Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Wolff‐Parkinson‐White Syndrome: Surgery to Radiofrequency Catheter Ablation

The first successful division of an accessory pathway (AP) in a patient with Wolff-ParkinsonWhite (WPW) syndrome was performed at Duke University hy Dr. Will Sealy et al. on May 2, 1968. ^'^ The period fi'om that historic day to the present, 28 years, also saw the coming of age of clinical electrophysiology. The model provided hy the investigation and treatment of the WPW syndrome following that seminal moment in 1968 was one of the major catalysts that drove the early development of clinical electrophysiology. It demonstrated that an idea founded on a basic laboratory concept, namely, reentry, could he applied to a clinical problem and used to fashion a curative procedure. As a result, the scope of this new discipline was broadened from that of an academic pursuit to one that had practical significance for caregivers everywhere. This philosophy was embodied in the opening paragraph ofa special report about our research on tbe WPW syndrome that was published in Circulation in 1975'': "The Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome holds a fascination for those interested in cardiac electrophysiology because it seems to represent a naturally occurring event which, if adequately understood, would unmask answers to many fundamental questions concerning mechanisms and treatment of cardiac arrhythmias. "
Studies on epinephrine-induced lung edema in the rat. I. Selective alpha 1-adrenoceptor involvement.

Phentolamine (Phe) prevents the induction by epinephrine (E: 1800 nmol/kg, i.v.) of lung edema (LE) in urethane-anesthetized and bivagotomized rats in a dose-related manner (from 246 to 3933 nmol/kg, i.v.). Since Phe blocks and E activates both alpha 1- and alpha 2-adrenoceptors, the evidence does not allow us to link LE to selective (alpha 1 or alpha 2) or non-selective (alpha 1 + alpha 2) alpha-adrenoceptor activation. Accordingly, we tried to find out whether: phenylephrine (PE), a selective alpha 1-adrenoceptor agonist, and B-HT 920, a selective alpha 2-adrenoceptor agonist, would cause LE; prazosin (Praz), a selective alpha 1-adrenoceptor antagonist, and yohimbine (Yoh), a selective alpha 2-adrenoceptor antagonist, would protect rats against LE caused by E or PE. We found that: 1) PE (from 736 to 5892 nmol/kg, i.v.), but not B-HT 920 (from 190 to 12200 nmol/kg, i.v.), caused LE, while both drugs increased arterial blood pressure; 2) Praz prevented induction of LE, whether by E (1800 nmol/kg, i.v.) or by PE (5892 nmol/kg, i.v.), in a dose-related manner (from 15 to 119 nmol/kg, i.v.). In contrast, Yoh was ineffective at doses up to 7675 nmol/kg, i.v. We conclude, therefore, that E-induced LE in urethane-anesthetized and bivagotomized rats strictly depends on alpha 1-adrenoceptor activation. The outcome of E-induced LE is usually rat death, the incidence of which depends on the dose. Since alpha 1-adrenoceptor agonists rank in the same order of potency for the induction of death as for that of LE, and since Phe and Praz protect from death at LE-preventing doses, there seems to be some link between LE and death, even though protection against death is obtained with doses of antagonists lower than those abolishing induction of LE. Finally, alpha 1-agonists cause maximum arterial hypertension at all doses used, irrespective of induction of LE and of protective pretreatment against LE.
Identification of the Active Site of Poly(A)-specific Ribonuclease by Site-directed Mutagenesis and Fe2+-mediated Cleavage*

