Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Combined Pulmonary Fibrosis and Emphysema Syndrome: A New Phenotype within the Spectrum of Smoking-Related Interstitial Lung Disease

Combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema (CPFE) is a recently defined syndrome, in which centrilobular and/or paraseptal emphysemas in upper lung zones coexist with pulmonary fibrosis in lower lobes in individuals. These patients have a characteristic lung function profile, with unexpected subnormal dynamic and static lung volumes, contrasting with a significant reduction of carbon monoxide transfer (DLco) and exercise hypoxemia. Pulmonary hypertension is highly prevalent in CPFE and is the leading determinant of death. Tobacco smoking has been proposed as the main factor in its etiology, though the pathophysiology and its natural history remain to be determined. High-resolution computed axial tomography is the mandatory tool to confirm the diagnosis. Currently, there is no consensus about its treatment since those published to date on this issue are limited to well-characterised series of cases; hence, a better understanding of this entity may help in the development of future therapeutic approaches.
Text mixing shapes the anatomy of rank-frequency distributions: A modern Zipfian mechanics for natural language

Natural languages are full of rules and exceptions. One of the most famous quantitative rules is Zipf's law, which states that the frequency of occurrence of a word is approximately inversely proportional to its rank. Though this "law" of ranks has been found to hold across disparate texts and forms of data, analyses of increasingly large corpora since the late 1990s have revealed the existence of two scaling regimes. These regimes have thus far been explained by a hypothesis suggesting a separability of languages into core and noncore lexica. Here we present and defend an alternative hypothesis that the two scaling regimes result from the act of aggregating texts. We observe that text mixing leads to an effective decay of word introduction, which we show provides accurate predictions of the location and severity of breaks in scaling. Upon examining large corpora from 10 languages in the Project Gutenberg eBooks collection, we find emphatic empirical support for the universality of our claim.
UK consumer attitudes, beliefs and barriers to increasing fruit and vegetable consumption

Abstract Objective: To assess attitudes, predictors of intention, and identify perceived barriers to increasing fruit and vegetable (F&V) intakes. Design: UK nationwide postal survey utilizing the theory of planned behaviour. Subjects: Stratified (by social class and region) random sample of 2020 UK adults providing a modest response rate of 37% (n = 741). Results: Belief measures (e.g. health, cost, taste, etc.) were strongly associated with overall attitudes which were reported as being largely favourable towards fruit, vegetables and, to a lesser extent, vegetable dishes, and were strongly associated with reported intention to increase consumption. Subjects reported they could increase their consumption, but this was only weakly associated with intention to do so. Approximately 50% of respondents reported an intention to increase intakes. Social pressure was strongly associated with reported intention to increase; however, scores indicated low perceived social pressure to change. Evidence of unrealistic optimism concerning perceived intakes and the perceived high cost of fruit may also act as barriers. Conclusions: Results from this study suggest a lack of perceived social pressure to increase F&V intakes and suggests that public health efforts require stronger and broader health messages that incorporate consumer awareness of low present consumption.
Bmc Complementary and Alternative Medicine Bioprotective Properties of Seaweeds: in Vitro Evaluation of Antioxidant Activity and Antimicrobial Activity against Food Borne Bacteria in Relation to Polyphenolic Content

Background: For many years chemical preservatives have been used in food, to act as either antimicrobials or antioxidants or both. In general, consumers regard additive-free foods as safer since preservatives can cause health hazards like asthma and cancer and are suspected to be mutagenic and neurotoxic. The present study was carried out to evaluate the antimicrobial and antioxidant activity of methanolic extracts of seaweeds, with a view to developing safer food preservatives.
Improved weight gain in pigs using levamisole as an immunomodulator

