Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Insulin resistance and risk of congestive heart failure.

CONTEXT Diabetes and obesity are established risk factors for congestive heart failure (CHF) and are both associated with insulin resistance. OBJECTIVE To explore if insulin resistance may predict CHF and may provide the link between obesity and CHF. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS The Uppsala Longitudinal Study of Adult Men, a prospective, community-based, observational cohort in Uppsala, Sweden. We investigated 1187 elderly (>or=70 years) men free from CHF and valvular disease at baseline between 1990 and 1995, with follow-up until the end of 2002. Variables reflecting insulin sensitivity (including euglycemic insulin clamp glucose disposal rate) and obesity were analyzed together with established risk factors (prior myocardial infarction, hypertension, diabetes, electrocardiographic left ventricular hypertrophy, smoking, and serum cholesterol level) as predictors of subsequent incidence of CHF, using Cox proportional hazards analyses. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE First hospitalization for heart failure. RESULTS One hundred four men developed CHF during a median follow-up of 8.9 (range, 0.01-11.4) years. In multivariable Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for established risk factors for CHF, increased risk of CHF was associated with a 1-SD increase in the 2-hour glucose value of an oral glucose tolerance test (hazard ratio [HR], 1.44; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.08-1.93), fasting serum proinsulin level (HR, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.02-1.64), body mass index (HR, 1.35; 95% CI, 1.11-1.65), and waist circumference (HR, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.10-1.69), whereas a 1-SD increase in clamp glucose disposal rate decreased the risk (HR, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.51-0.86). When adding clamp glucose disposal rate to these models as a covariate, the obesity variables were no longer significant predictors of subsequent CHF. CONCLUSIONS Insulin resistance predicted CHF incidence independently of established risk factors including diabetes in our large community-based sample of elderly men. The previously described association between obesity and subsequent CHF may be mediated largely by insulin resistance.
ElEVATE: an innovative study design to assess the efficacy, safety, and evolution of cardiovascular parameters in de novo kidney transplant recipients after early conversion from a calcineurin inhibitor to everolimus

Progressive decline in allograft function and cardiovascular mortality after kidney transplantation remain major clinical challenges that can potentially be addressed by the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitors, everolimus and sirolimus. mTOR inhibitors maintain immunosuppressive efficacy after minimization of calcineurin inhibitor (CNI) therapy and can achieve significant long-term improvements in renal function. Recently, data have accumulated that suggest mTOR inhibitors may offer cardioprotective effects. In animal models, inhibition of mTOR leads to regression of cardiac hypertrophy, and the limited data consistently point to a remodeling benefit following heart transplantation. Experimentally, mTOR inhibitors restrict atherogenesis, confirmed clinically by intravascular ultrasound data demonstrating lower rates of transplant vasculopathy in heart transplant recipients on everolimus. Lastly, mTOR inhibitors appear to ameliorate arterial stiffness, a known risk factor for post-transplant cardio- vascular events, but data remain sparse. The ELEVATE study will examine the renal effect of early conversion from CNI therapy to everolimus after kidney transplantation. Key secondary endpoints include the change in left ventricular mass index, the first time this endpoint has been included in a prospective study of an mTOR inhibitor. The occurrence of cardiovascular events will be rigorously documented and pulse wave velocity is being measured in a subpopulation of patients. Results from this innovative trial are awaited with interest.
Impact of parental presence during induction of anesthesia on anxiety level among pediatric patients and their parents: a randomized clinical trial

Introduction Anesthesia induction is a stressful event for children and their parents, and may have potentially harmful consequences on the patient’s physiological and mental situation. Stressful anesthesia induction has psychological adverse effects that recur with repeated anesthesia, can lead to increased pediatric discomfort during the recovery period, and may even induce reactionary postoperative behavior. A randomized controlled trial was performed to assess the impact of parental presence during induction of anesthesia (PPIA) on preoperative anxiety of pediatric patients and their parents at three different times, cooperation of child with anesthesiologist at induction of anesthesia, and parental satisfaction. Patients and methods A total of 96 pediatric patients undergoing elective minor surgery (ASA 1–2) were randomly divided into two groups. Both groups received oral midazolam (0.5 mg/kg) at least 20 minutes before surgery, but in the PPIA group, the parents were also present in the operating room until loss of consciousness of child at anesthesia induction. Anxiety in the patients (as measured by the modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale [mYPAS]) and parents (as measured by the State and Trait Anxiety Inventory [STAI]), the Induction Compliance Checklist (ICC), and parental satisfaction (as measured by visual analog scale) were assessed. Results There was no significant difference in the mean anxiety scores (mYPAS) of participants in the control and PPIA groups at ward T0 and upon arrival to operating room T1 (P>0.05). However, between the PPIA and control groups, mean mYPAS score was different at the time of induction of anesthesia T2 (35.5±16.6 vs 59.8±22.4; P<0.001). The ICC scores showed that perfect score was significantly different in the PPIA and control groups (66.6% vs 6.3%; P<0.01). The STAI scores of the parents in the two groups did not differ in T0, T1, and T2. The mean parental satisfaction score was higher in the PPIA group than in the control group (7.6±7.0 vs 5.8±6.1; P<0.01). Conclusion PPIA may reduce preoperative state anxiety of pediatric patients and improve quality of anesthesia induction based on ICC scores and higher parental satisfaction, but it does not impact on parental state anxiety.
Modi ® er Attachment in Sentence Parsing : Evidence from Dutch Marc Brysbaert

