Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Minimax Design of Low-Complexity Even-Order Variable Fractional-Delay Filters Using Second-Order Cone Programming

This brief proposes an optimal minimax method for designing even-order finite-impulse-response variable fractional-delay (VFD) digital filters by using the second-order cone programming (SOCP), which minimizes the peak error of the variable-frequency response and yields a true minimax design. To minimize the VFD filter complexity, we also present an algorithm for jointly optimizing all the subfilter orders in the Farrow structure such that all the subfilter orders can be simultaneously optimized for exactly meeting a given upper error bound. A design example is given to demonstrate the high performance and low complexity of the SOCP-based VFD filter.
Neuropsychological outcomes after coronary artery bypass grafting

Abstract Short- and long-term cognitive declines after cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass have been reported, but the frequency, severity, nature, and etiology of postoperative cognitive changes have been difficult to quantify. Current studies have corrected the principal methodological shortcoming of earlier studies by including control groups, and have shown that while early postoperative cognitive decline does occur in some patients, it is generally mild and reversible by 3 months after surgery. Late cognitive changes do occur, but comparison with patients undergoing off-pump surgery or those being treated medically suggests that these changes are not specific to CABG or more specifically to the use of cardiopulmonary bypass. (JINS, 2010, 16, 221–226.)
Mitochondrial DNA Copy Number Variation as a Potential Predictor of Renal Cell Carcinoma

Background Peripheral blood mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) copy number alteration has been suggested as a risk factor for several types of cancer. The aim of the present study was to assess the role of peripheral blood mtDNA copy number variation as a noninvasive biomarker in the prediction and early detection of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in a cohort of Egyptian patients. Methods Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was used to measure peripheral blood mtDNA copy numbers in 57 patients with newly diagnosed, early-stage localized RCC and 60 age- and sex-matched healthy individuals as a control group. Results Median mtDNA copy number was significantly higher in RCC cases than in controls (166 vs. 91, p<0.001). Increased mtDNA copy number was associated with an 18-fold increased risk of RCC (95% confidence interval: 5.065-63.9). On receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, it was found that mtDNA could distinguish between RCC patients and healthy controls, with 86% sensitivity, 80% specificity, 80.3% positive predictive value and 85.7% negative predictive value at a cutoff value of 108.5. Conclusions Our results showed that increased peripheral blood mtDNA copy number was associated with increased risk of RCC. Therefore, RCC might be considered as part of a range of potential tumors in cases with elevated blood mtDNA copy number.
A method for producing overactive bladder in the rat and investigation of the effects of GABAergic receptor agonists and glutamatergic receptor antagonists on the cystometrogram.

PURPOSE We induced radio frequency (RF) lesions in the neuronal pathway leading from the forebrain to the pontine micturition center (PMC) to produce a rat model of bladder overactivity. We studied the effects of gamma-aminobutyric acid agonists (diazepam and baclofen) and glutamate receptor antagonists (MK-801 maleate and GYKI52466 [1-(4-aminophenyl-D-4-methyl-7,8 methylenedioxy-5H-2,3-benzodiazepine] hydrochloride) on the cystometrogram and developed a possible explanation of the neuronal mechanisms underlying RF lesion induced bladder overactivity. MATERIALS AND METHOD Seven-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were anesthetized with sodium pentobarbital and RF lesions were produced in the nuclei basalis. Five days later bladder contractions were induced by infusing fluid into the bladder and cystometrograms were measured in conscious rats. RESULTS The micturition interval (MI) in rats subjected to RF lesioning was significantly shorter than that in sham operated control rats. Diazepam (0.1 and 1 mg/kg intraperitoneally), baclofen (1 mg/kg intravenously) and MK-801 (0.1 and 1 mg/kg intravenously) did not change or shortened MI in control rats but it prolonged MI in lesioned rats. GYKI52466 (0.5 and 1 mg/kg intravenously) weakly prolonged MI in lesioned rats. CONCLUSIONS We consider that RF lesioning causes interruption of the inhibitory GABAergic neurons that lead from the forebrain to the PMC. This results in the activation of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors in the PMC that are involved in the facilitation of voiding.
Antibacterial and modulatory effect of Stryphnodendron rotundifolium

