Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Neuroprotective effects of female gonadal steroids in reproductively senescent female rats.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Young adult female rats sustain smaller infarcts after experimental stroke than age-matched males. This sex difference in ischemic brain injury in young animals disappears after surgical ovariectomy and can be restored by estrogen replacement. We sought to determine whether ischemic brain injury continues to be smaller in middle-aged, reproductively senescent female rats compared with age-matched males and to test the effect of ovarian steroids on brain injury after experimental stroke in females. METHODS Four groups of 16-month old Wistar rats (males [n=9], untreated females [n=9], and females pretreated with 17beta-estradiol [25-microgram pellets administered subcutaneously for 7 days; n=9] or progesterone [10-mg pellets administered subcutaneously for 7 days; n=9] were subjected to 2 hours of middle cerebral artery occlusion with the intraluminal filament technique, followed by 22 hours of reperfusion. Physiological variables and laser-Doppler cerebral cortical perfusion were monitored throughout ischemia and early reperfusion. In a separate cohort of males (n=3), untreated females (n=3), females pretreated with 17beta-estradiol (n=3), and females pretreated with progesterone (n=3), end-ischemic regional cerebral blood flow was measured by [(14)C]iodoantipyrine autoradiography. RESULTS As predicted, infarct size was not different between middle-aged male and female rats. Cortical infarcts were 21+/-5% and 31+/-6% of ipsilateral cerebral cortex, and striatal infarcts were 44+/-7% and 43+/-5% of ipsilateral striatum in males and females, respectively. Both estrogen and progesterone reduced cortical infarct in reproductively senescent females (5+/-2% and 16+/-4% in estrogen- and progesterone-treated groups, respectively, compared with 31+/-6% in untreated group). Striatal infarct was smaller in the estrogen- but not in the progesterone-treated group. Relative change in laser-Doppler cerebral cortical perfusion from preischemic baseline and absolute end-ischemic regional cerebral blood flow were not affected by hormonal treatments. CONCLUSIONS We conclude that the protection against ischemic brain injury found in young adult female rats disappears after reproductive senescence in middle-aged females and that ovarian hormones alleviate stroke injury in reproductively senescent female rats by a blood flow-independent mechanism. These findings support a role for hormone replacement therapy in stroke injury prevention in postmenopausal women.
Gender Role Conflict Scale: Validation for a Sample of Gay Men and Lesbian Women

This study tested the oblique four-factor model of the Gender Role Conflict Scale for a sample of gay men and lesbian women residing in the United States. 400 gay men and 292 lesbian women recruited from university and college gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender LISTSERVs participated. The internal consistency reliability of the Gender Role Conflict Scale scores was high, but low means on the expressive dimension of gender role conflict were noted. The results of two separate sets of confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the four-factor model's fit to the data could be enhanced for both groups by applying item parceling to lower the number of indicators per factor, suggesting that the actual structural validity of the Gender Role Conflict Scale may be better than suggested by the reported fit indices.
Streamflow Impacts of Biofuel Policy-Driven Landscape Change

Likely changes in precipitation (P) and potential evapotranspiration (PET) resulting from policy-driven expansion of bioenergy crops in the United States are shown to create significant changes in streamflow volumes and increase water stress in the High Plains. Regional climate simulations for current and biofuel cropping system scenarios are evaluated using the same atmospheric forcing data over the period 1979–2004 using the Weather Research Forecast (WRF) model coupled to the NOAH land surface model. PET is projected to increase under the biofuel crop production scenario. The magnitude of the mean annual increase in PET is larger than the inter-annual variability of change in PET, indicating that PET increase is a forced response to the biofuel cropping system land use. Across the conterminous U.S., the change in mean streamflow volume under the biofuel scenario is estimated to range from negative 56% to positive 20% relative to a business-as-usual baseline scenario. In Kansas and Oklahoma, annual streamflow volume is reduced by an average of 20%, and this reduction in streamflow volume is due primarily to increased PET. Predicted increase in mean annual P under the biofuel crop production scenario is lower than its inter-annual variability, indicating that additional simulations would be necessary to determine conclusively whether predicted change in P is a response to biofuel crop production. Although estimated changes in streamflow volume include the influence of P change, sensitivity results show that PET change is the significantly dominant factor causing streamflow change. Higher PET and lower streamflow due to biofuel feedstock production are likely to increase water stress in the High Plains. When pursuing sustainable biofuels policy, decision-makers should consider the impacts of feedstock production on water scarcity.
WHY THE LESS INTELLIGENT MAY ENJOY TELEVISION MORE THAN THE MORE INTELLIGENT

