Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Beneficial Effects of Testosterone Therapy on Functional Capacity, Cardiovascular Parameters, and Quality of Life in Patients with Congestive Heart Failure

Background. According to the present evidences suggesting association between low testosterone level and prediction of reduced exercise capacity as well as poor clinical outcome in patients with heart failure, we sought to determine if testosterone therapy improves clinical and cardiovascular conditions as well as quality of life status in patients with stable chronic heart failure. Methods. A total of 50 male patients who suffered from congestive heart failure were recruited in a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial and randomized to receive an intramuscular (gluteal) long-acting androgen injection (1 mL of testosterone enanthate 250 mg/mL) once every four weeks for 12 weeks or receive intramuscular injections of saline (1 mL of 0.9% wt/vol NaCl) with the same protocol. Results. The changes in body weight, hemodynamic parameters, and left ventricular dimensional echocardiographic indices were all comparable between the two groups. Regarding changes in diastolic functional state and using Tei index, this parameter was significantly improved. Unlike the group received placebo, those who received testosterone had a significant increasing trend in 6-walk mean distance (6MWD) parameter within the study period (P = 0.019). The discrepancy in the trends of changes in 6MWD between study groups remained significant after adjusting baseline variables (mean square = 243.262, F index = 4.402, and P = 0.045). Conclusion. Our study strengthens insights into the beneficial role of testosterone in improvement of functional capacity and quality of life in heart failure patients.
Phenotypic and genetic characterisation of bacterial sexually transmitted infections in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau, West Africa: a prospective cohort study

Background Knowledge regarding characteristics and transmission of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Chlamydia trachomatis and Mycoplasma genitalium and antibiotic resistance in N gonorrhoeae in Guinea-Bissau, West Africa, is entirely lacking. Objectives To characterise N gonorrhoeae, C trachomatis and M genitalium samples from Guinea-Bissau and to define bacterial populations, possible transmission chains and for N gonorrhoeae spread of antibiotic-resistant isolates. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting Two sexual health and family planning clinics, Bissau, Guinea-Bissau. Participants Positive samples from 711 women and 27 men. Material and methods Positive samples for N gonorrhoeae (n=31), C trachomatis (n=60) and M genitalium (n=30) were examined. The gonococcal isolates were characterised with antibiograms, serovar determination and N gonorrhoeae multiantigen sequence typing (NG-MAST). The C trachomatis ompA gene and the M genitalium mgpB gene were sequenced, and phylogenetic analyses were performed. Results For N gonorrhoeae, the levels of resistance (intermediate susceptibility) to ciprofloxacin, erythromycin, rifampicin, ampicillin, tetracycline, penicillin G and cefuroxime were 10% (0%), 6% (10%), 13% (10%), 68% (0%), 74% (0%), 68% (16%) and 0% (84%), respectively. All isolates were susceptible to cefixime, ceftriaxone, spectinomycin and azithromycin, and the minimum inhibitory concentrations of kanamycin (range: 8–32 mg/l) and gentamicin (range: 0.75–6 mg/l) were low (no resistance breakpoints exist for these antimicrobials). 19 NG-MAST sequence types (STs) (84% novel STs) were identified. Phylogenetic analysis of the C trachomatis ompA gene revealed genovar G as most prevalent (37%), followed by genovar D (19%). 23 mgpB STs were found among the M genitalium isolates, and 67% of isolates had unique STs. Conclusions The diversity among the sexually transmitted infection (STI) pathogens may be associated with suboptimal diagnostics, contact tracing, case reporting and epidemiological surveillance. In Guinea-Bissau, additional STI studies are vital to estimate the STI burden and form the basis for a national sexual health strategy for prevention, diagnosis and surveillance of STIs.
Utilizing Airborne Laser Scanning Technology in Predicting Bearing Capacity of Peatland Forest

