Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nontuberculous Mycobacteria in Patients with Cystic Fibrosis

Abstract As a result of their underlying lung disease, patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) have a higher risk of developing nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) infections compared with the general population. Although NTM may be present intermittently in low amounts in the airways of CF patients without an apparent clinical effect, progressive respiratory decline due to NTM disease may also occur. Identifying this latter group of patients can be challenging for clinicians because the usual symptoms exhibited by infected individuals without CF may be difficult to distinguish from the baseline respiratory dysfunction of a patient with CF. The distinction, however, is of utmost importance because those patients with clinical worsening may benefit considerably from antimycobacterial treatment. For CF patients under evaluation for lung transplantation, NTM can play a critical role in determining overall outcomes, and treatment in the pre- and post-transplant period may be vital to success. A general approach to NTM in CF thus involves surveillance to detect NTM, careful monitoring for associated clinical decline, and consideration of treatment given for those with an otherwise unexplained deterioration. In this review, the epidemiology and clinical course of NTM in CF is described with an algorithm for management proposed.
Pharmacologic Targets and Peritoneal Membrane Remodeling

Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is associated with functional and structural changes of the peritoneal membrane, also known as peritoneal remodeling. The peritoneal membrane is affected by many endogenous and exogenous factors such as cytokines, PD fluids, and therapeutic interventions. Here, we present an overview of various studies that have investigated pharmacologic interventions aimed at regression of peritoneal damage and prolongation of PD treatment.
The Oxygen Tension of the Blood in the Umbilical Cord and the Intervillous Space

During recent years there has been a revival of the interest in oxygen saturation in the umbilical blood; this work was started in the 1930's by Haselhorst and Stromberger (1931) and several papers have been published by different groups (Walker and Turnbull, 1953; MacKinney, Ehrlich, Goldberg and Cantwell, 1955; Rooth and Sjostedt, 1955, 1957; Bancroft-Livingston and Neill, 1957; Tumbull and Baird, 1957). It should be remembered, however, that measurements of oxygen saturation mainly give an indication of the amount of oxygen present in the blood. For a more complete picture of the oxygenation it is also necessary to know the oxygen tension (PO2) since that is the force by which oxygen is pressed from the vessels into the tissues and because the physiological effect of the oxygen depends solely on its P02* As oxygen in foetal circulation is obtained from maternal blood in the intervillous space of the placenta, a comparison between the levels of P02 in the intervillous space and in the umbilical vessels will indicate the diffusion pressure drop of the oxygen between the maternal and foetal circulation in the placenta.
Ultrasound elastography: efficient estimation of tissue displacement using an affine transformation model

Ultrasound elastography entails imaging mechanical properties of tissue and is therefore of significant clinical importance. In elastography, two frames of radio-frequency (RF) ultrasound data that are obtained while the tissue is undergoing deformation, and the time-delay estimate (TDE) between the two frames is used to infer mechanical properties of tissue. TDE is a critical step in elastography, and is challenging due to noise and signal decorrelation. This paper presents a novel and robust technique TDE using all samples of RF data simultaneously. We assume tissue deformation can be approximated by an affine transformation, and hence call our method ATME (Affine Transformation Model Elastography). The affine transformation model is utilized to obtain initial estimates of axial and lateral displacement fields. The affine transformation only has six degrees of freedom (DOF), and as such, can be efficiently estimated. A nonlinear cost function that incorporates similarity of RF data intensity and prior information of displacement continuity is formulated to fine-tune the initial affine deformation field. Optimization of this function involves searching for TDE of all samples of the RF data. The optimization problem is converted to a sparse linear system of equations, which can be solved in real-time. Results on simulation are presented for validation. We further collect RF data from in-vivo patellar tendon and medial collateral ligament (MCL), and show that ATME can be used to accurately track tissue displacement.
Neutrophil Production and Function in Newborn Infants

