Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prevention of Reliability Degradation from Recloser–Fuse Miscoordination Due To Distributed Generation

Distributed generation (DG) may bring about reliability degradation, instead of reliability enhancement, due to recloser-fuse miscoordination. For the prevention of this reliability degradation, this paper proposes a method to find the threshold value of the DG capacity, beyond which recloser-fuse coordination is lost. Mathematical equations for protective devices are used to set up the protection settings and calculate the threshold value. Three reliability indices-SAIFI, SAIDI, and ENS-are evaluated and compared with the study cases in the reliability test system RBTS bus 2. The results show that the proposed method is effective to prevent the deterioration of system reliability. In addition, a simple modification to the protection system is presented as a preliminary solution.
THE CHECKLIST MANIFESTO

What should a cholecystectomy and a Van Halen concert have in common? The answer according to Atul Gawande is a checklist to help get things right. In the ‘Checklist Manifesto’, Gawande argues that the volume and complexity of the knowledge required for the safe practice of medicine now far exceeds our ability to properly deliver it. He believes that doctors can learn from other industries such as aviation and construction where checklists have made possible some of the most difficult tasks. He has worked with the WHO to introduce this concept into the world of surgery and has produced a ninety second checklist which reduced deaths and complications by more than one third in eight hospitals around the world-at virtually no cost and for almost any kind of operation.
Extranodal natural killer T-cell lymphoma, nasal-type: a prognostic model from a retrospective multicenter study.

PURPOSE Patients with natural killer T (NK/T) -cell lymphomas have poor survival outcome, and for this condition there is no optimal therapy. The purpose of this study was to design a prognostic model specifically for extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma, which can identify high-risk patients who need more aggressive therapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS This multicenter retrospective study was comprised of 262 patients who were diagnosed with NK/T-cell lymphoma. RESULTS After a median follow-up duration of 51.2 months, 5-year overall survival rate in 262 patients was 49.5%. Prognostic factors for survival were "B" symptoms (P = .0003; relative risk, 2.202; 95% CI, 1.446 to 3.353), stage (P = .0006; relative risk, 2.366; 95% CI, 1.462 to 3.828), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) level (P = .0005; relative risk, 2.278; 95% CI, 1.442 to 3.598), and regional lymph nodes (P = .0044; relative risk, 1.546; 95% CI, 1.009 to 2.367). Of 262 patients, 219 had complete information on four parameters. We identified four different risk groups: group 1, no adverse factor; group 2, one factor; group 3, two factors; and group 4, three or four factors. The new model showed a superior prognostic discrimination as compared with the International Prognostic Index (IPI). Notably, the distribution of patients was balanced when a new model was adopted (group 1, 27%; group 2, 31%; group 3, 20%; group 4, 22%), whereas 81% of patients were categorized as low or low-intermediate risks using IPI. CONCLUSION The newly proposed model for extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma demonstrated a more balanced distribution of patients into four groups with better prognostic discrimination as compared with the IPI.
Performance coordination of the disrupted supply chain with transfer payment

With the prevalence of lean production and the globalisation of the supply chain, the supply chain becomes extremely vulnerable to disruption. In this paper, we research the supply chain consisting of one supplier and n retailers and the supplier is subject to disruption. We try to coordinate the disrupted supply chain with transfer payment contract if the supplier is disrupted. To make the supplier recover from the disruption as soon as possible, the retailers afford transfer payment to the disrupted supplier. We set up the mathematic model of the disruption according to the time sequence. We establish the conditions under which the transfer payment can coordinate the disrupted supply chain. In the end, we demonstrate the usefulness of our method with a numerical example.
Perioperative Beta Blockade in Noncardiac Surgery: A Systematic Review for the 2014 ACC/AHA Guideline on Perioperative Cardiovascular Evaluation and Management of Patients Undergoing Noncardiac Surgery A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice G

