Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
American gastroenterological association technical review on the evaluation of dyspepsia.

Nicholas J. Talley,* Nimish B. Vakil,** Paul Moayyedi*** * Division de Gastroenterologia y Hepatologia y Medicina Interna, Clinica Mayo, Facultad de Medicina Rochester, Minnesota. ** Universidad de Wisconsin, Facultad de Medicina Madison, Wisconsin Marquette University College of Health Sciences Milwaukee, Wisconsin. *** McMaster University Hamilton, Ontario, Canada Correspondencia: Chair, Clinical Practice and Economics Committee, AGA National Office, c/o Membership Department, 4930 Del Ray Avenue, Bethesda, Maryland 20814. Fax: (301) 654-5920.
Detection of intracranial aneurysms: multi-detector row CT angiography compared with DSA.

PURPOSE To prospectively compare the effectiveness of multi-detector row computed tomographic (CT) angiography with that of conventional intraarterial digital subtraction angiography (DSA) used to detect intracranial aneurysms in patients with nontraumatic acute subarachnoid hemorrhage. MATERIALS AND METHODS Thirty-five consecutive adult patients with acute subarachnoid hemorrhage were recruited into the institutional review board-approved study and gave informed consent. All patients underwent both multi-detector row CT angiography and DSA no more than 12 hours apart. CT angiography was performed with a multi-detector row scanner (four detector rows) by using collimation of 1.25 mm and pitch of 3. Images were interpreted at computer workstations in a blinded fashion. Two radiologists independently reviewed the CT images, and two other radiologists independently reviewed the DSA images. The presence and location of aneurysms were rated on a five-point scale for certainty. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated independently for image interpretation performed by the two CT image readers and the second DSA image reader by using the first DSA reader's interpretation as the reference standard. RESULTS A total of 26 aneurysms were detected at DSA in 21 patients, and no aneurysms were detected in 14 patients. Sensitivity and specificity for CT angiography were, respectively, 90% and 93% for reader 1 and 81% and 93% for reader 2. The mean diameter of aneurysms detected on CT angiographic images was 4.4 mm, and the smallest aneurysm detected was 2.2 mm in diameter. Aneurysms that were missed at initial interpretation of CT angiographic images were identified at retrospective reading. CONCLUSION Multi-detector row CT angiography has high sensitivity and specificity for detection of intracranial aneurysms, including small aneurysms, in patients with nontraumatic acute subarachnoid hemorrhage.
Comparison of clinical and laboratory findings in early- and late-onset preeclampsia

Abstract Objective: To compare clinical and laboratory findings between the early-onset preeclampsia (EOP) and late-onset preeclampsia (LOP). Methods: This prospective longitudinal study was performed at a tertiary referral university clinic. All patients meeting the inclusion criteria were divided into two groups, the EOP group and the LOP group, according to gestational age at the onset of disease. The distinction criterion for early versus late onset was set as week 34 of gestation. Clinical and laboratory findings, and maternal–perinatal outcomes were compared between the groups. Results: A total of 157 patients with preeclampsia were included. A significant difference was observed between the groups in terms of diagnosis and severity of the disease (p = 0.007 and <0.001, respectively). The history of previous preeclampsia, diastolic blood pressure and hourly urine output on admission to the hospital were significantly different between the groups (p = 0.016, 0.018 and 0.024, respectively). Latent period for delivery and postpartum hospitalization time were longer in the EOP group than in the LOP group (p = 0.024 and 0.002, respectively). The patients with EOP received betamethazone (p < 0.001) and MgSO4 (p = 0.029) more frequently. Neonatal characteristics such as birth weight, low APGAR score and admission to neonatal intensive care unit were significantly different between the groups (p < 0.001, for all variables). Total proteinuria at 24 h was found significantly higher in the EOP group than in the LOP group (p = 0.012). Conclusion: The results confirmed the opinion that EOP is a distinct and more severe clinical entity than LOP. In particular, higher proteinuria is associated with EOP.
Direct Interaction of Focal Adhesion Kinase with p190RhoGEF*

Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) is a protein-tyrosine kinase that associates with multiple cell surface receptors and signaling proteins through which it can modulate the activity of several intracellular signaling pathways. FAK activity can influence the formation of distinct actin cytoskeletal structures such as lamellipodia and stress fibers in part through effects on small Rho GTPases, although the molecular interconnections of these events are not well defined. Here, we report that FAK interacts with p190RhoGEF, a RhoA-specific GDP/GTP exchange factor, in neuronal cells and in brain tissue extracts by co-immunoprecipitation and co-localization analyses. Using a two-hybrid assay and deletion mutagenesis, the binding site of the FAK C-terminal focal adhesion targeting (FAT) domain was identified within the C-terminal coiled-coil domain of p190RhoGEF. Binding was independent of a LD-like binding motif within p190RhoGEF, yet FAK association was disrupted by a mutation (Leu-1034 to Ser) that weakens the helical bundle structure of the FAK FAT domain. Neuro-2a cell binding to laminin increased endogenous FAK and p190RhoGEF tyrosine phosphorylation, and co-transfection of a dominant-negative inhibitor of FAK activity, termed FRNK, inhibited lamininstimulated p190RhoGEF tyrosine phosphorylation and p21 RhoA GTP binding. Overexpression of FAK in Neuro-2a cells increased both endogenous p190RhoGEF tyrosine phosphorylation and RhoA activity, whereas these events were inhibited by FRNK co-expression. Because insulin-like growth factor 1 treatment of Neuro-2a cells increased FAK tyrosine phosphorylation and enhanced p190RhoGEF-mediated activation of RhoA, our results support the conclusion that FAK association with p190RhoGEF functions as a signaling pathway downstream of integrins and growth factor receptors to stimulate Rho activity.
Start-up scenarios in high-power gyrotrons

For quasi-CW operation at the MW level and above, millimeter-wave gyrotrons should operate at very high-order modes. Selective excitation of these modes is an extremely difficult problem. Therefore a proper choice of the start-up scenario, which provides initial excitation of a desired mode and its drive into a high efficiency regime with simultaneous suppression of all undesirable parasitic modes, is very important. This problem was first formulated and studied some time ago (G.S. Nusinovich, Elektronnaya Tekhnika, ser. 1, Elektronika SV Ch, no. 3, pp. 44-49, 1974). Later, important contributions that clarified some issues in this problem were made by E. Borie and B.J. Dicke (Int. J. Infrared Millimeter Waves, vol. 8, pp. 207-226, 1987) and D.R. Whaley et al (IEEE-PS vol. 22, pp. 850-860, 1994). This paper discusses several issues which are important for the orrect understanding of this problem, along with the results of simulations used for analyzing the start-up scenarios in 1 MW, 110 GHz and 140 GHz gyrotrons.
A SIMPLE EXPLANATION FOR UNIVERSAL SCALING RELATIONS IN FOOD WEBS

Much of the interest in food webs has been driven by a search for universal patterns that could indicate common organizing principles. In an approach that treats food webs as transportation networks (represented by minimum spanning trees) it was recently shown that food webs exhibit universal scaling relations, analogous to those found in river networks and vascular systems. It was concluded that this pattern is due to an optimization process acting in ecological communities. Here we construct minimum spanning trees using Monte Carlo simulations of a simple model that has two parameters that control the pro- portion of basal species and limit food-chain length, respectively. We show that when the food-chain length is of a similar size to that reported for real food webs, the universal scaling relations readily emerge in the model. This result is robust in a wide range of values for the proportion of basal species. We therefore conclude that the processes that limit food-chain length in ecological communities are sufficient to explain the observed universal scaling relations in food webs, and that complicated adaptive explanations are not required.
Depression of Tryptophan Pyrrolase Induction in Regenerating Rat Liver.∗

Summary The induction of tryptophan pyrrolase by hydrocortisone has been studied in the regenerating rat liver. An initial depression of response, presumably related to the operative procedure, was observed in both sham operated and partially hepatectomized animals. In partially hepatectomized animals, a second depression was observed during that period in which DNA synthesis has been shown to occur. It has been suggested that alterations in enzyme control mechanisms, such as the failure of tryptophan pyrrolase induction by cortisone in minimum deviation hepatomas, may be a fundamental biochemical alteration in tumors. This study shows that a depressed response to hormonal enzyme induction is found in non-neoplastic hepatic cells preparing to divide.
Possible adaptation to serum thiocyanate overload associated with chronic sublethal dietary cyanide ingestion.

