Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Chapter 19 Conception to Implication : Craniocervical Junction Database and Treatment Algorithm

The earliest anatomic description of abnormalities of the “occipital vertebrae” was attributed to Meckel in 1815 by Gladstone and Erickson-Powell (20). In 1830, Charles Bell first described the clinical and pathological development of “spontaneous atlantoaxial dislocations” resulting from destruction of the transverse ligament “that holds the process of the dentata in its place” (3). After this, there were detailed anatomic and autopsy studies reported in reference to abnormalities of the craniovertebral junction (5, 18, 27, 30, 42). Classic descriptions by Gladstone and EricksonPowell (20) and Giacomini (19) pointed to the clinical implications. The significance became appreciated after the radiographic study on basilar invagination by Chamberlain in 1939 (6). Radiographic descriptions of the craniocervical abnormalities and their implications, together with the craniometric reference lines, aided in the diagnosis of craniocervical abnormalities on plain x-rays as well as with tomography (6, 12, 25, 26, 30, 31, 52).
Network Connectivity Probability of Linear Vehicular Ad-Hoc Networks on Two-Way Street

In this paper, we present an analytical model to determine the network connectivity probability of a linear vehicular ad hoc network (VANET) formed by communication equipped vehicles on a two-way street scenario. We consider the highway to be consisting of two lanes with vehicles moving in both directions on these lanes and focus on the probability of being able to convey messages from a source vehicle to a destination vehicle, which may be multiple hops away. Closed form analytical expression is obtained for the network connectivity probability in the presence of Nakagami fading channel. In our model, the transmission range of each vehicle is modeled as a random variable due to channel fading. The analytical results are validated by extensive simulations.
Comparative in vivo bioequivalence and in vitro dissolution of two cyclosporin A soft gelatin capsule formulations.

OBJECTIVE A study was conducted to establish the bioequivalence between a newly developed cyclosporin A (CsA) oral formulation, Deximune soft-gelatin capsules (Dexcel Ltd.) and Sandimmune Neoral (Novartis Inc.). MATERIALS AND METHODS The clinical investigation was designed as a randomized, open-labeled, two-period, two-treatment crossover study, in 24 healthy fasted male volunteers. The subjects were administered a single 200 mg CsA dose of either formulation. Serial venous blood samples were obtained over 24 hours after each administration to measure CsA in whole blood by a specific TDx-immunoassay. In addition, the comparative drug release rate was assessed using a dissolution apparatus test according to the USP-24 method. RESULTS For both treatments, a mean maximum blood concentration (Cmax) of approximately 1,200 ng/ml was obtained at about 1.6 hours (tmax) after administration and the geometric mean of the area under the blood concentration-time curve (AUC) both for test and reference was approximately 4,900 ng x h/ml. Bioequivalence was conclusively demonstrated for both rate (Cmax and tmax) and extent (AUC) of CsA absorption, between the two treatments. Moreover, the CsA blood concentration measurement at 2 hours after administration (C2), demonstrated equivalent results between the two products. The point estimates and their 90% confidence intervals were within the respective equivalence ranges for the pharmacokinetic parameters and were included in the range for drugs with a narrow therapeutic index. The comparative dissolution test for both formulations showed an in vitro release rate of more than 90% within 15 minutes. CONCLUSIONS Based on the results, the two oral CsA formulations compared are bioequivalent and can be interchanged without need for dosage adjustment.
MiMAPT: Adaptive multi-resolution thermal analysis at RT and gate level

Tight timing/area constraints produce on-chip layouts with non-regular shapes for RTL entities. Thus, grid-like floorplans where RTL entities are abstracted as rectangular blocks for thermal simulation lead to inaccurate results. In addition, spatial and temporal variability of chip workload causes localized temperature variations. Exact localization of hotspots at gate-level necessitates an extremely detailed spatial resolution which is very computationally intensive. We propose MiMAPT, a tool capable of performing thermal simulation at RT and gate-level with multiple scales of spatiotemporal resolution. To demonstrate the tool advantages we run various tests for a sample chip. We show that our tool provides high level of flexibility in terms of speed vs. accuracy of results.
Reduction of nitrogenous oxides by microorganisms.