Bacterial infection is a major cause of death and long-term morbidity in preterm neonates. Infection rates among neonates undergoing intensive care range from 25% to 50% (Stoll et al, 1996; Cooke et al, 1997; Fanaroff et al, 1998) and, in spite of effective antibiotic therapy, sepsisrelated mortality has remained constant at 15±20% for nearly two decades (Gladstone et al, 1990). The reason for such high sepsis rates and attendant mortality are largely due to the immaturity of bactericidal mechanisms. Clinical evidence of the preterm neonate's immune incompetence is the pattern of bacterial infections which closely parallels that seen in patients with profound neutropenia (Stoll et al, 1996) and the frequent development of neutropenia in response to bacterial sepsis (Engle et al, 1984; Gessler et al, 1995). These two phenomena can be directly related to immaturity of neutrophil function and production.
A COMPARISON STUDY OF ACTIVE HEAD RESTRAINTS FOR NECK PROTECTION IN REAR-END COLLISIONS

Neck injuries caused by rear-end collisions have become a major problem in traffic safety over the last two decades, however, surprisingly little effort has been made so far to improve car seat and head rest design. Several studies have shown, that whiplash injuries can be reduced by minimizing the gap between head and head restraint during the first phase of a rear-end impact. On the other hand, the requests for comfort from the car passengers limit the reduction of this distance. Various publications show that generally neither drivers nor passengers are aware of the necessity to adjust current head rests to their head position. The conclusion is, the head rest should either be large enough to protect all occupants or should be automatically adjusted to protect all occupant sizes. This study shows a comparison of different active head restraint concepts, which guarantee a reduction of the distance between head and head rest during a rear-end collision. In addition the size of the head rest is enlarged. Different concepts were validated by sled tests using Hybrid-III Dummies equipped with the newly developed TRID-neck. Also volunteer tests were performed to prove the effectiveness of the new concepts. (A) For the covering abstract see IRRD E102514.
Urdu Text Summarizer using Sentence Weight Algorithm for Word Processors

For the past few years, a lot of work has been done in Urdu text processing. However, many areas are still open for research in Urdu text processing. Microsoft has done a lot of work in text processing in its product MS Word. It also supports Urdu Language but the major drawback is that many of these features do not support Urdu text. One such feature is “Auto Summarize Tool”. In this paper, we present an Add-in “Auto Summarizer for Urdu language” for MS Word. The Add-in has been specially designed to summarize of news, informative articles such as scientific writings, economical items, and sports commentary.
GPS geodetic constraints on Caribbean‐North America Plate Motion

We describe a model for Caribbean plate motion based on GPS velocities of four sites in the plate interior and two azimuths of the Swan Islands transform fault. The data are well fit by a single angular velocity, with average misfits approximately equal to the 1.5–3.0 mm yr−1 velocity uncertainties. The new model predicts Caribbean‐North America motion ∼65% faster than predicted by NUVEL‐1A, averaging 18–20±3 mm yr−1 (2σ) at various locations along the plate boundary. The data are best fit by a rotation pole that predicts obliquely convergent motion along the plate boundary east of Cuba, but are fit poorly by a suite of previously published models that predict strike‐slip motion in this region. The data suggest an approximate upper bound of 4–6 mm yr−1 for internal deformation of the Caribbean plate, although rigorous estimates await more precise and additional velocities from sites in the plate interior.
Internet Filtering in China

We collected data on the methods, scope, and depth of selective barriers to Internet usage through networks in China. Tests conducted from May through November 2002 indicated at least four distinct and independently operable Internet filtering methods - Web server IP address, DNS server IP address, keyword, and DNS redirection with a quantifiable leap in filtering sophistication beginning in September 2002.
Streptococcus pneumoniae Uses Glutathione To Defend against Oxidative Stress and Metal Ion Toxicity