Current theories of parsing suggest a w ide variety of mechanisms by which modi ® ers, such as re lative clauses, may be related to constituents that offer m ore than one potential attachment site. Some, like the tuning hypothesis, are based on the premise that people’ s parsing performance is shaped by prior exposure to language. Others (e.g. g arden-path theory and construa l theory) play down any potential ro le of past linguistic experience, stressing instead the vary ing in ̄ uences of structural characteristics of the sentence in question. T he two views encourage differing expectations about cros s-linguistic variation in parsing preference. A questionnaire study and two on-line experiments were carried out to investigate attachment preferences in Dutch. The resu lts pose a num ber of problem s for the majority of the existing parsing models and are clearly inconsis tent with some of the trad itional theories. In contrast, the ® ndings are compatible w ith models incorporating parsing mechanisms that are tuned by language experience. The resu lts highlight the need for fur ther corpus studies to sub ject these accounts to more searching scrutiny.
Recent Records of Exotic Reptiles on Pohnpei, Eastern Caroline Islands, Micronesia

Seven nonindigenous species of reptiles (two freshwater turtles, one gekkonid lizard, and four snakes) were recorded on Pohnpei and adjacent Ant Atoll (Federated States of Micronesia) for the ®rst time within the past 15 yr, three within the past 3 yr. They apparently reached Pohnpei by deliberate or inadvertent human-assisted transport, originating from widespread and distant areas including North America, Southeast Asia, Indoaustralia, and other Paci®c islands. Pohnpeians (and many other Paci®c islanders) often do not perceive exotics as a potential threat to the balance of natural ecosystems. Additional training and education addressing the potentially disastrous consequences of alien species and directed especially toward agencies entrusted with monitoring environmental quality are recommended to help preserve biodiversity on these small island nations. Pohnpei is a ruggedly mountainous (nearly 800 m high), densely forested, sparsely populated (31,540 people censused in 1994 [Of®ce of Planning and Statistics 1996]) volcanic island in the west-central Paci®c (Figure 1). It is located 766 km north of the equator. As the political and economic hub of the Federated States of Micronesia, Pohnpei hosts a broad spectrum of international visitors for business and recreation, despite its relatively small size (about 355 km) and remote location. In addition, yachts in transit from different parts of the world frequently anchor at Pohnpei and its satellite atolls for inde®nite periods of time. The potential for deliberate and inadvertent transport of exotic ora and fauna increases with the growing accessibility and popularity of the island. Recent human-assisted transport and establishment of exotic species of plants and animals throughout the Paci®c Basin are well recognized (McCoid 1993 from Drake et al. 1989). Guam and the Hawaiian Islands are notorious examples (Eldredge 1988, McCoid 1993, 1995, Fritts and Rodda 1998, Wiles in press) of the disastrous consequences of exotic ora and fauna. This study reports on the probable human-assisted occurrence of seven species of reptiles on Pohnpei and adjacent Ant Atoll recorded for the ®rst time during the past 15 yr, three of them within the last 3 yr.
Autophagy may play an important role in varicocele

The present study aimed to determine the expression of autophagy and investigate whether the hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α)/BCL2 interacting protein (BNIP3)/Beclin-1 autophagy signaling pathway serves an important role in activating autophagy in varicocele (VC) rat testes cells. Furthermore, the current study aimed to explain the possible association between autophagy and apoptosis. A total of 48 adult male Sprague Dawley rats were divided into group A (control), group B (VC 15-day), group C (VC 30-day) and group D (VC 45-day), with 12 rats in each group. The rats in group A did not receive any interventions, and in groups B, C, and D the VC model was established simultaneously. At 0, 15, 30, and 45 days, an orchidectomy on the left testes was performed in groups A-D, each on its respective day. Transmission electron microscopy was used to investigate the expression of autophagy. Compared with groups A and B, it was demonstrated that the expression of autophagy in groups C, and D was significantly increased. Hematoxylin and eosin staining revealed that as the rats survived VC longer, the testicular tissue damage became more serious. Furthermore, the Johnson score revealed that VC impaired the spermeiogenesis function of the male rats. Additionally, it was demonstrated that the apoptosis index of the seminiferous epithelia cells in VC rat testes increased over time, as measured using TUNEL staining. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that as the VC was prolonged, the expression of HIF-1α gradually increased while the expression of (apoptosis regulator Bcl-2) Bcl-2 gradually decreased. Furthermore, western blot analysis revealed that the protein expression of Bcl-2 decreased and apoptosis regulator Bax increased. Furthermore, HIF-1α, BNIP3, Beclin1 and microtubule associated protein 1 light chain 3 α (LC3)II/LC3I expression gradually increased. However, significant increases in Beclin 1 and LC3II/LC3I were only observed between the day 0 and day 30 groups. In addition, the expression of p62 significantly increased between day 0 and day 15, but gradually decreased between day 15 and day 45. The results of the present study revealed that VC can lead to testicular tissue hypoxia, and that the HIF-1α/BNIP3/Beclin1 autophagy signaling pathway may upregulate autophagy in VC rats testes. Thus, the association between autophagy and apoptosis may serve an important role in male infertility caused by VC.
Benefit finding and diurnal cortisol slope in maternal caregivers: A moderating role for positive emotion

