Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Traditional Nurse Triage vs. Physician Tele-Presence in a Pediatric Emergency Department

Objectives— To compare traditional nurse triage (TNT) in a Pediatric Emergency Department (PED) to physician tele-presence (PTP). Methods— Prospective, 2×2 crossover study with random assignment using a sample of walk-in patients seeking care in a PED at a large, tertiary care children’s hospital, from May 2012 to January 2013. Outcomes of triage times, documentation errors, triage scores, and survey responses were compared between TNT and PTP. Comparison between PTP to actual treating PED physicians regarding the accuracy of ordering blood and urine tests, throat cultures, and radiologic imaging was also studied. Results— Paired samples t-tests showed a statistically significant difference in triage time between TNT and PTP (p=0.03), but no significant difference in documentation errors (p=0.10). Triage scores of TNT were 71% accurate, compared to PTP, which were 95% accurate. Both parents and children had favorable scores regarding PTP and the majority indicated they would prefer PTP again at their next PED visit. PTP diagnostic ordering was comparable to the actual PED physician ordering, showing no statistical differences. Conclusions— Utilizing physician tele-presence technology to remotely perform triage is a feasible alternative to traditional nurse triage, with no clinically significant differences in time, triage scores, errors and patient and parent satisfaction.
TLR-2 independent recognition of M. tuberculosis by CD11c + pulmonary cells from old mice

The elderly are particularly susceptible to infectious diseases such as influenza, bacterial pneumonia, and tuberculosis. Current vaccines are only partially protective in old age, which makes the elderly a critical target group for the development of new vaccine strategies. The recognition of pathogens via toll like receptors (TLR) and the subsequent generation of proinflammatory cytokines has generated interest in incorporating TLR agonists into new vaccines to enhance immunogenicity. However, TLR function is reportedly decreased in old age, leading to questions regarding the benefit of including TLR agonists into vaccines for the elderly. It is critical that we understand the function and role of TLRs in aged hosts prior to approving new TLR based adjuvants for vaccines that will be delivered to the elderly. In this study we determine the contribution of TLRs on pulmonary macrophages from old mice to recognize and respond to infection with the virulent pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) . Although pulmonary (CD11c + ) cells from old mice were fully capable of producing cytokines in response to M.tb infection, we demonstrate that in contrast to young mice, M.tb induced cytokine production occurred independently of TLR-2. Our data indicate that the inclusion of TLR-2 agonists into new vaccines may not be fully effective in the elderly population. Investigation into such age-related differences in TLR function is of critical importance for the design of effective vaccines that will protect the elderly against infectious diseases. the lungs of aged hosts will provide insight into the increased susceptibility of the elderly to M.tb infection, and could be critical for the effective design of vaccines that specifically target the aged population. Our studies demonstrate that pulmonary CD11c + cells from old mice are fully capable of producing IL-12p40 and TNF following in vitro and in vivo M.tb infection however, unlike CD11c + macrophages from young mice, M.tb induced cytokine production occurred independently of TLR-2. Blocking studies showed that TLR-4 and TLR-9 could only partially compensate for the lack of TLR-2 responsiveness, indicating that additional receptors participate in M.tb recognition in old age. These data provide evidence that the incorporation of TLR-2 agonists into vaccines may not be an effective strategy for protecting the elderly and that other, currently uncharacterized receptors, may be alternate candidates when designing vaccines specifically for aged individuals. to the experiments where no reduction was observed. Data represent mean +/ − SD of pools of 5 mice from 2 independent experiments. Statistical significance was determined by Student’s t -test, p
ATP as a molecular mediator of the vascular response to injury

Background— Human saphenous veins used for arterial bypass undergo stretch injury at the time of harvest and pre-implant preparation. Vascular injury promotes intimal hyperplasia, the leading cause of graft failure, but the molecular events leading to this response are largely unknown. This study investigated adenosine triphosphate (ATP) as a potential molecular mediator in the vascular response to stretch injury, and the downstream effects of the purinergic receptor, P2X7R, and p38 MAPK activation. Materials and Methods— A subfailure stretch rat aorta model was employed to determine the effect of stretch injury on release of ATP and vasomotor responses. Stretch-injured tissues were treated with apyrase, the P2X7R antagonist, A438079, or the p38 MAPK inhibitor, SB203580, and subsequent contractile forces were measured using a muscle bath. An exogenous ATP (eATP) injury model was developed and the experiment repeated. Change in p38 MAPK phosphorylation after stretch and eATP tissue injury was determined using Western blotting. Non-injured tissue was incubated in the p38 MAPK activator, anisomycin, and subsequent contractile function and p38 MAPK phosphorylation were analyzed. Results— Stretch injury was associated with release of ATP. Contractile function was decreased in tissue subjected to subfailure stretch, eATP, and anisomycin. Contractile function was restored by apyrase, P2X7R antagonism, and p38-MAPK inhibition. Stretch, eATP, and anisomycin-injured tissue demonstrated increased phosphorylation of p38 MAPK. Conclusions— Taken together these data suggest that the vascular response to stretch injury is associated with release of ATP and activation of the P2X7R/P38 MAPK pathway, resulting in contractile dysfunction. Modulation of this pathway in vein grafts after harvest and before implantation may reduce the vascular response to injury.
EFFECTS OF 4-HYDROXYNONENAL ON MITOCHONDRIAL HMG-CoA SYNTHASE*

