Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Falls and injury reduction in residential aged care: Translating research into practice

Falls and falls-related injuries are a major problem in residential aged care. While there are many factors contributing to falls in this group, there are also a number of strategies that can help reduce falls and associated injuries. While programs to prevent falls must be multifactorial and multidisciplinary, nurses in residential aged care will play a central role in setting up and coordinating such programs. This paper reviews a broad range of nursing, medical and allied health literature. It then synthesises the research findings to outline a comprehensive series of recommendations that nurses can use to improve clinical practice in this area.
Analgesia and sedation during percutaneous radiofrequency electrocoagulation for trigeminal neuralgia.

Patient comfort during percutaneous radiofrequency electrocoagulation for trigeminal neuralgia provides better working conditions for the surgeon and makes the patient more willing to return if a second procedure is necessary. This study evaluates five different regimens for analgesia and sedation including the standard of fentanyl and droperidol (Group A) and four other regimens, each containing midazolam. In a sixth group, droperidol was assessed for its antiemetic effects. Patients were medicated as follows: Group B, low-dose midazolam (3.0 mg average); Group C, low-dose midazolam (2.5 mg average) and oral diazepam (7.5 mg average) just before the procedure; Group D, high-dose midazolam (5.5 mg average); and Group E, high-dose midazolam (5.1 mg average) and oral diazepam. Medications were titrated to induce mild sedation in Groups A, B, and C and heavier sedation in Groups D and E. All patients received fentanyl and small doses of intravenous methohexital just before the cannula penetrated the foramen ovale and before radiofrequency electrocoagulation. At least 2 weeks later, patients reported their level of discomfort during the procedure and their recollection of the procedure on a 0 to 10 scale. In another group of 96 patients, 1.25 mg of droperidol was given in addition to the medications described for Groups D and E. There was a statistically significant improvement in comfort in Groups C, D, and E and added amnesia in Groups D and E. Vomiting occurred in none of the patients medicated with droperidol and in 5 of 143 patients who did not receive droperidol. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Spinal L-Type Calcium Channel Blockade Abolishes Opioid-Induced Sensory Hypersensitivity and Antinociceptive Tolerance

Recent studies have suggested that prolonged exposure to morphine results in the development of paradoxical, abnormal enhanced pain. It has also been suggested that this enhanced pain state may be interpreted as antinociceptive tolerance. Although the precise mechanisms that drive opioid-induced abnormal pain are not well known, considerable evidence suggests that this state may be supported by enhanced, stimulus-evoked excitatory transmission. We hypothesized that blockade of L-type calcium channels, which are critical for excitatory neurotransmitter release, would alter the development of opioid-induced hyperalgesia and antinociceptive tolerance. Male, Swiss-Webster mice received twice-daily intrathecal injections of morphine (10 &mgr;g) alone or in combination with amlodipine (10 &mgr;g) for 8 days. Mice receiving repeated morphine injections developed enhanced responses to tactile and thermal stimuli. These hypersensitivities were prevented by the coadministration of the putative selective L-type calcium channel blocker amlodipine. Moreover, mice receiving morphine for 8 days demonstrated a significant rightward shift of the morphine antinociceptive dose-response curve, indicative of antinociceptive tolerance, whereas those that also received amlodipine along with morphine did not demonstrate tolerance. These results suggest that blockade of the L-type calcium channels with amlodipine prevented opioid-induced hyperalgesia and the expression of antinociceptive tolerance to spinal morphine, presumably by reducing stimulus-induced excitatory neurotransmitter release.
Functionally active complement proteins C6 and C7 detected in C6‐ and C7‐deficient individuals

