Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bile acids for primary sclerosing cholangitis.

BACKGROUND Bile acids have been used for treating primary sclerosing cholangitis, but their beneficial and harmful effects remain unclear. OBJECTIVES To assess the beneficial and harmful effects of bile acids for patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis. SEARCH STRATEGY We searched The Cochrane Hepato-Biliary Group's Trials Register, The Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and The Chinese Biomedical Database generally from inception through to May 2002. SELECTION CRITERIA Randomised clinical trials comparing any dose or duration of bile acids versus placebo, no intervention, or another intervention were included. Trials were included irrespective of blinding, language, or publication status. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS Two reviewers extracted the data. The methodological quality of the trials was evaluated with respect to the generation of the allocation sequence, allocation concealment, double blinding, and follow-up. The results were reported by intention-to-treat analysis. The outcomes were presented as relative risks (RR) or weighted mean differences (WMD), both with 95% confidence intervals (CI). MAIN RESULTS We identified six randomised clinical trials, all with low methodological quality. Patients were treated for three months to six years (median two years). Five trials (183 patients) compared ursodeoxycholic acid versus placebo, and one trial (40 patients) compared ursodeoxycholic acid versus no treatment. Ursodeoxycholic acid did not significantly reduce the risk of death (RR 0.86; 95% CI 0.27 to 2.73); treatment failure including liver transplantation, varices, ascites, and encephalopathy (RR 0.94; 95% CI 0.63 to 1.42); liver histological deterioration (RR 0.89; 95% CI 0.45 to 1.74); or liver cholangiographic deterioration (RR 0.43; 95% CI 0.18 to 1.02). Ursodeoxycholic acid significantly improved serum bilirubin (WMD -14.6 micro mol/litre; 95% CI -18.7 to -10.6), alkaline phosphatases (WMD -506 IU/litre; 95% CI -583 to -430), aspartate aminotransferase (WMD -46 IU/litre; 95% CI -77 to -16), and gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase (WMD -260 IU/litre; 95% CI -315 to -205), but not albumin (WMD -0.20 g/litre; 95% CI -1.91 to 1.50). Ursodeoxycholic acid was well tolerated. REVIEWER'S CONCLUSIONS Ursodeoxycholic acid leads to a significant improvement in liver biochemistry, but there is insufficient evidence to either support or refute its clinical effects in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis. Large scale, high-quality randomised clinical trials are needed.
Theoretical Study of the Thermal Distribution in Yb-Doped Double-Clad Fiber Laser by Considering Different Heat Sources

Thermal effects limit the gain, quality, and stability of high power fiber lasers and amplifiers. In this paper, different values of heat conductive coefficients at the core, the first and second clad with the complete form of the heat transfer equation are considered. A quartic equation was proposed to determine the temperature at the fiber laser surface. Using the surface temperature value, the temperature can be determined at the longitudinal and radial position of the double clad fiber laser. The different definitions of heat sources which were previously presented in articles is used to describe the heat generation at a double clad high pump power fiber laser condition. The results were compared to each other, and the percentage of each factor in heat generation was calculated.
Send Orders of Reprints at Reprints@benthamscience.net Natural Ache Inhibitors from Plants and Their Contribution to Alzheimer's Disease Therapy

As acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors are an important therapeutic strategy in Alzheimer's disease, efforts are being made in search of new molecules with anti-AChE activity. The fact that naturally-occurring compounds from plants are considered to be a potential source of new inhibitors has led to the discovery of an important number of secondary metabolites and plant extracts with the ability of inhibiting the enzyme AChE, which, according to the cholinergic hypothesis, increases the levels of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine in the brain, thus improving cholinergic functions in patients with Alzheimer's disease and alleviating the symptoms of this neurological disorder. This review summarizes a total of 128 studies which correspond to the most relevant research work published during 2006-2012 (1 st semester) on plant-derived compounds, plant extracts and essential oils found to elicit AChE inhibition.
IJEPA: Gray Area for Health Policy and International Nurse Migration