Poly(A)-specific ribonuclease (PARN) is the only mammalian exoribonuclease characterized thus far with high specificity for degrading the mRNA poly(A) tail. PARN belongs to the RNase D family of nucleases, a family characterized by the presence of four conserved acidic amino acid residues. Here, we show by site-directed mutagenesis that these residues of human PARN, i.e.Asp28, Glu30, Asp292, and Asp382, are essential for catalysis but are not required for stabilization of the PARN·RNA substrate complex. We have used iron(II)-induced hydroxyl radical cleavage to map Fe2+binding sites in PARN. Two Fe2+ binding sites were identified, and three of the conserved acidic amino acid residues were important for Fe2+ binding at these sites. Furthermore, we show that the apparent dissociation constant (app K d ) values for Fe2+binding at both sites were affected in PARN polypeptides in which the conserved acidic amino acid residues were substituted to alanine. This suggests that these residues coordinate divalent metal ions. We conclude that the four conserved acidic amino acids are essential residues of the PARN active site and that the active site of PARN functionally and structurally resembles the active site for 3′-exonuclease domain of Escherichia coli DNA polymerase I.
Education and Job Market Signalling: How Robust is the Nexus?

In this paper the Signalling approach to the explanation of wage differentials is analysed in a critical way. Departing from the classic Spence's model, the article shows how the introduction of inequalities in accessing to education leads to separating equilibria characterised by redistributive effects among workers and firms, with lower wages for high skill workers respect to the traditional model. Moreover pooling equilibria can also exist as effect of such inequalities; in this case a unique wage exists for all types of workers, operating as a redistributive effect from high-skill to low-skill workers.
Fatal asthma.

This brief review highlights the rise in asthma mortality witnessed in many countries. It outlines the multifactorial character of this phenomenon, which in most instances is a complex interplay between physician, patient, and environment. The pathophysiology of airflow obstruction and in particular the role of hyperinflation are outlined. These data may allow better prediction of who is at risk of fatal asthma (FA). Finally, potential approaches to the prevention of FA are outlined.
Acute monocytic leukemia in children: Response to VP‐16‐213 as a single agent

Three patients were studied: two infants with acute monocytic leukemia who failed to respond to the initial combination therapy of daunorubicin with cytosine arabinoside, and an adolescent with relapsed acute monocytic leukemia. They were intensively treated with epipodophyllotoxin (VP‐16‐213) alone and subsequently had complete remission. One patient showed apparently dose‐dependent cytotoxic effect. All three patients have maintained complete remission for 6, 7, and 11 months, respectively. Toxicities, including myelosuppression, alopecia, nausea, vomiting, and renal dysfunction, were well tolerated. Intensive treatment with VP‐16‐213 alone was thus found to have a potent therapeutic effect on acute monocytic leukemia in children. VP‐16‐213 deserves a further assessment in the therapeutic protocol for patients with childhood acute monocytic leukemia.
Characterization of Semiconductor Devices at Very High Temperatures

We present a dedicated measurement set-up for the electrical characterization of semiconductor devices and microsystems under very high temperature conditions. The experimental set-up comprises a vacuum system as basic unit and a number of sample stages for different applications. The system enables measurements in the temperature range between room temperature and at least 700degC. We give a detailed description of the measurement system, sample mounting techniques, and exemplary measurements on silicon and SiC devices and test structures.
Neural mechanisms in human obesity-related hypertension.

OBJECTIVE Two hypotheses concerning mechanisms of weight gain and of blood pressure elevation in obesity were tested. The first hypothesis is that in human obesity sympathetic nervous system underactivity is present, as a metabolic basis for the obesity. The second hypothesis, attributable to Landsberg, is that sympathetic nervous activation occurs with chronic overeating, elevating blood pressure. These are not mutually exclusive hypotheses, since obesity is a heterogeneous disorder. DESIGN AND METHODS Whole body and regional sympathetic nervous system activity, in the kidneys and heart, was measured at rest using noradrenaline isotope dilution methodology in a total of 86 research voluteers in four different subject groups, in lean and in obese people who either did, or did not, have high blood pressure. RESULTS In the lean hypertensive patients, noradrenaline spillover for the whole body, and from the heart and kidneys was substantially higher than in the healthy lean volunteers. In normotensive obesity, the whole body noradrenaline spillover rate was normal, mean renal noradrenaline spillover was elevated (twice normal), and cardiac noradrenaline spillover reduced by approximately 50%. In obesity-related hypertension, there was elevation of renal noradrenaline spillover, comparable to that present in normotensive obese individuals but not accompanied by suppression of cardiac noradrenaline spillover, which was more than double that of normotensive obese individuals (P<0.05), and 25% higher than in healthy volunteers. There was a parallel elevation of heart rate in hypertensive obese individuals. CONCLUSIONS The sympathetic underactivity hypothesis of obesity causation now looks untenable, as based on measures of noradrenaline spillover, sympathetic nervous system activity was normal for the whole body and increased for the kidneys; the low sympathetic activity in the heart would have only a trifling impact on total energy balance. The increase in renal sympathetic activity in obesity may possibly be a necessary cause for the development of hypertension in obese individuals, although clearly not a sufficient cause, being present in both normotensive and hypertensive obese individuals. The discriminating feature of obesity-related hypertension was an absence of the suppression of the cardiac sympathetic outflow seen in normotensive obese individuals. Sympathetic nervous changes in obesity-related hypertension conformed rather closely to those expected from the Landsberg hypothesis.
Use of a signature nucleotide sequence of hepatitis C virus for detection of viral RNA in human serum and plasma