Metho ds: Piglets (N = 1606) from a commercial segregated early-weaned (SEW) herd were randomly assigned either to receive one injection of levamisole within 24 hours of birth (T1 group), to receive levamisole once within 24 hours of birth and again at weaning (T2 group), or to a control group. Pigs were individually weighed within 24 hours of birth, at weaning, and at 7 weeks of age. Differential leukocyte count (DLC) was measured in the peripheral blood of 121 pigs before and after each treatment to examine the effect of levamisole on the proportional lymphocyte count. Results : The treated pigs weighed significantly more than the control pigs at weaning (P < .001). From birth to 7 weeks of age, both the T1 and the T2 group gained significantly more (P < .001) than the control group. Neither mortality nor culling differed significantly among treatment and control groups. Treated pigs had a higher proportion of lymphocytes 24 hours after the first treatment than the control pigs (P < .05). There was no difference in the proportion of lymphocytes 24 hours after the second treatment. Implic ations : Treatment with levamisole at birth and at weaning is associated with an increase in average daily gain (ADG).
Comparison of plasma actuators in simulations and experiments for control of bypass transition

This research compares the e↵ect of plasma actuators on 3D incompressible boundary layer flow in experiments and direct numerical simulations. The actuators are arranged to produce stream-wise streaks to e↵ectively cancel out the dominant structures in bypass transition, thereby delaying transition to turbulence. The direct numerical simulations resolve all relevant scales of the fluid flow and approximate the force from the plasma actuators with a body force model. Good agreement exists between experiments and simulations in time-averaged velocity fields at a downstream plane. Our long term goal is to delay the transition to turbulence by developing e↵ective and ecient closed-loop controllers based on simulation data and to implement those control laws in experiments.
Release of soluble vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-1 ( sFlt-1 ) during coronary artery bypass surgery

Background: This study was conducted to follow plasma concentrations of sFlt-1 and sKDR, two soluble forms of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptor in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery with extracorporeal circulation (ECC). Methods: Plasma samples were obtained before, during and after surgery in 15 patients scheduled to undergo CABG. Levels of sFlt-1 and KDR levels were investigated using specific ELISA. Results: A 75-fold increase of sFlt-1 was found during cardiac surgery, sFlt-1 levels returning to pre-operative values at the 6th post-operative hour. In contrast sKDR levels did not change during surgery. The ECC-derived sFlt-1 was functional as judge by its inhibitory effect on the VEGF mitogenic response in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Kinetic experiments revealed sFlt-1 release immediately after the beginning of ECC suggesting a proteolysis of its membrane form (mFlt-1) rather than an elevated transcription/translation process. Flow cytometry analysis highlighted no effect of ECC on the shedding of mFlt-1 on platelets and leukocytes suggesting vascular endothelial cell as a putative cell source for the ECC-derived sFlt-1. Conclusion: sFlt-1 is released during CABG with ECC. It might be suggested that sFlt-1 production, by neutralizing VEGF and/or by inactivating membrane-bound Flt-1 and KDR receptors, might play a role in the occurrence of post-CABG complication. Introduction Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery with extracorporeal circulation (ECC) is associated with an inflammatory response because, among numerous other causes, of blood contact with the artificial bypass surface, cold cardiac ischaemia and hypothermia [1-3]. Various studies have highlighted alterations in lipidic, cytokine and haematopoietic colony stimulating factor (CSF) networks during and after CABG surgery [4-10]. Thus, circulating levels as platelet-activating factor, leukotriene B4, thromboxane B2, interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, IL-10, soluble IL-1 receptors, soluble tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) receptors, macrophage-CSF (M-CSF) and granulocyte-CSF (G-CSF) are altered during and after surgery and might be Published: 21 September 2007 Journal of Cardiothoracic Surgery 2007, 2:38 doi:10.1186/1749-8090-2-38 Received: 4 July 2007 Accepted: 21 September 2007 This article is available from: http://www.cardiothoracicsurgery. org/content/2/1/38 © 2007 Denizot et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
An implementation intention intervention to improve consistency of sleep and wake times