Indonesia is recognized as a nurse exporting country, with policies that encourage nursing professionals to emigrate abroad. This includes the country’s adoption of international principles attempting to protect Indonesian nurses that emigrate as well as the country’s own participation in a bilateral trade and investment agreement, known as the Indonesia–Japan Economic Partnership Agreement that facilitates Indonesian nurse migration to Japan. Despite the potential trade and employment benefits from sending nurses abroad under the Indonesia–Japan Economic Partnership Agreement, Indonesia itself is suffering from a crisis in nursing capacity and ensuring adequate healthcare access for its own populations. This represents a distinct challenge for Indonesia in appropriately balancing domestic health workforce needs, employment, and training opportunities for Indonesian nurses, and the need to acknowledge the rights of nurses to freely migrate abroad. Hence, this article reviews the complex operational and ethical issues associated with Indonesian health worker migration under the Indonesia–Japan Economic Partnership Agreement. It also introduces a policy proposal to improve performance of the Indonesia–Japan Economic Partnership Agreement and better align it with international principles focused on equitable health worker migration.
Liquid biopsy when MEAT is not the treat

It is a fact that as solid tumours grow beyond 1‐2 mms, from being ‘non‐vascular’ need to get ‘vascular’ for their growth and survival. This is accomplished by the process of “angiogenic switch,” a process that we understand fairly well today. The neovasculature formed is leaky and permits tumor cells to enter circulation and thus aiding the process of metastasis. Furthermore, every day, a lot of other nucleic acids are shed into the bloodstream. It is estimated that each milliliter of blood contains 25 ng of cell‐free DNA; thus, a tumor of 100 g sheds about 3.3% of tumor DNA daily. This is the basis for the concept of liquid biopsy.
Engaging non-majors in MATLAB programming through a flipped classroom approach

ABSTRACT Background and Context: Flipped classrooms are becoming more widely adopted across engineering higher education contexts. In degree programs where enrollment is increasing and undergraduate curricula are packed with content, pedagogies that allow more time for actively participate in classroom activities are being highly sought after to aid in increases in retention and persistence. Objective: The following study analyzed the impact of a flipped classroom intervention in a numerical analysis course teaching MATLAB programming taught to students not majoring in a computer-related engineering discipline. Method: Performance in the flipped classroom was compared to historical performance in the traditional classroom. Participants’ intrinsic motivation was also investigated to try to understand the difference seen between semester offerings of the course. Findings: Student performance improved among students participating in the flipped classroom approach. Intrinsic motivation did not impact performance in the flipped classroom. Implications: Our work provides further evidence of the efficacy of flipped classroom approaches for teaching introductory programming. This work also highlights the importance of considering incoming knowledge and maturity when selecting flipped classrooms for educational contexts.
Drug prescription pattern for asthma among nigerian doctors in general practice: A cross-sectional survey

BACKGROUND: A wide range of medications are now available for the treatment of asthma and selection of the optimal treatment combination of agents is essential. OBJECTIVES: This study was designed to evaluate a self-reported drug prescribing pattern for asthma among Nigerian doctors in general practice. METHODS: It was a cross-sectional survey conducted among general practitioners in six states of Nigeria. RESULTS: For acute severe asthma, 75.9% of the doctors prescribed intravenous methylxanthines, which was combined with oral or inhaled short-acting β2 agonists (SABA) by 56.3% of them. Systemic steroids were prescribed mainly via the intravenous route by 58.8% of them. Aberrant drugs such as antibiotics, antihistamines, and mucolytics were prescribed by 25.6% of them. For long-term, follow-up treatment of asthma, oral steroids, and oral SABA were commonly prescribed, while inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) and ICS/LABA (long acting beta agonists) were infrequently prescribed. Aberrant drugs such as analgesics, antimalaria, and antihistamines were prescribed by 22.8% of them. About 48% of the doctors had never attended any form of update training on asthma management, whereas, only 16.3% attended update training on asthma within the last year preceding this study. Awareness of international guidelines on asthma treatment was poor among them with only 16.4% being able to mention any correct guideline on asthma management. CONCLUSION: The poor anti-asthma prescribing behavior among these doctors is associated with a low level of participation at update training on asthma management and poor awareness of asthma guidelines. The Nigerian Medical Association and the Nigerian Thoracic Society should urgently address these problems.
Differential intron retention in Jumonji chromatin modifier genes is implicated in reptile temperature-dependent sex determination