Two sensitive sandwich ELISAs based on monoclonal antibodies directed to native C6 and C7 allowed the detection and quantitation of these complement proteins in 20 out of 37 serum samples from individuals who had previously been classified as deficient in these proteins as assessed by immunochemical and/or functional assays. Furthermore, serum from four C6‐deficient and one combined C6‐/C7‐deficient individual showed an increase in the terminal complement complex (TCC) and a decrease in native C6 and C7 after complement activation as assayed by specific ELISAs. Despite their (incomplete) deficiencies, these individuals therefore possess functionally active terminal complement proteins with respect to their ability to generate the TCC. As these individuals have no history of a susceptibility to neisserial infections, even low concentrations of functionally active C6 and C7 may provide sufficient protection against those micro‐organisms whose destruction requires TCC formation.
Adaptive Resource Sharing in Multicores

This short paper presents an adaptive, operating system (OS) anchored budgeting mechanisms for controlling the access to a shared resource. Temporarily blocking accesses from a core reduces the waiting times of other applications executing in parallel on other cores. This helps to guarantee the assumed worst case execution time bounds at run-time. In addition to our previous work [1], the presented scheme considers shifting of unused access bandwidth among applications and takes advantage from a time-triggered scheduling policy for executing real-time applications at core-level.
Maturation of Bovine Oocytes in the Presence of Leptin Improves Development and Reduces Apoptosis of In Vitro-Produced Blastocysts1

Abstract The series of events associated with oocyte growth and maturation determines the oocyte's ability to undergo successful fertilization, cleavage and embryonic development. Among the molecules involved in these events, leptin has been identified as a modulator of oocyte function. Experiments were conducted to determine whether leptin treatment of oocytes during maturation affects their developmental capacity after fertilization and whether it has long-lasting effects on apoptosis and gene expression in the resulting blastocysts. Cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) were matured in serum-free medium containing 0 (control), 1, 10, or 100 ng/ml leptin or in medium supplemented with 10% (v/v) estrous cow serum (ECS). Addition of leptin during oocyte maturation had no effect on cleavage rate after fertilization. However, an increased proportion of oocytes that matured in the presence of 1 or 10 ng/ml leptin developed to blastocysts, which exhibited increased cell numbers. The proportion of apoptotic cells was reduced in blastocysts originating from leptin- or ECS-treated oocytes. Transcript levels of the genes encoding leptin receptor (LEPR), signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT3), BCL2 associated X-protein (BAX), and baculoviral inhibitor of apoptosis protein repeat-containing 4 (BIRC4, also known as XIAP), were determined by reverse transcriptase-quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis of expanded and hatched blastocysts. Depending on the dose used, leptin treatment of oocytes resulted in increased LEPR, STAT3, and BIRC4 mRNA levels and reduced BAX mRNA levels in blastocysts. In conclusion, leptin improved the ability of the oocyte to sustain embryonic development and had long-term effects on blastocyst apoptosis and transcript abundance of LEPR, STAT3, and apoptosis-associated genes.
Retinal nerve fiber layer thickness and visual hallucinations in Parkinson's Disease

Defective visual information processing from both central and peripheral pathways is one of the suggested mechanisms of visual hallucination in Parkinson's disease (PD). To investigate the role of retinal thinning for visual hallucination in PD, we conducted a case‐control study using spectral domain optical coherence tomography. We examined a representative sample of 61 patients with PD and 30 healthy controls who had no history of ophthalmic diseases. General ophthalmologic examinations and optical coherence tomography scans were performed in each participant. Total macular thickness and the thickness of each retinal layer on horizontal scans through the fovea were compared between the groups. In a comparison between patients with PD and healthy controls, there was significant parafoveal inner nuclear layer thinning, whereas other retinal layers, including the retinal nerve fiber layer, as well as total macular thicknesses were not different. In terms of visual hallucinations among the PD subgroups, only retinal nerve fiber layer thickness differed significantly, whereas total macular thickness and the thickness of other retinal layers did not differ. The retinal nerve fiber layer was thinnest in the group that had hallucinations without dementia, followed by the group that had hallucinations with dementia, and the group that had no hallucinations and no dementia. General ophthalmologic examinations did not reveal any significant correlation with hallucinations. There were no significant correlations between retinal thicknesses and duration or severity of PD and medication dosages. The results indicate that retinal nerve fiber layer thinning may be related to visual hallucination in nondemented patients with PD. Replication studies as well as further studies to elucidate the mechanism of thinning are warranted. © 2013 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society
Detection of areas containing microcalcifications in digital mammograms