Context: Stryphnodendron rotundifolium Mart. (Leguminosae), a tree in Northeast Brazil (Chapada do Araripe), is used in popular medicine to treat different processes such as inflammation and infectious diseases, mainly caused by bacterial pathogens. Objective: This study determined the modulatory and antimicrobial activity of the hydroethanol extract of dried stem bark, the most used form of this natural product, as a remedy by the traditional communities, against standard and clinical isolates of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Material and methods: The antibacterial and modulatory activities of the hydroalcoholic extract from the leaves were obtained by maceration/hydrodistillation method and assayed by microdilution. Results: In the microbiological assays, growth inhibition was demonstrated by this extract against the bacterial strains tested, with minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of 512 µg/mL. However, when a subinhibitory concentration (MIC/8 = 64 µg/mL) was combined with conventional antimicrobial drugs (gentamicin, kanamycin, amikacin and neomycin), the extract showed a potentiating effect, reducing the MIC for all drugs assayed in a range between 312.5 and 2.4 µg/mL. Conclusions: We indicate that the extract of S. rotundifolium showed potential synergistic antibiotic activity. With the results obtained, these extracts proved to be a promising source of antibacterial and modulatory agents.
Nursing home staff attitudes towards residents with dementia: strain and satisfaction with work.

BACKGROUND Occupational and resident characteristics affect levels of staff stress and satisfaction in nursing homes, and levels of staff turnover are high. Working with more cognitively impaired residents, especially on day shift, is associated with high levels of stress in nursing home staff. Workload is highly predictive of the experience of burden and job pressure, while these outcomes vary according to whether staff work full- or part-time. AIMS To investigate the attitudes of nursing home staff towards residents, strain related to dementia care and satisfaction with work and their associations with demographic, occupational and behavioural disturbance in the home. METHODS A cross-sectional design was adopted, using a self-completion questionnaire survey of 253 nursing home staff from 12 nursing homes in Sydney's eastern suburbs, and behavioural assessment of all 647 residents from 11 of the 12 homes. Staff attitudes and strain were measured using the Swedish Strain in Nursing Care Assessment Scale and satisfaction using the Swedish Satisfaction with Nursing Care and Work Assessment Scale. RESULTS Staff members' five most prevalent perceptions of residents with dementia were that they are anxious, have little control over their difficult behaviour, are unpredictable, lonely and frightened/vulnerable. The five attributes staff found most difficult to cope with were being aggressive/hostile, having little control over their difficult behaviour, being stubborn/resistive, deliberately difficult, and unpredictable. Although 91% of staff reported that they were happy in their job, a quarter reported that residents provided no job satisfaction. The five satisfaction statements most agreed with were "The patients/residents at work nearly always receive good care", "It is important to try and enter into the way patients experience what happens to them", "Relatives are given enough information about care and treatment", "I enjoy my current work situation" and "Our work organisation is good". There were significant differences between homes in levels of strain related to dementia care that were not accounted for by the level of behavioural disturbance. CONCLUSIONS Nursing home staff tended to perceive residents in more negative than positive ways. Staff were generally satisfied with their work. Factors other than resident behavioural disturbance are important influences in nursing staff strain.
Reemergence of an Unusual Disease: The Chikungunya Epidemic

Since the beginning of 2006, a crippling mosquito-borne disease has shown an explosive emergence in nations in the Indian Ocean area. By March 7, 2006, 157,000 people had been infected in the French island La Réunion, and the disease had spread to the islands of Seychelles, Mauritius, and Mayotte (French). Subsequently, the disease appeared in India, China, and European countries. The World Health Organization is taking measures to assist in fighting the epidemic. This article describes the disease, its recent emergence, and the current epidemic.
Body Size and the Early Mortality Gender Gap in Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting Surgery

