Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Conversion of Recent‐Onset Atrial Fibrillation to Sinus Rhythm: Effects of Different Drug Protocols

In a population of 417 hospitalized patients, the efficacy and safety of different drug regimens administered to convert atrial fibrillation (AF) of recent anset (≤ 7 days duration) to sinus rhythm were evaluated. All patients were in NYHA Class ≤ 2, and free of heart failure. They were randomly allocated to treatment with placebo in 121 patients; IV amiodarone, 5 mg/kg bolus, followed by 1.8 g/24 hours in 51 patients; IV propafenone, 2 mg/kg bolus, followed by 0.0078 mg/kg/min in 57 patients; p.o. propafenone, 600 mg p.o. in a single dose in 119 patients; and p.o. flecainide, 300 mg p.o. in a single dose in 69 patients. All patients were continuously monitored by Holter ECG, and the number of conversions to sinus rhythm was measured at 1, 3, and 8 hours. Results: (1) IV propafenone resulted in a higher conversion rate within 1 hour compared with the oral loading regimens of propafenone or flecainide, but the conversion rates at 3 and 8 hours were comparable, approximately 75% at 8 hours; 2) IV amiodarone was not different from placebo until 8 hours when it was associated with 57% of conversions; (3) conversion to sinus rhythm at 8 hours was observed in 37% of the placebo treated patients. Serious adverse effects occurred in few patients: two patients treated with flecainide and one treated with IV propafenone experienced left ventricular decompensation; one patient treated with placebo and two treated with flecainide had atrial flutter with rapid ventricular response. In conclusion, single‐dose, oral loading with propafenone or flecainide are acceptable alternatives to conventional drug regimens in selected hospitalized patients. In addition, the measure of a placebo effect is mandatory in studies of recent‐onset AF.
The impact of policies regulating alcohol trading hours and days on specific alcohol-related harms: a systematic review

Background Evidence supports the expectation that changes in time of alcohol sales associate with changes in alcohol-related harm in both directions. However, to the best of our knowledge, no comprehensive systematic reviews had examined the effect of policies restricting time of alcohol trading on specific alcohol-related harms. Objective To compile existing evidence related to the impact of policies regulating alcohol trading hours/days of on specific harm outcomes such as: assault/violence, motor vehicle crashes/fatalities, injury, visits to the emergency department/hospital, murder/homicides and crime. Methods Systematic review of literature studying the impact of policies regulation alcohol trading times in alcohol-related harm, published between January 2000 and October 2016 in English language. Results Results support the premise that policies regulating times of alcohol trading and consumption can contribute to reduce injuries, alcohol-related hospitalisations/emergency department visits, homicides and crime. Although the impact of alcohol trading policies in assault/violence and motor vehicle crashes/fatalities is also positive, these associations seem to be more complex and require further study. Conclusion Evidence suggests a potential direct effect of policies that regulate alcohol trading times in the prevention of injuries, alcohol-related hospitalisations, homicides and crime. The impact of these alcohol trading policies in assault/violence and motor vehicle crashes/fatalities is less compelling.
Macronutrient intakes in obese subjects with or without small intestinal bacterial overgrowth: an alimentary survey

Abstract Objective: Obesity is a multifactorial disorder with a possible microbiota derangement in its pathogenesis. Moreover, in obese patients the likelihood of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) is greater than in controls, although few studies are currently available. This study investigates the prevalence of SIBO and the possible role of dietary macronutrients in obesity. Materials and methods: Sixty obese patients and normal lean controls were enrolled for SIBO detection. Diagnosis of SIBO was performed by a glucose breath test. A 24-hour recall questionnaire was administered to investigate macronutrient daily intake between the two obese patient subgroups (with/without SIBO). Results: The presence of SIBO in obese and controls was respectively 23.3% and 6.6% (p = 0.02, OR = 4.26, 95% Confidence interval = 1.31–13.84). Obese patients with SIBO ingested more carbohydrates (252.75 ± 30.53 vs 201 ± 70.76 g/day, p = 0.01), more refined sugars (104.15 ± 28.69 vs 73.32 ± 44.93 g/day, p = 0.02) and less total and insoluble fibers (9.6 ± 1.97 vs 14.65 ± 8.80 g/day, p = 0.04 and 4.7 ± 1.11 vs 8.82 ± 5.80 g/day, p = 0.01, respectively). There were no significant differences in lipid and protein intake between the two groups. Conclusions: SIBO is widespread in obese subjects. Carbohydrates might promote the development of SIBO in obesity and fibers provide a protective function. Our results suggest a close relationship between diet and SIBO in obesity, thus supporting a possible role for intestinal microbiota.
Sex differences in clinical predictors of suicidal acts after major depression: a prospective study.