Objective— To review the literature systematically to determine whether initiation of beta blockade within 45 days prior to noncardiac surgery reduces 30-day cardiovascular morbidity and mortality rates. Methods— PubMed (up to April 2013), Embase (up to April 2013), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (up to March 2013), and conference abstracts (January 2011 to April 2013) were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and cohort studies comparing perioperative beta blockade with inactive control during noncardiac surgery. Pooled relative risks (RRs) were calculated under the random-effects model. We conducted subgroup analyses to assess how the DECREASE-I (Dutch Echocardiographic Cardiac Risk Evaluation Applying Stress Echocardiography), DECREASE-IV, and POISE-1 (Perioperative Ischemic Evaluation) trials influenced our conclusions. Results— We identified 17 studies, of which 16 were RCTs (12 043 participants) and 1 was a cohort study (348 participants). Aside from the DECREASE trials, all other RCTs initiated beta blockade within 1 day or less prior to surgery. Among RCTs, beta blockade decreased nonfatal myocardial infarction (MI) (RR: 0.69; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.58 to 0.82) but increased nonfatal stroke (RR: 1.76; 95% CI: 1.07 to 2.91), hypotension (RR: 1.47; 95% CI: 1.34 to 1.60), and bradycardia (RR: 2.61; 95% CI: 2.18 to 3.12). These findings were qualitatively unchanged after the DECREASE and POISE-1 trials were excluded. Effects on mortality rate differed significantly between the DECREASE trials and other trials. Beta blockers were associated with a trend toward reduced all-cause mortality rate in the DECREASE trials (RR: 0.42; 95% CI: 0.15 to 1.22) but with increased all-cause mortality rate in other trials (RR: 1.30; 95% CI: 1.03 to 1.64). Beta blockers reduced cardiovascular mortality rate in the DECREASE trials (RR: 0.17; 95% CI: 0.05 to 0.64) but were associated with trends toward increased cardiovascular mortality rate in other trials (RR: 1.25; 95% CI: 0.92 to 1.71). These differences were qualitatively unchanged after the POISE-1 trial was excluded. Conclusions— Perioperative beta blockade started within 1 day or less before noncardiac surgery prevents nonfatal MI but increases risks of stroke, death, hypotension, and bradycardia. Without the controversial DECREASE studies, there are insufficient data on beta blockade started 2 or more days prior to surgery. Multicenter RCTs are needed to address this knowledge gap.
Direct Demonstration of Rapid Degradation of Nuclear Sterol Regulatory Element-binding Proteins by the Ubiquitin-Proteasome Pathway*

Sterol regulatory element-binding proteins (SREBPs) are synthesized as membrane-bound precursors and processed to generate transcriptionally active forms. The active SREBPs translocate to the nucleus, induce the expression of responsive genes, and are degraded very rapidly. Treatment with proteasome inhibitors elevates the amount of the endogenous nuclear SREBPs, but not the precursors, in HeLa cells. Nuclear forms of human SREBP-1a (amino acids 1–487) and SREBP-2 (amino acids 1–481), which are transiently expressed in stable Chinese hamster ovary cell lines (CHO-487 and -481), are also stabilized by proteasome inhibitors, suggesting that the nuclear SREBPs are likely to be substrates for the proteasome-dependent proteolysis. The stabilized nuclear SREBPs actively induce the expression of responsive genes including hydroxymethylglutaryl (HMG)-CoA synthase, fatty acid synthase, and the low density lipoprotein receptor. The rapid turnover of nuclear SREBP-1a is not affected by the intracellular sterol levels, and the half-life is estimated to be ∼3 h. The nuclear SREBPs are found conjugated with a polyubiquitin chain. When this conjugation is inhibited by overexpression of mutant ubiquitin that is defective in polyubiquitination, the nuclear SREBPs are partly stabilized and induce the expression of the responsive gene, suggesting that the ubiquitin-conjugated SREBPs are substrates for the proteasome. Taken together, these results demonstrate that the ubiquitin-proteasome system degrades SREBPs and that this system controls the expression of SREBP-responsive genes.
Cortical and subcortical afferents to the nucleus reticularis tegmenti pontis and basal pontine nuclei in the macaque monkey