The purpose of the present study was to explore the associations among benefit finding, daily positive and negative emotion, and daily cortisol slope in 71 maternal caregivers. Benefit finding was measured using the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI; Tedeschi, R. G., & Calhoun, L. G. (1996). The Posttraumatic Growth Inventory: Measuring the positive legacy of trauma. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 9, 455–472. ). Cortisol slope was not significantly correlated with any of the PTGI subscales, positive emotion, or negative emotion. However, the interactions of daily positive emotion with the PTGI subscales of Personal Strength, Appreciation of Life, and Spiritual Change were statistically significant such that higher scores on these subscales predicted a steeper (more adaptive) daily cortisol slope only for those women who also had higher levels of daily positive emotion.
Impact of the Glymphatic System on the Kinetic and Distribution of Gadodiamide in the Rat Brain: Observations by Dynamic MRI and Effect of Circadian Rhythm on Tissue Gadolinium Concentrations

Objectives The glymphatic system is a recently hypothesized waste clearance system of the brain in which perivascular space constitutes a pathway similar to the lymphatic system in other body regions. Sleep and anesthesia are reported to influence the activity of the glymphatic system. Because rats are nocturnal animals, the glymphatic system is expected to be more active during the day. We attempted to elucidate the influence of the glymphatic system for intravenously injected gadodiamide in the rat brain by 2 experiments. One was a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) experiment to evaluate the short-term dynamics of signal intensity changes after gadodiamide administration. The other was a quantification experiment to evaluate the concentration of retained gadolinium within the rat brain after repeated intravenous administration of gadodiamide at different times of day and levels of anesthesia. Materials and Methods The imaging experiment was performed on 6 rats that received an intravenous injection of gadodiamide (1 mmol/kg) and dynamic MRI for 3 hours at 2.4-minute intervals. The time course of the signal intensity changes was evaluated for different brain structures. The tissue quantification experiment was performed on 24 rats divided into 4 groups by injection time (morning, late afternoon) and anesthesia (none, short, long) during administration. All animals received gadodiamide (1.8 mmol/kg, 8 times over 2 weeks). Gadolinium concentration of dissected brain tissues was quantified 5 weeks after the last administration by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Results In the imaging experiment, muscle and the fourth ventricle showed an instantaneous signal intensity increase immediately after gadodiamide injection. The signal curve of the cerebral cortex and deep cerebellar nuclei reached the peak signal intensity later than the fourth ventricle but earlier than that of the prepontine cistern. In the gadolinium quantification experiment, the concentration in the group with the morning injection showed a significantly lower concentration than the late afternoon injection group. The lowest tissue gadolinium concentrations were found in the groups injected in the morning during long anesthesia. Conclusions Instantaneous transition of gadodiamide from blood to cerebrospinal fluid was indicated by dynamic MRI. The gadodiamide distribution to the cerebral cortex and deep cerebellar nuclei seemed to depend on both blood flow and cerebrospinal fluid. This confirms previous studies indicating that the cerebrospinal fluid is one potential pathway of gadolinium-based contrast agent entry into the brain. For the distribution and clearance of the gadodiamide from brain tissue, involvement of the glymphatic system seemed to be indicated in terms of the influence of sleep and anesthesia.
Cost of malaria treatment and health seeking behaviour of children under-five years in the Upper West Region of Ghana