INTRODUCTION . 410 ASSIMILATORY REDUCTION . 410 Bacteria . 410 Distribution Among the Genera . 410 Pichinoty's Type B Nitrate Reductase . 411 Discovery . 411 Assay . 412 Control . 412 Nitrite and Hydroxylamine Reduction . 413 Control of Synthesis of Repressible Assimilatory Nitrate Reductase in Enterobacter . 413 Fungi. 414 Distribution of Assimilatory Capacity Among Yeasts and Molds . 414 Regulation . 414 Hansenula anomala . 414 Aspergillus nidulans . 415 Neurospora crassa . 416 NADPH-linked nitrate reductase . 416 Nitrite reductase . 418 Photosynthetic Microorganisms . 419 Bacteria and Blue-Green Algae . 419 Other Microscopic Algae . 419 Pyridine nucleotide-linked nitrate reductase . 419 Ferredoxin-dependent nitrite reductase . 421 DISSIMILATORY REDUCTION BY BACTERIA . 421 Distribution Among Various Species . 421 Respiratory Reduction to Nitrite . 421 Denitrification . 423 Nitrate Reductase . 424 Oxygen Availability and Other Physiological Influences on Synthesis and Activity . 424 E. aerogenes . 424 E. coli . 424 Bacillus species. 424 Proteus mirabilis . 425 Haemophilis parainfluenzae . 425 Characteristics of theEnzyme . 426 Location, assembly, and electron transport . 426 Pichinoty's type A reductase . 427 Genetic Studies . 429 Use as a Marker or Reagent . 430 Nitrite, Nitric Oxide, and Nitrous Oxide Reductases . 431 Gas Chromatographic and Isotopic Methods of Analysis . 431 Control ofEnzyme Synthesis and Activity . 432 Electron Transport Cofactors . 433 Attendant Conservation of Energy . 435 ECOLOGICAL STUDIES. 436 Nitrate Fluxes in Soil . 436 Engineering Practices for Diminishing Nitrate Pollution . 437 Phenomena Observed in Natural Waters . 438 CONCLUDING REMARKS . 439 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . 440 LITERATURE CITED . 440
Electromagnetic Scattering From a Metallic Prolate or Oblate Spheroid Using Asymptotic Expansions on Spheroidal Eigenvectors

The electromagnetic scattering of a plane wave by a metallic spheroid is considered in this work. The solution is obtained using two alternative methods: the first method is based on applying asymptotic expansions on the spheroidal eigenvectors, allowing a closed-form solution for the fields and the scattering cross sections, which is valid for small eccentricities of the spheroid. The second method is based on the full wave analysis using the separation of variables in terms of the spheroidal eigenvectors, which allows to obtain the exact solution of the problem. Both prolate and oblate spheroids are considered, and both polarizations are studied. Numerical results are given for various values of the parameters.
Elimination of a long-range cis-regulatory module causes complete loss of limb-specific Shh expression and truncation of the mouse limb

Mutations in a conserved non-coding region in intron 5 of the Lmbr1 locus, which is 1 Mb away from the sonic hedgehog (Shh) coding sequence, are responsible for mouse and human preaxial polydactyly with mirror-image digit duplications. In the mouse mutants, ectopic Shh expression is observed in the anterior mesenchyme of limb buds. Furthermore, a transgenic reporter gene flanked with this conserved non-coding region shows normal polarized expression in mouse limb buds. This conserved sequence has therefore been proposed to act as a long-range, cis-acting regulator of limb-specific Shh expression. Previous phylogenetic studies have also shown that this sequence is highly conserved among tetrapods, and even in teleost fishes. Paired fins of teleost fishes and tetrapod limbs have evolved from common ancestral appendages, and polarized Shh expression is commonly observed in fins. In this study, we first show that this conserved sequence motif is also physically linked to the Shh coding sequence in a teleost fish, the medaka, by homology search of a newly available genomic sequence database. Next, we show that deletion of this conserved intronic sequence by targeted mutation in the mouse results in a complete loss of Shh expression in the limb bud and degeneration of skeletal elements distal to the stylopod/zygopod junction. This sequence contains a major limb-specific Shh enhancer that is necessary for distal limb development. These results suggest that the conserved intronic sequence evolved in a common ancestor of fishes and tetrapods to control fin and limb development.
Hierarchical patterns of covariance between morphological and behavioural traits