Anatomical findings are presented that identify cortical and subcortical sources of afferents to the nucleus reticularis tegmenti pontis (NRTP) and basal pontine nuclei. Projections from the middle temporal visual area (MT), medial superior temporal visual area (MST), lateral intraparietal area (LIP), and areas 7a and 7b to the basal pontine nuclei were studied using 3H-leucine autoradiography. The results complemented a parallel study of retrograde neuronal labeling attributable to injecting WGA-HRP into NRTP and neighboring pontine nuclei. Small 3H-leucine injections confined to MT, MST, LIP, area 7a, or area 7b, produced multiple patches of pontine terminal label distributed as follows: (1) An injection within MT produced terminal label limited to the dorsolateral and lateral pontine nuclei. (2) Injections restricted to MST or LIP showed patches of terminal label in the dorsal, dorsolateral, lateral, and peduncular pontine nuclei. (3) Area 7a targets the dorsal, dorsolateral, lateral, peduncular, and ventral pontine nuclei, whereas area 7b projects, additionally, to the dorsomedial and paramedian pontine nuclei. Notably, no projections were seen to NRTP from any of these cortical areas. In contrast, injections made by other investigators into cortical areas anterior to the central sulcus revealed cerebrocortical afferents to NRTP, in addition to nuclei of the basal pontine gray. With our pontine WGA-HRP injections, retrograde neuronal labeling was observed over a large extent of the frontal cortex continuing onto the medial surface which included the lining of the cingulate sulcus and cingulate gyrus. Significant subcortical sources for afferents to the NRTP and basal pontine nuclei were the zona incerta, ventral mesencephalic tegmentum, dorsomedial hypothalamic area, rostral interstitial nucleus of the medial longitudinal fasciculus, red nucleus, and subthalamic nucleus. The combined anterograde and retrograde labeling data indicated that visuo-motor cortico-pontine pathways arising from parietal cortices target only the basal pontine gray, whereas the NRTP, together with select pontine nuclei, is a recipient of afferents from frontal cortical areas. The present findings implicate the existence of parallel direct and indirect cortico-pontine pathways from frontal motor-related cortices to NRTP and neighboring pontine nuclei.
Randomized prospective trial of continuous vs intermittent heparin therapy.

Forty-one patients with clinical indications for heparin therapy were randomized to receive continuous intravenous heparin sodium therapy or intermittent (four-hourly bolus) heparin therapy, with control by the activated partial thromboplastin time. Seven of 21 patients receiving intermittent therapy had major bleeding episodes, whereas none of the 20 patients receiving continuous heparin therapy had major bleeding (P = .005). One patient on continuous therapy had a pulmonary embolus, while none on intermittent therapy had recurrent thromboembolism. Two heavily bleeding patients on intermittent therapy were switched to continuous treatment after bleeding was controlled. The use of continuous heparin therapy appears significantly safer with regard to hemorrhagic complications than the use of intermittent therapy.
Inhibiting Effect of Tobacco Smoke on Some Crystalline Enzymes

Tobacco smoke absorbed in phosphate buffer at neutral pH inhibits irreversibly the enzymes rabbit muscle glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase and yeast alcohol dehydrogenase, whereas lactic dehydrogenase and glutamic dehydrogenase are not inhibited. A transient inhibition of beef liver catalase occurs. Indirect evidence suggests that the observed enzyme inhibition is caused by peroxides present in the smoke.
Peripheral and central factors in the pathophysiology of irritable bowel syndrome