Alternative splicing in chromatin-modifying genes is associated with temperature-dependent sex in divergent reptile lineages. In many vertebrates, sex of offspring is determined by external environmental cues rather than by sex chromosomes. In reptiles, for instance, temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD) is common. Despite decades of work, the mechanism by which temperature is converted into a sex-determining signal remains mysterious. This is partly because it is difficult to distinguish the primary molecular events of TSD from the confounding downstream signatures of sexual differentiation. We use the Australian central bearded dragon, in which chromosomal sex determination is overridden at high temperatures to produce sex-reversed female offspring, as a unique model to identify TSD-specific features of the transcriptome. We show that an intron is retained in mature transcripts from each of two Jumonji family genes, JARID2 and JMJD3, in female dragons that have been sex-reversed by temperature but not in normal chromosomal females or males. JARID2 is a component of the master chromatin modifier Polycomb Repressive Complex 2, and the mammalian sex-determining factor SRY is directly regulated by an independent but closely related Jumonji family member. We propose that the perturbation of JARID2/JMJD3 function by intron retention alters the epigenetic landscape to override chromosomal sex-determining cues, triggering sex reversal at extreme temperatures. Sex reversal may then facilitate a transition from genetic sex determination to TSD, with JARID2/JMJD3 intron retention preserved as the decisive regulatory signal. Significantly, we also observe sex-associated differential retention of the equivalent introns in JARID2/JMJD3 transcripts expressed in embryonic gonads from TSD alligators and turtles, indicative of a reptile-wide mechanism controlling TSD.
Biogeochemical Evidence that Thermophilic Archaea Mediate the Anaerobic Oxidation of Methane

ABSTRACT Distributions and isotopic analyses of lipids from sediment cores at a hydrothermally active site in the Guaymas Basin with a steep sedimentary temperature gradient revealed the presence of archaea that oxidize methane anaerobically. The presence of strongly 13C-depleted lipids at greater depths in the sediments suggests that microbes involved in anaerobic oxidation of methane are present and presumably active at environmental temperatures of >30°C, indicating that this process can occur not only at cold seeps but also at hydrothermal sites. The distribution of the membrane tetraether lipids of the methanotrophic archaea shows that these organisms have adapted their membrane composition to these high environmental temperatures.
References and Notes Materials and Methods Tables S1 and S2 References and Notes Pesticide Resistance via Transposition-mediated Adaptive Gene Truncation in Drosophila

