Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of increased water intake on plasma copeptin in patients with chronic kidney disease: results from a pilot randomised controlled trial

Objectives Increased water intake may have a beneficial effect on the kidney through suppression of plasma vasopressin. We examined the effect of increased water intake on plasma copeptin (a marker of vasopressin) over 6 weeks in patients with chronic kidney disease. Design Secondary analysis of a randomised controlled parallel-group pilot trial. Setting Canada, 2012–2013. Participants 28 patients with stage 3 chronic kidney disease randomised (2:1) to a hydration (n=17) or control group (n=11). Intervention The hydration group was coached to increase water intake by up to 1.5 L/day for 6 weeks. The control group was asked to maintain regular water intake. Measures and outcomes Participants provided blood and 24 h urine samples at baseline and 6 weeks. Change in plasma copeptin was compared within and between study groups. Results Participants were 64% male with a mean age of 62 years and an estimated glomerular filtration rate of 40 mL/min/1.73 m2. Between baseline and 6 weeks, 24 h urine volume increased by 0.7 L/day in the hydration group, rising from 2.3 to 3.0 L/day (p=0.01), while decreasing by 0.3 L/day among controls, from 2.0 to 1.7 L/day (p=0.07); between-group difference: 0.9 L/day (95% CI 0.37 to 1.46; p=0.002). In the hydration group, median copeptin decreased by 3.6 pmol/L, from 15.0 to 10.8 pmol/L (p=0.005), while remaining stable among controls at 19 pmol/L (p=0.76; p=0.19 for the between-group difference in median change); the between-group difference in mean change was 5.4 pmol/L (95% CI −1.2 to 12.0; p=0.11). Conclusions Adults with stage 3 chronic kidney disease can be successfully randomised to drink approximately 1 L more per day than controls. This increased water intake caused a significant decrease in plasma copeptin concentration. Our larger 12-month trial will examine whether increased water intake can slow renal decline in patients with chronic kidney disease. Trial registration number NCT01753466.
Inducing and Administering Tregs to Treat Human Disease

Regulatory T cells (Tregs) control unwanted immune responses, including those that mediate tolerance to self as well as to foreign antigens. Their mechanisms of action include direct and indirect effects on effector T cells and important functions in tissue repair and homeostasis. Tregs express a number of cell surface markers and transcriptional factors that have been instrumental in defining their origins and potentially their function. A number of immune therapies, such as rapamycin, IL-2, and anti-T cell antibodies, are able to induce Tregs and are being tested for their efficacy in diverse clinical settings with exciting preliminary results. However, a balance exists with the use of some, such as IL-2, that may have effects on unwanted populations as well as promoting expansion and survival of Tregs requiring careful selection of dose for clinical use. The use of cell surface markers has enabled investigators to isolate and expand ex vivo Tregs more than 500-fold routinely. Clinical trials have begun, administering these expanded Tregs to patients as a means of suppressing autoimmune and alloimmune responses and potentially inducing immune tolerance. Studies in the future are likely to build on these initial technical achievements and use combinations of agents to improve the survival and functional capacity of Tregs.
Which Way Was I Going? Contextual Retrieval Supports the Disambiguation of Well Learned Overlapping Navigational Routes

Groundbreaking research in animals has demonstrated that the hippocampus contains neurons that distinguish between overlapping navigational trajectories. These hippocampal neurons respond selectively to the context of specific episodes despite interference from overlapping memory representations. The present study used functional magnetic resonance imaging in humans to examine the role of the hippocampus and related structures when participants need to retrieve contextual information to navigate well learned spatial sequences that share common elements. Participants were trained outside the scanner to navigate through 12 virtual mazes from a ground-level first-person perspective. Six of the 12 mazes shared overlapping components. Overlapping mazes began and ended at distinct locations, but converged in the middle to share some hallways with another maze. Non-overlapping mazes did not share any hallways with any other maze. Successful navigation through the overlapping hallways required the retrieval of contextual information relevant to the current navigational episode. Results revealed greater activation during the successful navigation of the overlapping mazes compared with the non-overlapping mazes in regions typically associated with spatial and episodic memory, including the hippocampus, parahippocampal cortex, and orbitofrontal cortex. When combined with previous research, the current findings suggest that an anatomically integrated system including the hippocampus, parahippocampal cortex, and orbitofrontal cortex is critical for the contextually dependent retrieval of well learned overlapping navigational routes.
Parkinson’s disease permanent care unit: managing the chronic-palliative interface