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional gastrointestinal (GI) disorder characterized by abdominal pain and/or discomfort together with abnormal bowel habits. The pathophysiology is complex and incompletely understood. Potential important factors are altered brain-gut interactions, visceral hypersensitivity, psychosocial factors, disturbed GI motility, inflammatory changes, and bacterial overgrowth. Our aim was to investigate some of the different pathophysiological factors in IBS. Altered rectal perception was found in 62% of IBS patients. These subjects more frequently reported moderate or severe abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea, satiety, and anxiety. Symptoms of abdominal pain and bloating were associated with altered rectal perception in a multivariate analysis. Moderate or severe symptoms overall were also associated with female gender and anxiety. Stress decreased visceral sensory thresholds in controls, probably due to distraction. In IBS patients, sensory thresholds remained stable during stress, indicating a disability to suppress signals from the bowel during stress in these patients. Compared with controls, IBS patients had altered neuroendocrine hormones both in the basal state and in response to stress. In an experimental setting, investigation of memory and attention showed that compared with patients with organic GI disease, IBS patients were faster at identifying words, especially words representing GI symptoms and negative affects. There were no group differences regarding levels of anxiety or depression, but in IBS patients these levels were correlated with memory processing of GI words. Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth investigated with proximal jejunal cultures, was present in 4% of IBS subjects, which was not different from healthy controls. However, mildly elevated counts of bacteria were more common in IBS patients than in controls. Patients with bacterial overgrowth tended to have fewer phase IIIs, and enteric dysmotility was twice as common in these subjects. There was no relation between mildly elevated counts of bacteria and small bowel motility. Conclusions: The pathophysiology of IBS is complex and multifactorial. Altered visceral perception is associated with symptom severity, and stress induces an altered visceral and neuroendocrine response in IBS patients, which could explain why stress is sometimes associated with the onset and worsening of symptoms. IBS patients seem to be hypervigilant regarding GI symptoms through memory processing connected to psychological state. Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth is not common in IBS, but of uncertain relevance, a proportion of IBS patients have elevated counts of bacteria in the proximal jejunum.
Composition and Dynamics of Bacterial Communities of a Drinking Water Supply System as Assessed by RNA- and DNA-Based 16S rRNA Gene Fingerprinting

ABSTRACT Bacterial community dynamics of a whole drinking water supply system (DWSS) were studied from source to tap. Raw water for this DWSS is provided by two reservoirs with different water characteristics in the Harz mountains of Northern Germany. Samples were taken after different steps of treatment of raw water (i.e., flocculation, sand filtration, and chlorination) and at different points along the supply system to the tap. RNA and DNA were extracted from the sampled water. The 16S rRNA or its genes were partially amplified by reverse transcription-PCR or PCR and analyzed by single-strand conformation polymorphism community fingerprints. The bacterial community structures of the raw water samples from the two reservoirs were very different, but no major changes of these structures occurred after flocculation and sand filtration. Chlorination of the processed raw water strongly affected bacterial community structure, as reflected by the RNA-based fingerprints. This effect was less pronounced for the DNA-based fingerprints. After chlorination, the bacterial community remained rather constant from the storage containers to the tap. Furthermore, the community structure of the tap water did not change substantially for several months. Community composition was assessed by sequencing of abundant bands and phylogenetic analysis of the sequences obtained. The taxonomic compositions of the bacterial communities from both reservoirs were very different at the species level due to their different limnologies. On the other hand, major taxonomic groups, well known to occur in freshwater, such as Alphaproteobacteria, Betaproteobacteria, and Bacteroidetes, were found in both reservoirs. Significant differences in the detection of the major groups were observed between DNA-based and RNA-based fingerprints irrespective of the reservoir. Chlorination of the drinking water seemed to promote growth of nitrifying bacteria. Detailed analysis of the community dynamics of the whole DWSS revealed a significant influence of both source waters on the overall composition of the drinking water microflora and demonstrated the relevance of the raw water microflora for the drinking water microflora provided to the end user.
Nutrition Tailored to the Individual? Not Just Yet – Realigning Nutrigenomic Science with Contemporary Society

About a decade ago, scientists and science journalists presented nutrigenomics as a grand promise that each of us would soon know which foods fit in our personal healthy diet. Meanwhile, expectations have been adjusted to fit a changed reality. Simultaneously, societal issues surrounding personalized nutrition continue to rise, including whether consumers need it, food industry can produce it, all relevant stakeholders are willing and able to work together, and if it is a desirable way to go for nutrition. The commentary below reports the main results of 6 research projects that focused on nutrigenomics and its role in society.
A functional pseudoknot in 16S ribosomal RNA.

Several lines of evidence indicate that the universally conserved 530 loop of 16S ribosomal RNA plays a crucial role in translation, related to the binding of tRNA to the ribosomal A site. Based upon limited phylogenetic sequence variation, Woese and Gutell (1989) have proposed that residues 524–526 in the 530 hairpin loop are base paired with residues 505–507 in an adjoining bulge loop, suggesting that this region of 16S rRNA folds into a pseudoknot structure. Here, we demonstrate that Watson‐Crick interactions between these nucleotides are essential for ribosomal function. Moreover, we find that certain mild perturbations of the structure, for example, creation of G‐U wobble pairs, generate resistance to streptomycin, an antibiotic known to interfere with the decoding process. Chemical probing of mutant ribosomes from streptomycin‐resistant cells shows that the mutant ribosomes have a reduced affinity for streptomycin, even though streptomycin is thought to interact with a site on the 30S subunit that is distinct from the 530 region. Data from earlier in vitro assembly studies suggest that the pseudoknot structure is stabilized by ribosomal protein S12, mutations in which have long been known to confer streptomycin resistance and dependence.
Angiotensin II-Induced Cyclooxygenase 2 Expression in Rat Aorta Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells Does Not Require Heterotrimeric G Protein Activation