OBJECTIVE Whether sex differences exist in clinical risk factors associated with suicidal behavior is unknown. The authors postulated that among men with a major depressive episode, aggression, hostility, and history of substance misuse increase risk for future suicidal behavior, while depressive symptoms, childhood history of abuse, fewer reasons for living, and borderline personality disorder do so in depressed women. METHOD Patients with DSM-III-R major depression or bipolar disorder seeking treatment for a major depressive episode (N=314) were followed for 2 years. Putative predictors were tested with Cox proportional hazards regression analysis. RESULTS During follow-up, 16.6% of the patients attempted or committed suicide. Family history of suicidal acts, past drug use, cigarette smoking, borderline personality disorder, and early parental separation each more than tripled the risk of future suicidal acts in men. For women, the risk for future suicidal acts was sixfold greater for prior suicide attempters; each past attempt increased future risk threefold. Suicidal ideation, lethality of past attempts, hostility, subjective depressive symptoms, fewer reasons for living, comorbid borderline personality disorder, and cigarette smoking also increased the risk of future suicidal acts for women. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that the importance of risk factors for suicidal acts differs in depressed men and women. This knowledge may improve suicide risk evaluation and guide future research on suicide assessment and prevention.
Exploring cooperative game mechanisms of scientific coauthorship networks

Scientific coauthorship, generated by collaborations and competitions among researchers, reflects effective organizations of human resources. Researchers, their expected benefits through collaborations, and their cooperative costs constitute the elements of a game. Hence, we propose a cooperative game model to explore the evolution mechanisms of scientific coauthorship networks. The model generates geometric hypergraphs, where the costs are modelled by space distances, and the benefits are expressed by node reputations, that is, geometric zones that depend on node position in space and time. Modelled cooperative strategies conditioned on positive benefit-minus-cost reflect the spatial reciprocity principle in collaborations and generate high clustering and degree assortativity, two typical features of coauthorship networks. Modelled reputations generate the generalized Poisson parts, and fat tails appeared in specific distributions of empirical data, for example, paper team size distribution. The combined effect of modelled costs and reputations reproduces the transitions that emerged in degree distribution, in the correlation between degree and local clustering coefficient, and so on. The model provides an example of how individual strategies induce network complexity, as well as an application of game theory to social affiliation networks.
Integrated evaluation of visually induced motion sickness in terms of autonomic nervous regulation

To evaluate visually-induced motion sickness, we integrated subjective and objective responses in terms of autonomic nervous regulation. Twenty-seven subjects viewed a 2-min-long first-person-view video section five times (total 10 min) continuously. Measured biosignals, the RR interval, respiration, and blood pressure, were used to estimate the indices related to autonomic nervous activity (ANA). Then we determined the trigger points and some sensation sections based on the time-varying behavior of ANA-related indices. We found that there was a suitable combination of biosignals to present the symptoms of visually-induced motion sickness. Based on the suitable combination, integrating trigger points and subjective scores allowed us to represent the time-distribution of subjective responses during visual exposure, and helps us to understand what types of camera motions will cause visually-induced motion sickness.
Why is Hu where? Shuttling of early-response-gene messenger RNA subsets.