ABSTRACT The thiol-containing tripeptide glutathione is an important cellular constituent of many eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells. In addition to its disulfide reductase activity, glutathione is known to protect cells from many forms of physiological stress. This report represents the first investigation into the role of glutathione in the Gram-positive pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae. We demonstrate that pneumococci import extracellular glutathione using the ABC transporter substrate binding protein GshT. Mutation of gshT and the gene encoding glutathione reductase (gor) increases pneumococcal sensitivity to the superoxide generating compound paraquat, illustrating the importance of glutathione utilization in pneumococcal oxidative stress resistance. In addition, the gshT and gor mutant strains are hypersensitive to challenge with the divalent metal ions copper, cadmium, and zinc. The importance of glutathione utilization in pneumococcal colonization and invasion of the host is demonstrated by the attenuated phenotype of the gshT mutant strain in a mouse model of infection.
Update of a phase II trial of bevacizumab in combination with hormonal therapy to reverse acquired estrogen independence in metastatic breast cancer patients.

e12027 Background: Metastatic breast cancer (MBC) remains the second most common cause of cancer death in women in the US. More than 80% of breast cancers are potentially hormone responsive, but resistance eventually precludes cure. Various mechanisms of acquired hormone resistance have been postulated. Our Breast Cancer SPORE showed that increased expression of VEGF caused acquired tamoxifen resistance in MCF-7 xenografts. VEGF over-expressing MCF-7 cells displayed increased tumor growth rates and estrogen independence in vivo, and reversal of VEGF over-expression in vivo returned tumors to estrogen dependent growth. METHODS We hypothesized that adding the anti-VEGF monoclonal antibody, bevacizumab, to hormonal therapy would result in reversal of acquired hormone resistance. This multi-center, open-label, single arm phase II study was designed to evaluate safety and efficacy of this combination. Primary end point was time to progression (TTP), and the secondary endpoints were response rate and toxicity. Eligible patients had MBC and had progressed on hormonal therapy after previously responding for at least 6 months. RESULTS We previously reported a planned interim analysis. Results of further analysis after completion of accrual will be reported here. All 27 patients were female with median age of 63 years, and all had ER and/or PR positive MBC. Patients were continued on the same hormonal therapy to which they had become refractory, and bevacizumab (15mg/kg IV every 3 weeks) was added. Treatment was stopped early in 3 patients due to a grade 3 leg ulcer, grade 3 hypertension, and grade 3 fatigue, respectively. Overall, the therapy was tolerated well, and no treatment related deaths or thromboembolic events were seen. Stable disease was documented in 18 (66%) patients. There were no complete or partial responses. Updated median TTP will be reported. CONCLUSIONS The combination of bevacizumab plus hormonal therapy is well tolerated in patients with metastatic breast cancer. This combination may prolong the TTP with acceptable toxicity. Further investigation utilizing this combination in metastatic breast cancer are ongoing. [Table: see text].
Quasi-Free Goods and Social Norms: The Effects of Quantity Restrictions and Scrutiny

In this paper we consider the effect of quantity restrictions and scrutiny on the consumption of quasi-free goods. A good is quasi-free if it is zero priced, but it is consumed in the context of a social setting (e.g., as an employee, client, friend, etc.). Examples include cookies at a picnic, candies in a doctor's office, and perks offered to workers such as free soft drinks. Casual observation, including initial experience with unlimited vacation policies by some major companies (Evernote, IBM, Bestbuy), suggests that placing limitations on consumption can lead to an increase in the level of consumption of such goods, while removing existing limitations (as in the case of vacations) may result in a decrease in consumption. We attribute this to the consumer's perceptions about the social norm and how this perception is affected by the presence of a quantity restriction. In this paper we develop a simple model of quasi-free goods consumption showing the effect of a quantity restriction and of observability of the consumer's actions, and then test the model in a field experiment. The results clearly show that allowing unlimited consumption leads to less consumption, however, such behavior all but disappears when the subjects' choices are unobserved, including by the experimenter. This suggests that consumers are more concerned with how they are perceived by others than with self-image concerns.
Stray dogs and wild cats tracking down information systems in government?

This paper explores the body of e-government research surfaced during 1998-2003 in Web of Science and ProQuest. The search identified 158 scholarly papers. Using a classification model developed by Andersen and Danziger (1995), the predominately part of the research addresses improvements of services and products (72%), better data access (67%) and public-Government interaction (64%). Less frequent are studies on values. Comparing data with literature review on the Golden Age of transformation of the public sector (1988-2000), the authors suggest that e-government so far has not altered the balance between existing domains of applications or introduced new areas.
Intervention program efficacy for spelling difficulties.