Kanazawa (2004a) proposes that the human brain may have difficulty comprehending entities and situations that did not exist in the ancestral environment, and, as one empirical dem- onstration of this Savanna Principle, Kanazawa (2002) shows that people who watch certain types of TV shows are more satisfied with their friendships, suggesting that they may have difficulty distinguishing TV characters from real friends. In an entirely different line of research, Kanazawa (2004b) advances an evolutionary psychological theory of the evolution of general intelligence, which proposes that general intelligence evolved in order to handle evolutionarily-novel prob- lems. The logical convergence of these two separate lines of research leads to the prediction that the human difficulty in dealing with evolutionarily-novel stimuli interacts with general intelli- gence, such that the Savanna Principle holds stronger among the less intelligent than among the more intelligent. Further analyses of the U.S. General Social Survey demonstrate that less intelli- gent men and women may have greater difficulty separating TV characters from their real friends than more intelligent men and women.
Factors Which Influence Latino Community Members to Self-Prescribe Antibiotics

Background: Although there is consistent evidence of a link between antibiotic use and increasing antimicrobial resistance in the community, inappropriate use of antimicrobials continues to be a global problem. Objective: To describe knowledge, attitudes, and practices of Latino community members in upper Manhattan regarding use of antibiotics. Methods: Written questionnaires and eight focus groups comprised of Hispanic community members (three groups), bodega employees, and healthcare providers (one group) in a Latino neighborhood in New York City. Results: There were major knowledge deficits regarding use of antibiotics. Informants reported taking antibiotics for pain or other conditions as well as for symptoms of infection. Antibiotics were frequently obtained from bodegas without prescription, but generally only for adults, not for children. Discussion: Interventions to improve antibiotic use that are focused on the formal healthcare system (e.g., clinicians, pharmacists, persons with health insurance) are unlikely to be effective with recently immigrated Latino community members. Successful interventions for this population should include targeted messages to bodega employees, community organizations, and children and their parents.
The Regenerative Capacity of the Zebrafish Caudal Fin Is Not Affected by Repeated Amputations

Background The zebrafish has the capacity to regenerate many tissues and organs. The caudal fin is one of the most convenient tissues to approach experimentally due to its accessibility, simple structure and fast regeneration. In this work we investigate how the regenerative capacity is affected by recurrent fin amputations and by experimental manipulations that block regeneration. Methodology/Principal Findings We show that consecutive repeated amputations of zebrafish caudal fin do not reduce its regeneration capacity and do not compromise any of the successive regeneration steps: wound healing, blastema formation and regenerative outgrowth. Interfering with Wnt/ß-catenin signalling using heat-shock-mediated overexpression of Dickkopf1 completely blocks fin regeneration. Notably, if these fins were re-amputated at the non-inhibitory temperature, the regenerated caudal fin reached the original length, even after several rounds of consecutive Wnt/ß-catenin signalling inhibition and re-amputation. Conclusions/Significance We show that the caudal fin has an almost unlimited capacity to regenerate. Even after inhibition of regeneration caused by the loss of Wnt/ß-catenin signalling, a new amputation resets the regeneration capacity within the caudal fin, suggesting that blastema formation does not depend on a pool of stem/progenitor cells that require Wnt/ß-catenin signalling for their survival.
Sur les origines du retrait et du fluage du béton