Background: Parkinson’s disease (PD) eventually leads to severe functional decline and dependence. Specialized care units for PD patients in need of permanent care are lacking. Methods: Patients with severe PD are referred to the PD permanent care unit harboring 30 patients with specialized medical and health care provided by trained staff. Patients need to have intensive medical and care needs, and be no longer able to stay at home or at an ordinary institution. A written and continuously reviewed care plan is made for each patient at admission, with the overriding aim to preserve quality of life and optimize functionality. Results: After five years, the PD permanent care unit has cared for 70 patients (36 men and 34 women) with a mean age of 76.6 years and a mean duration of Parkinsonism of 11.8 years. Hoehn and Yahr severity of disease was 3.7, cognition was 25.3 (Mini-Mental State Examination), and the mean daily levodopa dose was 739 mg. The yearly fatality rate was seven, and the mean duration of stay was 26.9 months. Only five patients moved out from the unit. Conclusion: A specially designed and staffed care unit for Parkinsonism patients seems to fill a need for patients and caregivers, as well as for social and health care authorities. This model is sensitive to the changing needs and capacities of patients, ensuring that appropriate services are available in a timely manner. There was a rather short duration of patient stay and remaining life span after admission to the unit. Despite the chronic/palliative state of patients at the PD permanent care unit, there are many therapeutic options, with the overriding objective being to allow the patients to end their days in a professional and comfortable environment.
Evolution of Endothelial Keratoplasty

Abstract: Endothelial keratoplasty has evolved into a popular alternative to penetrating keratoplasty (PK) for the treatment of endothelial dysfunction. Although the earliest iterations were challenging and were not widely adopted, the iteration known as Descemet stripping endothelial keratoplasty (DSEK) has gained widespread acceptance. DSEK combines a simplified technique for stripping dysfunctional endothelium from the host cornea and microkeratome dissection of the donor tissue, a step now commonly completed in advance by eye bank technicians. Studies show that a newer endothelial keratoplasty iteration, known as Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK), provides an even faster and better visual recovery than DSEK does. In addition, DMEK significantly reduces the risk of immunologic graft rejection episodes compared with that in DSEK or in PK. Although the DMEK donor tissue, consisting of the bare endothelium and Descemet membrane without any stroma, is more challenging to prepare and position in the recipient eye, recent improvements in instrumentation and surgical techniques are increasing the ease and the reliability of the procedure. DSEK successfully mitigates 2 of the main liabilities of PK: ocular surface complications and structural problems (including induced astigmatism and perpetually weak wounds), whereas DMEK further mitigates the 2 principal remaining liabilities of PK: immunologic graft reactions and secondary glaucoma from prolonged topical corticosteroid use.
A survey of the oral status of children undergoing liver transplantation.