OBJECTIVE To develop an intervention procedure for spelling difficulties and to verify the effectiveness of the intervention program in students with lower spelling performance. METHOD We developed an intervention program for spelling difficulties, according to the semiology of the errors. The program consisted of three modules totaling 16 sessions. The study included 40 students of the third to fifth grade of public elementary education of the city of Marilia (SP), of both genders, in aged of eight to 12 years old, being distributed in the following groups: GI (20 students with lower spelling performance) and GII (20 students with higher spelling performance). In situation of pre and post-testing, all groups were submitted to the Pro-Orthography. RESULTS The results statistically analyzed showed that, in general, all groups had average of right that has higher in post-testing, reducing the types of errors second semiologycal classification, mainly related to natural spelling errors. However, the results also showed that the groups submitted to the intervention program showed better performance on spelling tests in relation to not submitted. CONCLUSION The intervention program developed was effective once the groups submitted showed better performance on spelling tests in relation to not submitted. Therefore, the intervention program can help professionals in the Health and Education to minimize the problems related to spelling, giving students an intervention that is effective for the development of the spelling knowledge.
Training staff to prevent aggressive behavior of cognitively impaired elderly patients during bathing and grooming.

1. Cognitively impaired elderly patients often become aggressive toward caregivers who are providing assistance with bathing and grooming, but caregivers can learn methods to prevent or reduce some of the aggression. 2. The R.E. S.P.E.C. T. model describes key practices caregivers can use to better meet patient needs and reduce aggression, increasing their understanding and skill. 3. In addition to training, observation of performance and consultation are important steps in enabling caregivers to apply and maintain their skills.
A simplified control strategy for Series Hybrid Active Power Filter that compensat voltage sag, swell, unbalance and harmonics

Power quality problems have received increasing attentions in recent years due to proliferation of nonlinear and sensitive loads as well as unpredictable and unavoidable system faults. Power quality problems mainly include current and voltage harmonics, reactive power, supply unbalance, sag, swell etc. Series Hybrid Active Power Filters (SHAPF) have been the main topic of interest for researchers working in the area of active power filters (APF). SHAPF provides cost-effective solution as compared to standalone active filters and are preferred to compensate both voltage and current type harmonics. This paper present simplified control strategy for SHAPF with added functionality of compensating voltage sag, swell and unbalance. Mathematical formulation of reference generation scheme with simulation verification of SHAPF model is tested for compensation of voltage sag, swell, unbalance and harmonics is presented.
Inﬂuence and Sentiment Homophily on Twitter

Web-based social relations mirror several known phenomenons identiﬁed by Social Sciences, such as Inﬂuence and Homophily. Social circles are inferable from those relations and there are already solutions to ﬁnd the underlying sentiment of social interactions. We present an empirical study that combines existing Graph Clustering and Sentiment Analysis techniques for reasoning about Sentiment dynamics at cluster level and analyzing the role of Social Inﬂuence on Sentiment contagion, based on a large dataset extracted from Twitter during the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Exploiting WebGraph and LAW frameworks to extract clusters, and SentiStrength to analyze sentiment, we propose a strategy for ﬁnding moments of Sentiment Homophily in clusters. We found that clusters tend to be neutral for long ranges of time, but denote volatile bursts of sentiment polarity locally over time. In those moments of polarized sentiment homogeneity, there is evidence of an increased, but not strong, chance of one sharing the same overall sentiment that prevails on the cluster to which he belongs.
Monitoring of Periprosthetic BMD After Uncemented Total Hip Arthroplasty with Dual‐Energy X‐Ray Absorptiometry—a 3‐Year Follow‐Up Study