The nucleic acid sequence of the putative 5'-untranslated (5PUT) region of hepatitis C virus (HCV), determined for samples obtained from a variety of geographic origins, was found to be over 98% conserved among all isolates. On the basis of this signature sequence for HCV, a viral RNA assay was developed by using cDNA synthesis with reverse transcriptase, followed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The new assay was compared with the Ortho-Chiron C100-3 HCV enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to research radioimmunoassays for antibodies to the C33c and C22 HCV antigens and to the first reported set of HCV PCR primers designed from the NS3 domain. Plasma samples from 16 Japanese patients with non-A, non-B hepatitis (NANBH) and 16 immunoassay-positive blood donors from the United States were investigated. The 5PUT PCR primers were found to be superior to the NS3 primers in sensitivity and specificity (15 of 25 versus 3 of 25 of the C100 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay-positive samples, respectively). Samples from two C100-negative patients with acute NANBH were found to react with the 5PUT primers but not with the NS3 primers. Also, two of three patients with chronic NANBH converted from reverse transcriptase PCR positive to negative after interferon treatment. Although the clinical significance of the presence or absence of HCV RNA in samples from patients is not fully understood, the use of probes and primers from the 5PUT region (as opposed to primers from other segments) should not lead to false-negative results due to nucleic acid sequence variations in viral isolates.
Novel hybrid IBVS based on the unified projection model

In this paper, a novel hybrid IBVS method is proposed to improve the performance of robotics visual control system. In this work, we only consider image features to define the error function. Based on the unified projection model, features are selected to control full-DOF motion of the robot. Spherical projected features are used to control the translational motion, while perspective projected features are used to control the rotational motion. These hybrid projected features ensure nice decoupled properties in control system. In all, two sets of features are proposed to design the IBVS controller. One is based on homography-based features, the other is based on moment invariants features. Simulation results are provided to illustrate the effectiveness and optimal performance of the proposed method.
Lastbalancierung und Resequenzierung in Netzwerkprozessoren

Die Arbeit beschreibt Beitrage zur Optimierung der Paketverarbeitung in Multicore-Netzwerkprozessoren. Konkret wird ein Verfahren zur Lastbalancierung zustandslosen Verkehrs im Prozessor-Cluster vorgestellt, welches sowohl Verlustraten als auch Verarbeitungslatenzen gegenuber bekannten Verfahren deutlich senkt. Zustandsloser Verkehr kann dabei grundsatzlich von jedem Prozessor bearbeitet werden, allerdings gilt es dabei aus Grunden der Verbindungsqualitat die Reihenfolge zusammengehoriger Pakete bestmoglich zu erhalten. Da dies durch das vorgestellte Spraying nur bedingt moglich ist, wurde zudem ein effizientes Verfahren zur hardwaregestutzten Resequenzierung entwickelt.
Impact of High-$k$ Gate Dielectrics on the Device and Circuit Performance of Nanoscale FinFETs