BACKGROUND The purposes of this study were to examine the oral tissues and caries prevalence of children undergoing liver transplantation, and to evaluate the relationship between tooth staining and serum bilirubin level. METHODS Thirty-four children (22 boys and 12 girls) under the age of 6 years with end-stage liver disease were referred from the Liver Transplantation Center at Kaohsiung Chang Gung Children's Hospital, Taiwan. Oral tissues were examined, and photographs taken to determine the green staining of the teeth and gingiva. A questionnaire was completed by their parents. Serum bilirubin levels were collected preoperatively in these children. Student's t-test was used to compare the mean decayed, missing, and filled tooth (dmft) difference between night-fed and non-night-fed groups, and to test the relationships between tooth staining and serum bilirubin levels. RESULTS The caries prevalence of the 34 children undergoing liver transplantation was 61.8%. The mean dmft score of children 2 to 6 years old who were night-fed was significantly higher than that of children who were not (10.1 +/- 1.2 vs. 6.3 +/- 1.2; p = 0.038). Green staining of the teeth and gingiva was found in 61.3% of cases in children with biliary atresia. Total serum bilirubin levels were significantly higher in the green-stained group than in the non-stained group (17.87 +/- 2.50 vs. 2.20 0.65; p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS Oral findings of children undergoing liver transplant presented significant green staining of the teeth and gingiva related to high serum bilirubin levels. Children who were night-fed showed an increased risk of developing caries suggesting that oral hygiene instructions should begin as early as possible before liver transplantation.
Investigation of IEEE 802.11k-based Access Point Coverage Area and Neighbor Discovery

Possessing knowledge about access point coverage areas and neighbors is of essential need for the provisioning of, e.g., location based handovers or push services. A convenient method for their discovery is the usage of information obtained by the mobile devices which are currently associated with the access points. The time span being required for the discovery of coverage areas and neighbors is fundamental in order to assess the suitability of such a method in a dynamic environment. In this paper, exemplary numerical results of the required bootstrapping phase for the information determination are presented. Additionally, a relatively simple enhancement of the algorithm computing the coverage areas is introduced, reducing the number of vertices for the description of the areas. Besides, the paper shows how the upcoming IEEE 802.11k standard enables APs to query mobile devices for location and neighbor information and hence presents for the first time an entirely standard compliant acquisition scheme.
Social support, self-rated health, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender identity disclosure to cancer care providers.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES To describe factors related to diagnosis, identity disclosure, and social support among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) patients with cancer, and to explore associations between these factors and self-rated health. DESIGN Cross-sectional self-report survey design using descriptive and exploratory multivariate statistical approaches. SETTING Online, Internet-based. SAMPLE 291 LGBT patients (89% Caucasian; 50% gay, 36% lesbian, 7% bisexual, 3% transgender) with mixed cancers. METHODS Participants completed a researcher-designed online survey assessing experiences of cancer diagnosis among LGBT patients at a single time point. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES Demographics, which provider(s) delivered the patients' cancer diagnoses, to whom patients had disclosed their LGBT identity, how they disclosed, who was on their social support team at the time of diagnosis, and current self-rated health. FINDINGS 79% of participants reported disclosing their identities to more than one cancer care provider. Participants most commonly introduced the topic of LGBT identity themselves, sometimes as a way to correct heterosexual assumptions (34%). Friends were the most common members of LGBT patients' support teams (79%). Four disclosure and support factors were consistently associated with better self-rated health. CONCLUSIONS Disclosure of LGBT identity is a common experience in the context of cancer care, and disclosure and support factors are associated with better self-reported health among LGBT patients. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING Creating safe environments for LGBT patients to disclose could improve cancer care delivery to this underserved population. Nurses and other providers should acknowledge and include diverse support team members in LGBT patients' care.
Analyzing the Rate at Which Languages Lose the Influence of a Common Ancestor

Analyzing the rate at which languages change can clarify whether similarities across languages are solely the result of cognitive biases or might be partially due to descent from a common ancestor. To demonstrate this approach, we use a simple model of language evolution to mathematically determine how long it should take for the distribution over languages to lose the influence of a common ancestor and converge to a form that is determined by constraints on language learning. We show that modeling language learning as Bayesian inference of n binary parameters or the ordering of n constraints results in convergence in a number of generations that is on the order of n log n. We relax some of the simplifying assumptions of this model to explore how different assumptions about language evolution affect predictions about the time to convergence; in general, convergence time increases as the model becomes more realistic. This allows us to characterize the assumptions about language learning (given the models that we consider) that are sufficient for convergence to have taken place on a timescale that is consistent with the origin of human languages. These results clearly identify the consequences of a set of simple models of language evolution and show how analysis of convergence rates provides a tool that can be used to explore questions about the relationship between accounts of language learning and the origins of similarities across languages.
Polarimetric Response of Rice Fields at C-Band: Analysis and Phenology Retrieval

