Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
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NICE, the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, has closed consultation on a draft update to its 2011 guidance on the diagnosis and management of hypertension. The draft was published in March and full publication is expected in August this year. The update, which was widely anticipated following changes in the USA as a result of the SPRINT trial, has not, however, followed the US move with a lower threshold for diagnosing hypertension. Instead, the UK draft has concentrated more on when patients should start treatment, proposing that antihypertensive treatment should be offered to ‘stage 1’ hypertension patients under 80 with an estimated 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease of 10% or more (a reduction on the previous ‘20% or greater’ threshold). Stage 1 hypertension is defined when there is no simple identifiable cause of the raised BP. According to NICE, this new definition might now mean that around 270,000 UK women (and 450,000 men) will need treatment, about one half of whom are already being treated within the 2011 20%-risk recommendations. The US guidelines issued by a collective of organisations, including the American Heart Association, in November 2017 lowered the blood pressure target to 130/80mmHg (from 140/90), which according to an analysis six months later classified almost 50% of the US population as ‘hypertensive’. (2,3) NICE, it seems, has avoided the implied risk of over-diagnosis and instead committed itself to an improvement of outcomes in cardiovascular disease ‘in line with the Government’s long-term plan for the NHS’. In the US the drop in target pressure was apparently prompted by results of the SPRINT trial, which showed that by treating patients intensively with a target systolic BP of 120mmHg, rather than the formerly recommended 140mmHg, mortality and cardiovascular events were significantly reduced. Current NICE advice on treating Stage 1 hypertension is that drug treatment in addition to lifestyle advice should be offered to adults under 80 with one or more of the following: target organ damage, established cardiovascular disease, renal disease and diabetes, and an estimated 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease of 20% or more. The 2019 update will lower that latter requirement to 10%. The NICE guideline on hypertension, updated in 2016, also recommends that those under 80 should aim for a systolic BP below 140mmHg (140/ 90mmHg) and ambulatory or home BP below 135mmHg (135/85mmHg). The diabetes guideline recommends that those with diabetes maintain blood pressure below 140/80mmHg or below 130/80mmHg if there is kidney, eye or stroke damage. The European guidelines have similar targets. The NICE press release accompanying publication of the draft update reported that in 2015 high blood pressure affected more than one in four adults in the UK (31% of men, 26% of women) – around 13.5 million people – and contributed to 75,000 deaths in England. The clinical management of hypertension accounts for 12% of visits to primary care and up to £2.1 billion of healthcare expenditure.
Thrombotic events in high risk patients are predicted by evaluating different pathways of platelet function

Summary A higher rate of clinical events in poor clopidogrel and/or aspirin responders was documented by using different methods to measure platelet function, but no conclusive data about the appropriate methodology to explore platelet reactivity are available.A total of 746 patients included in the cohort of the RECLOSE trial who had successful drug-eluting stent implantation were assessed for post-treatment residual platelet reactivity (RPR) in platelet-rich plasma by 10 µM adenosine 5’-diphosphate (ADP),1 mM arachidonic acid (AA) and 2 µg/ml collageninduced platelet aggregation and in whole blood by the PFA-100 system. At six-month follow-up, RPR by two stimuli (ADP and AA or ADP and collagen) and by three stimuli (ADP,AA and collagen) is significantly associated with higher percentage of primary (definite or probable stent thrombosis) and secondary cardiac mortality and stent thrombosis) end-points than RPR by ADP,AA, collagen and PFA-100 system.According to the primary and secondary end points, the specificity values for RPR identified by two (ADP and AA: 94%;ADP and collagen: 97%) and three stimuli were higher with respect to RPR by ADP (88%), or RPR by AA (83%) or RPR by collagen (90%). The positive likelihood ratio values of RPR by three stimuli (9.55) or of RPR by ADP and collagen (8.08) were higher than those of RPR by ADP (2.59), byAA (2.05), by collagen (4.73), or by PFA-100 (2.63). This prospective study documents that the evaluation of platelet reactivity addressed to identify patients at risk of thrombotic events on dual antiplatelet treatment has to be carried out by methods able to explore different pathways.
RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN HITTING TECHNIQUE AND BALL CARRY DISTANCE IN CRICKET