Microcalcifications are tiny calcium deposits present in the breast tissue. They are proved to be an important early sign of a process which started to happen and could be a development of a breast cancer. Because of that computer-aided detection systems (CADe) for detection of microcalcifications with low false positive rate can be very useful and helpful for breast cancer prediction. Accurate detection of microcalcifications is a very challenging task because of their visual property which is very similar to the noise in the image. To be able to perform accurate detection it is necessary to remove the background influence and at the same time preserve microcalcifications in the image. In this paper we propose a method for detection of presence of microcalcifications using the contrast enhancement of microcalcifications against the background tissue. For background suppression we use combination of wavelet filtering and grayscale morphology. The results of detection of suspicious areas which could contain microcalcifications are shown to be good in comparison to other methods which do not use manual selection of suspicious areas.
Ex vivo Model of Cranial Suture Morphogenesis and Fate

Background/Aims: Craniosynostosis, the premature fusion of cranial sutures, is a common congenital defect. In vivo models for studying cranial suture biology impose inherent restrictions on tissue accessibility and manipulation. The present study was performed to investigate the utility of the renal capsule assay in overcoming these limitations and providing a reproducible model system for studying cranial suture morphogenesis and fate. Materials and Methods: The posterior frontal suture, which fuses physiologically, and the coronal and sagittal sutures, which remain patent, were dissected from postnatal and embryonic mouse calvaria and placed under the renal capsule of syngeneic recipient mice (n = 72 in total). Sutures were harvested from 1–14 days after transplantation for histological and morphometric analysis. Suture transplants were compared with nonmanipulated sutures at equivalent developmental stages. The derivation of cells associated with the growing transplants was analyzed using β-actin-GFP (green fluorescent protein) transgenic mice. Results: Sutures transplanted under the renal capsule maintained normal suture morphology and fate with the posterior frontal suture fusing and the coronal and sagittal sutures remaining patent. In posterior frontal suture transplants, the fusion process mimicked in vivo suture fusion with a delay of 1–2 days. In comparison to in vivo suture complexes, transplant thickness and trabeculation were significantly increased. In addition, we found that osteoblasts within the growing transplant were derived from the transplant itself rather than the host. Conclusion: The renal capsule supports the growth of cranial sutures. In this system transplanted sutures recapitulate the anatomical development and fate (fusion or patency) of cranial sutures in vivo. This model system will facilitate controlled ex vivo manipulations of both embryonic and postnatal sutures.
Spherical camera model for divergent camera cluster

This paper presents a spherical camera model with a single effective viewpoint constraint for divergent camera cluster. We define a spherical projection as the method of representing a space point on a sphere surface using central projection. Therefore, it is reasonable to consider a divergent camera cluster as a single model to solve problems in computer vision. In order to construct the spherical camera model, we propose a solution to meet the constraint conditions, including the realization of the unique universal optical center, all fields of view covered and the uniform resolution. It proves that the spherical camera model is reasonable for divergent camera cluster.
Discrimination learning guided by instinct

Complex organisms exhibit both evolved instincts and experiential learning as adaptive mechanisms. In isolation, neither mechanism is sufficient to successfully navigate the environments of such organisms. Instincts provide behaviors that are generally adaptive but fail in specific cases. Learning must rely on some internal or external guidance to succeed on challenging tasks. This paper explores how instincts and experiential learning can work in tandem to solve a maze environment. Specifically, instincts comprise general knowledge of a set of related mazes representing worlds that an organism might be born into, and experiential learning discriminates specific situations in the particular maze world that an organism is born into. Synergy is accomplished by a hybrid neural network, one part instinctive and the other part capable of learning. After sufficient discriminating experiences, learning can override instinct to navigate a maze when instinct would otherwise fail. Results show a marked improvement in performance when this synergistic approach is employed relative to using either instincts or learning in isolation.
Padrões de industrialização e ajuste estrutural : um estudo comparativo dos regimes salariais em capitalismos tardios