Chronic ethanol consumption causes increased production of reactive oxygen species in hepatic mitochondria accompanied by elevations in products of lipid peroxidation such as 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE). In the current study we investigated the effects of chronic ethanol consumption on a prominent protein-4-HNE adduct in liver mitochondria. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed a liquid diet for 31 days in which ethanol constituted 36% of total calories. Immunoblot analyses of liver mitochondria from ethanol-fed and control animals, using an antibody to a 4-HNE-protein adduct, demonstrated elevated 4-HNE binding (+50%) to a mitochondrial protein of ~55 kDa due to chronic ethanol consumption. Analysis of this protein using AspN digestion and tandem mass spectrometry identified it as the mitochondrial form of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl CoA (HMG-CoA) synthase. Activity of activated form of this enzyme was unchanged in livers from ethanol-fed animals, but the protein level was elevated by 36%, which suggests a compensatory mechanism to maintain constant levels of synthase activity in the mitochondrion in the face of continuous inactivation by 4-HNE. Treatment of isolated mitochondria with 4-HNE demonstrated that the enzyme activity decreased as a function of 4-HNE concentration and with time of exposure. This study demonstrates that ethanol consumption increases the formation of a 4-HNE adduct with mitochondrial HMG-CoA synthase, which has the potential to inactivate the enzyme in situ.
Surface electromyography in animals: A systematic review

The study of muscle activity using surface electromyography (sEMG) is commonly used for investigations of the neuromuscular system in man. Although sEMG has faced methodological challenges, considerable technical advances have been made in the last few decades. Similarly, the field of animal biomechanics, including sEMG, has grown despite being confronted with often complex experimental conditions. In human sEMG research, standardised protocols have been developed, however these are lacking in animal sEMG. Before standards can be proposed in this population group, the existing research in animal sEMG should be collated and evaluated. Therefore the aim of this review is to systematically identify and summarise the literature in animal sEMG focussing on (1) species, breeds, activities and muscles investigated, and (2) electrode placement and normalisation methods used. The databases PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Vetmed Resource were searched systematically for sEMG studies in animals and 38 articles were included in the final review. Data on methodological quality was collected and summarised. The findings from this systematic review indicate the divergence in animal sEMG methodology and as a result, future steps required to develop standardisation in animal sEMG are proposed.
Implications of Tuberculosis Reactivation after Immune Checkpoint Inhibition To the Editor: Treatment of malignant disease with immune checkpoint inhibitors

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An investigation on kinematics and dynamics performance of a novel 3-PRC-compliant parallel micromanipulator

This article proposes a 3-PRC compliant parallel micromanipulator with 3 degrees of freedom. The piezoelectric actuator is adopted to drive the mechanism, and to compensate the stroke of the piezoelectric actuator, a new type of secondary lever amplification mechanism is designed. The kinematics model of the 3-PRC parallel micromanipulation platform is derived using vector method, and the forward and inverse kinematics solutions of a 3-PRC parallel micromanipulation stage are emphatically analyzed and then the Jacobian matrix of kinematics model and workspace are derived. Finally, the dynamic model is established by Lagrange equation, and the natural frequency of the mechanism is calculated. The modal analysis is carried out using finite element method. The results showed that the mechanism has a favorable performance on kinematics and dynamics, and this micromanipulator can achieve micro/nano level motion with high accuracy.
Short Elevated A b 42 in Skeletal Muscle of Alzheimer Disease Patients Suggests Peripheral Alterations of A b PP Metabolism