Background There is limited knowledge on cost of treating malaria in children under-five years in northern Ghana which poses a challenge in determining whether interventions such as the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) have reduced the economic burden of malaria to households or not. This study examined the malaria care seeking and cost of treatment in children under-five years in the Upper West Region of Ghana. Methods The study used a cross-sectional, quantitative design and data were collected between July and August 2016 in three districts in the Upper West Region of Ghana. A total of 574 women who had under-five children were interviewed. Socio-demographic characteristics of respondents, malaria seeking patterns for under-five children with malaria as well as direct medical and non-medical costs associated with treating under-five children with malaria were collected from the patient perspective. Analysis was performed using STATA 12. Results Out of 574 women visited, about 63% (360) had children who had malaria and sought treatment. Most treatment was done at formal health facilities such as the health centres (37%) and the CHPS (35%) while 3% had self-treatment at home. The main reason for choice of place of treatment outside home was nearness to home (53%). The average direct medical and non-medical costs associated with treating an under-five child with malaria were US$4.13 and US$3.04 respectively. The average cost on transportation alone was US$2.64. Overall, the average direct medical and non-medical cost associated with treating an under-five child with malaria was US$4.91(range: minimum = US$0.13 –maximum = US$46.75). Children who were enrolled into the NHIS paid an average amount of US$4.76 compared with US$5.88 for those not enrolled, though the difference was not statistically significant (p-value = 0.15). Conclusions The average cost to households in treating an under-five child with malaria was US$4.91. This amount is considerably high given the poverty level in the area. Children not insured paid a little over one US dollar for malaria treatment compared to those insured. Efforts to improve enrolment into the NHIS may be needed to reduce the cost of malaria treatment to households. Construction of more health facilities near to community members and at hard to reach areas will improve access to health care and reduce direct non-medical cost such as transportation costs.
Antimicrobial Activity of Cannabis sativa L.

The oil of the seeds, petroleum ether and methanol extracts of the whole plant of Cannabis sativa belonging to the family Cannabinaceae were screened for their antimicrobial activity against two Gram positive organisms (Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus), two Gram negative organisms (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and two fungi namely Aspergillus niger and Candida albicans using the cup plate agar diffusion method. The oil of the seeds of Cannabis sativa exerted pronounced antibacterial activity (21 - 28 mm) against Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus, moderate activity (15 mm) against Escherichia coli and high activity (16 mm) against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and inactive against the two fungi tested. The petroleum ether extract of the whole plant exhibited pronounced antibacterial activity (23 - 28 mm) against both Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus organisms, high activity (16 mm) against Escherichia coli and inactive against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and both fungi. The methanol extract of the whole plant showed also pronounced antibacterial activity (29 mm) against Bacillus subtilis, low activity (12 mm) against Staphylococcus aureus and high activity (16 - 18 mm) against both Gram negative organisms, inactive against Aspergillus niger and low activity (13 mm) against Candida albicans. The minimum inhibitory concentrations of Cannabis sativa methanol extracts of the seeds and the whole plant against the standard organisms were determined using the agar plate dilution method. The standard organisms were tested against reference antibacterial and antifungal drugs and the results were compared with the activity of the extracts.
Biogeosciences Relationships between bottom water carbonate saturation and element / Ca ratios in coretop samples of the benthic foraminifera

Elemental ratios in benthic foraminifera have been used to reconstruct bottom water temperature and carbonate saturation ( 1[CO 3 ]). We present elemental data for the long-ranging benthic foraminifera Oridorsalis umbonatus from sediment core tops that span a narrow range of temperatures and a wide range of saturation states. B/Ca, Li/Ca, Sr/Ca and Mg/Ca ratios exhibit positive correlations with bottom water carbonate saturation. The sensitivity of individual element/calcium ratios to bottom water 1[CO 3 ] varies considerably, with B/Ca being most sensitive and Sr/Ca the least sensitive. The empirically derived sensitivity of B/Ca, Li/Ca, Mg/Ca and Sr/Ca to bottom water1[CO 3 ] are 0.433± 0.053 and 0.0561±0.0084 μmol mol −1 μmol kg−1 and 0.0164±0.0015 and 0.00241 ±0.0004 mmol mol −1 μmol kg−1, respectively. To assess the fidelity of these relationships and the possibility of applying these relationships to earlier periods of Earth history, we examine the mechanisms governing elemental incorporation into foraminiferal calcite. Empirical partition coefficients for Li and Sr are consistent with Rayleigh fractionation from an internal pool used for calcification. For O. umbonatusand other benthic species, we show that the fraction of Ca remaining in the pool is a function of bottom water 1[CO 3 ], and can be explained by either a growth rate effect and/or the energetic cost of raising vesicle pH at the site of calcification. Empirical partition coefficients for Mg and B may also be controlled by Rayleigh fractionation, but require that either the fractionation factor from the internal pool is smaller than the inorganic partition coefficient and/or additional fractionation mechanisms. O umbonatuselement atio data may also be consistent with fractionation according to the surface entrapment model and/or the presence of discrete highand low-Mg calcite phases. However, at present we are limited in our ability to assess these mechanisms. The new X/Ca data forO. umbonatusprovide constraints to test the role of these mechanisms in the future.