ABSTRACT Recent experimental results (creep tests and indentation tests at a nanometric scale) on Ductal®, a non-brittle (fibre-reinforced) ultrahigh-performance concrete (UHPC), show that only one constituent of this composite, the C·S·H phase, exhibits creep. Former creep tests on hydrated cement paste have shown a very high creep rate of C·S·H which decelerates much more slowly than concrete creep. Furthermore, these results provide an explanation for the observations of a strong correlation between shrinkage and creep values. The reason is, when hydration rate becomes negligible (after a few weeks), the dominant part of shrinkage is nothing but the viscoplastic response of C·S·H to the internal stress which is applied by the liquid phase on the pore surface. This statement make wrong the last argument against the explanation of shrinkage by capillary tension, the so-called argument of reversibility. Creep aging, as well as the very low creep of high-strength concrete can be explained by the consumption of creep potential by the hygral stress. Several coupling effects between creep and shrinkage can be explained, as for example the so-called Pickett effect.
Entrepreneurial Stressors as Predictors of Entrepreneurial Burnout

Research on the effects of entrepreneurial stressors is limited, especially regarding its relation to the burnout that frequently occurs in the process of starting and growing a venture. The effect of the role of entrepreneurial stressors (workload, competitive comparison, demands-of-knowledge, managing responsibility, and resource requirements) on burnout (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment) was examined in a Chinese sample of entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurial stressors emerged as a significant predictor of burnout in the process of entrepreneurship in a sample of 289 entrepreneurs (63.8% men; M age = 26.2 yr.; 39.6% of their parents have been self-employed). The findings clarify the functional relationship between entrepreneurial stressors and burnout. Entrepreneurial stressors played multiple roles. Managing responsibility was an active contributor to the sense of achievement and to emotional exhaustion. Workload was an active contributor to emotional exhaustion. Demands-of-knowledge negatively affected three of the dimensions of burnout. Theoretical and practical implications for management of the effect of these relationships are discussed.
Triclosan-coated sutures reduce surgical site infection after open vein harvesting in coronary artery bypass grafting patients: a randomized controlled trial†

OBJECTIVES The incidence of surgical site infection (SSI) after open vein harvesting in coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) patients ranges in different studies between 2 and 20%. Triclosan is an antibacterial substance that reduces the growth of bacteria by inhibiting fatty acid synthesis. We hypothesized that wound closure with triclosan-coated sutures would reduce SSI after open vein harvesting. METHODS An investigator-initiated prospective randomized double-blind single-centre study was performed with 374 patients, randomized to subcutaneous and intracutaneous leg-wound closure with either triclosan-coated sutures (Vicryl Plus® and Monocryl Plus®, Ethicon, Somerville, NJ, USA) (n = 184) or identical sutures without triclosan (n = 190) from the same manufacturer. All patients were followed up after 30 days (clinical visit) and 60 days (telephone interview). Primary endpoint was SSI within 60 days after surgery according to the definition of Center for Disease Control. Predefined secondary endpoints included culture-proven and antibiotic-treated SSI. RESULTS The primary endpoint occurred in 23 patients (12.5%) with triclosan-coated sutures and in 38 patients (20.0%) in the group without triclosan (P = 0.0497, risk ratio 0.63, (95% confidence interval 0.39–1.00). Corresponding figures for culture-proven infections were 7.6 vs 12.1%, (P = 0.15), and for antibiotic-treated infections, 10.9 vs 18.4%, (P = 0.039). Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococci were the most common pathogens in both groups. Insulin-treated diabetes and vein-harvesting time were associated with SSI after vein harvesting. CONCLUSIONS Leg-wound closure with triclosan-coated sutures in CABG patients reduces SSIs after open vein harvesting. (ClinicalTrials.gov number NCT01212315).
Safety, activity, and immune correlates of anti-PD-1 antibody in cancer.