The aim of this study was to identify the technique parameters characterising batsmen who generate large carry distances, ball launch speeds, and bat speeds during a range hitting task in cricket. Kinematic data were collected for 20 batsmen, and a series of ball launch, impact, and technique parameters were calculated for each trial. A regression analysis found impact location relative to the sweetspot and bat speed together to explain 70% of the observed variation in ball speed. A further regression analysis found the maximum X-factor (the separation between the pelvis and thorax segments in the transverse plane), front elbow extension, and wrist uncocking during the downswing explained 66% of the observed variation in bat speed. These findings will be useful in coaching more effective hitters, and in assessing the mechanics of generating bat speed.
Extreme diving of beaked whales

SUMMARY Sound-and-orientation recording tags (DTAGs) were used to study 10 beaked whales of two poorly known species, Ziphius cavirostris (Zc) and Mesoplodon densirostris (Md). Acoustic behaviour in the deep foraging dives performed by both species (Zc: 28 dives by seven individuals; Md: 16 dives by three individuals) shows that they hunt by echolocation in deep water between 222 and 1885 m, attempting to capture about 30 prey/dive. This food source is so deep that the average foraging dives were deeper (Zc: 1070 m; Md: 835 m) and longer (Zc: 58 min; Md: 47 min) than reported for any other air-breathing species. A series of shallower dives, containing no indications of foraging, followed most deep foraging dives. The average interval between deep foraging dives was 63 min for Zc and 92 min for Md. This long an interval may be required for beaked whales to recover from an oxygen debt accrued in the deep foraging dives, which last about twice the estimated aerobic dive limit. Recent reports of gas emboli in beaked whales stranded during naval sonar exercises have led to the hypothesis that their deep-diving may make them especially vulnerable to decompression. Using current models of breath-hold diving, we infer that their natural diving behaviour is inconsistent with known problems of acute nitrogen supersaturation and embolism. If the assumptions of these models are correct for beaked whales, then possible decompression problems are more likely to result from an abnormal behavioural response to sonar.
Strong cosmic censorship in polarised Gowdy spacetimes

The strong cosmic censorship conjecture says that 'most' spacetimes developed as solutions of Einstein's equations from prescribed initial data cannot be extended outside of their domains of dependence. Here, we discuss results which show that if we restrict attention to the polarised Gowdy spacetimes, strong cosmic censorship holds. More specifically, these results show that in the space of Cauchy data for polarised Gowdy spacetimes, there is an open dense subset for which the maximal globally hyperbolic development is inextendible. Among the Gowdy spacetimes which can be extended, we find a set of them which admit a countable infinity of inequivalent classes of extensions. We also find that a polarised Gowdy spacetime (T3 or S2 x S') may be extended as a solution of Einstein's equations (with the Gowdy isometries) across a compact Cauchy horizon only if it is analytic.
Influence of dental cleansers on the color stability and surface roughness of three types of denture bases

This study is concerned with color stability and surface roughness of three types of denture base materials when immersed into three types of denture cleansers. Materials & method: Forty five specimens were prepared, fifteen of each type were immersed into distilled water for 48hours which regarded as control and then each five specimens were immersed into one of three different denture cleansers for twelve hours then undergone testing for color stability and surface roughness ,the results were analyzed by paired t-test and ANOVA test. Results: In color stability the hot cure acrylic give non significant difference p>0.05 with denture cleansers, the soft base give (HS) high significant difference which is greatly affected by denture cleansers while the nylon denture was significantly affected by bleach rather than the other two cleansers was non significant. The ANOVA test show smooth effect of fitty dent (NS)on both nylon and soft base. The surface roughness test it was significantly affected by denture cleansers by t-test while ANOVA the smooth effect of both fitty and lacalut dent on denture bases with non significant difference. Conclusion: Denture cleansers can cause whitening or color fainting or even bleaching. The surface texture affected by cleansers in deferent level according to time of immersion, concentration and type of active component that lead to increase of roughness or wear of denture outer surface. The effect of fitty dent was safer in its action and smoother than bleach and lacalut.
The Study on Crack Healing Behaviour of Silicon Nitride Ceramics.