The levels of amyloid- b 40 (A b 40) and A b 42 peptides were quantified in temporalis muscles and brain of neuropathologically diagnosed Alzheimer disease (AD) and of nondemented individuals. This was achieved by using a novel analytical approach consisting of a combination of fast-performance liquid chromatographic (FPLC) size exclusion chromatography developed under denaturing conditions and europium immunoassay on the 4.0- to 4.5-kd fractions. In the temporalis muscles of the AD and nondemented control groups, the average values for A b 42 were 15.7 ng/g and 10.2 ng/g ( P 5 0.010), and for A b 40 they were 37.8 ng/g and 29.8 ng/g ( P 5 0.067), respectively. Multiple regression analyses of the AD and control combined populations indicated that 1) muscle A b 40 and muscle A b 42 levels were correlated with each other ( P < 0.001), 2) muscle A b 40 levels were positively correlated with age ( P 5 0.036), and 3) muscle A b 42 levels were positively correlated with Braak stage ( P 5 0.042).
Single- and Multiple- Track Location Shear Wave and Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse Imaging: Matched Comparison of Contrast, CNR, and Resolution

Acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) imaging and shear wave elasticity imaging (SWEI) use the dynamic response of tissue to impulsive mechanical stimulus to characterize local elasticity. A variant of conventional, multiple track location SWEI (MTL-SWEI), denoted single track location SWEI (STL-SWEI) offers the promise of creating speckle-free shear wave images. This work compares the three imaging modalities using a high push and track beam density combined acquisition sequence to image inclusions of different sizes and contrasts. STL-SWEI is shown to have significantly higher CNR than MTL-SWEI, allowing for operation at higher resolution. ARFI and STL-SWEI perform similarly in the larger inclusions, with STL-SWEI providing better visualization of small targets ≤2.5 mm in diameter. The processing of each modality introduces different trade-offs between smoothness and resolution of edges and structures; these are discussed in detail.
An approach for evaluating collaboration attributes in cluster-based companies

This paper presents an approach for evaluating collaboration attributes in companies operating in industrial clusters. From the literature review, we identified governance, geographic proximity, and trust as the main collaboration attributes in industrial clusters. For each of them, there is a set of related sub-attributes that composed the evaluation model. For developing the model, we used the graph theoretic approach (GTA), a methodology for multi-attribute assessment that considers interdependencies among elements of a system to provide an overall evaluation. We applied the model to five companies of a furniture cluster. The results showed the model allows for systematizing relationship management because it highlights the collaboration attributes that need to be improved. Furthermore, the application of the model may contribute to encouraging companies to develop collaborative practices.
Time Series Predictive Analysis based on Hybridization of Meta-heuristic Algorithms

This paper presents a comparative study which involved five hybrid meta-heuristic methods to predict the weather five days in advance. The identified meta-heuristic methods namely Moth-flame Optimization (MFO), Cuckoo Search algorithm (CSA), Artificial Bee Colony (ABC), Firefly Algorithm (FA) and Differential Evolution (DE) are individually hybridized with a well-known machine learning technique namely Least Squares Support Vector Machines (LS-SVM). For experimental purposes, a total of 6 independent inputs are considered which were collected based on daily weather data. The efficiency of the MFO-LSSVM, CS-LSSVM, ABC-LSSVM, FA-LSSVM, and DE-LSSVM was quantitatively analyzed based on Theil’s U and Root Mean Square Percentage Error. Overall, the experimental results demonstrate a good rival among the identified methods. However, the superiority goes to FA-LSSVM which was able to record lower error rates in prediction. The proposed prediction model could benefit many parties in continuity planning daily activities.
Nematode Chemosensilla: Form and Function

As an in t roduc t ion to a s y m p o s i u m of n e m a t o d e chemorecept ion , the a n a t o m y o[ nema tode chemosensi l la , thei r d i s t r ibu t ion on p l a n t parasi t ic nematodes , and the i r possible func t iona l roles is briefly reviewed. Compar i son of ne ma tode chemosens i l la wi th those of o ther an imal s shows thei r grea ter resemblance to olfactory p r imary sense cells of vertebrates. A l t h o u g h the sensory process is obviously derived f rom a ci l ium, the absence of m a n y ciliary features is noted. Re ten t ion of the ciliary necklace may be i m p o r t a n t funct ional ly . A s imple model is proposed, where in b ind ing of s t i m u l a n t molecules to receptors in the m e m b r a n e of the c i l iumderived process resul ts in en t ry of Na + and Ca +~ (the lat ter via the ciliary necklace) to p roduce a receptor potent ia l tha t spreads a long the t lendri te to the cell body where action poten t ia l s con t i nue a long the short axon to synapses.
The Endocrine Dyscrasia that Accompanies Menopause and Andropause Induces Aberrant Cell Cycle Signaling that Triggers Cell Cycle Reentry of Post-mitotic Neurons, Neurodysfunction, Neurodegeneration and Cognitive Disease