Insertion of a metallic implant into the femur changes bone loading conditions and results in remodeling of femoral bone. To quantify changes in bone mass after uncemented total hip arthroplasty (THA), we monitored femoral bone with dual‐energy X‐ray absorptiometry (DXA). The periprosthetic bone mineral density (BMD) was measured with Lunar DPX densitometry in seven Gruen zones and the total periprosthetic area at scheduled time intervals in 22 patients during a 3‐year follow‐up. BMD decreased significantly almost in all Gruen zones during the first 3 months, ranging from 3.4% to 14.4% (p < 0.05 to p < 0.001). At the end of the first year, the most remarkable decrease in BMD was found in the calcar (zone 7; −22.9%). During the second postoperative year, a slight restoration of periprosthetic bone mass was recorded. During the third year, no significant changes in BMD were found. The preoperative BMD was the only factor that was significantly related to the periprosthetic bone loss. Clearly, the early periprosthetic bone loss noticed during the 3 months after THA is caused by mainly limited weight bearing to the operated hip and stress shielding. We suggest that the restoration of bone mass is a sign of successful osteointegration between bone and metallic implant. DXA is a suitable tool to follow the bone response to prosthetization and will increase our knowledge on the behavior of bone after THA.
Renin-angiotensin system and fibronectin gene expression in Dahl Iwai salt-sensitive and salt-resistant rats.

OBJECTIVE The tissue renin-angiotensin system and extracellular matrix are involved in the cardiovascular hypertrophy and remodeling induced by hypertension. In this study, we examined the gene expression of the tissue renin-angiotensin system and fibronectin in inbred Dahl Iwai salt-sensitive and salt-resistant rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS Eight pairs of 6-week-old male Dahl Iwai salt-sensitive and salt-resistant rats were fed either a low- or high-salt diet (0.3% or 8% NaCl, respectively) for 4 weeks. Activities of the circulating renin-angiotensin system were measured by radioimmunoassay and the gene expression of tissue angiotensinogen, the angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1) and fibronectin were analyzed by Northern blot analysis. RESULTS Salt loading significantly increased blood pressure and produced cardiovascular hypertrophy and nephrosclerosis in the salt-sensitive rats. Activities of the circulating renin-angiotensin system were lower in salt-sensitive rats than in salt-resistant rats fed the low-salt diet, and salt loading lowered these activities in salt-resistant rats but not in salt-sensitive rats. In salt-resistant rats, salt loading increased renal, cardiac and aortic angiotensinogen, AT1 and fibronectin messenger (m)RNA expression except for aortic fibronectin mRNA expression. In contrast, in the salt-sensitive rats, salt loading stimulated the expression of cardiac fibronectin and aortic angiotensinogen, AT1 and fibronectin mRNAs. Furthermore, the cardiac and aortic fibronectin mRNA levels in salt-sensitive rats were higher than those in salt-resistant rats when both strains were fed the high-salt diet. CONCLUSIONS These results demonstrate that the expression of tissue angiotensinogen, AT1 and fibronectin mRNAs is regulated differently in Dahl Iwai salt-sensitive and salt-resistant rats, and indicate that salt-mediated hypertension activates the cardiac fibronectin gene independently of the tissue renin-angiotensin system and stimulates the aortic fibronectin gene with activation of the tissue renin-angiotensin system.
Evidence for the involvement of both ATP and nitric oxide in non‐adrenergic, non‐cholinergic inhibitory neurotransmission in the rabbit portal vein

The NANC inhibitory innervation of the longitudinal muscle of the rabbit portal vein has been examined. Neurogenic relaxations were partially inhibited by the P2‐purinoceptor antagonist, suramin. Addition of the NO‐synthase inhibitor NG‐nitro‐l‐arginine methyl ester (l‐NAME) also significantly reduced responses to electrical stimulation and the addition of l‐arginine reversed this effect. A combination of both suramin and l‐NAME abolished the neurogenic relaxation. A maximum relaxation of the vein was evoked by sodium nitroprusside which was not affected by l‐NAME or suramin. Histochemical staining demonstrated the presence of NADPH‐diaphorase containing nerves between the longitudinal and circular muscle coats of the media and also in the adventitia. It is concluded that both ATP and NO are inhibitory neurotransmitters in the NANC nerves of the rabbit portal vein.