Post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression involves multiple checkpoints at which decisions are made concerning the fate of each messenger RNA species. Primary transcripts assemble into multicomponent ribonucleoprotein complexes during pre-mRNA processing in the spliceosome, are transported out of the nucleus, and are either stored, degraded, or translated in the cytoplasm (1). Determining the outcome of this process for each individual mRNA species is complicated by the heterogeneity of the messenger ribonucleoprotein (mRNP) population, which contains various-size transcripts and diverse combinations of attached proteins. Although investigators have not yet devised methods to separate and characterize distinct cellular mRNPs, nature appears to distinguish each mRNP by using inherent signals in the RNAs and/or in the proteins in the mRNP complexes and tracking each mRNA to an appropriate functional outcome. For example, mRNAs may contain recognition sequences that can serve as “zip codes” for tracking or localization (2) whereas in other cases, proteins attached to the mRNPs contain localization signals that allow their movement out of, or into, the nucleus (reviewed in ref. 3). In a previous issue of the Proceedings , Fan and Steitz (4) define a novel nuclear shuttling sequence in the Hu RNA-binding protein HuR, which may transport a specific subset of cellular mRNAs containing AU-rich elements (ARE) from the nucleus to the cytoplasm (Fig. 1). They term this signal the “HNS” for HuR nuclear-cytoplasmic shuttling sequence because it contains both nuclear export and nuclear localization elements. This is particularly interesting because the ARE-containing mRNAs encode a functionally important subset of early-response gene (ERG) or immediate-early gene products, including protooncoproteins and cytokines. Figure 1 Nuclear-cytoplasmic shuttling of the ELAV/Hu protein HuR, which binds to a distinct subset of cellular messenger RNAs. ERG mRNAs encoding protooncoproteins and cytokines are bound to and stabilized by HuR, which contains an amino acid segment (HNS) with …
Telomerase activity as an indicator of potentially malignant adrenal tumors

Telomerase is an enzyme that adds repeated telomere sequences to the ends of chromosome arms. It helps maintain both the length of telomere and infinite cell proliferation. In recent years, telomerase activity has been considered an important characteristic that differentiates between normal and cancerous cells. Because the authors often encountered difficulties in distinguishing between benign and malignant adrenal tumors, they investigated whether the expression of telomerase activity could distinguish potentially malignant adrenal tumors.
Feasibility of Automated Propofol Sedation for Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation: A Pilot Study

BACKGROUND: Recently, several trials have shown that closed-loop sedation is feasible. No study has used automated sedation in extremely frail patients, such as those scheduled for transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). We developed and tested a novel automated sedation system for this kind of population and surgery. The system integrates a decision support system that detects respiratory and hemodynamic events via smart alarms, which provide pertinent/related clinical suggestions and treatment options. The main objective was the feasibility of closed-loop sedation, defined as successful automated sedation without manual override. Secondary qualitative observations were clinical and controller performance. METHODS: Twenty patients scheduled for elective TAVI were enrolled. Sedation was administered via a closed-loop delivery system designed for propofol. The clinical performance of sedation was the efficacy to maintain a bispectral index (BIS) of 65. To evaluate the sedation performance, BIS values were stratified into 4 categories: excellent, very good, good, and inadequate sedation control, defined as BIS values within 10%, ranging from 11% to 20%, ranging from 21% to 30%, or >30% from the target value, respectively. The controller performance was calculated using Varvel parameters. Critical respiratory and hemodynamic events were documented. The former was defined as peripheral oxygen saturation <92% and/or respiratory rate <8/min, whereas the latter was considered a mean arterial pressure <60 mm Hg and/or heart rate <40 bpm. RESULTS: Automated sedation was successful in 19 patients undergoing TAVI. One patient was excluded from the final analysis because of conversion to general anesthesia. The secondary observations revealed that the clinical performance allowed an excellent to good control during 69% (99% confidence interval, 53%–77%; interquartile range, 59%–79%) of the sedation time. Fifteen patients presented critical respiratory episodes, with a median of 3 events per hour of sedation. Six patients presented critical hemodynamic episodes, with a median of 2 events per hour of procedure. CONCLUSIONS: The automated closed-loop sedation system tested could be used successfully for patients scheduled for a TAVI procedure. The results showed a satisfactory clinical performance of sedation control.
Low power medium access control protocols for wireless sensor networks

