Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Early surgical intervention or watchful waiting for the management of asymptomatic mitral regurgitation: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND Discordance between studies drives continued debate regarding the best management of asymptomatic severe mitral regurgitation (MR). The aim of the present study was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of management plans for asymptomatic severe MR, and compare the effectiveness of a strategy of early surgery to watchful waiting. METHODS A systematic review was performed using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Studies were excluded if they: (I) lacked a watchful waiting cohort; (II) included symptomatic patients; or (III) included etiologies other than degenerative mitral valve disease. The primary outcome of the study was all-cause mortality at 10 years. Secondary outcomes included operative mortality, repair rate, repeat mitral valve surgery, and development of new atrial fibrillation. RESULTS Five observational studies were eligible for review and three were included in the pooled analysis. In asymptomatic patients without class I triggers (symptoms or ventricular dysfunction), pooled analysis revealed a significant reduction in long-term mortality with an early surgery approach [hazard ratio (HR) =0.38; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.21-0.71]. This survival benefit persisted in a sub-group analysis limited to patients without class II triggers (atrial fibrillation or pulmonary hypertension) [relative risk (RR) =0.85; 95% CI: 0.75-0.98]. Aggregate rates of operative mortality did not differ between treatment arms (0.7% vs. 0.7% for early surgery vs. watchful waiting). However, significantly higher repair rates were achieved in the early surgery cohorts (RR =1.10; 95% CI: 1.02-1.18). CONCLUSIONS Despite disagreement between individual studies, the present meta-analysis demonstrates that a strategy of early surgery may improve survival and increase the likelihood of mitral valve repair compared with watchful waiting. Early surgery may also benefit patients when instituted prior to the development of class II triggers.
High‐Resolution Ultrasound Elasticity Imaging to Evaluate Dialysis Fistula Stenosis

Accurate, noninvasive characterization of arterial wall mechanics and detection of fibrotic vascular lesions could vastly improve the ability to predict patient response to local treatments such as angioplasty. Current imaging and other techniques for determining wall compliance rely on imprecise or indirect estimates of wall motion. This study used high‐resolution ultrasound imaging with phase‐sensitive speckle tracking to obtain detailed and direct measurements of arterial stiffness in two subjects with dialysis fistula dysfunction. In both subjects, the absolute values of strain were much higher in normal regions of fistula than in regions of stenosis. The lower values of strain in stenotic fistula indicate greater stiffness of the vessel wall. The ultrasound speckle tracking technique used here may have potential to determine vascular mechanical properties noninvasively with a level of precision and accuracy not currently available.
FIELD EVALUATION OF GRAVITY-FEDSURFACE DRIP IRRIGATION SYSTEMS IN ASLOPED GREENHOUSE

This study was conducted to evaluate the water application uniformity for a surface drip irrigation system, considering water quality and field slope. The uniformity parameters like average emitter discharge qa , relative emitter discharge R, standard deviation of emitter flowrate Sq coefficient of variation of emitter flow Cv, statistical uniformity Us, emission uniformity EU and Uniformity coefficient Uc were determined for a gravity-fed surface drip irrigation system installed on a slanted land (5.34 % slope). The discharge recorded along the lateral length was 0.74 l/h and 0.69 l/h for section 1 and 2 respectively. These were higher than the manufacturers specification of 0.5 to 0.6 l/h. The values of Us, EU and Uc were quite high for the two sections. The Cv, Us, EU and Uc obtained were 0.14, 86 ± 3%, 90% and 93% respectively in Section-1 and 0.15, 85 ± 3%, 83% and 87% respectively in Section-2. The overall performance description for Cv, Us, EU and Uc were very good, good, excellent and excellent respectively for Section-1 and very good, good, good and good respectively in Section-2. The study also revealed that the mean emitter discharge for section 1 and section 2 were not significantly different at confidence level of 95% (P < 0.05). What affected the emitter discharge was not the water quality at the study site
Dormant Independence