as the antorbital region of the skull becomes increasingly longer (10). Associated with this change is the gradual emargination of the frontals and parietals along the edges of the upper temporal fenestrae for the increase in the attachment areas for the adductor jaw mus-culature. The quadrate also shows a gradual relative increase in height, possibly related to the increase in the adductor jaw muscles. Finally, as in other vertebrates, the relative size of the orbit decreases throughout ontoge-ny. Despite these changes, the embryo maintains the diagnostic skull width-to-height ratio of Massospondylus. The proportionately enormous skull; the long, horizontally held neck; the proportionately long forelimbs; and the small caudals with weakly developed transverse processes and hemal spines all indicate that the hatch-lings of Massospondylus were obligate quadrupeds (Fig. 3). This is in contrast to the body proportions of adult Massospondylus, which are characterized by a small head, short fore-limbs, and robust caudals with large transverse processes and hemal arches. As in most pro-sauropods, these adult proportions indicate at least facultatively bipedal locomotion (14, 15). The changes from a sauropodlike condition with long forelimbs (16) and quadrupedal posture in early ontogenetic stages of Massospon-dylus to the plesiomorphic condition of short forelimbs and bipedal posture in the adult suggest that the quadrupedal posture of sauropods (17) may have evolved through paedomorpho-sis, the retention of early ontogenetic features in the adult, as first suggested by Bonaparte and Vince (18). Modification of the sauropodomorph neck may have been correlated with the evolution of quadrupedality in this clade. The reconstructed quadrupedal posture for the embryo is at least in part related to the structure of the neck. As in most sauropodomorphs (19), the neck of Massospondylus was held more or less horizontally. This condition represents an autapo-morphy for Sauropodomorpha and differs from the plesiomorphic condition of an S-curved neck in other dinosaurs and their immediate outgroups among Ornithodira (20). The S-curved neck is associated with their bipedal posture and the need for bringing the head closer to the center of gravity of the body. The presence of a horizontally held neck in the pre-hatching stages of basal sauropodomorphs like Massospondylus may have constrained them to a quadrupedal posture, one that required long forelimbs. The combination of the body proportions and poorly developed dentition suggest that the hatchlings may have required parental care (21). The diminutive ventral elements of the pelvic girdle, small caudal vertebrae, and relatively …
The relationship between HbA1c & atrial fibrillation after off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery in diabetic patients

Objective: Diabetes mellitus is recognized as a risk factor for mortality and morbidity after coronary bypass grafting. We aimed to determine the association between preoperative hemoglobin HbA1c and AF after isolated off-pump coronary bypass grafting (OPCAB). Methods: The seventy-two diabetic patients undergoing isolated off-pump coronary bypass grafting were retrospectively analyzed for AF. They were divided into; Low (4.8–5.4%), Medium (5.5–8%) and High (8.1–11.5%) groups. The three groups were compared with respect to demographic, echocardiographic, intraoperative and postoperative clinical characteristics correlation. Results: Three patients died during postoperative period. AF occurred in 12 patients (16.6%) after surgery. The incidence of postoperative AF was 15.3% in the lower, 4.4% middle and 57.1% upper group. There was statistically significant correlation between preoperative HbA1C and preoperative stroke, preoperative MI history, Left atrial (LA) size, preoperative levosimendan, preoperative clopidogrel, postoperative AF, postoperative dopamine and dobutamine use, IABP, duration of extubation time, 24-hour chest tube drainage, duration of ICU and hospital mortality. Univariate logistic regression analysis showed significant correlation between postoperative AF and variables like preoperative HbA1c levels, LVEF<30%, history of preoperative MI, preoperative use of levosimendan, preoperative use of clopidogrel, postoperative dopamine, dobutamine adrenaline use, left atrium size, 24-hour chest tube drainage and length of stay in the intensive care unit. Conclusion: Preoperative HbA1c levels could predict the occurrence of postoperative AF in diabetic patients and may entail to administer protective strategies.
The N- and C-Terminal Domains of the NS1 Protein of Influenza B Virus Can Independently Inhibit IRF-3 and Beta Interferon Promoter Activation

ABSTRACT The NS1 proteins of influenza A and B viruses (A/NS1 and B/NS1 proteins) have only ∼20% amino acid sequence identity. Nevertheless, these proteins show several functional similarities, such as their ability to bind to the same RNA targets and to inhibit the activation of protein kinase R in vitro. A critical function of the A/NS1 protein is the inhibition of synthesis of alpha/beta interferon (IFN-α/β) during viral infection. Recently, it was also found that the B/NS1 protein inhibits IFN-α/β synthesis in virus-infected cells. We have now found that the expression of the B/NS1 protein complements the growth of an influenza A virus with A/NS1 deleted. Expression of the full-length B/NS1 protein (281 amino acids), as well as either its N-terminal RNA-binding domain (amino acids 1 to 93) or C-terminal domain (amino acids 94 to 281), in the absence of any other influenza B virus proteins resulted in the inhibition of IRF-3 nuclear translocation and IFN-β promoter activation. A mutational analysis of the truncated B/NS1(1-93) protein showed that RNA-binding activity correlated with IFN-β promoter inhibition. In addition, a recombinant influenza B virus with NS1 deleted induces higher levels of IRF-3 activation, as determined by its nuclear translocation, and of IFN-α/β synthesis than wild-type influenza B virus. Our results support the hypothesis that the NS1 protein of influenza B virus plays an important role in antagonizing the IRF-3- and IFN-induced antiviral host responses to virus infection.
Inheritance of virulence in Pyrenophora graminea