Low power medium access control (MAC) protocols have received a lot of attention in the last few years because of their impact on the lifetime of wireless sensor networks. Due to the cost of implementation on real hardware, and sometimes to a lack of detail in the description of these protocols, it is difficult to evaluate them. This paper describes the latest advances in the field and introduces an ideal protocol as a benchmark. It presents detailed analytical models of the power consumption of the best and latest low power MAC protocols. These models are then used to evaluate how the performance of these protocols evolves when modifying traffic rate and network density. It is shown that the most recent scheduled protocols cannot go below the maximal acceptable mean power consumption for battery operated sensor networks. The synchronous random access protocols S-MAC and SCP-MAC scale better, but are outperformed by asynchronous random access protocols based on preamble sensing such as WiseMAC, CSMA-MPS, X-MAC and SyncWUF. These last protocols offer the lowest power consumption for all considered data rates and for all considered network densities.
The Persistence of Most Probable Explanations in Bayesian Networks

Monitoring applications of Bayesian networks require computing a sequence of most probable explanations for the observations from a monitored entity at consecutive time steps. Such applications rapidly become impracticable, especially when computations are performed in real time. In this paper, we argue that a sequence of explanations can often be feasibly computed if consecutive time steps share large numbers of observed features. We show more specifically that we can conclude persistence of an explanation at an early stage of propagation. We present an algorithm that exploits this result to forestall unnecessary re-computation of explanations.
Simvastatin Suppresses Self‐Renewal of Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells by Inhibiting RhoA Geranylgeranylation

Statins, 3‐hydroxy‐3‐methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors, were originally developed to lower cholesterol. Their pleiotropic (or cholesterol‐independent) effects at the cellular and molecular levels are highly related to numerous cellular functions, such as proliferation and differentiation. However, they are hardly studied in embryonic stem cells. In this study, we evaluated the effects of statins on mouse ESCs (J1, D3, and RW.4) to enhance our understanding of the molecular basis of ESC self‐renewal. Treatment of ESCs with simvastatin, mevastatin, atorvastatin, or pravastatin induced morphological change and decreased cell proliferation. We observed that the use of simvastatin was most effective in all three ESCs. Loss of ESC self‐renewal by simvastatin was determined by marked downregulation of ESC markers alkaline phosphatase, Oct4, Nanog, Rex‐1, and SSEA‐1. Simvastatin effects were selectively reversed by either mevalonate or its metabolite geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate (GGPP) but not by cholesterol or farnesyl pyrophosphate. These results suggest that simvastatin effects were mainly derived from depletion of intracellular pools of GGPP, the substrate required for the geranylgeranylation. Using this approach, we found that GGPP, a derivative of the mevalonate pathway, is critical for ESC self‐renewal. Furthermore, we identified that simvastatin selectively blocked cytosol‐to‐membrane translocalization of RhoA small guanosine triphosphate‐binding protein, known to be the major target for geranylgeranylation, and lowered the levels of Rho‐kinase (ROCK)2 protein in ESCs. In addition, simvastatin downregulated the ROCK activity, and this effect was reversed by addition of GGPP. Our data suggest that simvastatin, independently of its cholesterol‐lowering properties, impairs the ESC self‐renewal by modulating RhoA/ROCK‐dependent cell‐signaling.
The role of amine oxidases in xenobiotic metabolism