Nacrtak Airborne laser scanning (ALS) technology is receiving increasing attention in forestry. So far, ALS is mainly utilized at a rather abstract level to derive better estimations on the composition of forest stands (e.g. volumes of wood assortments per hectare). Recent rather expensive ALS inventory projects have raised interest in whether other purposes can also benefit from ALS data. The paper demonstrates a case study where the ALS data was utilized in predicting the bearing capacity of peatland forest. The study stand was divided into 16 × 16 m grids within which the volume of trees in each cell was estimated. In addition, the height of the terrain (elevation) at each point was estimated. The stand was harvested with a harvester and a for­ warder during the summertime, after which the ruts of the trails were measured. The results indicate that ALS may be a promising technology in making predictions on the bearing capac­ ity of peatland forests prior to harvest. More research in this subject is however needed to develop the most effective methods. Both the volume of trees and the relative elevation of the surface of the peatland may be regarded as beneficial information in the prediction of bearing capacity.
Effect of meditation on stress-induced changes in cognitive functions.

OBJECTIVES The objective of this study was to study the effects of meditation on stress-induced changes in cognitive functions. METHODS The study was conducted on 32 healthy adult male student volunteers who had never practiced meditation before the study. The study consisted of practicing 20 minutes of guided meditation and administration of psychologic stress to the subjects. The psychologic stress was administered to the subjects by asking them to play a (preselected) stressful computer game. The subjects were asked to meditate either before or after the administration of psychologic stress. For the control group measurements, the subjects were asked to wait quietly for an equivalent period of meditation time. OUTCOME MEASURES The outcome measures were galvanic skin response (GSR), heart rate (HR), electromyography (EMG), sympathetic reactivity (QTc/QS2 ratio), cortisol, and acute psychologic stress scores. The central nervous system functions were assessed using Wechsler memory scale and visual-choice reaction time (VCRT). These parameters were measured both at the beginning and at the end of the intervention, using a pre-post experimental test design. RESULTS Computer game stress was associated with a significant increase in physiologic (GSR, EMG, HR, QTc/QS2) and psychologic (acute stress questionnaire scores) markers of stress. Meditation was associated with relaxation (significant decrease in GSR, EMG, QTc/QS2, and acute stress questionnaire scores). Meditation, if practiced before the stressful event, reduced the adverse effects of stress. Memory quotient significantly increased, whereas cortisol level decreased after both stress and meditation. VCRT showed no significant change. CONCLUSIONS Practice of meditation produced a relaxation response even in the young adult subjects who had never practiced meditation before. The practice of meditation reduced the physiologic stress responses without taking away the beneficial effect of stress, namely, improved memory scores.
Compliance of hospital staff with guidelines for the active surveillance of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and its impact on rates of nosocomial MRSA bacteremia.

BACKGROUND The compliance of hospital staff with guidelines for the active surveillance of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in Israel has not been determined. OBJECTIVES To evaluate the compliance of hospital staff with guidelines for the active surveillance of MRSA and assess its impact on the incidence of nosocomial MRSA bacteremia. METHODS We assessed compliance with MRSA surveillance guidelines by assessing adherence to the screening protocol and reviewing medical and nursing charts of patients colonized with MRSA, and observed hand hygiene opportunities among health care workers and colonized patients. Rates of nosocomial MRSA bacteremia and of adherence with hand hygiene among overall hospital staff were obtained from archived data for the period 2001-2010. RESULTS Only 32.4% of eligible patients were screened for MRSA carriage on admission, and 69.9% of MRSA carriers did not receive any eradication treatment. The mean rate of adherence to glove use among nurses and doctors was 69% and 31% respectively (P<0.01) and to hand hygiene 59% and 41% respectively (P<0.01). The hospital overall rate of adherence to hand hygiene increased from 42.3% in 2005 to 68.1% in 2010. Rates of nosocomial MRSA bacteremia decreased by 79.2%, from 0.48 (in 2001) to 0.1 (in 2010) per 1000 admissions (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS The compliance of medical and nursing staff with guidelines for active MRSA surveillance was poor. The encouraging increase in adherence to hand hygiene and concomitant decrease in nosocomial MRSA bacteremia is gratifying. The deficiencies in compliance with MRSA infection control policy warrant an adjusted strategy based on the hospital resources.
International Journal of Molecular Sciences the Role of Sialyl-tn in Cancer

