scans of the temporal bone. Setting Tertiary care medical center. Patients Two hundred consecutive patients undergoing HRCT of the temporal bone beginning January 1, 2012. Intervention Imaging was evaluated by 3 reviewers (2 neuroradiologists and 1 neurotologist). All scans were assessed for the presence of SSCD, cholesteatoma, chronic otomastoiditis, tegmen dehiscence, and for abnormalities of the cochlea, vestibule, facial nerve, and temporal bone vasculature. Main Outcome Measure Ears with COM associated with chronic otomastoiditis or cholesteatoma were compared with those without COM with respect to the presence of SSCD or other temporal bone abnormalities. Statistical analysis was performed to assess for differences between the groups studied. Results One-hundred ninety-four patients (388 ears) were included. Cholesteatoma was identified in 48 ears (12.4%) and chronic otomastoiditis in 62 ears (16%). Ten ears with cholesteatoma had ipsilateral SSCD, and 8 ears with chronic otomastoiditis had ipsilateral SSCD. In 340 ears without either cholesteatoma or chronic otomastoiditis, SSCD was found in 18 (5.3%). SSCD was found to occur significantly more often in patients with ipsilateral radiologic cholesteatoma. No cases of SSCD were associated with cochlear, facial nerve, or vascular abnormalities. Conclusion Our findings suggest that COM with cholesteatoma is associated with the presence of SSCD, although the nature of this association is unclear.
Measuring the Prevalence and Incidence of Low Back Pain Disorders Among American Workers in the Aerospace and Defense Industry

Objective: To determine the prevalence and incidence of low back pain (LBP) among workers in the aerospace and defense industry and in a specific company. Methods: Claims and demographic data from the Truven Health MarketScan normative database representing more than 1 million workers were drawn from a group of 18 US benchmark companies and compared with one particular company, Lockheed Martin Corporation. Results: The prevalence of LBP in the MarketScan normative group was 15.6% in the final study year (2012), whereas the incidence of new cases was 7.2% and 7.3% in years 2011 and 2012, respectively. Compared with the normative group, the company's prevalence and incidence rates were lower. Women and older workers were more likely to experience LBP compared with men and younger workers. Conclusions: The analysis was used to inform the company's leadership about the health burden of the condition and evaluate alternative treatment options to prevent the incidences and reduce the prevalence of clinical back pain among workers.
Substrate Integrated Folded-Waveguide Filter with Asymmetrical Frequency Response

A new 2-pole bandpass filter design based on a substrate integrated folded-waveguide (SIFW) resonator structure is presented. The filter uses an advanced coupling scheme to achieve a desired asymmetric frequency response with an attenuation pole of finite frequency on the high side of the passband. A full-wave simulator has been employed for designing the filter. The proposed filter circuit design has been implemented. It has been found that the experimental result of constructed filter is in close agreement with simulation result. This filter also provides an improved selectivity characteristic with compact size compared with the conventional resonator filters.
Mechanism of Start Site Selection by RNA Polymerase II

Background: TFIIB and TFIIH are required for transcription initiation by RNA polymerase II. Results: TFIIB and the Ssl2 helicase of TFIIH functionally interact at both promoter and terminator. Conclusion: Ssl2 affects TFIIB-mediated gene looping and start site selection. Significance: These results underscore the intriguing role of promoter-terminator interactions during the transcription cycle. TFIIB is essential for transcription initiation by RNA polymerase II. TFIIB also cross-links to terminator regions and is required for gene loops that juxtapose promoter-terminator elements in a transcription-dependent manner. The Saccharomyces cerevisiae sua7-1 mutation encodes an altered form of TFIIB (E62K) that is defective for both start site selection and gene looping. Here we report the isolation of an ssl2 mutant, encoding an altered form of TFIIH, as a suppressor of the cold-sensitive growth defect of the sua7-1 mutation. Ssl2 (Rad25) is orthologous to human XPB and is a member of the SF2 family of ATP-dependent DNA helicases. The ssl2 suppressor allele encodes an arginine replacement of the conserved histidine residue (H508R) located within the DEVH-containing helicase domain. In addition to suppressing the TFIIB E62K growth defect, Ssl2 H508R partially restores both normal start site selection and gene looping. Moreover, Ssl2, like TFIIB, associates with promoter and terminator regions, and the diminished association of TFIIB E62K with the PMA1 terminator is restored by the Ssl2 H508R suppressor. These results define a novel, functional interaction between TFIIB and Ssl2 that affects start site selection and gene looping.
Anti-Inflammatory Effect of Malva sylvestris, Sida cordifolia, and Pelargonium graveolens Is Related to Inhibition of Prostanoid Production

The ability of plant extracts and preparations to reduce inflammation has been proven by different means in experimental models. Since inflammation enhances the release of specific mediators, inhibition of their production can be used to investigate the anti-inflammatory effect of plants widely used in folk medicine for this purpose. The study was performed for leaves and flowers of Malva sylvestris, and leaves of Sida cordifolia and Pelargonium graveolens. These are three plant species known in Brazil as Malva. The anti-inflammatory activity of extracts and fractions (hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, and residual) was evaluated by quantitation of prostaglandins (PG) PGE2, PGD2, PGF2α, and thromboxane B2 (the stable nonenzymatic product of TXA2) concentration in the supernatant of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)- induced RAW 264.7 cells. Inhibition of anti-inflammatory mediator release was observed for plants mainly in the crude extract, ethyl acetate fraction, and residual fraction. The results suggest superior activity of S. cordifolia, leading to significantly lower values of all mediators after treatment with its residual fraction, even at the lower concentration tested (10 μg/mL). M. sylvestris and P. graveolens showed similar results, such as the reduction of all mediators after treatment, with leaf crude extracts (50 μg/mL). These results suggest that the three species known as Malva have anti-inflammatory properties, S. cordifolia being the most potent.