Estimation moyenne journaliere de l'ingestion de cyanure provenant du cassava chez des liberiens non fumeurs. Mesure de la concentration serique de thiocyanate et de l'anticorps sensible au thiocyanate. Il n'y a pas de correlation entre le taux de thiocyanate et l'ingestion alimentaire de cyanure. Les concentrations seriques d'anticorps sont en relation positive avec les quantites de cyanure ingerees et negativement correles avec les concentrations seriques en thiocyanate
The membrane actions of anesthetics and tranquilizers.

A diagrammatic summary of the membrane actions of anesthetics and tran-quilizers is shown in figure 15. According to the definition of an anesthetic as a drug which directly blocks the membrane action potential, without appreciably affecting the resting potential, a wide variety of lipid-soluble compounds may be considered as anesthetics. Under conditions of general anesthesia the membrane concentration of an anesthetic is 0.003 moles/kg dry membrane, the anesthetic occupying a volume of 0.02% in the membrane phase. Under conditions of local anesthesia the membrane concentration is 0.04 moles/kg membrane, with an occupying volume of 0.3% in the membrane. The partitioning into the membrane is about 1/10 that of olive oil and about ⅕ that of octanol. These figures hold for many nerve-blocking drugs, and in order to explain differences in the in vivo action of these drugs, other factors must be considered, such as anesthetic sensitization etc. The biomembranes expand or swell about 10 times more than the anesthetic volume of occupation in the membrane, 0.4% expansion occuring under conditions of general anesthesia, and 2 to 3% expansion occuring under conditions of local anesthesia. Although the anesthetics electrically stabilize the membrane, they fluidize and disorder the components within the membrane, probably including membrane water. As a consequence of membrane expansion, membrane-associated enzymes and proteins can be either stimulated or inhibited. The pathways for facilitated fluxes of solutes across membranes are invariably depressed, presumably because of the conformation changes brought about by the membrane-expanding anesthetics; the Na+-conductance channel of the action potential appears to be one of these facilitated pathways. The anesthetic amines displace membrane-bound Ca++ and generally depress passive fluxes of cations. The neutral anesthetics generally increase membrane-bound Ca++ and generally increase the passive fluxes. The membrane fluidization may explain the enhanced neurosecretion of membrane-bound materials, by a mechanism of membrane-membrane fusion.
N-CDAD in Canada: results of the Canadian Nosocomial Infection Surveillance Program 1997 N-CDAD Prevalence Surveillance Project.

BACKGROUND A 1996 preproject survey among Canadian Hospital Epidemiology Committee (CHEC) sites revealed variations in the prevention, detection, management and surveillance of Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea (CDAD). Facilities wanted to establish national rates of nosocomially acquired CDAD (N-CDAD) to understand the impact of control or prevention measures, and the burden of N-CDAD on health care resources. The CHEC, in collaboration with the Laboratory Centre for Disease Control (Health Canada) and under the Canadian Nosocomial Infection Surveillance Program, undertook a prevalence surveillance project among selected hospitals throughout Canada. OBJECTIVE To establish national prevalence rates of N-CDAD. METHODS For six weeks in 1997, selected CHEC sites tested all diarrheal stools from inpatients for either C difficile toxin or C difficile bacteria with evidence of toxin production. Questionnaires were completed for patients with positive stool assays who met the case definitions. RESULTS Nineteen health care facilities in eight provinces participated in the project. The overall prevalence of N-CDAD was 13.0% (95% CI 9.5% to 16.5%). The mean number of N-CDAD cases were 66.3 cases/100,000 patient days (95% CI 37.5 to 95.1) and 5.9 cases/1000 patient admissions (95% CI 3.4 to 8.4). N-CDAD was found most frequently in older patients and those who had been hospitalized for longer than two weeks in medical or surgical wards. CONCLUSIONS This national prevalence surveillance project, which established N-CDAD rates, is useful as 'benchmark' data for Canadian health care facilities, and in understanding the patterns and impact of N-CDAD.
Reticulocyte parameters and hemoglobin F production in sickle cell disease patients undergoing hydroxyurea therapy