Crack healing behaviour of monolithic Si3N4 and Si3N4/SiC composite have been investigated, systematically. In these ceramics, 8 wt. % Y2O3 was used as a sintering additive. The semicircular crack (average diameter was 110 μm) was made in the center of specimen using Vickers hardness indenter. Some of the cracked specimens were heat-treated at 1 300°C for 1 hour in air or in argon gas atmosphere. Bending strength was measured at room and elevated temperature up to 1 300°C in air by 4-point bending test system. Bending strength was measured at room and elevated temperature up to 1 300°C in air by 4-point bending test system. Bending strength of cracked specimen reduced to about 50% of that of smooth specimen. However, bending strength of pre-cracked and heat treated specimen recovered completely up to that of smooth specimem. And in most specimens tested, failure occured from the outside of pre-cracked area even at 1 300°C. By the systematical investigation, it is concluded that crack healing due to oxidation results the recovery in bending strength since precrack was filled in oxides, such as Y2Si2O7 and SiO2, which were produced by heat treatment in air. Crack healing behaviours in the both ceramics were also investigated, as a function of heat treatment temperature and times, initial crack size and bending test temperature. Based on the these results, it was concluded that crack healed part in Si3N4/SiC composite ceramics has enough strength up to 1 300°C.
The mass of asymptotically hyperbolic Riemannian manifolds

We present a set of global invariants, called mass integrals, which can be defined for a large class of asymptotically hyperbolic Riemannian manifolds. When the boundary at infinity has spherical topology one single invariant is obtained, called the mass; we show positivity thereof. We apply the definition to conformally compactifiable manifolds, and show that the mass is completion-independent. We also prove the result, closely related to the problem at hand, that conformal completions of conformally compactifiable manifolds are unique.
Age Differences in the Neuroelectric Adaptation to Meaningful Sounds

Much of what we know regarding the effect of stimulus repetition on neuroelectric adaptation comes from studies using artificially produced pure tones or harmonic complex sounds. Little is known about the neural processes associated with the representation of everyday sounds and how these may be affected by aging. In this study, we used real life, meaningful sounds presented at various azimuth positions and found that auditory evoked responses peaking at about 100 and 180 ms after sound onset decreased in amplitude with stimulus repetition. This neural adaptation was greater in young than in older adults and was more pronounced when the same sound was repeated at the same location. Moreover, the P2 waves showed differential patterns of domain-specific adaptation when location and identity was repeated among young adults. Background noise decreased ERP amplitudes and modulated the magnitude of repetition effects on both the N1 and P2 amplitude, and the effects were comparable in young and older adults. These findings reveal an age-related difference in the neural processes associated with adaptation to meaningful sounds, which may relate to older adults’ difficulty in ignoring task-irrelevant stimuli.
The Nitrate Transporter (NRT) Gene Family in Poplar

Nitrate is an important nutrient required for plant growth. It also acts as a signal regulating plant development. Nitrate is actively taken up and transported by nitrate transporters (NRT), which form a large family with many members and distinct functions. In contrast to Arabidopsis and rice there is little information about the NRT family in woody plants such as Populus. In this study, a comprehensive analysis of the Populus NRT family was performed. Sixty-eight PtNRT1/PTR, 6 PtNRT2, and 5 PtNRT3 genes were identified in the P. trichocarpa genome. Phylogenetic analysis confirmed that the genes of the NRT family are divided into three clades: NRT1/PTR with four subclades, NRT2, and NRT3. Topological analysis indicated that all members of PtNRT1/PTR and PtNRT2 have 8 to 12 trans-membrane domains, whereas the PtNRT3 proteins have no or up to two trans-membrane domains. Four PtNRT3 members were predicted as secreted proteins. Microarray analyses revealed tissue-specific expression patterns of PtNRT genes with distinct clusters of NRTs for roots, for the elongation zone of the apical stem segment and the developing xylem and a further cluster for leaves, bark and wood. A comparison of different poplar species (P. trichocarpa, P. tremula, P. euphratica, P. fremontii x P. angustifolia, and P. x canescens) showed that the tissue-specific patterns of the NRT genes varied to some extent with species. Bioinformatic analysis of putative cis-regulatory elements in the promoter regions of PtNRT family retrieved motifs suggesting the regulation of the NRT genes by N metabolism, by energy and carbon metabolism, and by phytohormones and stress. Multivariate analysis suggested that the combination and abundance of motifs in distinct promoters may lead to tissue-specificity. Our genome wide analysis of the PtNRT genes provides a valuable basis for functional analysis towards understanding the role of nitrate transporters for tree growth.
Teen Dating Violence (Physical and Sexual) Among US High School Students: Findings From the 2013 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey.