When correlations among a set of traits within a species strongly resemble the correlations among these same traits across species, it is tempting to explain the origin of the interspecific pattern by the same mechanisms that are observed to maintain the intraspecific pattern (Travis 1994a). In this note we suggest that it is necessary to consider a variety of hierarchical levels of covariation among traits before drawing that parallel. While other workers have made similar points about how phylogenetic information can help refine hypotheses for the evolution of broad interspecific associations among traits (Carothers 1984; Maddison 1990 cited in Sillen-Tullberg 1988; Cooper 1995; McPeek 1995), we ask whether micro-evolutionary maintenance processes can be used to infer the origin of macro-evolutionary patterns within a group. The question is an appropriate one for many classes of characters, but we feel it particularly important when behavioural traits are involved because of the interest in the way in which behavioural variation
Increased Heme Oxygenase-1 Gene Expression in the Livers of Patients with Portal Hypertension Due to Severe Hepatic Cirrhosis

Surgical bleeding associated with splanchnic hyperaemia due to portal hypertension complicates the anaesthetic management of hepatic transplantation. Although the mechanism(s) of portal hypertension are not fully understood, carbon monoxide, a product of the heme oxygenase (HO) reaction, is thought to be one of the endogenous vasodilators in the liver. In this study, the expression of mRNA encoding inducible HO isozyme (HO-1) in the livers of patients with portal hypertension undergoing hepatic transplantation was determined in comparison with those without portal hypertension. HO-1 mRNA levels were significantly greater in the portal hypertension group than in the group without portal hypertension. In contrast with HO-1, the gene expression of non-specific δ-aminolevulinate synthase (ALAS-N), which is down-regulated by heme in the liver, was the same in both groups. These results suggest that HO-1 is up-regulated through heme-independent stimuli according to the development of portal hypertension, and that induced HO-1 plays a pathophysiological role in portal hypertension through carbon monoxide production.
Lactobacillus prophylaxis for diarrhea due to enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli

In vitro and animal experiments indicated that lactobacilli might prevent Escherichia coli from colonizing the intestine and may produce substances counteracting enterotoxin. Lactinex, a commercial preparation of dried Lactobacillus acidophilus and L. bulgaricus, is marketed for uncomplicated diarrhea. Preliminary experiments in nonfasting volunteers indicated that lactobacilli in this preparation colonized the small intestine for up to 6 h. To evaluate the protective efficacy of Lactinex, a double-blind randomized study was carried out in which 48 volunteers (23 receiving Lactinex and 25 receiving placebos) were challenged with E. coli strains that produced heat-stable or heat-labile enterotoxins or both. No significant differences between the two groups were noted with respect to attack rate, incubation period, duration of diarrhea, volume and number of liquid stools, and coproculture yields. These data suggest that this lactobacillus preparations does not prevent or alter the course of enterotoxigenic E. coli diarrhea in adults. Lack of efficacy occurred despite efforts to maximize small bowel colonization, including administration of Lactinex in milk and in a 6-hour-interval regimen during 36 h before and 96 h after challenge.
Interaction of Mycobacterium tuberculosis with MH-S, an immortalized murine alveolar macrophage cell line: a comparison with primary murine macrophages.

UNLABELLED We are interested in identifying a suitable model for investigating mycobacteria interactions with alveolar macrophages. MH-S, a murine alveolar macrophage cell line, is a possible candidate. OBJECTIVE To compare the receptor mediated interactions of mycobacteria with primary murine macrophages and MH-S. DESIGN The association of MH-S monolayers with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) and other defined particles was compared to that of resident Day 1 peritoneal macrophage (PM) and Day 4 alveolar macrophage (AM) monolayers. RESULTS In the absence of serum, the association of MTB with MH-S was comparable to that of AM, with approximately 35% of each macrophage type binding at least one bacterium. In contrast, almost 80% of PM bound at least one bacterium. MTB binding was enhanced for all macrophage types by a heat-labile component of normal mouse serum. Antibodies recognising CR3 inhibited the serum-mediated enhanced binding of MTB by MH-S. Binding of latex, immunoglobulin coated or complement coated SRBC by MH-S, AM and PM was comparable. Binding of zymosan by MH-S was greatly inferior to AM and PM. CONCLUSION The receptor expression and particle binding properties of MH-S are similar to AM in many, but not all, ways. MH-S, therefore, has the potential to be used as a model for investigating MTB-macrophage interactions.
An efficient algorithm for the adaptive control of a manipulator