The impact of high-k gate dielectrics on device short-channel and circuit performance of fin field-effect transistors is studied over a wide range of dielectric permittivities k. It is observed that there is a decrease in the parasitic outer fringe capacitance Cof in addition to an increase in the internal fringe capacitance Cif with high-k dielectrics, which degrades the short-channel effects significantly. It is shown that fin width scaling is the most suitable approach to recover the degradation in the device performance due to high-k integration. Furthermore, from the circuit perspective, for the 32-nm technology generation, the presence of an optimum k for a given target subthreshold leakage current has been identified by various possible approaches such as fin width scaling, fin-doping adjustment, and gate work function engineering
Breast disease: tissue characterization with Gd-DTPA enhancement profiles.

Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of the breast is currently of limited value because of lack of specificity. Enhanced MR imaging with gadolinium diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) has been shown to be helpful in the further characterization of breast tissue. This prospective study attempted to differentiate benign and malignant breast disease with a dynamic enhancement technique. Bolus injection of Gd-DTPA and a short MR imaging time were used to examine 18 patients with a palpable breast mass. Construction of enhancement profiles helped effectively differentiate benign and malignant lesion (P less than .001). Dynamic MR imaging shows promise for the further characterization of breast tissue and, particularly, identification of breast carcinoma.
Power and reliability improvement of an electro-thermal microactuator using Ni-diamond nanocomposite

A low-temperature stress-free electrolytic nickel (EL) deposition process with the addition of uniformly dispersed diamond nanoparticles (diameter < 0.5 /spl mu/m) is proposed to fabricate cantilevers and electro-thermal microactuators to demonstrate the improvement of the device on reducing input power requirement and enhancing operation reliability. The fabrication results show that the nanodiamond particles are successfully dispersed in the electroplating nickel layers. By calibrating the resonant frequencies of nickel cantilevers with different concentrations of diamond nanoparticles, the E//spl rho/ ratio of cantilevers can be enhanced 7.1 times with diamond nanoparticles of 2 g/l in the proposed electrolytic nickel (EL) deposition process. From displacement tests, the electro-thermal microactuator with nanodiamond particles of 2 g/l reduces 73 % power requirement of pure nickel device needed at the same output displacement of 3 /spl mu/m. Also, the reversible displacement range is found to be expanded from 1.8 /spl mu/m to 3 /spl mu/m by adding nanodiamond particles of 2 g/l in the nickel electro-thermal microactuators.
Kinetic theory of dust-acoustic waves in plasmas with dust distributions and charge fluctuations

Dust-acoustic waves in dusty plasmas are studied in a kinetic context incorporating dust distributions and charge fluctuations, two of the main features that distinguish dusty or complex from ordinary plasmas. This is done by deriving a generalized Vlasov equation in an extended phase space. No specific charging model is used so that the results are generic.
On phase-space equalization of CPM in severe intersymbol interference

Future wireless personal and sensor networks will be established by a huge number of mobile nodes with transceiver capabilities. In this context, cost aware and power efficient technologies have attracted considerable attention. A proven technology for physical layer cost reduction is the use of continuous phase modulation (CPM) and hard (amplitude) limiting receiver structures that substantially reduce the cost for the analogue domain of the receivers. The major penalty of those systems is their failure in severe intersymbol-interference (ISI) environments even in combination with maximum likelihood sequence estimation (MLSE) decoders. In this paper we present a family of new MLSE based decoders that improve the ISI performance to such an extent that receiver structures with hard limiter become an attractive alternative to the expensive linear receivers. The most powerful equalizers for such nonlinear receivers are phase-space equalizers: MLSE decoders for phase detection generally use a look-up-table (LUT) consisting of the phase values of the desired signal. The key idea of the new decoder is to use a LUT that additionally includes amplitude values associated with the phase values. Based on this information metrics with different and feasible complexity are derived. By means of simulations the performance of a GMSK transmission system is examined for a set of representative channels. Resulting bit error ratios (BER) are compared with BER for state-of-the-art decoders.
Matrix metalloproteinase and heart failure: is it time to move from research to clinical laboratories?