Este estudo parte da constatacao de que a economia brasileira chegara ao inicio dos anos 80, apos 30 anos de intensa industrializacao e modernizacao das pautas de consumo, com a fisionomia de uma "economia de baixos salarios", caracterizada por um amplo descolamento entre os niveis de progresso tecnico e padroes de consumo e as condicoes de remuneracao e consumo da maioria dos assalariados. Este "desencontro", observado sob multiplos aspectos na literatura brasileira, nao se confunde com a existencia de salarios baixos dispersos em atividades de baixa produtividade. Trata-se, antes, de uma caracteristica do padrao de crescimento, das instituicoes e da formacao dos precos que acompanharam a industrializacao no Brasil. Baixos salarios, rapido crescimento e modernizacao do consumo nao constituem, todavia, particularidades brasileiras, ou do subdesenvolvimento latino-americano (continua) Abstract
Cancer clusters in the USA: what do the last twenty years of state and federal investigations tell us?

Goodman et al. (2012) conclude that extensive efforts to find causes of community cancer clusters have not been “successful”. They base their measure of success strictly on whether these studies have improved our understanding of cancer etiology. We contend that the authors’ arguments have major flaws, notably in two areas: 1) their selective definition of a cancer cluster and 2) their misguided assessment of whether community cancer cluster investigations meet their measure of success. The authors reference the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) definition of a cancer cluster (Kingsley et al., 2007) as a perceived aggregation of cancer cases within a group of people in a geographic area over a defined period of time. In fact, Kingsley et al. define a cancer cluster as a greater-thanexpected number of cancer cases within a group of people in a geographic area over a defined period of time. Identifying a cluster based on perception is quite different from evaluating the relevant data to determine whether a pattern of cancer appears unusual. The National Cancer Institute further defines a suspected cancer cluster as being more likely to represent a true cancer cluster (rather than coincidence) if it involves: (1) a large number of cases of one type of cancer, (2) a rare type of cancer, (3) a type of cancer in an age group not usually affected by that cancer, or (4) cancers of similar causes occurring over a short period of time (NCI 2006). Goodman et al. consider a cancer cluster to be confirmed based on statistical significance alone, which is just one measure to consider in evaluating cancer incidence data, particularly in small area analyses. Statistical significance does not necessarily mean biological significance. Experience has shown that cancer cluster investigations are valuable for several reasons:
Synthesis of Berberine—Efflux Pump Inhibitor Hybrid Antibacterials

This article describes the compact synthesis of two isomeric dual-action hybrid antimicrobials where the 13-position of the antibacterial berberine has been linked via 3′- and 4′-methylene bridges to INF55 (5-nitro-2-phenylindole), an inhibitor of the bacterial NorA multidrug-resistance pump.
Mixed-signal quadratic operators for the feature extraction of neural signals

This paper presents design principles for reusing charge-redistribution SAR ADCs as digital multipliers. This is illustrated with an 8-b fully-differential rail-to-rail SAR ADC/multiplier, designed in a 180 nm HV CMOS technology. This reconfigurability property can be exploited for the extraction of product-related features in neural signals, such as energy content, or for the discrimination of spikes using the Teager operator.
[Non-invasive monitoring of rejection after cardiac transplantation. The method and retrospective analysis of data on 734 patients].