Humphries et al. (1) investigated gender differences in 30-day mortality after isolated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) for the entire province of British Columbia from 1991 to 2004. The authors report a substantial trend for improved early CABG mortality in women over this 14-year period. Yet there remains a significant 42% worse 30-day mortality in women even after adjustment for differences in age, comorbid conditions, and surgical factors. Lastly, they report that this gender gap in early CABG outcomes is decreased and is no longer statistically significant (odds ratio 1.26, 95% confidence interval 0.96 to 1.64) when their data is adjusted to body surface area (BSA). The authors explained the latter by a presumed association between lower BSA and smaller coronary vessel size. We concur with the authors that patients with lower BSA are more likely to have smaller coronary targets that are more difficult to revascularize with potential adverse implications on outcomes. This, however, ignores other important factors that are associated with body size and are especially true in case of CABG with cardiopulmonary bypass such as in their series (97% on-pump). A strong association between small body size—disproportionately represented by women—and greater on-pump hemodilution and more frequent administration of packed red blood cell (RBC) units is well established (2,3). Worse early CABG outcomes have been associated with both lower on-pump hematocrits (2–4) and RBC transfusions (5,6). We contend that the authors’ reported 30-day mortality odds ratio of 1.26 in women compared with men would be further reduced if their multivariate adjustment included hemodilutional anemia and transfusion data. This perspective is important, because in contrast to coronary vessel size, which is a fixed patient characteristic, both of these size-related risk factors are potentially modifiable. Specifically, hemodilutional anemia and related use of blood products may be mitigated through specific practices such as: 1) avoidance of cardiopulmonary bypass (offpump surgery); 2) use of miniaturized bypass circuits combined with retrograde autologous priming; and/or 3) implementation of conservative transfusion policies.
Patient Safety and Technology

Case Study An 86-year-old female patient was admitted to the intensive care unit from the emergency department after an automobile accident in which she suffered bilateral pneumothoraces but had no other obvious injuries. She appeared very uncomfortable, writhing in bed and crying, but was not following commands or making eye contact. She was pulling on her restraints and appeared to be reaching out to touch the nurses’ hands. The family was out of the country and could not be reached for several days. The staff were becoming concerned that the patient was withdrawn or had another serious neurologic or psychologic illness. When the family members arrived, they were shocked to see their mother so distraught and quickly reached out to her and held her hand, which seemed to comfort her immensely. The staff expressed their concerns to the family about the patient’s lack of responsiveness. The family members explained that their mother was legally blind and completely deaf without her hearing aids. The family felt confident that her hearing aids and eyeglasses would be with her belongings. And sure enough, the hearing aids and eyeglasses were found in the patient belongings bag in the bedside table. After applying the hearing aids and eyeglasses, the patient was awake, alert, following commands, and smiling at her family and the nursing staff. Technology in the acute and critical care setting is typically equated with devices such as bedside monitors, computerized provider order entry (CPOE), bar-coding devices, mechanical ventilators, dialysis machines, point-of-care testing, ventricular assist devices, and computerized information systems. Yet, these are not the only technologies used to care for our acute and critically ill patients and keep them safe. Many less “sophisticated” technologies such as hearing aids and eyeglasses, which have been widely available for many years, play a key role in patient safety. Imagine the potential risks to the patient in this case study if no one had been available to alert the staff to this patient’s hearing and vision needs. The patient almost certainly would have suffered pain or been unable to alert the staff if she was feeling anxious or short of breath.
Maritime Moving Target Indication and localisation with GNSS-based multistatic radar: Experimental proof of concept

This paper focuses on the feasibility of using Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) as the transmitters of opportunity in a passive maritime surveillance radar, mainly for the applications of maritime Moving Target Indication (MTI), as well as the target localization. This can be achieved using multistatic GNSS acquisitions with multiple satellites and a single receiver, and applying multilateration techniques. For an experimental verification, the target localisation concept was applied to practical maritime measurement conducted with GNSS-based radar test bed and bistatic ranges of one target for two different satellites successfully gained. The experimental localisation results have a high coincidence with the ground truth and confirm the system concept.
Top-Hat Monopole Antenna for Conical-Beam Radiation