The construction of causal graphs from nonexperimental data rests on a set of constraints that the graph structure imposes on all probability distributions compatible with the graph. These constraints are of two types: conditional independencies and algebraic constraints, first noted by Verma. While conditional independencies are well studied and frequently used in causal induction algorithms, Verma constraints are still poorly understood, and rarely applied. In this paper we examine a special subset of Verma constraints which are easy to understand, easy to identify and easy to apply; they arise from "dormant independencies," namely, conditional independencies that hold in interventional distributions. We give a complete algorithm for determining if a dormant independence between two sets of variables is entailed by the causal graph, such that this independence is identifiable, in other words if it resides in an interventional distribution that can be predicted without resorting to interventions. We further show the usefulness of dormant independencies in model testing and induction by giving an algorithm that uses constraints entailed by dormant independencies to prune extraneous edges from a given causal graph.
Dynamics of CO2 Evolution during Bioremediation of Clayey and Sandy Soils Contaminated with Used Lubricating Oil

The aim of the study was to evaluate the biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbons in two Brazilian contaminated soil types (clayey S1 and sandy S2) at a loading rate of 30,000 and 45,000 mg/kg. A model soil of 300 g with used lubricating oil was amended with commercially available hydrocarbon degrading microbial consortium: Amnite p1300 as the bioaugmentation (T1), other treatments consist of nutrients amendments - (NH4)2SO4 and K2HPO4 (NPK) as biostimulation (T2), unammended soil - natural attenuation as (T3) and the control soil treated with sodium azide (NaN3) as (T4) were evaluated on the microbial community and the degradation of used lubricating oil. Three microcosm replicated ﬂasks per treatment were incubated, and the performance of each treatment was examined by monitoring CO2 evolution, microbial activity, and oil degradation rate. In Soil 1, T1 produced the highest values of CO2 of (1600.20 mg/kg) and (1347.60 mg/kg) while the least values were recorded in the control (T4) with 89.52 and 102 mg/kg in oil contaminated with 3 and 4.5 % respectively. A similar trend was obtained in the bioaugmented treatment soil (S2) with the highest CO2 production in T1. The best percentage oil degradation was also recorded where the utmost CO2 production was obtained.
I Would Hire You in a Minute: Thin Slices of Nonverbal Behavior in Job Interviews

In everyday life, judgments people make about others are based on brief excerpts of interactions, known as thin slices. Inferences stemming from such minimal information can be quite accurate, and nonverbal behavior plays an important role in the impression formation. Because protagonists are strangers, employment interviews are a case where both nonverbal behavior and thin slices can be predictive of outcomes. In this work, we analyze the predictive validity of thin slices of real job interviews, where slices are defined by the sequence of questions in a structured interview format. We approach this problem from an audio-visual, dyadic, and nonverbal perspective, where sensing, cue extraction, and inference are automated. Our study shows that although nonverbal behavioral cues extracted from thin slices were not as predictive as when extracted from the full interaction, they were still predictive of hirability impressions with $R^2$ values up to $0.34$, which was comparable to the predictive validity of human observers on thin slices. Applicant audio cues were found to yield the most accurate results.
Delayed Dynamic Triggering of Disposal‐Induced Earthquakes Observed by a Dense Array in Northern Oklahoma

Recent increases in earthquake occurrence rates in Oklahoma have been linked to the injection of large volumes of saltwater, a byproduct of oil and gas extraction. Here we present a detailed study of remote earthquake triggering in an area of active injection‐induced seismicity in northern Oklahoma using data from the LArge‐n Seismic Survey in Oklahoma (LASSO) temporary array and nearby permanent broadband seismic stations. We estimate changes in earthquake rates and calculate the Coulomb failure stress changes on potential receiver faults due to passing teleseismic surface waves. A statistically significant increase in seismicity is observed ∼8 hr after the 16 April 2016 Mw 7.8 Ecuador earthquake. The Coulomb stress changes associated with the Ecuador earthquake are on the order of ∼1 kPa. Physical mechanisms consistent with the observed dynamic stress threshold include failure driven by activation of aseismic slip or hydrological response of the fault system.
G Protein–Coupled Receptor Kinase 2, With β-Arrestin 2, Impairs Insulin-Induced Akt/Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase Signaling in ob/ob Mouse Aorta