IMPORTANCE National estimates of teen dating violence (TDV) reveal high rates of victimization among high school populations. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's national Youth Risk Behavior Survey has provided often-cited estimates of physical TDV since 1999. In 2013, revisions were made to the physical TDV question to capture more serious forms of physical TDV and to screen out students who did not date. An additional question was added to assess sexual TDV. OBJECTIVES To describe the content of new physical and sexual TDV victimization questions first administered in the 2013 national Youth Risk Behavior Survey, to share data on the prevalence and frequency of TDV (including the first-ever published overall "both physical and sexual TDV" and "any TDV" national estimates using these new questions), and to assess associations of TDV experience with health-risk behaviors. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Secondary data analysis of a cross-sectional survey of 9900 students who dated, from a nationally representative sample of US high school students, using the 2013 national Youth Risk Behavior Survey. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Two survey questions separately assessed physical and sexual TDV; this analysis combined them to create a 4-level TDV measure and a 2-level TDV measure. The 4-level TDV measure includes "physical TDV only," "sexual TDV only," "both physical and sexual TDV," and "none. " The 2-level TDV measure includes "any TDV" (either or both physical and sexual TDV) and "none. " Sex-stratified bivariate and multivariable analyses assessed associations between TDV and health-risk behaviors. RESULTS In 2013, among students who dated, 20.9% of female students (95% CI, 19.0%-23.0%) and 10.4% of male students (95% CI, 9.0%-11.7%) experienced some form of TDV during the 12 months before the survey. Female students had a higher prevalence than male students of physical TDV only, sexual TDV only, both physical and sexual TDV, and any TDV. All health-risk behaviors were most prevalent among students who experienced both forms of TDV and were least prevalent among students who experienced none (all P < .001). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE The 2013 TDV questions allowed for new prevalence estimates of TDV to be established that represent a more complete measure of TDV and are useful in determining associations with health-risk behaviors among youth exposed to these different forms of TDV.
Adjudication of Transient Ischemic Attack and Stroke in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis

Background: To describe adjudication of transient ischemic attack (TIA) and stroke in an observational study. Methods: We detail the process used to adjudicate TIA and stroke in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA), a large longitudinal cohort study. Two of three vascular neurologists adjudicated each event using specific protocols. We examined the initial agreement, effect of imaging on diagnosis of TIA versus ischemic stroke, and effect of strict and less strict criteria on the number of ischemic stroke subtypes classified as undetermined. Results: Of 573 adjudicated events over 13.5 years of follow-up, 95 (16.5%) had TIA and 269 (47.0%) had stroke: 211 (78.4%) ischemic, 43 (16.0%) hemorrhagic, and 15 (5.6%) other. Disagreements occurred on 16% of initial adjudication of events. Using results from imaging, the number with TIA decreased by 8.6% and with ischemic stroke increased by 4.1%. Using less strict criteria to classify ischemic stroke subtypes reduced the number classified as undetermined, from 137 to 59, and numbers classified as cardioembolic and small vessel doubled. Conclusions: We hope that this work will motivate and facilitate investigators to use MESA data to investigate issues concerning TIA and stroke and will inform investigators seeking to adjudicate TIA and stroke in other studies.
ORBIT score: an useful predictor of small bowel rebleeding in patients under chronic anticoagulation