Hemoglobin F (HbF) is an effective inhibitor of HbS polymerization. Hydroxyurea (HU) is used to increase HbF synthesis and improve the clinical course of sickle cell disease (SCD) patients. We studied a series of laboratory parameters concerning HbF production and reticulocyte response, and compared data between two groups: 1) 13 SCD patients treated with HU, and 2) 33 untreated SCD patients. Higher values of Hb concentration, mean cell volume (MCV), mean cell hemoglobin (MCH), mean reticulocyte volume (MRV), HbF concentration, percentage of F‐cells, and amount of HbF/F‐cells were observed in the treated group of patients. There was no correlation between Hb and HbF elevations. The reticulocyte count, immature reticulocyte count, mean fluorescence index (MFI), and neutrophil count were significantly lower in treated patients. Taken together, these findings suggest that a decreased hemolytic process occurred in patients undergoing HU treatment. There was a significant correlation between MCV and HbF, between MRV and HbF, and between MRV and F‐cell in patients taking HU. These data indicate that macroreticulocytes correspond to F‐reticulocytes, and that an increase in MRV in SCD patients using HU may be an indirect signal of F‐cell production. The concentration of HbF/F‐cells was higher in patients treated with HU, but this increase apparently was independent of F‐cell production. Reticulocyte (RTC) parameters, as assessed by hematological analyzers, may be useful for following erythropoietic changes in patients receiving HU, and can indirectly indicate HbF and F‐cell production induced by HU therapy. J. Clin. Lab. Anal. 17:66–72, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The sensitivity of hepatic CYP2C gene expression to baseline growth hormone (GH) bioactivity in dwarf rats: effects of GH-binding protein in vivo.

Hepatic mRNA transcripts for the steroid-metabolizing enzymes cytochrome P4502C11 (male specific) and P4502C12 (female specific) differ in abundance by 10- to 20-fold in male and female rats and are regulated by their different patterns of GH secretion. This sex difference is also found in dwarf rats with low GH secretion, implying that these transcripts may be very sensitive to low level GH exposure. This has now been characterized in normal and dwarf rats. Continuous i.v. infusion of recombinant human (h) GH (0, 3, 12, and 48 micrograms/day) in both dwarf and normal male rats caused a dose-dependent decrease in P4502C11 and an increase in P4502C12, so that the 2C11/2C12 ratio fell from 17.9 +/- 1.3 to 1.5 +/- 1.0 in normal males and from 6.5 +/- 0.9 to 0.4 +/- 0.3 in dwarf males (0 vs. 48 micrograms hGH/day); over this dose range of hGH, body weight gain, total hepatic insulin-like growth factor-I mRNA levels, and plasma GHBP levels were largely unaffected. These effects of hGH were pattern dependent. The 2C11/2C12 ratio in dwarf males was feminized (from 11.9 +/- 1.3 to 0.08 +/- 0.03) by continuous infusion of hGH (36 micrograms/day), whereas a pulsatile infusion (3-min pulses every 3 h) of the same daily hGH dose was much less effective. Neither continuous nor pulsatile hGH affected P4502C11 or P4502C12 transcripts in dwarf females, although pulsatile hGH infusion caused a significant weight gain. To test whether baseline GH levels could be modified by circulating GH-binding protein (GHBP), hGH infusions were given with and without recombinant hGHBP in different patterns. Pulsatile infusions of recombinant hGHBP (42 micrograms/day, i.v.) did not prevent the feminizing effect of continuously infused hGH (36 micrograms/day, sc) in dwarf males (2C11/2C12 ratios were 0.08 +/- 0.01 and 0.09 +/- 0.01 for hGH vs. hGH plus hGHBP, respectively). This suggested that intermittent complex formation with GHBP did not prevent continuous access of hGH to the hepatic GH receptors. Furthermore, pulses of hGH complexed with GHBP significantly reduced the 2C11/2C12 ratio in dwarf males (from 21.5 +/- 3.9 with pulsatile hGH alone to 9.2 +/- 2.5 with pulses of hGH plus hGHBP), indicating that GHBP prolongs the exposure to hGH. Thus, 2C11/2C12 expression is very sensitive to basal GH levels in dwarf rats, and GHBP can alter hepatic gene expression by modifying the pattern of GH exposure.
The Vpu protein of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 forms cation-selective ion channels