In type 2 diabetes, impaired insulin-induced Akt/endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) signaling may decrease the vascular relaxation response. Previously, we reported that this response was negatively regulated by G protein–coupled receptor kinase 2 (GRK2). In this study, we investigated whether/how in aortas from ob/ob mice (a model of type 2 diabetes) GRK2 and β-arrestin 2 might regulate insulin-induced signaling. Endothelium-dependent relaxation was measured in aortic strips. GRK2, β-arrestin 2, and Akt/eNOS signaling pathway proteins and activities were mainly assayed by Western blotting. In ob/ob (vs. control [Lean]) aortas: 1) insulin-induced relaxation was reduced, and this deficit was prevented by GRK2 inhibitor, anti-GRK2 antibody, and an siRNA specifically targeting GRK2. The Lean aorta relaxation response was reduced to the ob/ob level by pretreatment with an siRNA targeting β-arrestin 2. 2) Insulin-stimulated Akt and eNOS phosphorylations were decreased. 3) GRK2 expression in membranes was elevated, and, upon insulin stimulation, this expression was further increased, but β-arrestin 2 was decreased. In ob/ob aortic membranes under insulin stimulation, the phosphorylations of Akt and eNOS were augmented by GRK2 inhibitor. In mouse aorta, GRK2 may be, upon translocation, a key negative regulator of insulin responsiveness and an important regulator of the β-arrestin 2/Akt/eNOS signaling, which is implicated in diabetic endothelial dysfunction.
Case records of the Massachusetts General Hospital. Case 13-2014. A 41-year-old man with fever and abdominal pain after stem-cell transplantation.

From the Department of Infectious Diseases, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston (D.P.K.); and the Department of Radiology (M.M.), the Division of Hematology–Oncology, Department of Medicine (Y.-B.C.), and the Departments of Surgery (P.C.S.) and Pathology (J.Y.T.), Massachusetts General Hospital, and the Departments of Radiology (M.M.), Medicine (Y.-B.C.), Surgery (P.C.S.), and Pathology (J.Y.T.), Harvard Medical School — both in Boston.
Gemini: A Noninferiority Study of Saquinavir/Ritonavir Versus Lopinavir/Ritonavir as Initial HIV-1 Therapy in Adults

Introduction:Direct comparison of the efficacy and safety of different agents is needed to guide selection of optimal treatment regimens for therapy-naive HIV-1-infected patients. Methods:Gemini was a 48-week, multicenter, open-label, noninferiority trial in treatment-naive HIV-1-infected adults randomized to either saquinavir/ritonavir (SQV/r) 1000 mg/100 mg twice a day or lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r) 400 mg/100 mg twice a day, each with emtricitabine/tenofovir 200 mg/300 mg every day. Results:A similar proportion of participants in the SQV/r (n = 167) and LPV/r (n = 170) arms had HIV-1 RNA levels <50 copies per milliliter at week 48: 64.7% vs 63.5% and estimated difference in proportion for noninferiority: 1.14%, 96% confidence interval: −9.6 to11.9 (P < 0.012), confirming that SQV/r was noninferior to LPV/r treatment. There were no significant differences in week 48 CD4 counts between arms. The rate and severity of adverse events were similar in both groups. There were no significant differences in the median change from baseline between arms in plasma lipids except for triglyceride levels, which were significantly higher in the LPV/r at week 48. Conclusions:In treatment-naive, HIV-1-infected patients, SQV/r treatment was noninferior in virologic suppression at 48 weeks to LPV/r treatment and offered a better triglyceride profile.
Prediction and replication of the organizational and personal consequences of workplace sexual harassment.

Develops, tests and replicates a model of workplace sexual harassment and its personal and organizational consequences. The frequency of sexual harassment experiences predict workplace negative mood which, in turn, predicts psychosomatic wellbeing, turnover intentions and interpersonal (i.e. co‐worker and supervisor) job dissatisfaction. Using LISREL VIII, shows that the model fits the data for a sample of employed Canadian females (n = 202), but not for a sample of employed Canadian males (n = 137). Finally, an analogous model suggesting that sexual harassment predicts negative mood which, in turn, predicts self‐esteem, concentration difficulties and grades, fit the data for a sample of 120 female undergraduate students. Discusses conceptual and practical implications, and future research directions.
Influence of the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) codon 158 polymorphism on estrogen levels in women.