Sex hormones are the physiological factors that regulate neurogenesis during embryogenesis and continuing through adulthood. These hormones support the formation of brain structures such as dendritic spines, axons and synapses required for the capture of information (memories). Intriguingly, a recent animal study has demonstrated that induction of neurogenesis results in the loss of previously encoded memories in animals (e.g. infantile amnesia). In this connection, much evidence now indicates that Alzheimer’s disease (AD) also involves aberrant re-entry of postmitotic neurons into the cell cycle. Cell cycle abnormalities appear very early in the disease, prior to the appearance of plaques and tangles, and explain the biochemical, neuropathological and cognitive changes observed with disease progression. Since sex hormones control when and how neurons proliferate and differentiate, the endocrine dyscrasia that accompanies menopause and andropause is a key signaling event that impacts neurogenesis and the acquisition, processing, storage and recall of memories. Here we review the biochemical, epidemiological and clinical evidence that alterations in endocrine signaling with menopause and andropause drive the aberrant re-entry of post-mitotic neurons into an abortive cell cycle with neurite retraction that leads to neuron dysfunction and death. When the reproductive axis is in balance, luteinizing hormone (LH), and its fetal homolog, human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), promote pluripotent human and totipotent murine embryonic stem cell and neuron proliferation. However, strong evidence supports menopausal/andropausal elevations in the ratio of LH:sex steroids as driving aberrant mitotic events mediated by the upregulation of tumor necrosis factor, amyloid- β precursor protein processing towards the production of mitogenic A β , and the activation of Cdk5, a key regulator of cell cycle progression and tau phosphorylation (a cardinal feature of both neurogenesis and neurodegeneration). Cognitive studies also demonstrate the negative consequences of a high LH:sex steroid ratio on human cognitive performance. Prospective epidemiological and clinical evidence in humans supports lowering the ratio of circulating gonadotropins-GnRH to sex steroids in reducing the incidence of AD and halting cognitive decline. Together, these data support endocrine dyscrasia and the subsequent loss of cell cycle control as an important etiological event in the development of neurodegenerative diseases including AD, stroke and Parkinson’s disease.
Single-pixel terahertz imaging based on spatial Fourier spectrum

We propose and demonstrate single-pixel terahertz imaging based on spatial Fourier spectrum (SFS). The concept and the operation principle of this novel approach are introduced by comparing with the conventional compressing sensing (CS) approach, clarifying their similarities and differences. By doing this, we find that these two different approaches can share the same photo-induced coded aperture setup, facilitating their direct comparisons. Our results show that, compared with the CS approach, the SFS approach can reconstruct high-quality images with greatly reduced number of measurements, i.e., the sampling ratio, and is thus more efficient. Remarkably, the SFS-based system is capable to assemble a 64x64 image with signal-to-noise ratio of 6.0 for a sampling ratio of only 4.8%. We further show that deep photo-induced terahertz modulation by adopting graphene on silicon substrate and high laser power can significantly improve the image quality. We expect this work will speed up the efficiency of single-pixel THz imaging and advance THz imaging applications.
Maternal BMI is Independently Associated with Diabetes Control in Young Patients

Objective— Investigate the cross-sectional association of glycemic control of ethnically diverse diabetic youth with family characteristics. Design— Family study of 91 diabetic youth (probands) and 142 parents. Results— Children’s age and HbA1c averaged 11.9 years and 8.9%, respectively; 69% were minorities. After adjustment, poor glycemic control was associated with minority race/ethnicity, more television viewing, and higher maternal body mass index (BMI). Average HbA1c was 1.2 and 1.9% units higher for children of overweight and obese mothers, respectively (p=0.004). Conclusions— The positive association between maternal body composition and child HbA1c likely represents the unique behavioral influence of mothers.
Robotic Process Automation - A Virtual Assistant for Inventory Management

Robotic process automation (RPA) is an emerging form of business process automation technology based on the notion of software robots or Artificial Intelligence (AI) workers. The term RPA can be split as Robotic representing an entity which is capable of being programmed by a computer for doing computer tasks, known as robot; Process signifying the sequence of actions taken in a logical order to achieve a particular end; and Automation suggesting the accomplishment of tasks without any human intervention. In RPA, bots are software programs which automate the routine tasks, and mimic human behavior with no change to the existing infrastructure. Intelligent Process Automation (IPA) enhances the cognitive abilities of software bots by bringing intelligence to them and paves the path for the software robots to mimic the way in which human brain works. In this context a research is undertaken to develop a virtual text to speech assistant bot that aids a manager who has the responsibility of managing inventory of items besides his varied other jobs. The customized software robot ensures that if the stock in the inventory of any item reaches reorder level, bots itself sends the message for re-ordering the necessary items through an email to the supplier. The study demonstrates that RPA can be a better substitute to a human being which can perform time intense and necessary activities more effectually.