A novel algorithm is described for the adaptive control of a robot manipulator which may contain closed kinematic loops. The algorithm identifies the mass properties of each link and the viscous friction coefficients for each joint of the manipulator. It is similar to the Newton-Euler inverse dynamics algorithm and hence obtains its computational efficiency through the recursive nature of the algorithm. <<ETX>>
Selective depletion of alloreactive T cells and study of anti-tumor activity of specific T cell clones in patients with leukemia and renal carcinoma

Background: Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is a severe complication of allogeneic transplantation of hematopoietic stem cells. Donor T cells play a major role in GVHD leading to the host tissue damage, mainly the skin, liver, and gastrointestinal tract. A selective depletion using an anti-CD25 immunotoxin can eliminate harmful alloreactive T cells while preserving other donor T cells with antileukemic and antiinfectious reactivity. Patients and Methods: We performed 15 mixed lymphocyte reactions with clinical specimens from 12 patients with various types of leukemia (7x AML, 3x ALL, 1x CML, 1x CLL) and PBMC from 15 healthy volunteers from Transfusive station FN Brno Bohunice. Results: In our experiments we have demonstrated, that antileukemic (GVL) effect of donor, especially CD4+ T cells was well preserved (7.46%), while unfavourable alloreactive (GVH) reaction of donor T cells was completely removed. The graft-versus-host (GVH) reactivation of donor cells was negligible ever after repeated stimulation with irradiated patients PBMC. Conclusion: We have shown that anti-CD25 immunotoxin (IT), RFT5-SMPT-dgA, launched against alfa chain for human interleukin 2 (IL-2), led to long-term selective depletion of alloreactive donor T cell clones while their antileukemic activity was well preserved. Base on our results the clinical phase I/II study was designed. This study was initiated in year 2007 in three clinical centers in Czech Republic.
A prediction model of blood pressure for telemedicine

This paper presents a new study based on a machine learning technique, specifically an artificial neural network, for predicting systolic blood pressure through the correlation of variables (age, BMI, exercise level, alcohol consumption level, smoking status, stress level, and salt intake level). The study was carried out using a database containing a variety of variables/factors. Each database of raw data was split into two parts: one part for training the neural network and the remaining part for testing the performance of the network. Two neural network algorithms, back-propagation and radial basis function, were used to construct and validate the prediction system. According to the experiment, the accuracy of our predictions of systolic blood pressure values exceeded 90%. Our experimental results show that artificial neural networks are suitable for modeling and predicting systolic blood pressure. This new method of predicting systolic blood pressure helps to give an early warning to adults, who may not get regular blood pressure measurements that their blood pressure might be at an unhealthy level. Also, because an isolated measurement of blood pressure is not always very accurate due to daily fluctuations, our predictor can provide the predicted value as another figure for medical staff to refer to.
Resistant hypertension: is renal denervation the current treatment of choice?

Abstract Background: Resistant hypertension is simply defined as failure to control blood pressure <140/90 mmHg in an adherent non-diabetic patient with normal kidney function despite the use of optimal doses of three antihypertensive agents, including a diuretic. Also, control of blood pressure in any adherent patient with more than four antihypertensive agents defines resistant hypertension. In a patient with diabetes or chronic kidney disease, the goal blood pressure is <130/80 mmHg. One of the most important pathophysiological mechanisms of resistant hypertension is overactivity of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). In selected patients with resistant hypertension, renal denervation has been shown to control blood pressure by suppressing SNS overactivity. Summary: This review summarizes the results of the studies of renal denervation for resistant hypertension and suggests the use of this procedure in several other conditions that are associated with SNS overactivity. Key message: Renal denervation seems to control blood pressure in patients with resistant hypertension.
Sizing procedure of surface mounted PM machines for fast analytical evaluations