THESIS: An implementation intention intervention to improve consistency of sleep and wake times STUDENT: Cameron Davidson DEGREE: Master of Arts COLLEGE: Sciences and Humanities DATE: July, 2014 PAGES: 44 This study presented an implementation intention intervention to improve bedtime and wake time consistency using a college student population. Additionally the Theory of Planned Behavior was used to attempt to predict intentions to maintain consistent bed and wake times as well as, the actual sleep consistency behavior. Sixty seven participants were included in this study. The actual behavior measure was obtained through a seven day sleep diary that was filled out by the participant. The evidence suggests that the Theory of Planned Behavior is a statistically significant predictor of intentions, but not behavior. Implementation intentions did not statistically show a difference in bed and wake time consistency’s intention behavior relationship or actual behavioral consistency.
Hypoglycemic effect of resveratrol in type 2 diabetic model db/db mice and its actions in cultured L6 myotubes and RIN-5F pancreatic β-cells

Resveratrol, a phytoalexin present in the skin of grapes and red wine, has been demonstrated to possess a wide range of health promoting activities including anti-diabetic properties. In the present study, we investigated the effect of resveratrol in both type 2 diabetic mice and cell culture systems. In cultured L6 myotubes, we studied the effect of resveratrol on glucose uptake and translocation of glucose transporter 4 to plasma membrane from the aspects of insulin signaling and AMP-activated protein kinase signaling. In cultured RIN-5F cells, we examined whether resveratrol would protect the pancreas-derived β-cells from oxidative stress. Resveratrol significantly suppressed the elevation in the fasting blood glucose level and the serum triglyceride and lipid peroxide levels in db/db mice. Resveratrol stimulated glucose uptake and glucose transporter 4 translocation by activating both insulin signaling and AMP-activated protein kinase signaling. Moreover, resveratrol could protect pancreatic β-cells from advanced glycation end products-induced oxidative stress and apoptosis. From these results, resveratrol is suggested to show anti-diabetic effect by stimulating both insulin-dependent and -independent glucose uptake in muscles and by protecting pancreatic β-cells from advanced glycation end products-induced oxidative stress and apoptosis.
VIBRATION OF VISCOELASTIC BEAMS SUBJECTED TO MOVING HARMONIC LOADS

The transverse vibration of a beam with intermediate point constraints subjected to a moving harmonic load is analyzed within the framework of the Bernoulli-Euler beam theory. The Lagrange equations are used for examining the dynamic response of beams subjected to the moving harmonic load. The constraint conditions of supports are taken into account by using Lagrange multipliers. In the study, for applying the Lagrange equations, trial function denoting the deflection of the beam is expressed in the polynomial form. By using the Lagrange equations, the problem is reduced to the solution of a system of algebraic equations. The system of algebraic equations is solved by using the direct time integration method of Newmark (8). Results of numerical simulations are presented for various combinations of constant axial velocity, excitation frequency,
Reviews, Reputation, and Revenue: The Case of Yelp.Com

Do online consumer reviews affect restaurant demand? I investigate this question using a novel dataset combining reviews from the website Yelp.com and restaurant data from the Washington State Department of Revenue. Because Yelp prominently displays a restaurant's rounded average rating, I can identify the causal impact of Yelp ratings on demand with a regression discontinuity framework that exploits Yelp's rounding thresholds. I present three findings about the impact of consumer reviews on the restaurant industry: (1) a one-star increase in Yelp rating leads to a 5-9 percent increase in revenue, (2) this effect is driven by independent restaurants; ratings do not affect restaurants with chain affiliation, and (3) chain restaurants have declined in market share as Yelp penetration has increased. This suggests that online consumer reviews substitute for more traditional forms of reputation. I then test whether consumers use these reviews in a way that is consistent with standard learning models. I present two additional findings: (4) consumers do not use all available information and are more responsive to quality changes that are more visible and (5) consumers respond more strongly when a rating contains more information. Consumer response to a restaurant's average rating is affected by the number of reviews and whether the reviewers are certified as "elite" by Yelp, but is unaffected by the size of the reviewers' Yelp friends network.
Comparison of the Intramuscular and Sub-mucous Postoperative Analgesic Effect of Tramadol HCL After Minor Oral Surgery (Intramuscular and Sub-mucous Analgesic Effect of Tramadol HCL in Minor Oral Surgery)

