Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Oxidative stress in the brain causes hypertension via sympathoexcitation

Activation of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) has an important role in the pathogenesis of hypertension, and is determined by the brain. Previous many studies have demonstrated that oxidative stress, mainly produced by angiotensin II type 1 (AT1) receptor and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NAD (P) H) oxidase, in the autonomic brain regions was involved in the activation of the SNS of hypertension. In this concept, we have investigated the role of oxidative stress in the rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM), which is known as the cardiovascular center in the brainstem, in the activation of the SNS, and demonstrated that AT1 receptor and NAD (P) H oxidase-induced oxidative stress in the RVLM causes sympathoexcitation in hypertensive rats. The mechanisms in which brain oxidative stress causes sympathoexcitation have been investigated, such as the interactions with nitric oxide (NO), effects on the signal transduction, or inflammations. Interestingly, the environmental factors of high salt intake and high calorie diet may also increase the oxidative stress in the brain, particularly in the RVLM, thereby activating the central sympathetic outflow and increasing the risk of hypertension. Furthermore, several orally administered AT1 receptor blockers have been found to cause sympathoinhibition via reduction of oxidative stress through the inhibition of central AT1 receptor. In conclusion, we must consider that AT1 receptor and the related oxidative stress production in the brain cause the activation of SNS in hypertension, and that AT1 receptor in the brain could be novel therapeutic target of the treatments for hypertension.
Linezolid for Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Pneumonia: The Impact of Obesity on Clinical Outcomes

Objectives: Linezolid is an antibiotic used for the treatment of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) pneumonia. Previous studies provided conflicting results regarding fixed-dose linezolid for obese patients with MRSA pneumonia. Some reported decreased concentrations in obese patients, while others reported similar concentrations and clinical outcomes. This study compared clinical efficacy and safety outcomes between obese and non-obese patients treated with linezolid for MRSA pneumonia. Methods: This was a retrospective chart review of adults who received at least 3 days of linezolid for MRSA pneumonia from October 1, 2009 to December 31, 2014. Primary outcome was clinical cure rate at 21 days. Secondary outcomes included inpatient mortality, thrombocytopenia, and anemia. Categorical and continuous data were evaluated using the Fisher’s exact test and the student’s t test, respectively. A p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Forty-five patients in the non-obese group [body mass index (BMI) < 30 kg/m2], and 25 patients in the obese group [BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2] were identified. Clinical cure rate was 60% in the non-obese group and 48% in the obese group. Results of the secondary outcomes were reported as follows: anemia (64% in the nonobese group, 31% in the obese group), thrombocytopenia (40% in the non-obese group, 20% in the obese group), and in-hospital mortality (20% in the non-obese group, 15.6 % in the obese group). Conclusions: Similar incidence rates of clinical cure, mortality, thrombocytopenia, and anemia were found between obese and non-obese patients who received standard dose linezolid for MRSA pneumonia. *Corresponding author: Young R. Lee, Pharm.D. , BCPS, BCCCP, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, School of Pharmacy, Pharmacy Practice Department, 1718 Pine Street, Abilene, TX 79601, USA, Tel: +1-325-696-0449; Email: young.lee@ttuhsc.edu Citation: Lee, Y.R. , et al. Linezolid for Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Pneumonia: The Impact of Obesity on Clinical Outcomes. (2016) J Pharm Pharmaceutics 3(2): 9095. Linezolid for Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Pneumonia: The Impact of Obesity on Clinical Outcomes Young R. Lee1*, Kathy Tang2, Rene M. Mani3 Received date: May 02, 2016 Accepted date: September 20, 2016 Published date: September 26, 2016 DOI: 10.15436/2377-1313.16. 022
DREAMzone: Testing Two Vicarious Contact Interventions to Improve Attitudes Toward Undocumented Immigrants

We used Allport’s (1954) intergroup contact theory as a framework to test the effectiveness of 2 vicarious contact interventions on improving attitudes toward undocumented immigrants. The first intervention was DREAMzone, a 4-hr ally certification workshop. The second intervention was a 30-min documentary film chronicling the stories of 5 undocumented immigrants. Participants (N = 239) experienced 1 of these 2 conditions or were part of a control group. Pre- and posttest assessments were conducted on various attitudes toward undocumented immigrants (i.e., empathy, anxiety, and prejudice). Our results indicated that both intervention modalities significantly improved attitudes toward undocumented immigrants. Attitudes of those in the control group did not change across assessments. Implications for higher education research and practice are discussed.
Mining Positive and Negative Association Rules in Multi-database Based on Minimum Interestingness