A set of ten RADARSAT-2 images acquired in fully polarimetric mode over a test site with rice fields in Seville, Spain, has been analyzed to extract the main features of the C-band radar backscatter as a function of rice phenology. After observing the evolutions versus phenology of different polarimetric observables and explaining their behavior in terms of scattering mechanisms present in the scene, a simple retrieval approach has been proposed. This algorithm is based on three polarimetric observables and provides estimates from a set of four relevant intervals of phenological stages. The validation against ground data, carried out at parcel level for a set of six stands and up to nine dates per stand, provides a 96% rate of coincidence. Moreover, an equivalent compact-pol retrieval algorithm has been also proposed and validated, providing the same performance at parcel level. In all cases, the inversion is carried out by exploiting a single satellite acquisition, without any other auxiliary information.
Quantitative effect of face washing on cutaneous resident microbiota in female subjects who wear make‐up

include staphylococcal furunculosis, pyoderma, leishmaniasis, dracunculiasis, actinomycosis, tungiasis and herpes zoster. The diagnostic clinical feature is a nodule with a small central punctum. The larvae’s 1–3-mm thread-like posterior respiratory spiracle protrudes to maintain contact with the air and may withdraw when touched. Recent travel history should be elicited with emphasis on endemic areas. Goals of therapy are removal of larvae and treatment of any associated infection. After removal of the larvae, the lesions typically heal quickly as seen with our patient. Rare complications resulting from incomplete extraction of the larvae include cellulitis, abscess formation, osteomyelitis and tetanus. Rarely, deeper myiasis infections of the striated muscles and even bone may cause tissue destruction. Removal of larvae with hemostat, forceps or by manual pressure is often curative. Injection into the furuncle with lidocaine or pilocarpine to paralyze the worm may ease larval extraction. Larvae may also be suffocated by obstructing the cutaneous orifice with substances such as oil, petroleum jelly and liquid paraffin. Limiting the oxygen supply induces the larvae to migrate to the surface through the central punctum. Larvae in deeper tissues can also be induced to migrate by applying turpentinesoaked gauze over the lesions and by use of systemic antihelminthics. All patients should receive tetanus prophylaxis, and antibiotics are appropriate if bacterial infection is suspected. Physicians may aid patient awareness of ectoparasitic infestations associated with international travel to endemic regions by teaching patients simple preventive strategies. Patient education about C. anthropophaga myiasis should emphasize thorough washing of clothes, drying garments on a clothesline located in the bright sunshine or in a house with closed windows, and ironing of clothes on both sides.
Genomic Rearrangements and Functional Diversification of lecA and lecB Lectin-Coding Regions Impacting the Efficacy of Glycomimetics Directed against Pseudomonas aeruginosa

