Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Abnormal elastic properties of the aorta in the mitral valve prolapse syndrome

Background — Mitral valve prolapse (MVP) is the most common valvular heart disease representing a generalized disease of connective tissue in the primary form. Elastic properties of the aorta with primary MVP may be expected to be increased.We aimed to determine the aortic elasticity in the primary form of MVP. Methods and results — Twenty male patients with a primary form of MVP not having any sign of Marfan syndrome and joint hyperlaxity syndrome and twenty healthy individuals were included in the study.Aortic strain, aortic distensibility index and aortic stiffness index were calculated by using aortic diameters obtained by echocardiography and blood pressures measured by sphygmomanometer. When comparing the MVP group and the control group it was found that the aortic stiffness index was increased (P<0.05) whereas the aortic distensibility and strain index were decreased (P<0.05) in the MVP group. There was no significant difference between the characteristics of the groups (P>0.05). Conclusion — We concluded that the elastic properties of the aorta were decreased in the primary form of MVP, unexpectedly.Therefore, results of decreased aortic elasticity should also be followed up in patients with MVP.
Hepatitis C virus dynamics among intravenous drug users suggest that an annual treatment uptake above 10% would eliminate the disease by 2030.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS In Switzerland, the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) among people who inject drugs (PWID) has been decreasing owing to active harm reduction efforts and an aging population. Recent advances in HCV therapeutics may provide an opportunity to direct treatment to high-risk populations, with a goal of reducing HCV prevalence and preventing new infections. In order to guide these efforts, the current project was undertaken with the following aims: (1) to develop a simple model to estimate the number of new HCV infections using available data on PWID; (2) to examine the impact of intervention strategies (prevention and treatment) on new and total HCV infections among PWID. METHODS A dynamic HCV transmission model was used to track HCV incidence and prevalence among active PWID according to their harm reduction status. The relative impact of treating 1, 5, 10 or 15% of HCV+ PWID with new oral direct acting antivirals was considered. RESULTS In 2015, there were an estimated 10 160 active PWID in Switzerland, more than 85% of whom were engaged in harm reduction programmes. Approximately 42% of active PWID were HCV-RNA+, with 55 new viraemic infections occurring annually. By 2030, a 60% reduction in the HCV+ PWID population would be expected. In the absence of behavioural changes, the number of secondary infections would increase under all treatment scenarios. With high level treatment, the number of secondary infections would peak and then drop, corresponding to depletion of the viral pool. In Switzerland, 5% treatment of the 2015 HCV+ PWID population per year would result in a 95% reduction in total cases by 2030, whereas ≥10% treatment would result in a >99% reduction. CONCLUSIONS Timely treatment of hepatitis C virus among people who inject drugs is necessary to reduce the prevalence and prevent new infections in Switzerland.
Neuromedin B Restores Erectile Function by Protecting the Cavernous Body and the Nitrergic Nerves from Injury in a Diabetic Rat Model

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a major health problem worldwide and affects approximately 75% of diabetic patients, likely due to severely damaged cavernous body. While screening for cytokines produced by adipose tissue-derived stem cells, we detected neuromedin B (NMB). To explore a potential treatment option for ED, we examined whether NMB was capable of restoring erectile function. We also examined the potential mechanism by which NMB could restore erectile function. Male Wistar rats were injected with streptozotocin (STZ) to induce diabetes. An adenovirus expressing NMB (AdNMB) was injected into the penis 6 weeks after STZ administration. Four weeks after the injection of AdNMB, erectile function, penile histology, and protein expression were analyzed. As assessed by the measurement of intracavernous pressure, AdNMB injection significantly restored erectile function compared with the injection of an adenovirus expressing green fluorescent protein. This restoration was associated with conservation of the cavernous body structure and neural nitric oxide synthase (nNOS)-expressing nerves, together with recovery of α-smooth muscle actin, vascular endothelial-cadherin, and nNOS expression. Furthermore, NMB significantly stimulated the survival of SH-SY5Y cells derived from human neuroblastoma tissue with characteristics similar to neurons. Collectively, these results suggested that NMB restored erectile function via protection of the cavernous body from injury and stimulation of the survival of the associated nerves. NMB may be useful to treat ED patients with a severely damaged cavernous body.
Principles of Mental Physiology with Their Applications to the Training and Discipline of the Mind and the Study of Its Morbid Conditions