BACKGROUND Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) is the principal enzyme in the conjugation pathway for hydroxylated estrogens. We hypothesize that blood 17beta-estradiol (E(2)) and estrone (E(1)) levels in postmenopausal women receiving an oral E(2) preparation are dependent on the enzyme activity of COMT. METHODS To determine the influence of this enzyme on E(2) serum levels three groups of 12 selected from 159 healthy normotensive postmenopausal women were selected according to their codon 158 COMT genotype (COMT(HH), COMT(HL), COMT(LL)) which is known to be associated with enzyme activity. All selected women received one 2 mg tablet estradiol valerate and blood samples were taken before treatment and after 1, 3 and 48 h. RESULTS After 3 h the serum levels of E(2) were significantly higher in women with the COMT(LL) genotype (median 69 pg/ml, range 58-91) and the COMT(HL) genotype (median 69 pg/ml, range 43-84) compared with women with the COMT(HH) genotype (median 45 pg/ml, range 15-68, P < 0.005). In a univariate analysis of variance, considering age, body weight, and COMT genotype, body weight (P = 0.034) and COMT genotype (P < 0.001) were independently related to the increase of serum E(2) levels, whereas age was not. CONCLUSIONS Our data demonstrate that serum E(2) levels significantly correlate with the COMT genotype. Differences in COMT genotype might be involved in causing variable effects of estrogens on diseases such as hormone-dependent cancers, coronary heart disease and on efficacy of hormone replacement therapy.
Comparison of bromfenac 0.09% QD to nepafenac 0.1% TID after cataract surgery: pilot evaluation of visual acuity, macular volume, and retinal thickness at a single site

Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical outcomes of bromfenac ophthalmic solution 0.09% once daily (QD) and nepafenac 0.1% ophthalmic suspension three times daily following cataract extraction with posterior chamber intraocular lens implantation, specifically looking at any differences in Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study visual acuities, macular volume, and/or retinal thickness changes. Methods Subjects were randomly assigned to receive either bromfenac (n = 10) QD or nepafenac (n = 10) three times daily. Dosing began 3 days before cataract surgery, continuing to day 21 postsurgery. In addition to the investigated nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug regimen, all subjects received antiinfective intraoperative and postoperative standard of care. Subjects were followed at 1 day and 1, 3, and 6 weeks postoperatively. Study visit assessments included best-corrected visual acuity, biomicroscopy, summed ocular inflammation score (anterior chamber cells and flare grading), intraocular pressure measurement, adverse event recording, and concomitant medication review. Optical coherence tomography was performed at 1, 3, and 6 weeks. Results Both treatment groups had similar baseline measurements. Outcomes for mean letters read (P = 0.318), mean change in macular volume (P = 0.665), and retinal thickness (P = 0.552) were not statistically different between the groups from baseline through week six, although independently only the bromfenac group demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in letters gained from baseline to week six (P = 0.040). In the same time period, mean macular volume and retinal thickening worsened in the nepafenac group, demonstrating a statistically significant increase (P = 0.006) at week six for macular volume when compared to baseline. One subject in the nepafenac group experienced recurrent inflammation at week six, was unmasked, and then rescued with bromfenac 0.09% QD and difluprednate 0.05% QD. Conclusion Both bromfenac and nepafenac resulted in positive clinical outcomes of Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study visual acuities. Postoperative measurements of macular volume and retinal thickness of bromfenac subjects showed a trend toward improved vision, less retinal thickening, and more stable macular volumes overall.
Regulation of Limbic Information Outflow by the Subthalamic Nucleus: Excitatory Amino Acid Projections to the Ventral Pallidum