Angiotensin II (AngII) initiates cellular effects via its G protein-coupled angiotensin 1 (AT1) receptor (AT1R). Previously, we showed that AngII-induced expression of the prostanoid-producing enzyme cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) was dependent upon nuclear trafficking of activated AT1R. In the present study, mastoparan (an activator of G proteins), suramin (an inhibitor of G proteins), 1-[6-[[17β-methoxyestra-1,3,5(10)-trien-17-yl]amino]hexyl]-1H-pyrrole-2,5-dione (U73122; a specific inhibitor of phospholipase C), and sarcosine1-Ile4-Ile8-AngII (SII-AngII; a G protein-independent AT1R agonist) were used to determine the involvement of G proteins and AT1AR trafficking in AngII-stimulated COX-2 protein expression in human embryonic kidney-293 cells stably expressing AT1A/green fluorescent protein receptors and cultured vascular smooth muscle cells, respectively. Mastoparan alone stimulated release of intracellular calcium and increased COX-2 expression. Preincubation with mastoparan inhibited AngII-induced calcium signaling without altering AngII-induced AT1AR trafficking, p42/44 extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) activation, or COX-2 expression. Suramin or U73122 had no significant effect on their own; they did not inhibit AngII-induced AT1AR trafficking, p42/44 ERK activation, or COX-2 expression; but they did inhibit AngII-induced calcium responses. SII-AngII stimulated AT1AR trafficking and increased COX-2 protein expression without activating intracellular calcium release. These data suggest that G protein activation results in increased COX-2 protein expression, but AngII-induced COX-2 expression seems to occur independently of G protein activation.
Rapid morphological changes in astrocytes are accompanied by redistribution but not by quantitative changes of cytoskeletal proteins

Astrocytes have the potential to acquire very different morphologies, depending on their regional location in the CNS and on their functional interactions with other cell types. Morphological changes between a flat or a fibroblast‐like and a stellate or process‐bearing appearance, and vice versa, can occur rapidly, but very little is known as to whether morphological transformations are based on quantitative changes of cytoskeletal proteins in microfilaments, intermediate filaments, and/or microtubules. Using a cell culture of selective type 1 astrocytes, we compared the distribution and protein amounts of a number of cytoskeletal proteins both during primary process growth induced by specific media conditions and after secondary transformations induced by dBcAMP. Our data presented in this report support the idea that astrocytes can undergo dramatic changes in their morphology requiring subcellular redistribution of most cytoskeletal proteins but no quantitative modifications of the amount of the respective proteins. After pharmacological treatment with lysophosphatic acid and genistein we show that astrocytes can acquire intermediate morphologies reminiscent of both fibroblast and stellate‐like cells. These experiments demonstrate that the recently described RhoA‐mediated signaling cascade between the cell surface and cytoskeletal proteins is only one of several signaling pathways acting on the astrocytic cytoskeleton. GLIA 36:102–115, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Self-interaction spin effects in inspiralling compact binaries

Gravitational radiation drives compact binaries through an inspiral phase towards a final coalescence. For binaries with spin, mass quadrupole, and magnetic dipole moments, various contributions add to this process, which is characterized by the rate of increase $df/dt$ of the gravitational wave frequency and the accumulated number $\mathcal{N}$ of gravitational wave cycles. We present here all contributions to $df/dt$ and $\mathcal{N}$ up to the second post-Newtonian order. Among them we give for the first time the contributions due to the self-interaction of individual spins. These are shown to be commensurable with the proper spin-spin contributions for the recently discovered J0737-3039 double pulsar and argued to represent the first corrections to the radiation reaction in the Lense-Thirring approach.