Activation of an aberrant glycosylation pathway in cancer cells can lead to expression of the onco-foetal sialyl-Tn (sTn) antigen. STn is a truncated O-glycan containing a sialic acid α-2,6 linked to GalNAc α-O-Ser/Thr and is linked with an adverse outcome and poor prognosis in cancer patients. The biosynthesis of the sTn antigen has been linked to the expression of the sialytransferase ST6GalNAc1, and also to mutations in and loss of heterozygosity of the COSMC gene. sTn neo-or over-expression occurs in many types of epithelial cancer including gastric, colon, breast, lung, oesophageal, prostate and endometrial cancer. sTn is believed to be carried by a variety of glycoproteins and may influence protein function and be involved in tumour development. This review discusses how the role of sTn in cancer development and tumour cell invasiveness might be organ specific and occur through different mechanisms depending on each cancer type or subtype. As the sTn-antigen is expressed early in carcinogenesis targeting sTn in cancer may enable the targeting of tumours from the earliest stage.
Defect of syncytiotrophoblast formation and human chorionic gonadotropin expression in Down's syndrome.

The syncytiotrophoblast (ST) is a major component of the human placenta as it is involved in feto-maternal exchanges and the secretion of pregnancy-specific hormones. We have studied the formation and function of the ST in normal and trisomy 21 (T21)-affected placenta using the in vitro model of cytotrophoblast differentiation into ST. Cytotrophoblast cells were isolated from first trimester, second trimester and term placentae. In vitro cytotrophoblast cells isolated from normal placenta fused to form the ST. This was associated with an increase in the transcript levels and the secretion of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). However, the secretion of hCG decreased through pregnancy. In T21-affected placentae, we observed a defect (or a delay) in ST formation and a dramatic decrease in the synthesis and secretion of this hormone compared with cultured cells isolated from control age-matched placentae. These results were confirmed by a significant (P < 0.05) decrease in transcript levels of alpha and beta subunits of hCG in total homogenates of T21-affected placentae compared with controls. These results suggest a decrease in functional mass of ST in T21 placenta, and therefore a decrease in production of placental pregnancy-specific polypeptide hormones.
A survey of recent physiological monitoring and transmission to support the service of critical care

Vast quantities of data is sensed from patients located in intensive care units worldwide through physiological monitoring. In recent times the service oriented architectural model has emerged as a mechanism to providing a structured computing approach to support the provision of services. The nature of critical care is such that clinicians provide a service of care, often to patients that are not located within their intensive care unit. As a result opportunities exist to utilize the service oriented approach to provide a service of critical care. This research presents a survey of recent computing research as applied to physiological collection and transmission to support intelligent patient monitoring using the service of critical care concept based on a service oriented architecture approach.
Bordetella pertussis does not induce beta-adrenergic blockade

Bordetella pertussis organisms induce histamine sensitivity and diminish the normal hyperglycemic response to epinephrine in experimental animals. These effects have been attributed to beta-adrenergic blockade. However, under conditions in which the decrease in epinephrine-induced hyperglycemia after B. pertussis administration was demonstrable, there was no change in rat reticulocyte beta-adrenergic receptor number or affinity measured by iodohydroxybenzylpindolol binding or in isoproterenol-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity. Therefore, there was no generalized beta-adrenergic blockade induced by B. pertussis. The observed effects can be explained by the hypersecretion of insulin resulting from B. pertussis administration.
The Colletotrichum gigasporum species complex