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Endomyocardial biopsy is the gold standard for monitoring rejection in cardiac recipients. The death rate due to rejection with this invasive method is 5-6 % in the first postoperative year. The aim of this retrospective data analysis from cardiac recipients was to prove the diagnostic reliability of a non-invasive electrophysiological method for rejection monitoring. PATIENTS AND METHODS We daily analyzed the QRS-complex amplitude of the intramyocardial electrogram, which we received over a period from one year via a pacemaker with a telemetric capability. The diagnostic guideline for a suspected rejection was the reduction of the QRS-complex amplitude by more than 8 %. Out of 734 patients 558 were included in the study. Biopsy was only performed when the non-invasive rejection monitoring data (QRS-complex amplitude plus echocardiography) showed a discrepancy for rejection. RESULTS None of the patients died due to rejection, 273 at least once underwent a biopsy, and 285 never had a biopsy. The method reached a sensitivity of 0.9777, a specificity of 0.9634, a negative predictive value of 0.9850, and a positive predictive value of 0.9459. CONCLUSION Daily electrophysiological non-invasive monitoring of rejection seems to be superior to endomyocardial biopsy. Death of patients due to rejection can be minimised. The number of necessary biopsies can be drastically reduced when compared to the usual number performed.
Discrimination and labeling of noise-buzz sequences with varying noise-lead times: an example of categorical perception.

The onset of a noise [0.9–2.1 kHz, 55 dB SPL (A weighted)] preceded that of a buzz [100 Hz, 0.5–3.0 kHz, 70 db SPL (A weighted), 500 msec] by −10 to +80 msec and both terminated simultaneously. Eight adults discriminated among noise‐lead times in an oddity task. In separate sessions, they labeled singly presented stimuli with either of the two responses: ’’no noise’’ or ’’noise. ’’ The results are highly similar to those reported for the categorical perception of synthetic plosive consonants differing in voice‐onset time. On the average, discrimination was best across a noise‐lead‐time boundary of about 16 msec, where labeling also shifted abruptly. These results and those of categorical perception, generally, are interpreted in terms of Weber’s law as applied to a single component within a stimulus complex. It is concluded that categorical perception of sounds is not unique to speech and suggested that it may be a general property of sensory behavior.Subject Classification: [43]65.75; [43]70.30.
Focus effects on syllable duration in Cypriot Greek

The present experimental study examined the effects of focus on the duration of stressed syllable onset and rhyme in words found in prefocal, focal, post focal and neutral position. The main results generated indicate a significant effect of focus position on the segmental duration. Additionally, word final lengthening was demonstrated, whereas no word initial lengthening effects were observed. Furthermore, the results showed rightward lengthening effects and leftward shortening effects due to focus position on stressed syllables.
Molecular Characterization and Regulation of an Operon Encoding a System for Transport of Arginine and Ornithine and the ArgR Regulatory Protein in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

ABSTRACT The complete nucleotide sequence for the aot operon ofPseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 was determined. This operon contains six open reading frames. The derived sequences for four of these, aotJ, aotQ, aotM, andaotP, show high similarity to those of components of the periplasmic binding protein-dependent ABC (ATP binding cassette) transporters of enteric bacteria. Transport studies with deletion derivatives established that these four genes function in arginine-inducible uptake of arginine and ornithine but not lysine. TheaotO gene, which encodes a polypeptide with no significant similarity to any known proteins, is not essential for arginine and ornithine uptake. The sixth and terminal gene in the operon encodes ArgR, which has been recently shown to function in regulation of arginine metabolism. Studies with anaotJ::lacZ translational fusion showed that expression of the aot operon is strongly induced by arginine and that this effect is mediated by ArgR. S1 nuclease and primer extension experiments showed the presence of two promoters, P1 and P2. The downstream promoter, P2, is induced by arginine and appears to be subject to carbon catabolite repression. The upstream promoter, P1, is induced by glutamate. Footprinting experiments established the presence of a 44-bp ArgR binding site that overlaps the −35 region for P2, as was shown to be the case for the arginine-inducible aru promoter, and the −10 region for P1, as was shown to be the case for arginine-repressible operons in P. aeruginosa. Sequence alignment confirms the architecture and the consensus sequence of the ArgR binding sites, as was previously reported.