Preface Book I. General Physiology: 1. Of the general relations between mind and body 2. Of the nervous system and its functions 3. Of attention 4. Of sensation 5. Of perception and instinct 6. Of ideation and ideo-motor action 7. Of the emotions 8. Of habit 9. Of the will Book II. Special Physiology: 10. Of memory 11. Of common sense 12. Of imagination 13. Of unconscious cerebration 14. Of reverie and abstraction-electro-biology 15. Of sleep, dreaming and somnambulism 16. Of mesmerism and spiritualism 17. Of intoxication and delirium 18. Of insanity 19. Influence of mental states on the organic functions 20. Of mind and will in nature Appendix.
Conspiratorial beliefs observed through entropy principles

We propose a novel approach framed in terms of information theory and entropy to tackle the issue of the propagation of conspiracy theories. We represent the initial report of an event (such as the 9/11 terroristic attack) as a series of strings of information, each string classified by a two-state variable Ei = ±1, i = 1, …, N. If the values of the Ei are set to −1 for all strings, a state of minimum entropy is achieved. Comments on the report, focusing repeatedly on several strings Ek, might alternate their meaning (from −1 to +1). The representation of the event is turned fuzzy with an increased entropy value. Beyond some threshold value of entropy, chosen by simplicity to its maximum value, meaning N/2 variables with Ei = 1, the chance is created that a conspiracy theory might be initiated/propagated. Therefore, the evolution of the associated entropy is a way to measure the degree of penetration of a conspiracy theory. Our general framework relies on online content made voluntarily available by crowds of people, in response to some news or blog articles published by official news agencies. We apply different aggregation levels (comment, person, discussion thread) and discuss the associated patterns of entropy change.
Disruption of Arcuate/Paraventricular Nucleus Connections Changes Body Energy Balance and Response to Acute Stress

The mediobasal hypothalamus regulates functions necessary for survival, including body energy balance and adaptation to stress. The purpose of this experiment was to determine the contribution of the arcuate nucleus (ARC) in controlling these two functions by the paraventricular nucleus (PVN). Circular, horizontal cuts (1.0 mm radius) were placed immediately above the anterior ARC to sever afferents to the PVN. In shams the knife was lowered to the same coordinates but was not rotated. Food intake and body weight were monitored twice daily, at the beginning and end of the light cycle, for 1 week. On the final day the animals were restrained for 30 min. Lesioned animals had increased food intake in light and dark periods, higher weight gain per day, and more body fat as compared with shams. There was no difference in caloric efficiency. Unlike shams, lesioned rats had no predictable relationship between plasma insulin and leptin. Plasma ACTH was increased at 0 min in lesioned rats but was decreased 15 and 30 min after restraint as compared with shams. There was no difference in plasma corticosterone. Immunostaining revealed that α-melanocortin (αMSH) and neuropeptide Y (NPY) accumulated below the cuts, and both were decreased in PVN. Food intake and body weight were correlated negatively to αMSH, but not NPY in PVN. There was no difference in proopiomelanocortin (POMC) mRNA, but NPY mRNA was reduced in the ARC of lesioned animals. We conclude that ARC controls body energy balance in unstressed rats, possibly by αMSH input to PVN, and that ARC also is necessary for PVN regulation of ACTH.
Age and gender recognition using informative features of various types