LecA and LecB tetrameric lectins take part in oligosaccharide-mediated adhesion-processes of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Glycomimetics have been designed to block these interactions. The great versatility of P. aeruginosa suggests that the range of application of these glycomimetics could be restricted to genotypes with particular lectin types. The likelihood of having genomic and genetic changes impacting LecA and LecB interactions with glycomimetics such as galactosylated and fucosylated calix[4]arene was investigated over a collection of strains from the main clades of P. aeruginosa. Lectin types were defined, and their ligand specificities were inferred. These analyses showed a loss of lecA among the PA7 clade. Genomic changes impacting lec loci were thus assessed using strains of this clade, and by making comparisons with the PAO1 genome. The lecA regions were found challenged by phage attacks and PAGI-2 (genomic island) integrations. A prophage was linked to the loss of lecA. The lecB regions were found less impacted by such rearrangements but greater lecB than lecA genetic divergences were recorded. Sixteen combinations of LecA and LecB types were observed. Amino acid variations were mapped on PAO1 crystal structures. Most significant changes were observed on LecBPA7, and found close to the fucose binding site. Glycan array analyses were performed with purified LecBPA7. LecBPA7 was found less specific for fucosylated oligosaccharides than LecBPAO1, with a preference for H type 2 rather than type 1, and Lewisa rather than Lewisx. Comparison of the crystal structures of LecBPA7 and LecBPAO1 in complex with Lewisa showed these changes in specificity to have resulted from a modification of the water network between the lectin, galactose and GlcNAc residues. Incidence of these modifications on the interactions with calix[4]arene glycomimetics at the cell level was investigated. An aggregation test was used to establish the efficacy of these ligands. Great variations in the responses were observed. Glycomimetics directed against LecB yielded the highest numbers of aggregates for strains from all clades. The use of a PAO1ΔlecB strain confirmed a role of LecB in this aggregation phenotype. Fucosylated calix[4]arene showed the greatest potential for a use in the prevention of P. aeruginosa infections.
Gluing the ‘unwettable’: soil-dwelling harvestmen use viscoelastic fluids for capturing springtails

Gluing can be a highly efficient mechanism of prey capture, as it should require less complex sensory–muscular feedback. Whereas it is well known in insects, this mechanism is much less studied in arachnids, except spiders. Soil-dwelling harvestmen (Opiliones, Nemastomatidae) bear drumstick-like glandular hairs (clavate setae) at their pedipalps, which were previously hypothesized to be sticky and used in prey capture. However, clear evidence for this was lacking to date. Using high-speed videography, we found that the harvestman Mitostoma chrysomelas was able to capture fast-moving springtails (Collembola) just by a slight touch of the pedipalp. Adhesion of single clavate setae increased proportionally with pull-off velocity, from 1 μN at 1 μm s−1 up to 7 μN at 1 mm s−1, which corresponds to the typical weight of springtails. Stretched glue droplets exhibited characteristics of a viscoelastic fluid forming beads-on-a-string morphology over time, similar to spider capture threads and the sticky tentacles of carnivorous plants. These analogies indicate that viscoelasticity is a highly efficient mechanism for prey capture, as it holds stronger the faster the struggling prey moves. Cryo-scanning electron microscopy of snap-frozen harvestmen with glued springtails revealed that the gluey secretions have a high affinity to wet the microstructured cuticle of collembolans, which was previously reported to be barely wettable for both polar and non-polar liquids. Glue droplets can be contaminated with the detached scaly setae of collembolans, which may represent a counter-adaptation against entrapment by the glue, similar to the scaly surfaces of Lepidoptera and Trichoptera (Insecta) facilitating escape from spider webs.
All muscle satellite cells are equal, but are some more equal than others?

Skeletal muscle is an accessible adult stem-cell model in which differentiated myofibres are maintained and repaired by a self-renewing stem-cell compartment. These resident stem cells, which are known as satellite cells, lie on the surface of the muscle fibre, between the plasmalemma and overlying basal lamina. Although they are normally mitotically quiescent in adult muscle, satellite cells can be activated when needed to generate myoblasts, which eventually differentiate to provide new myonuclei for the homeostasis, hypertrophy and repair of muscle fibres, or fuse together to form new myofibres for regeneration. Satellite cells also self-renew in order to maintain a viable stem-cell pool that is able to respond to repeated demand. The study of the control of self-renewal has led to the idea that the satellite-cell pool might be heterogeneous: that is it might contain both self-renewing satellite `stem' cells and myogenic precursors with limited replicative potential in the same anatomical location. The regulatory circuits that control satellite-cell self-renewal are beginning to be deciphered, with Pax7, and Notch and Wnt signalling being clearly implicated. This Commentary seeks to integrate these interesting new findings into the wider context of satellite-cell biology, and to highlight some of the many outstanding questions.