BACKGROUND Blockade of programmed death 1 (PD-1), an inhibitory receptor expressed by T cells, can overcome immune resistance. We assessed the antitumor activity and safety of BMS-936558, an antibody that specifically blocks PD-1. METHODS We enrolled patients with advanced melanoma, non-small-cell lung cancer, castration-resistant prostate cancer, or renal-cell or colorectal cancer to receive anti-PD-1 antibody at a dose of 0.1 to 10.0 mg per kilogram of body weight every 2 weeks. Response was assessed after each 8-week treatment cycle. Patients received up to 12 cycles until disease progression or a complete response occurred. RESULTS A total of 296 patients received treatment through February 24, 2012. Grade 3 or 4 drug-related adverse events occurred in 14% of patients; there were three deaths from pulmonary toxicity. No maximum tolerated dose was defined. Adverse events consistent with immune-related causes were observed. Among 236 patients in whom response could be evaluated, objective responses (complete or partial responses) were observed in those with non-small-cell lung cancer, melanoma, or renal-cell cancer. Cumulative response rates (all doses) were 18% among patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (14 of 76 patients), 28% among patients with melanoma (26 of 94 patients), and 27% among patients with renal-cell cancer (9 of 33 patients). Responses were durable; 20 of 31 responses lasted 1 year or more in patients with 1 year or more of follow-up. To assess the role of intratumoral PD-1 ligand (PD-L1) expression in the modulation of the PD-1-PD-L1 pathway, immunohistochemical analysis was performed on pretreatment tumor specimens obtained from 42 patients. Of 17 patients with PD-L1-negative tumors, none had an objective response; 9 of 25 patients (36%) with PD-L1-positive tumors had an objective response (P=0.006). CONCLUSIONS Anti-PD-1 antibody produced objective responses in approximately one in four to one in five patients with non-small-cell lung cancer, melanoma, or renal-cell cancer; the adverse-event profile does not appear to preclude its use. Preliminary data suggest a relationship between PD-L1 expression on tumor cells and objective response. (Funded by Bristol-Myers Squibb and others; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00730639.).
Short-term traffic flow prediction with optimized Multi-kernel Support Vector Machine

Accurate prediction of the traffic state can help to solve the problem of urban traffic congestion, providing guiding advices for people's travel and traffic regulation. In this paper, we propose a novel short-term traffic flow prediction algorithm, which is based on Multi-kernel Support Vector Machine (MSVM) and Adaptive Particle Swarm Optimization (APSO). Firstly, we explore both the nonlinear and randomness characteristic of traffic flow, and hybridize Gaussian kernel and polynomial kernel to constitute the MSVM. Secondly, we optimize the parameters of MSVM with a novel APSO algorithm by considering both the historical and real-time traffic data. We evaluate our algorithm by doing thorough experiment on a large real dataset. The results show that our algorithm can do a timely and adaptive prediction even in the rush hour when the traffic conditions change rapidly. At the same time, the prediction results are more accurate compared to four baseline methods.
Predictors of acute myocardial infarction mortality in hypertensive patients treated in primary care

Objective. To explore risk factors for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) mortality in hypertensive patients treated in primary care. Design. Community-based cohort study. Setting. Hypertension outpatient clinic in primary health care. Subjects. Patients who consecutively underwent an annual follow-up during 1992–1993 (n =894; 377 men and 517 women). Methods. All events of fatal AMI were ascertained by record linkage to the National Mortality Register to December 31, 2002. Gender-specific predictors for AMI mortality were analysed by Cox regression. Main outcome measure. AMI mortality. Results. During a mean follow-up of 8.7 years 32 cases (8.5%) of fatal AMI were observed in men and 31 cases (6.0%) were observed in women. Most important predictors for AMI mortality in men were microalbuminuria (HR 3.8, CI 1.8–8.0) and left ventricular hypertrophy (HR 4.0, CI 1.7–9.4), whilst in women type 2 diabetes (HR 4.8, CI 2.4–9.8) was an important predictor. In hypertensive patients without diabetes male gender was associated with high AMI mortality (HR 2.7, CI 1.4–5.3), but in patients with both hypertension and type 2 diabetes the higher risk in men disappeared (HR 0.8, CI 0.4–1.7). Conclusion. Cardiovascular disease risk factors remain strong predictors of AMI mortality in hypertensive patients but with a different pattern in the two genders. Markers of organ damage are more important predictors in men, whereas markers of impaired glucose metabolism are more important predictors in women.
Two weight estimate for the Hilbert transform and corona decomposition for non-doubling measures