In a preliminary analysis, 21 Colletotrichum strains with large conidia preserved in the CBS culture collection clustered with a recently described species, C. gigasporum, forming a clade distinct from other currently known Colletotrichum species complexes. Multi-locus phylogenetic analyses (ITS, ACT, TUB2, CHS-1, GAPDH) as well as each of the single-locus analyses resolved seven distinct species, one of them being C. gigasporum. Colletotrichum gigasporum and its close allies thus constitute a previously unknown species complex with shared morphological features. Five of the seven species accepted in the C. gigasporum species complex are described here as novel species, namely C. arxii, C. magnisporum, C. pseudomajus, C. radicis and C. vietnamense. A species represented by a single sterile strain, namely CBS 159.50, was not described as novel species, and is treated as Colletotrichum sp. CBS 159.50. Furthermore, C. thailandicum is reduced to synonymy with C. gigasporum.
Plancherel representations of U(∞) and correlated Gaussian Free Fields

We study asymptotics of traces of (noncommutative) monomials formed by images of certain elements of the universal enveloping algebra of the infinitedimensional unitary group in its Plancherel representations. We prove that they converge to (commutative) moments of a Gaussian process that can be viewed as a collection of simply yet nontrivially correlated two-dimensional Gaussian Free Fields. The limiting process has previously arisen via the global scaling limit of spectra for submatrices of Wigner Hermitian random matrices. The results of the present work were announced in [4].
Storage in confined aquifer: Spectral analysis of groundwater in responses to Earth tides and barometric effect

Dilatation of aquifer and associated water level fluctuation in groundwater well is known to be driven periodically from lunar, solar, or other tidal forces. Time‐dependent variables in groundwater system, such as water level, can be converted to power spectra in the frequency domain using Fourier transform to evaluate significant fluctuation. The major innovation of this research is to develop spectral representation in frequency domain for the groundwater system that the storage in confined aquifer can be determined considering dilatation affected by Earth tides and barometric effect. In order to verify applicability of the evolved method, time series of Earth tides and barograph are collected; aquifer storage is then determined inversely by selecting significant semidiurnal and diurnal components in spectra computation. It suggests that to discover groundwater storage using groundwater level with barograph and tidal potential of Earth in frequency domain becomes accessible and feasible.
Dynamic Effects of Terms of Trade Shocks: The Impact on Debt and Growth

The recent empirical literature on the economic effects of terms of trade shocks highlights not only the direct effects on growth, but also the resulting changes in volatility and debt. We link the procyclicality of sovereign debt to terms of trade shocks and provide theoretical underpinnings for standby facilities such as the “Exogenous Shocks Facility” recently created by the IMF. By modeling international capital market imperfections and changes in creditworthiness during adverse terms of trade shocks, we show that transitions can involve excessive adjustment as debt decumulation overshoots its long run equilibrium to prolong the adjustment recession. Our model adds a novel dynamic dimension to the Harberger-Laursen-Metzler effect. In contrast to the previous terms of trade literature, we highlight that the precise nature of the capital imperfection is key to the results. When credit depends not on the level of debt but on the debt to equity ratio the model naturally features dynamic effects that are not found in previous models. It also highlights that how a country responds to terms of trade shocks depends importantly on whether the country is a creditor or debtor. Finally we assess the welfare costs associated with terms of trade shocks. For plausible parameterizations we find that a 20 percent deterioration in the terms of trade may lead to a welfare loss on the order of 10 to 15 percent.
Explorer Identification of Novel Avian Influenza Virus Derived CD 8 + T-Cell Epitopes