Aims: The study aims to test the analgesic efficacy of using 100 mg sub-mucous tramadol in comparison with 100 mg intra-muscular tramadol after minor oral surgery. Materials and Methods: Sixty medically fit patients who anticipated to underwent minor oral surgical procedures were randomly selected and divided into three groups; group I (submucous tramadol group). group II (intra-muscular tramadol group) and group III (control group). Each group comprised 20 patients. Minor oral surgical procedures were done under aseptic conditions. After minor oral surgery each patient in group I was injected with 100 mg tramadol submucously at the site of operation immediately post-operatively , whereas each patient in group II was injected by 100 mg tramadol intramuscularly immediately post-operatively. Patients in group III served as a negative control group. postoperatively each patient in all groups were given 500 mg amoxicillin capsules orally three times daily and 500 mg paracetamol tablets as a rescue analgesic as needed for pain . At the first post-operative day, analgesia was assessed using Visual Analog Scale (VAS) Verbal Pain Scale (VPS), patient satisfaction (PS), and total number of analgesic tablets (AT) consumed during the first post-operative day. Results: There was a significant difference between group I and both group II and group III when postoperative analgesia was assessed by VAS, VPS, PS, and AT . Also a significant difference between group II and group III was found when postoperative analgesia was assessed using VAS, VPS. Conclusions: SM tramadol found to be superior and more significant in reducing pain after minor oral surgical procedures than IM tramadol and control group.
Yoga, Well-Being, and Transcendence: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

Yoga is thriving in the West, but how much is known about the relationship between the practice and overall well-being? The purpose of this empirical study was to explore this relationship from an experiential, qualitative perspective. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 5 men living in the United Kingdom who practice yoga regularly, and the resulting verbatim transcripts were subjected to an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). We identified 4 interrelated experiential themes for our participants: the significant personal meaning of yoga for the men in how it relates to their overall well-being, the mind–body connection inherent in their practice, the transformative and stabilizing effect of the practice in their lives, and the enhanced sense of physical and emotional awareness they experienced as a result. These themes provide insights into how the men make sense of and relate yoga practice to their overall self-esteem and sense of self. The findings are discussed in relation to current issues within health psychology.
Anticancer activities of some synthesized 2,4,6-trisubstituted pyridine candidates.

We herein report the anti-cancer activities of some synthesized pyridine derivatives substituted with thiazole, pyrazole and triazole moieties. A series of these derivatives 1-12 were synthesized and evaluated as anti-inflammatory, analgesic, anticonvulsant and antiparkinsonian agents before. Twelve compounds were conveniently screened for their in vitro cytoyoxicity against a wide rannge of cell lines and they are also showed potent activities against renal and prostate cancer cell lines. The in vivo antirenal cancer and antiprostate cancer of the most active in vitro compounds was estimated and founded highly potent. In search for the mechanism of action of anticancer activities it was foundeded that these compounds exert its action via histone decarboylase inhibition and inhibition of p53 ubiquitination.
Policy Volatility, Institutions, and Economic Growth

Abstract In this paper, we present evidence that policy volatility exerts a strong and direct negative impact on growth. Using data for 93 countries, we construct measures of policy volatility based on the standard deviation of the residuals from country-specific regressions of government consumption on output. Undisciplined governments that implement frequent and large changes in government spending unrelated to the state of the business cycle generate lower economic growth. We employ both instrumental variables and panel estimation to address concerns of omitted variables and endogeneity. A 1 standard deviation increase in policy volatility reduces long-term economic growth by about 0.74% in the panel regressions and by more than 1 percentage point in the cross-section.
Thigh compartment syndrome complicated by sciatic nerve palsy, rhabdomyolysis, and acute renal failure