This letter demonstrates that a top-hat monopole antenna can be an excellent candidate for generating conical radiation beam. Design equations are derived to obtain the size of the top disk loaded at the end of a short monopole for conical-beam radiation. Simulated and measured results of a fabricated prototype are presented and compared to verify the design equations and its conical-beam radiation performance.
Developmental control of cell division in leech embryos

During embryogenesis, cell division must be spatially and temporally regulated with respect to other developmental processes. Leech embryos undergo a series of unequal and asynchronous cleavages to produce individually recognizable cells whose lineages, developmental fates and cell cycle properties have been characterized. Thus, leech embryos provide an opportunity to examine the regulation of cell division at the level of individual well‐characterized cells within a community of different types of cells. Isolation of leech homologues of some of the highly conserved regulators of the cell division cycle, and characterization of their patterns of maternal and zygotic expression, indicate that the cell divisions of early leech embryos are regulated by cell type‐specific mechanisms. These studies with leech embryos contribute to the emerging appreciation of the diverse mechanisms by which animals regulate cell division during early development.
Thin internal GSM/DCS patch antenna for a portable mobile terminal

A novel internal dual-band patch antenna with a small thickness of 3 mm for application in Global System for Mobile Communication/Digital Communication System (GSM/DCS) mobile terminals such as the mobile phone or Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) phone is presented. The patch antenna occupies an area of 15/spl times/60 mm/sup 2/, with its top patch embedded with a simple T-shaped slit, which separates the top patch into two resonant paths to generate two resonant modes for 900/1800 MHz operation. Then, by extending a small portion of the top patch beyond the top edge of the system ground plane of the mobile terminal, the antenna can provide two wide bandwidths covering the GSM/DCS bands. The proposed antenna is experimentally studied, and effects of the extended top-patch portion and the ground-plane length on the obtained bandwidths are discussed.
dnaT, dominant conditional-lethal mutation affecting DNA replication in Escherichia coli

Normally, bacteria cease DNA replication in the absence of protein synthesis. A variety of treatments, such as thymine starvation or a shift-up to rich medium, lead to continued DNA replication in the absence of protein synthesis. Mutants are described which always terminate replication under these conditions. These conditional lethal mutants, dnaT1 and dnaT2, contransduce with serB and dnaC. The mutation also affects cell division. All aspects of the mutant phenotype (obligatory termination of replication, temperature sensitivity of DNA replication and growth, and aberrant cell division at permissive growth temperatures) were transdominant to the wild-type phenotype. Episomes carrying the dnaT mutation appeared to be unstable. The existence of such a dominant mutation was predicted by a model of chromosome termination proposed by Kogoma and Lark (J. Mol. Biol. 94:243-256, 1975).
Evolutionary dynamics and molecular features of intra-tumor heterogeneity

The systematic assessment of intra-tumor heterogeneity is still limited and often unfeasible. In silico investigations of large tumor cohorts can be used to decipher how multiple clones emerge and organize into complex architectures. Here, we addressed this challenge by integrating mathematical modeling of cancer evolution with algorithmic inference of clonal phylogenies in 2,600 human tumors from 15 tumor types. Through numerical simulations, we could discriminate between observable and hidden intra-tumor heterogeneity, the latter characterized by clones that are missed by DNA sequencing of human samples. To overcome this limitation in human tumors, we show that population frequencies of detectable clones can be used to estimate the extent of hidden heterogeneity. Overall, simulated and human clonal architectures were highly concordant and showed that high numbers of clones invariably emerge through branching lineages. Interestingly, high numbers of alterations were not necessarily associated with high intra-tumor heterogeneity. Indeed, tumors with alterations in proliferation-associated genes exhibited high numbers of clonal mutations, but few clones. Instead, mutations of chromatin remodeling genes characterized tumors with high numbers of subclonal alterations and multiple clones. Our results identify evolutionary and genetic determinants of tumor clonal architectures to guide functional investigations of intra-tumor heterogeneity.
Detection of HIV-1 RNA in seminal plasma samples from treated patients with undetectable HIV-1 RNA in blood plasma