This paper presents a sizing procedure for the preliminary electromagnetic design of three-phase surface mounted permanent magnet machines having either inner or outer rotor structure. Starting from the requested rated data and few design specifications, the proposed approach consists on an iterative sizing procedure based on self-consistent equations. This sizing procedure is intended for those designers that, starting from scratch, have to define the main features of new machines for technical discussions and initial cost analysis for quotations. This analytical tool can also be easily integrated into sophisticated optimizers to manage the electromagnetic design and speed up the solution of high time-consuming multi-objective scenarios. To validate the proposed sizing approach, the paper reports as case studies the electromagnetic design of an inner rotor and an outer rotor surface mounted PM machine. The obtained results are validated both with an analytically-based commercial software dedicated to electrical machine analyses and with 2D FEM simulations.
Pre-operative hypoalbuminemia is a major risk factor for postoperative complications following rectal cancer surgery.

AIM To determine the relationship between pre-operative hypoalbuminemia and the development of complications following rectal cancer surgery, as well as postoperative bowel function and hospital stay. METHODS The medical records of 244 patients undergoing elective oncological resection for rectal adenocarcinoma at Siriraj Hospital during 2003 and 2006 were reviewed. The patients had pre-operative serum albumin assessment. Albumin less than 35 g/L was recognized as hypoalbuminemia. Postoperative outcomes, including mortality, complications, time to first bowel movement, time to first defecation, time to resumption of normal diet and length of hospital stay, were analyzed. RESULTS The patients were 139 males (57%) and 105 females (43%) with mean age of 62 years. Fifty-six patients (23%) had hypoalbuminemia. Hypoalbuminemic patients had a significantly larger tumor size and lower body mass index compared with non-hypoalbuminemic patients (5.5 vs 4.3 cm; P < 0.001 and 21.9 vs 23.2 kg/m(2); P = 0.02, respectively). Thirty day postoperative mortality was 1.2%. Overall complication rate was 25%. Hypoalbuminemic patients had a significantly higher rate of postoperative complications (37.5% vs 21.3%; P = 0.014). In univariate analysis, hypoalbuminemia and ASA status were two risk factors for postoperative complications. In multivariate analysis, hypoalbuminemia was the only significant risk factor (odds ratio 2.22, 95% CI 1.17-4.23; P < 0.015). Hospitalization in hypoalbuminemic patients was significantly longer than that in non-hypoalbuminemic patients (13 vs 10 d, P = 0.034), but the parameters of postoperative bowel function were not significantly different between the two groups. CONCLUSION Pre-operative hypoalbuminemia is an independent risk factor for postoperative complications following rectal cancer surgery.
Inflammatory proteins and depression in the elderly.

BACKGROUND Clinical studies suggest that depression may be accompanied by an activation of the inflammatory response system. We investigated the relation of cytokine interleukin-6 and the acute phase proteins alpha1-antichymotrypsin and C-reactive protein with depression in a population-based study. METHODS We screened for depressive symptoms 3884 adults at age 60 and older living in a district of Rotterdam, and performed a psychiatric work-up on those who were screened positive. All subjects had blood drawn. We compared levels of inflammation markers adjusted for smoking, stroke, functional disability and cognitive score for 263 cases with depressive symptoms (including 106 subjects with depressive disorders) and 461 randomly selected reference subjects. RESULTS Age- and gender-adjusted analyses suggested associations of alpha1-antichymotrypsin and C-reactive protein with depressive disorders, but these associations disappeared after adjustment for additional confounding factors. Even after adjustment, increased levels of interleukin-6 were related to depressive disorders (odds ratio per standard deviation increase in interleukin-6 = 1.47; 95% confidence interval = 1.15-1.89). Further analyses demonstrated that this relation was mainly attributable to the subjects with high interleukin-6 concentrations, suggesting a threshold effect. CONCLUSIONS Interleukin-6 levels were strongly increased in some subjects with depressive disorders, possibly indicating a specific immunologic process. However, the associations of acute phase proteins with depression in this population-based study could be explained by confounding.