The subthalamic nucleus (STN), a component of the basal ganglia motor system, sends an excitatory amino acid (EAA)-containing projection to the ventral pallidum (VP), a major limbic system output region. The VP contains both NMDA and AMPA subtypes of EAA receptors. To characterize the physiology of the subthalamic pathway to the VP, and to determine the influence of EAA receptor subtypes, in vivo intracellular recordings, and in vivoextracellular recordings combined with microiontophoresis, were made from VP neurons in anesthetized rats. Of the intracellularly recorded neurons, 86% responded to STN stimulation, and these displayed EPSPs with an onset of 8.7 msec, consistent with a monosynaptic input. The EPSPs evoked in spontaneously firing neurons were nearly twice the amplitude of those in nonfiring cells (13.1 vs 6.8 mV, respectively). As neurons were depolarized by current injection, the latency for spiking decreased from 24.2 to 14.2 msec, although EPSP latency was unaffected. Eighty-seven percent of the extracellularly recorded VP neurons responded to STN stimulation with a rapid and robust enhancement of spiking; the response onset, like the EPSP onset, equaled 8.7 msec. Firing rate was enhanced by NMDA in 94% of the STN-excited cells, and AMPA increased firing in 94% as well. The NMDA-selective antagonist AP-5 attenuated 67% of the STN-evoked excitatory responses, and the AMPA-selective antagonist CNQX attenuated 52%. Both antagonists attenuated 33% of responses, and 78% were attenuated by at least one. This evidence suggests that a great majority of VP neurons are directly influenced by STN activation and that both NMDA and non-NMDA receptors are involved. Moreover, the VP response to STN stimulation appears to be strongly dependent on the depolarization state of the neuron.
Fuzzy-based Spectrum Handoff in Cognitive Radio Networks

This paper focuses on spectrum handoffs in a cognitive radio network where secondary (unlisenced) users (i.e. cognitive radios) opportunistically use frequency channels as long as the aggregate interference caused at the primary (licensed) users does not exceed a certain threshold. When harmful interference is caused to a primary user, or when the quality of service perceived by a secondary user is not satisfactory, the secondary user has to initiate a spectrum handoff to quickly vacate the channel it is occupying. The proposal in this paper is a fuzzy-based approach able to make effective spectrum handoff decisions in a context characterized by uncertain, incomplete and heterogeneous information.
APOBEC 3 G Restricts HIV-1 to a Greater Extent than APOBEC 3 F and APOBEC 3 DE in Human Primary CD 4 T Cells and Macrophages

APOBEC3 proteins inhibit HIV-1 replication in experimental systems and induce hypermutation in infected patients; however, the relative contributions of several APOBEC3 proteins to restriction of HIV-1 replication in the absence of the viral Vif protein in human primary CD4 T cells and macrophages are unknown. We observed significant inhibition of HIV-1 vif produced in 293T cells in the presence of APOBEC3DE (A3DE), APOBEC3F (A3F), APOBEC3G (A3G), and APOBEC3H haplotype II (A3H HapII) but not APOBEC3B (A3B), APOBEC3C (A3C), or APOBEC3H haplotype I (A3H HapI). Our previous studies showed that Vif amino acids YRHHY are important for inducing proteasomal degradation of A3G, whereas amino acids DRMR are important for degradation of A3F and A3DE. Here, we introduced substitution mutations of YRHHY and DRMR in replication-competent HIV-1 to generate vif mutants NL4-3 YRHHY>A5 and NL4-3 DRMR>A4 to compare the antiviral activity of A3G to the combined antiviral activity of A3F and A3DE in activated CD4 T cells and macrophages. During the first 15 days (round 1), in which multiple cycles of viral replication occurred, both the NL4-3 YRHHY>A5 and NL4-3 DRMR>A4 mutants replicated in activated CD4 T cells and macrophages, and only the NL4-3 YRHHY>A5 mutant showed a 2to 4-day delay in replication compared to the wild type. During the subsequent 27 days (round 2) of cultures initiated with peak virus obtained from round 1, the NL4-3 YRHHY>A5 mutant exhibited a longer, 8to 10-day delay and the NL4-3 DRMR>A4 mutant exhibited a 2to 6-day delay in replication compared to the wild type. The NL4-3 YRHHY>A5 and NL4-3 DRMR>A4 mutant proviruses displayed G-to-A hypermutations primarily in GG and GA dinucleotides as expected of A3Gand A3For A3DE-mediated deamination, respectively. We conclude that A3G exerts a greater restriction effect on HIV-1 than A3F and A3DE.