Five percent of 145 HIV-1 infected men enrolled in an assisted reproductive technology (ART) program harbored detectable HIV-1 RNA in semen, although they had no other sexually transmitted disease and their blood viral load was undetectable for at least 6 months under antiretroviral treatment. This result justifies measuring HIV-1 RNA in semen before the ART process and suggests that a residual risk of transmission has to be mentioned to the patients who would like to have unprotected sexual intercourse.
AmrZ Modulates Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilm Architecture by Directly Repressing Transcription of the psl Operon

ABSTRACT Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains recovered from chronic pulmonary infections in cystic fibrosis patients are frequently mucoid. Such strains express elevated levels of alginate but reduced levels of the aggregative polysaccharide Psl; however, the mechanistic basis for this regulation is not completely understood. Elevated pslA expression was observed in an amrZ null mutant and in strains expressing a DNA-binding-deficient AmrZ. AmrZ is a transcription factor that positively regulates twitching motility and alginate synthesis, two phenotypes involved in P. aeruginosa biofilm development. AmrZ bound directly to the pslA promoter in vitro, and molecular analyses indicate that AmrZ represses psl expression by binding to a site overlapping the promoter. Altered expression of amrZ in nonmucoid strains impacted biofilm structure and architecture, as structured microcolonies were observed with low AmrZ production and flat biofilms with amrZ overexpression. These biofilm phenotypes correlated with Psl levels, since we observed elevated Psl production in amrZ mutants and lower Psl production in amrZ-overexpressing strains. These observations support the hypothesis that AmrZ is a multifunctional regulator mediating transition of P. aeruginosa biofilm infections from colonizing to chronic biofilms through repression of the psl operon while activating the algD operon.
Serotonin Depletion Increases Nociception‐Evoked Trigeminal NMDA Receptor Phosphorylation

Objective. — To investigate the effect of serotonin depletion on phosphorylation and expression of NR1 subunit of N‐methyl‐D‐aspartate (NMDA) receptor in trigeminal nucleus caudalis (TNC), and on trigeminal nociception evoked by dural inflammation.
Chronic viral hepatitis induced by hepatitis C but not hepatitis B virus infection correlates with increased liver angiogenesis

Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections lead to cirrhosis and increase the risk for the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Angiogenesis is an essential step in oncogenesis and contributes to tumor progression in adult organs; however, to what extent angiogenesis occurs in the liver during chronic viral hepatitis has not been studied. Ninety‐nine matched patients affected by chronic hepatitis due to either HBV or HCV were studied together with 13 controls (5 patients were affected by familial hyperbilirubinemia with normal liver histology; 6 patients with stage II primary biliary cirrhosis; and 2 patients with pseudo inflammatory tumor). Microvessel density was assessed in liver biopsies by immunostaining using two different antibodies against endothelial cell antigens, QB‐END/10 and Factor VIII. In addition, the liver homogenates and sera of HCV‐ or HBV‐positive patients and controls were tested for their capacity to stimulate the migration and proliferation of freshly isolated human endothelial cells in vitro. Evidence of angiogenesis was significantly more frequent in HCV‐positive patients compared with HBV‐infected subjects or controls (74% vs. 39% vs. 8%) (χ2 = 20.78; P < .0001) (HCV+ vs. HBV+ vs. controls). The degree of microvessel density was also higher in HCV‐ than in HBV‐positive patients or controls (χ2 = 12.28; P < .005). In addition, HCV‐positive sera and liver homogenates stimulated a higher migration and proliferation of human endothelial cells in vitro compared with HBV‐positive or control sera and liver homogenates. These observations indicate that angiogenesis is particularly linked to HCV infection, suggesting a possible contribution to HCV‐related liver oncogenesis.