Gender recognition and age classification are important applications of face analysis. The vast majority of the existing solutions focus on a single visual descriptor which often encodes only a certain characteristic of the image regions (e.g., shape, or texture, or color, etc.). In this paper, we propose a novel framework for gender and age classification, which facilitates the integration of multiple feature types and therefore allows for taking advantage of various sources of visual information. Furthermore, in the proposed method, only the regions that can best separate face images of different demographic classes (with respect to age and gender) contribute to the face representations, which in turn, improves the classification and recognition accuracies. Experiments performed on a challenging publicly available database validate the effectiveness of our proposed solution and show its superiority over the existing state-of-the-art methods.
Experimental Evidence From Newborn Chicks Enriches Our Knowledge on Human Spatial-Numerical Associations

Núñez and Fias raised concerns on whether our results demonstrate a linear number-space mapping. Patro and Nuerk urge caution on the use of animal models to understand the origin (cultural vs. biological) of the orientation of spatial-numerical association. Here, we discuss why both objections are unfounded.
Growth in children with Helicobacter pylori infection and dyspepsia

Aims: To compare the height, weight, and body mass index (BMI) of children presenting with dyspeptic symptoms and Helicobacter pylori infection, to those with dyspepsia but without the infection. Methods: A retrospective chart review of 257 children was performed. 13C urea breath test was performed to detect H pylori infection; weight and height were recorded and BMI was calculated. Weight, height, and BMI SD scores were determined using the 1990 UK normative data. The Index of Multiple Deprivation 2004 (IMD 2004) scores, which measure deprivation at small area level, were calculated from the patients’ postcodes. Results: Ninety seven of the 257 children were H pylori positive. The mean age at diagnosis and presenting symptoms of H pylori positive and negative patients were similar. The mean IMD 2004 scores for children with H pylori infection were significantly higher compared to H pylori negative patients, suggesting that children with the infection came from relatively more deprived areas. The mean weight and height SD score were significantly lower for children with H pylori infection compared to those without. However, this difference was no longer significant after adjusting for socioeconomic deprivation and ethnic differences between the groups. Conclusion: Children with dyspepsia and H pylori infection were shorter and lighter than patients with similar symptoms but no infection. The differences in anthropometry may be due to socioeconomic and ethnic factors rather than H pylori infection.
Transforming teacher education, an activity theory analysis

This paper explores the work of teacher education in England and Scotland. It seeks to locate this work within conflicting sociocultural views of professional practice and academic work. Drawing on an activity theory framework that integrates the analysis of these seemingly contradictory discourses with a study of teacher educators’ practical activities, including the material artefacts that mediate the work, the paper offers a critical perspective on the social organisation of university-based teacher education. Informed by Engeström’s activity theory’s concept of transformation, the paper extends the discussion of contradictions in teacher education to consider the wider sociocultural relations of the work. The findings raise important questions about the way in which teacher education work within universities is organised and the division of labour between schools and universities.
Fitness and body composition profiling of elite junior South African rugby players

Objective. The aim of this study was to describe the body composition, strength and speed characteristics of elite junior South African rugby players. Design. Cross-sectional. Setting. Field study. Subjects. Rugby players (16 and 18 years old, N = 174) selected for the South African Rugby Union National Green Squad. Outcome measures. Body composition, 10 m and 40 m speed, agility, 1RM bench press, underhand pull-ups, push-ups, multistage shuttle run. Results. The under-16 players were on average shorter (175.6 ± 5.7 v. 179.2 ± 6.7 cm), weighed less (76.5 ± 8.2 v. 84.8 ± 8.3 kg) had less upper body absolute strength (77.1 ± 11.8 kg v. 95.3 ± 16.7 kg) and muscular endurance (41 ± 12 v. 52 ± 15 push-ups) and aerobic fitness (87.1 ± 19.4 v. 93.5 ± 15.3 shuttles) than the under-18 players. There were no differences in body fat, sprinting speed (10 m and 40 m) or agility between the two age groups. There were differences between playing positions, with the props having the most body fat, strongest upper bodies, slowest sprinting speed, least agility and lowest aerobic capacity compared with players in the other positions. Conclusion. This study provides data for elite junior rugby players and can be used to monitor the progression of players after intervention while also assisting with talent identification for the different playing positions. South African Journal of Sports Medicine Vol. 18 (2) 2006: pp. 38-45
A Property-Sharing Constraint in Centering