Abstract Background and study aims: Available scoring systems to assess the risk for major bleeding in patients on chronic anticoagulation seem inadequate in predicting higher diagnostic yields of small bowel capsule endoscopy (SBCE) or higher rebleeding rates in patients with suspected small bowel bleeding. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of the new ORBIT score in predicting positive findings of SBCE or higher rebleeding rates in chronically anticoagulated patients with suspected small bowel bleeding. Patients and methods: Retrospective analysis of 570 patients who consecutively underwent SBCE for the study of suspected small bowel bleeding. For each of the 67 patients who were on chronic anticoagulation, ORBIT score (Older age, Reduced hemoglobin/hematocrit, Bleeding history, Insufficient kidney function and Treatment with antiplatelets) was calculated. Patients were classified as high-risk (ORBIT score ≥4) or low/intermediate-risk (ORBIT score <4). Data on SBCE findings, diagnostic yield and rebleeding were compared between groups. Results: When ORBIT score was calculated, 41 and 26 patients were classified as low/intermediate-risk and high-risk, respectively. When low/intermediate-risk and high-risk groups were compared, no differences were found in the diagnostic yield of SBCE (39.0% vs. 23.1%; p = .176). However, in high-risk patients, rebleeding was significantly more common than in low/intermediate-risk patients (80.0% vs. 36.6%; p = .003). Conclusions: In patients presenting with suspected small bowel bleeding and on chronic anticoagulation, the new ORBIT score seems promising in identifying those with a higher risk of rebleeding, in whom a closer follow-up and a more aggressive diagnostic and therapeutic strategy is advisable.
The Defective Down Regulation of Fibrinolysis in Haemophilia A Can Be Restored by Increasing the TAFI Plasma Concentration

Summary TAFI (thrombin activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor) down regulates fibrinolysis after activation by relatively high concentrations of thrombin generated during coagulation via thrombin mediated factor XI activation and subsequent activation of the intrinsic pathway. It is this secondary burst of thrombin that is severely diminished in haemophilia A, a deficiency of coagulation factor VIII. We therefore investigated the role of TAFI in haemophilia A by measuring the clot lysis times of tissue factor induced fibrin formation and tPA mediated fibrinolysis. In haemophilia A plasma clot lysis times were normal at relatively high tissue factor concentrations but severely decreased at moderate to low tissue factor concentrations, indicating that the thrombin generation via the extrinsic pathway was insufficient to activate TAFI. Addition of factor VIII, TAFI or thrombomodulin restored the clot lysis times at low tissue factor concentrations. This confirms the hypothesis that the bleeding disorder in haemophilia A is not merely a defect in the initial clot formation but is in fact a triple defect: reduced thrombin formation via the extrinsic pathway at low tissue factor concentrations, a reduced secondary burst of thrombin generation via the intrinsic pathway and a defective down regulation of the fibrinolytic system by the intrinsic pathway.
MicroRNA Expression Profiling of the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch Cohort for Identification of “Enviro-miRs” Associated With Deployment-Based Environmental Exposure

Objective: The aim of this study was to identify serum microRNA (miRNA) biomarkers that indicate deployment-associated exposures in service members at military installations with open burn pits. Another objective was to determine detection rates of miRNAs in Department of Defense Serum Repository (DoDSR) samples with a high-throughput methodology. Methods: Low-volume serum samples (n = 800) were profiled by miRNA-capture isolation, pre-amplification, and measurement by a quantitative PCR-based OpenArray platform. Normalized quantitative cycle values were used for differential expression analysis between groups. Results: Assay specificity, dynamic range, reproducibility, and detection rates by OpenArray passed target desired specifications. Serum abundant miRNAs were consistently measured in study specimens. Four miRNAs were differentially expressed in the case deployment group subjects. Conclusions: miRNAs are suitable RNA species for biomarker discovery in the DoDSR serum specimens. Serum miRNAs are candidate biomarkers for deployment and environmental exposure in military service members.