In basic science research laboratories dedicated to heart failure, several substances have been studied as candidate markers of the disease's severity, as target of therapy and as indicators of therapheutical success. Many potential biological markers have emerged and are now under research, among which, markers of myocyte injury (e.g. troponins), markers of inflammation (e.g. tumour necrosis factor α, IL-6), markers of oxidative stress (e.g. urinary byopyrrins), markers of sodium pump activity (e.g. caridiotonics steroids), and a separate group of peptides associated with heart failure.1 However, at present, only natriuretic peptides, in particular, B-type natriuretic peptide, has an established clinical impact. Several reasons account for the frequent failure for substances under research to reach clinical laboratories including the multifactorial causes of heart failure and its progression, the capability/willingness of the manufacturing companies to push, costs and cultural background. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) have a strategic role in the regulation of extracellular collagen matrix turnover, a slow process (t1/2 around 25 days) which, in the heart, is crucial for keeping the most efficient shape of the ventricles. Cardiac repair after a myocardial infarction is a highly complex process that involves temporarily overlapping phases which comprehend inflammation, new tissue formation, and tissue remodelling.2 MMPs are present in the myocardium, are capable of degrading all the matrix components of the heart, and are the driving force behind myocardial matrix remodelling which is responsible for the progressive … *Corresponding author. Tel: +39 02 58002299; fax: +39 02 58002383. E-mail address : piergiuseppe.agostoni{at}ccfm.it
Exploring interest and goals for videoconferencing delivered cognitive rehabilitation with rural individuals with mild cognitive impairment or dementia.

BACKGROUND Goal oriented cognitive rehabilitation is a promising intervention for individuals diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia due to Alzheimer Disease (AD). Videoconferencing delivered cognitive rehabilitation is a potential avenue for increasing accessibility for rural patients and their families. OBJECTIVE First, we were concerned with the accessibility of the treatment for individuals in rural and remote areas. Second, client-centered goal setting was explored by asking this sample about their goals for cognitive rehabilitation. METHOD We mailed questions to all active patients with diagnoses of MCI or dementia due to AD of a rural memory clinic and compare features of the responders versus the non-responders. We asked about interest in videoconferencing delivered treatment and about goals for cognitive rehabilitation, which were thematically analyzed. RESULTS The responders (N = 25) were similar to non-responders in severity, depression, and caregiver burden. Of the responders, 80% were interested in videoconferencing developed treatment. A thematic analysis coded 95% of responses as amenable to cognitive rehabilitation. Participants' goals were focused on memory, household activities, other cognitive domains, recreation, and higher order tasks. CONCLUSIONS This work informs the development of both in-person and videoconferencing delivered cognitive rehabilitation for individuals diagnosed with MCI or dementia.
Timing the introduction of information technology

Abstract. Deciding when to adopt or introduce new information technology (IT) is a relatively difficult problem. This paper presents a method that can be used in many circumstances to evaluate new IT. The model is based on modelling the response of customers and rivals to services provided by IT. The methodology recognizes competitor reactions on two levels: within the local market and actions by rivals in the international market. The model examines behaviour, costs, and benefits over time. Several different types of models are examined, ranging from competitive (Nash) equilibriums to joint ventures. This model is illustrated by examining when banks should implement new technology. The results indicate that large banks can effectively utilize technology as a strategic weapon. Smaller, local banks are more limited in their control of technology. The model reveals some strategic uses that are not evident from existing models.
Nutrition in terrestrial isopods (Isopoda: Oniscidea): an evolutionary‐ecological approach

The nutritional morphology, physiology and ecology of terrestrial isopods (Isopoda: Oniscidea) is significant in two respects. (1) Most oniscid isopods are truly terrestrial in terms of being totally independent of the aquatic environment. Thus, they have evolved adaptations to terrestrial food sources. (2) In many terrestrial ecosystems, isopods play an important role in decomposition processes through mechanical and chemical breakdown of plant litter and by enhancing microbial activity. While the latter aspect of nutrition is discussed only briefly in this review, I focus on the evolutionary ecology of feeding in terrestrial isopods.