A constraint is proposed in the Centering approach to pronoun resolution in discourse. This "property-sharing" constraint requires that two pronominal expressions that retain the same Cb across adjacent utterances share a certain common grammatical property. This property is expressed along the dimension of the grammatical function SUBJECT for both Japanese and English discourses, where different pronominal forms are primarily used to realize the Cb. It is the zero pronominal in Japanese, and the (unstressed) overt pronoun in English. The resulting constraint complements the original Centering, accounting for its apparent violations and providing a solution to the interpretation of multi-pronominal utterances. It also provides an alternative account of anaphora interpretation that appears to be due to structural parallelism. This reconciliation of centering/focusing and parallelism is a major advantage. I will then add another dimension called the "speaker identification" to the constraint to handle a group of special cases in Japanese discourse. It indicates a close association between centering and th speaker's viewpoint, and sheds light on what underlies the effect of perception reports on pronoun resolution in general. These results, by drawing on facts in two very different languages, demonstrate the cross-linguistic applicability of the centering framework.
Determinants of school efficiency : The case of primary schools in the State of Geneva, Switzerland

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is: to measure school technical efficiency and to identify the determinants of primary school performance. Design/methodology/approach – A two-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA) of school efficiency is conducted. At the first stage, DEA is employed to calculate an individual efficiency score for each school. At the second stage, efficiency is regressed on school characteristics and environmental variables. Findings – The mean technical efficiency of schools in the State of Geneva is equal to 93 per cent. By improving the operation of schools, 7 per cent (100−93) of inputs could be saved, representing 17,744,656 Swiss francs in 2010. School efficiency is negatively influenced by: operations being held on multiple sites, the proportion of disadvantaged pupils enroled at the school and the provision of special education, but positively influenced by school size (captured by the number of pupils). Practical implications – Technically, the determinants of school efficienc.
Leaf Stable Isotope and Nutrient Status of Temperate Mangroves As Ecological Indicators to Assess Anthropogenic Activity and Recovery from Eutrophication

We measured nitrogen stable isotope values (δ15N), and total phosphorus (%P) and total nitrogen (%N) contents in leaves of the temperate mangrove (Avicennia marina sp. australasica) from three coastal ecosystems exposed to various levels of human impact (Manukau, high; Mangawhai, low; and Waitemata, intermediate) in northern New Zealand. We measured δ15N values around 10‰ in environments where the major terrestrial water inputs are sewage. The highest average total nitrogen contents and δ15N values were found in the Auckland city region (Manukau Harbour) at 2.2%N and 9.9‰, respectively. The lowest values were found in Mangawhai Harbour, situated about 80 km north of Auckland city, at 2.0%N and 5.2‰, respectively. In the Waitemata Harbour, also located in Auckland city but with less exposure to human derived sewage inputs, both parameters were intermediate, at 2.1%N and 6.4‰. Total phosphorus contents did not vary significantly. Additionally, analysis of historical mangrove leaf herbarium samples obtained from the Auckland War Memorial Museum indicated that a reduction in both leaf total nitrogen and δ15N content has occurred over the past 100 years in Auckland’s harbors. Collectively, these results suggest that anthropogenically derived nitrogen has had a significant impact on mangrove nutrient status in Auckland harbors over the last 100 years. The observed decrease in nitrogenous nutrients probably occurred due to sewage system improvements. We suggest that mangrove plant physiological response to nutrient excess could be used as an indicator of long-term eutrophication trends. Monitoring leaf nutrient status in mangroves can be used to assess environmental stress (sewage, eutrophication) on coastal ecosystems heavily impacted by human activities. Moreover, nitrogen and phosphorus leaf contents can be used to assess levels of available nutrients in the surrounding environments.
Maternal undernutrition during mid-pregnancy in sheep. Placental size and its relationship to calcium transfer during late pregnancy