Vpu is a small phosphorylated integral membrane protein encoded by the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 genome and found in the endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi membranes of infected cells. It has been linked to roles in virus particle budding and degradation of CD4 in the endoplasmic reticulum. However, the molecular mechanisms employed by Vpu in performance of these functions are unknown. Structural similarities between Vpu and the M2 protein of influenza A virus have raised the question of whether the two proteins are functionally analogous: M2 has been demonstrated to form cation-selective ion channels in phospholipid membranes. In this paper we provide evidence that Vpu, purified after expression in Escherichia coli, also forms ion channels in planar lipid bilayers. The channels are approximately five- to sixfold more permeable to sodium and potassium cations than to chloride or phosphate anions. A bacterial cross-feeding assay was used to demonstrate that Vpu can also form sodium-permeable channels in vivo in the E. coli plasma membrane.
Organizações de Serviços No Brasil: Estratégias Competitivas e Aspectos de Custos

Organizacoes de servicos no Brasil tem enfrentado diversas mudancas ambientais nos ultimos anos, principalmente devido a abertura da economia e a privatizacoes. Para enfrenta-las, muitas organizacoes tiveram que repensar suas estrategias competitivas e suas praticas gerenciais. Estrategias Competitivas sao implantadas nas organizacoes atraves de Dimensoes Competitivas, que se realizam atraves de acoes concretas. Visando identificar quais dimensoes competitivas estao sendo declaradas e praticadas, foi conduzida uma pesquisa envolvendo 49 organizacoes de servicos entre as 500 maiores e melhores do Brasil. A pesquisa mostra uma tendencia das organizacoes em focar em acoes de linha de frente (palco), mais do que em acoes de suporte (bastidor). Adicionalmente, as organizacoes nao parecem estar declarando a mesma dimensao competitiva que estao praticando. Tambem as organizacoes de uma forma geral nao parecem bem sistematizadas para gerir custos.
A Web-based System for Designing Interactive Virtual Soundscapes

With the advent of new hardware and software technologies, virtual reality has gained a significant momentum recently. VR design tools, such as game engines, have become much more accessible and are being used in a variety of applications ranging from physical rehabilitation to immersive art. These tools, however, offer a limited set of tools for audio processing in 3D virtual environments. Furthermore, they are platform-dependent due to performance requirements and feature separate editing and rendering modes, which can be limiting for sonic VR implementations. To address these, we introduce a novel webbased system that makes it possible to compose and control the binaural rendering of a dynamic open-space auditory scene. Developed within a framework of well-established theories on sound, our system enables a highly detailed bottom-up construction of interactive virtual soundscapes by offering tools to populate navigable sound fields at various scales (i.e. from sound cones to 3D sound objects to sound zones). Based on modern web technologies, such as WebGL and Web Audio, our system operates on both desktop computers and mobile devices. This enables our system to be used for a variety of mixed reality applications, including those where users can simultaneously manipulate and experience a virtual soundscape.
A Heuristic Approach for the Identification of Palindromic Peak Sets

A firearm holder for removably mounting a firearm on a vertical support is disclosed. The firearm includes a stock and a sling swivel stud mounted on the stock. The stock also has a first end, a second end on which the sling swivel stud is mounted, and a butt. The firearm holder comprises: a plate which is removably mountable on a vertical support, the plate having a first end and a second end; a stock support mounted on the second end of the plate, the stock support provided to engage the first end of the stock; an arm extending at an angle from the first end of the plate; and an engagement piece extending from the arm, the engagement piece being provided to engage the sling swivel stud of the firearm to maintain the firearm in a position perpendicular to the plate and to the vertical support when the butt of the stock is positioned against the plate and the stock support engages the first end of the stock.
A small real-time kernel proven correct

A novel computer architecture for hard real-time environments is being developed. Part of the architecture is an operating system kernel supporting the real-time features of an extended version of the real-time programming language PEARL. The formal verification of a stripped-down version of this real-time kernel using a mechanical theorem prover is presented. Since the author is aiming at a formal verification of the complete kernel, he gives an outline of what still has to be done. <<ETX>>