The amine oxidases of mammalian tissues are a heterogeneous family of enzymes that metabolise various monoamines, diamines and polyamines produced endogenously, or being absorbed as dietary or xenobiotic substances. The heterogeneous class of amine oxidases can be divided on an arbitrary basis of the chemical nature of their cofactors into two types. Monoamine oxidase (MAO) and an intracellular form of polyamine oxidase (PAO) contain flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) as their cofactor, whereas a second group of amine oxidases without FAD contain a cofactor possessing one or more carbonyl groups, making them sensitive to inhibition by carbonyl reagents such as semicarbazide; this group includes semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase (SSAO) and the connective tissue enzyme, lysyl oxidase. This article focuses on the general aspects of MAOs contribution to the metabolism of foreign toxic substances including toxins and illegal drugs. Another main objective of this review is to discuss the properties of PAO and SSAO and their involvement in the metabolism of xenobiotics.
The role of 12 cDNA‐expressed human, rodent, and rabbit cytochromes P450 in the metabolism of benzo[a]pyrene and benzo[a]pyrene trans‐7, 8‐dihydrodiol

The potent carcinogen benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) and its metabolite B[a]P trans‐7, 8‐dihydrodiol (7, 8‐diol) require metabolic activation by the microsomal cytochrome P450s (P450s) to exert several adverse biological effects, including binding to DNA, toxicity, mutagenicity, and carcinogenicity. In the study reported here, we defined the role of each of 12 individual cDNA‐expressed cytochrome P450s in the metabolism of B[a]P and 7, 8‐diol. Human P450s 1A1 and 1A2 were expressed in the absence or presence of epoxide hydrolase (EH) in a human lymphoblastoid cell line, and six human and five rodent and rabbit P450s were expressed from cDNA with vaccinia virus vectors in the hepatoma cell line Hep G2. B[a]P metabolism resulted in nine metabolites (three diols, three quinones, and three phenols), which were separated, identified, and quantitated by high‐pressure liquid chromatography. In the human lymphoblastoid cells, human 1A1 metabolized B[a]P at a rate 4.5 times greater than that for 1A2. EH was shown to be directly involved in B[a]P activation, since increasing the amount of EH resulted in less 7‐hydroxybenzo[a]pyrene and more 7, 8‐diol formation. Of the human P450s expressed with the vaccinia virus vectors in Hep G2 cells, 1A2 and 2C9 showed the highest activity and 2B6 showed moderate activity for B[a]P metabolism. Mouse 1A1 had activity 40 times higher than any human, rabbit, or rodent P450s, indicating the potential pitfalls of extrapolating P450 activity across species. Metabolism of the 7, 8‐diol resulted in six metabolites (four tetrols and two triols). In the lymphoblastoid cells, human 1A1 was shown to be 4.2 times more active than 1A2 for 7, 8‐diol metabolism. Among human P450s expressed from vaccinia virus, 1A2, 2E1, and 2C9 gave the highest activity, and 2C8 and 3A4 showed moderate activity for 7, 8‐diol metabolism to the diol epoxides. Again, mouse 1A1 was much more active than any other P450. These studies, in which we determined the capacity of individual P450 in the metabolism and activation of B[a]P and 7, 8‐diol, may thus lead to a better understanding of how P450s control the detoxification and activation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Reliable Concurrent Error Detection Architectures for Extended Euclidean-Based Division Over  ${\rm GF}(2^{m})$

The extended Euclidean algorithm (EEA) is an important scheme for performing the division operation in finite fields. Many sensitive and security-constrained applications such as those using the elliptic curve cryptography for establishing key agreement schemes, augmented encryption approaches, and digital signature algorithms utilize this operation in their structures. Although much study is performed to realize the EEA in hardware efficiently, research on its reliable implementations needs to be done to achieve fault-immune reliable structures. In this regard, this paper presents a new concurrent error detection (CED) scheme to provide reliability for the aforementioned sensitive and constrained applications. Our proposed CED architecture is a step forward toward more reliable architectures for the EEA algorithm architectures. Through simulations and based on the number of parity bits used, the error detection capability of our CED architecture is derived to be 100% for single-bit errors and close to 99% for the experimented multiple-bit errors. In addition, we present the performance degradations of the proposed approach, leading to low-cost and reliable EEA architectures. The proposed reliable architectures are also suitable for constrained and fault-sensitive embedded applications utilizing the EEA hardware implementations.