Pyrenophora graminea, the causal agent of leaf stripe of barley, is an economically important disease with a worldwide distribution. To examine the inheritance of virulence in this fungus, a cross was made between two isolates that differed widely in their DNA and virulence. Of the 70 progeny tested, 36 exhibited high virulence and 34 exhibited low virulence on the barley cultivar Furat1. The data support a model in which a single, major gene controls virulence in P. graminea (1 ∶ 1 ratio; X2 =0.72, P=36.3). This information will now allow for a map-based cloning approach to identify the gene.
Wilson disease: findings at MR imaging and CT of the brain with clinical correlation.

PURPOSE To describe the spectrum of brain abnormalities in Wilson disease (hepatolenticular degeneration) as depicted at magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and computed tomography (CT) and to relate these findings to neurologic and hepatologic abnormalities. MATERIALS AND METHODS Fifty patients with Wilson disease participated in the cross-sectional study: Patients underwent cerebral MR imaging (n = 49), CT (n = 44), abdominal duplex ultrasound (US) (n = 46), and neurologic examination (n = 50) within a week. Relative risk and the Fisher exact test were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS Supratentorial and infratentorial abnormalities in the gray and white matter were found in the pyramidal and extrapyramidal system. In Wilson disease, an abnormal striatum depicted on MR images correlated with pseudoparkinsonian signs, an abnormal dentatothalamic tract correlated with cerebellar signs, and an abnormal pontocerebellar tract correlated with pseudoparkinsonian signs. The presence of portosystemic shunt was strongly associated with abnormality of the globus pallidus. CONCLUSION MR imaging findings were of some use in the clinical treatment of patients with Wilson disease.
The Role of the Human Entorhinal Cortex in a Representational Account of Memory

Connectivity studies in animals form the basis for a representational view of medial temporal lobe (MTL) subregions. In this view, distinct subfields of the entorhinal cortex (EC) relay object-related and spatial information from the perirhinal and parahippocampal cortices (PRC, PHC) to the hippocampus (HC). Relatively recent advances in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) methodology allow examining properties of human EC subregions directly. Antero-lateral and posterior-medial EC subfields show remarkable consistency to their putative rodent and nonhuman primate homologs with regard to intra- and extra-MTL functional connectivity. Accordingly, there is now evidence for a dissociation of object-related vs. spatial processing in human EC subfields. Here, variance in localization may be integrated in the antero-lateral vs. posterior-medial distinction, but may additionally reflect process differences. Functional results in rodents further suggest material-specific representations may be more integrated in EC compared to PRC/PHC. In humans, however, evidence for such a dissociation between EC and PRC/PHC is lacking. Future research may elucidate on the unique contributions of human EC to memory, especially in light of its high degree of intrinsic and extrinsic connectivity. A thorough characterization of EC subfield function may not only advance our understanding of human memory, but also have important clinical implications.
Insular avian adaptations on two Neotropical continental islands

Aim Most studies of avian insular adaptations have focused on oceanic islands, which may not allow characters that are insular adaptations to be teased apart from those that benefit dispersal and colonization. Using birds on continental islands, we investigated characters that evolved in situ in response to insular environments created by late Pleistocene sea level rise.