The aim of the present experiment was to determine the relationship between placental and fetal weight after placental growth had been retarded by maternal undernutrition. Placental weight and fetal weight were measured in single-lamb-bearing ewes which were well-fed throughout pregnancy, or severely undernourished between the 30th and 96th day of pregnancy. Placental transfer of calcium and whole-body metabolism of both glucose and Ca were measured during late pregnancy. The change in fleece-adjusted live weight between the 30th and 96th day of pregnancy was 99 (se 9.8) and – 146 (se 9.6) g/d for the well-fed and undernourished ewes respectively. The condition score of well-fed ewes did not significantly change between the 96th (2.9 (se 0.08)) and 140th (3.0 (se 0.13)) day of pregnancy, while it increased from 1.6 (se 0.15) to 2.3 (se 0.11) for the previously undernourished group. Undernutrition caused an increase (P < 0.01) in placental weight measured on the 96th (21%) and 140th (30%) day of pregnancy. In contrast fetal growth was not significantly affected by maternal undernutrition. While the voluntary dry matter intakes (g/d) of previously undernourished ewes after the 97th day of pregnancy were higher than for their well-fed counterparts, there was no significant difference between whole-body glucose or Ca metabolism, or the placental transfer of Ca measured during late pregnancy. This experiment confirms earlier reports of an increase in placental weight as a result of maternal undernutrition during mid-pregnancy; but the factors causing and the functional significance of this response have not been identified. Contrary to earlier proposals, placental weight per se did not limit fetal growth during late pregnancy. It is hypothesized that a combination of factors originating from maternal, placental and fetal sources act together to regulate growth of the fetus.
Hypophosphatemia in Children Hospitalized Within an Intensive Care Unit

The aims of this study were to estimate the occurrence of hypophosphatemia and to identify potential risk factors and outcome measures associated with this disturbance in children admitted to a pediatric intensive care unit. Data concerning 42 children admitted consecutively to 1 pediatric intensive care unit over a 1-year period were examined. Serum phosphorus levels were measured on the third day of admission, where levels below 3.8 mg/dL were considered indicative of hypophosphatemia. Hypophosphatemia was found in 32 children (76%), and there was a significant association between this disturbance and malnutrition ( P = .04). Of the potential risk factors such as sepsis, diuretic/steroid therapy, starvation (over 3 days), and Pediatric Index of Mortality, none discriminated for hypophosphatemia. There were no associations between hypophosphatemia and mortality, length of stay in the pediatric intensive care unit, or time on mechanical lung ventilation. Hypophosphatemia was a common finding in critically ill children and was associated with malnutrition.
Retrograde transcatheter closure of ventricular septal defects in children using the Amplatzer Duct Occluder II

Objectives: To describe the technique and results of transcatheter closure of ventricular septal defects (VSDs) by a modified retrograde transarterial approach using the new Amplatzer Duct Occluder II (ADO II). Background: Transcatheter device closure of ventricular septal defects (VSDs) by antegrade method is well established, but a challenging procedure. We describe a retrograde technique that obviates the need for arteriovenous looping. Material and Methods: This is a prospective study from a single center. Between April 2009 and February 2010 13 children were identified for closure of various types of perimembranous and muscular VSDs using the ADO II device. All had met the criteria for surgical closure. Following left ventricular angiogram two were excluded as technically nonfeasible. The median age was 48 months (range 15–78). The median weight was 14 kg (range 7.5–20). The device was successfully deployed in the 11 selected children by the method described. The follow‐up evaluation included chest roentgenogram, ECG, and echocardiogram on day 1, at 6 weeks, at 3, 6, and 12 months. Results: The immediate and follow up complete closure rates were 73 and 82%, respectively. The median fluoroscopic time was 14 min (range 8.2–45). There were no procedure related complications. All patients were doing well at median follow up of 10 months; none showing any conduction abnormality. Conclusion: Transcatheter retrograde device closure of selected cases of Ventricular Septal Defects using the Amplatzer Duct Occluder II is simple and appears safe in the short term and can be completed within a short fluoroscopic time. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.