Avian influenza virus (AIV) infection is a continuing threat to both humans and poultry. Influenza virus specific CD8+ T cells are associated with protection against homologous and heterologous influenza strains. In contrast to what has been described for humans and mice, knowledge on epitope-specific CD8+ T cells in chickens is limited. Therefore, we set out to identify AIV-specific CD8+ T-cell epitopes. Epitope predictions based on anchor residues resulted in 33 candidate epitopes. MHC I inbred chickens were infected with a low pathogenic AIV strain and sacrificed at 5, 7, 10 and 14 days post infection (dpi). Lymphocytes isolated from lung, spleen and blood were stimulated ex vivo with AIV-specific pooled or individual peptides and the production of IFNc was determined by ELIspot. This resulted in the identification of 12 MHC B12-restricted, 3 B4-restricted and 1 B19-restricted AIVspecific CD8+ T-cell epitopes. In conclusion, we have identified novel AIV-derived CD8+ T-cell epitopes for several inbred chicken strains. This knowledge can be used to study the role of CD8+ T cells against AIV infection in a natural host for influenza, and may be important for vaccine development. Citation: Reemers SSN, van Haarlem DA, Sijts AJAM, Vervelde L, Jansen CA (2012) Identification of Novel Avian Influenza Virus Derived CD8+ T-Cell Epitopes. PLoS ONE 7(2): e31953. doi:10.1371/journal.pone. 0031953 Editor: Naglaa H. Shoukry, University of Montreal, Canada Received September 22, 2011; Accepted January 20, 2012; Published February 23, 2012 Copyright: 2012 Reemers et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Funding: This study was financially supported by the EU sixth framework program Flupath (grant 04220) and Programme ‘‘Impulse Veterinary Avian Influenza Research’’ in The Netherlands, Dutch Ministery of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. * E-mail: c.a. jansen@uu.nl
Gastro-oesophageal reflux in infants under 6 months with cystic fibrosis

AIM To establish the incidence of pathological gastro-oesophageal reflux (GOR) in newly diagnosed infants with cystic fibrosis and to identify clinical predictors of increased reflux. METHODS 26 infants with cystic fibrosis less than 6 months of age (14 male, 12 female; mean (SEM) age 2.1 (0.21) months, range 0.8 to 5.6 months) underwent prolonged oesophageal pH monitoring (mean duration 27.1 (0.49) hours; range 21.3 to 30.2 hours). Reflux symptoms, anthropometric variables, pancreatic status, meconium ileus, genotype, and chest x ray findings were correlated with pH monitoring data. RESULTS Five infants (19.2%) had an abnormal fractional reflux time of greater than 10%, seven (26.9%) of 5–10%, and 14 (53.8%) of below 5%. Infants who presented with frequent vomiting had a significantly higher fractional reflux time than infants who had infrequent or no vomiting. There was no significant association between abnormal chest x rays and pathological GOR. Sex, genotype, nutritional status, meconium ileus, and pancreatic enzyme supplementation were not significantly associated with pathological GOR. CONCLUSIONS About one in five newly diagnosed infants with cystic fibrosis had pathological GOR. Pathologically increased reflux was present before radiological lung disease was established. Apart from frequent vomiting, no useful clinical predictors of pathological reflux were found.
Comparison of Lateral Window and Osteotome Techniques in Sinus Augmentation: Histological and Histomorphometric Evaluation

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the lateral window and osteotome techniques for sinus lifting using histological and histomorphometric methods. Materials and Methods: In this clinical trial 10 patients (a total number of 14 sinus areas) who needed implant treatment in the atrophic posterior maxilla were enrolled. In all the cases the residual bone height between the sinus floor and the alveolar crest was less than 5 mm. Sinus augmentation was performed. The treatment modality for a given residual bone height was selected randomly and Bio-Oss was applied in all the cases as the graft material. After a healing period of about 10 months, in all the cases, the implants were placed and biopsies of alveolar crestal bone were obtained at the same time; biopsy specimens were evaluated using histological and histomorphometric methods. Fisher’s exact and Mann-Whitney U tests were used to compare distribution of variables in the two groups. Statistical significance was defined at P<0.05. Results: The new bone was located in direct contact with the biomaterial without any gaps. This viable bone consisted of lacunae containing osteocytes. Infiltration of inflammatory cells did not exhibit any significant differences between the two techniques. Foreign body reaction was not observed in any cases. Histomorphometric evaluations demonstrated that The mean values of the new bone in the lateral window and osteotome techniques were 30±6.0 and 25.2±5.2, respectively, with no significant differences between the two groups. Moreover, the average quantity of residual biomaterial and connective tissue were similar for the two groups. Conclusion: The nature and the volume of the new bone in lateral window and osteotome techniques were the same.