We reported a rare case of thigh compartment syndrome (TCS) complicated by sciatic nerve palsy, rhabdomyolysis, and acute renal failure in an alcoholic patient. Intensive care measures and immediate posteromedial decompressive fasciotomy were performed. These timely interventions resulted in improvement of the nerve injury and restoration of the kidney function.
A Virtual Reality Full Body Illusion Improves Body Image Disturbance in Anorexia Nervosa

Background Patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) have a persistent distorted experience of the size of their body. Previously we found that the Rubber Hand Illusion improves hand size estimation in this group. Here we investigated whether a Full Body Illusion (FBI) affects body size estimation of body parts more emotionally salient than the hand. In the FBI, analogue to the RHI, participants experience ownership over an entire virtual body in VR after synchronous visuo-tactile stimulation of the actual and virtual body. Methods and Results We asked participants to estimate their body size (shoulders, abdomen, hips) before the FBI was induced, directly after induction and at ~2 hour 45 minutes follow-up. The results showed that AN patients (N = 30) decrease the overestimation of their shoulders, abdomen and hips directly after the FBI was induced. This effect was strongest for estimates of circumference, and also observed in the asynchronous control condition of the illusion. Moreover, at follow-up, the improvements in body size estimation could still be observed in the AN group. Notably, the HC group (N = 29) also showed changes in body size estimation after the FBI, but the effect showed a different pattern than that of the AN group. Conclusion The results lead us to conclude that the disturbed experience of body size in AN is flexible and can be changed, even for highly emotional body parts. As such this study offers novel starting points from which new interventions for body image disturbance in AN can be developed.
N ov 2 00 6 Flat rotational curves without dark matter

We consider the singular configurations of gravitating gas [1] which could be used as a model for disk galaxies. The simplest steady configuration , which corresponds to rotation of stars around center gives flat rotational curve, provided the density distrubution has a tail, decaying as 1/r. This result based exclusively on Newtonian gravity and does not involve dark matter.
Glucose induces de novo lipogenesis in rat muscle satellite cells through a sterol-regulatory-element-binding-protein-1c-dependent pathway

We previously reported that sterol-regulatory-element-binding-protein-1c (SREBP-1c) mediates insulin upregulation of genes encoding glycolytic and lipogenic enzymes in rat skeletal muscle. Here, we assessed whether glucose could regulate gene expression in contracting myotubes deriving from cultured muscle satellite cells. Glucose uptake increased twofold after a 30 minute treatment with a high glucose concentration, suggesting an acute glucose-stimulated glucose uptake. Time-course experiments showed that, within 3 hours, glucose stimulated the expression of hexokinase II, fatty acid synthase and acetyl-CoA-carboxylase-2 proteins, leading to an increased lipogenic flux and intracellular lipid accumulation in contracting myotubes. Furthermore, kinetic experiments indicated that glucose upregulated SREBP-1c precursor and nuclear proteins within 30 minutes, SREBP-1c nuclear translocation being confirmed using immunocytochemistry. In addition, the knockdown of SREBP-1 mRNA using a RNA-interference technique totally abrogated the glucose-induced upregulation of lipogenic enzymes, indicating that SREBP-1c mediates the action of glucose on these genes in rat skeletal muscle. Finally, we found that glucose rapidly stimulated SREBP-1c maturation through a Jak/STAT dependent pathway. We propose that increased intramuscular lipid accumulation associated with muscle insulin resistance in obesity or type-2 diabetes could arise partly from de novo fatty acid synthesis in skeletal muscle.
The Extended Bloch Group and the Cheeger-Chern-Simons Class

We present a formula for the full Cheeger-Chem-Simons class of the tautological flat complex vector bundle of rank 2 over BSL(2, C δ ). This improves the formula by Dupont and Zickert [6], where the class is only computed modulo 2-torsion.