This article was written in 2005 and subsequently lost (at least by the third author). Recently it resurfaced due to one of the colleagues to whom a hard copy has been sent in 2005. We consider here a problem of finding necessary and sufficient conditions for the boundedness of two weight Calder\'on-Zygmund operators. We give such necessary and sufficient conditions in very natural terms, if the operator is the Hilbert transform, and the weights satisfy some very natural condition. The condition on weights was lifted in a recent paper of Michael Lacey, Eric Sawyer and Ignacio Uriarte-Tuero: "A characterization of the two weight norm inequality for the Hilbert transform", arXiv:1001.4043 [math.CA] 31 January 2010. The paper of Lacey--Sawyer-Uriarte-Tuero alliviated the "pivotal" condition used in a present article and replaced it by the very interesting and correct energy condition, which, unlike the "pivotal" condition turned out to be also necessary. The paper of Lacey-Sawyer-Uriarte-Tuero used the present article in its main aspect. The thrust of the present article is to use the methods of nonhomogeneous Harmonoc Analysis together with a several paraproducts arising from a certain stopping time argument. In view of the importance of the present article for Lacey--Sawyer-Uriarte-Tuero's paper arXiv:1001.4043 [math.CA] 31 January 2010, we present it to the attention of the reader. Drawing no parallels, "Darwin spent 1838-1859 getting ready to publish "On the Origin of Species" without actually publishing it, only brooding over beaks of finches".
General practitioners’ perceptions and practices of physical activity counselling: changes over the past 10 years

Objective: In this work, trends in general practitioners’ (GP) knowledge, confidence and practices in promoting physical activity to patients over a 10-year period (1997–2007) were studied. Design: Repeated cross-sectional population survey Setting: General practice in New South Wales (Australia) Participants: 646 (40%), 747 (53%) and 511 (64%) GPs that were registered in a selection of urban and rural divisions in New South Wales participated in 2007, 2000 and 1997, respectively. Main outcome measures: Self-report questionnaire on the GP’s knowledge, confidence, role perception, attendance of continuous professional development and counselling practice with regard to promoting physical activity in their patients were the main outcome measures. Results: The majority of GPs felt confident in giving physical activity advice and saw it as their role to do so. The proportion of GPs with high confidence and role perception increased between 1997 and 2000 (p<0.001) but remained unchanged thereafter. In 1997, GPs were 0.54 times less likely (95% CI 0.42 to 0.69, p<0.001) to discuss physical activity with more than 10 patients per week than GPs in 2007. However, the percentage of new patients that were asked about their physical activity did not change over the last decade. Conclusions: Most increases in the proportion of GPs reporting high knowledge, role perception and confidence in giving physical activity advice to patients occurred between 1997 and 2000 and remained unchanged thereafter. In 2007, GPs appeared to give more physical activity advice, but Australian general practice is not yet living up to its potential with regard to physical activity promotion.
ITMIG Consensus Statement on the Use of the WHO Histological Classification of Thymoma and Thymic Carcinoma: Refined Definitions, Histological Criteria, and Reporting

Introduction: The 2004 version of the World Health Organization classification subdivides thymic epithelial tumors into A, AB, B1, B2, and B3 (and rare other) thymomas and thymic carcinomas (TC). Due to a morphological continuum between some thymoma subtypes and some morphological overlap between thymomas and TC, a variable proportion of cases may pose problems in classification, contributing to the poor interobserver reproducibility in some studies. Methods: To overcome this problem, hematoxylin-eosin–stained and immunohistochemically processed sections of prototypic, “borderland,” and “combined” thymomas and TC (n = 72) were studied by 18 pathologists at an international consensus slide workshop supported by the International Thymic Malignancy Interest Group. Results: Consensus was achieved on refined criteria for decision making at the A/AB borderland, the distinction between B1, B2, and B3 thymomas and the separation of B3 thymomas from TCs. “Atypical type A thymoma” is tentatively proposed as a new type A thymoma variant. New reporting strategies for tumors with more than one histological pattern are proposed. Conclusion: These guidelines can set the stage for reproducibility studies and the design of a clinically meaningful grading system for thymic epithelial tumors.