With the increasing development and application of information and communication technologies, multi-database mining is becoming more and more important. Association rules mining is the major topic in multi-database. According to Piatetsky-Shapiropsilas argument, an association rule is interesting only if the rule meets the minimum interestingness condition. In this paper, we extended this condition to mine association rules in multi-database and improved it to check the correlation of association rules. An algorithm PNAR_MDB _on P-S measure is proposed and the experimental results demonstrated the algorithm is effective.
A longitudinal evaluation of the acceptability and impact of a diet diary app for older adults with age-related macular degeneration

Ongoing advances in technology are increasing the scope for enhancing and supporting older adults' daily living. The digital divide between older and younger adults raises concerns, however, about the suitability of technological solutions for older adults, especially for those with impairments. Taking older adults with Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) as a case study, we used user-centred and participatory design approaches to develop an assistive mobile app for self-monitoring their intake of food [12,13]. In this paper we report on findings of a longitudinal field evaluation of our app that was conducted to investigate how it was received and adopted by older adults with AMD and its impact on their lives. Demonstrating the benefit of applying inclusive design methods for technology for older adults, our findings reveal how the use of the app raises participants' awareness and facilitates self-monitoring of diet, encourages positive (diet) behaviour change, and encourages learning.
Rhetorical issues in writing interpretivist consumer research

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how consumer researchers working in the interpretivist tradition go about composing well founded theorized storylines, in order to convince audiences of the soundness of the theory‐building which emanates from their studies.Design/methodology/approach – An analytical framework was derived from Golden‐Biddle and Locke's study of organizational ethnographers to see how they made their accounts convincing to their audiences. Golden‐Biddle and Locke's analysis revealed 3Ds – authenticity, plausibility and criticality (each with a variety of sub‐dimensions) – that played key rhetorical roles in convincing readers.Findings – Using this analytical framework (summarized in three tables), examples from a variety of authors' work in Journal of Consumer Research ( JCR) were drawn upon to illustrate how interpretivist consumer behaviour authors tackled these three key dimensions: authenticity, plausibility and criticality.Research limitations/implications – Only a lim.
THE WIDEST-SEPARATION SUBSTELLAR COMPANION CANDIDATE TO A BINARY T TAURI STAR

The results of near-infrared imaging and spectroscopy of a substellar companion (SR12 C), with a possible planetary mass, of a binary T Tauri star (SR12 AB) in the ρ Ophiuchi star-forming region are presented. The object is separated by ∼8. ″7, corresponding to ∼1100 AU at 125 pc, and has an H-band brightness of 15.2 mag and infrared spectra suggesting a spectral type of M9.0 ± 0.5. It is confirmed that SR12 C is physically related to the ρ Ophiuchi star-forming region from its common proper motion with SR12 AB and its youth is confirmed by a gravity-sensitive spectral feature. Furthermore, based on the number of known members of the ρ Ophiuchi star-forming region in the area in which SR12 AB exists, the probability of a chance alignment is ∼1% and it is therefore likely that SR12 C is physically associated with SR12 AB. The mass of SR12 C is estimated by comparing its estimated luminosity and assumed age with the theoretical age–luminosity relation. SR12 C is identified as an extremely low-mass (0.013 ± 0.007 M☉) object, but its separation from its parent star is the widest among planetary-mass companion (PMC) candidates imaged to date. In addition, SR12 C is the first PMC candidate directly imaged around a binary star. This discovery suggests that PMCs form via multiple star formation processes including disk gravitational instability and cloud core fragmentation.
A Search Engine Technique Using Relation Based Keywords

Abstract — With the growing complexity of online information, the search results in keyword based search engines are growing increasingly vague and cumbersome. Less efforts on behalf of the search engines result in more painstaking effort for the user to find the best pages. This paper describes a framework where the disadvantages of keyword based search engines are removed by presenting to the user the most meaningful pages only. Word relations play a crucial part in inferring the meaning of a word. Much effort has been stressed upon the fact of creating an intelligent and sophisticated database that consists of word relations in addition to the keywords of pages.
Myocardial Mitochondrial and Contractile Function Are Preserved in Mice Lacking Adiponectin

Adiponectin deficiency leads to increased myocardial infarct size following ischemia reperfusion and to exaggerated cardiac hypertrophy following pressure overload, entities that are causally linked to mitochondrial dysfunction. In skeletal muscle, lack of adiponectin results in impaired mitochondrial function. Thus, it was our objective to investigate whether adiponectin deficiency impairs mitochondrial energetics in the heart. At 8 weeks of age, heart weight-to-body weight ratios were not different between adiponectin knockout (ADQ-/-) mice and wildtypes (WT). In isolated working hearts, cardiac output, aortic developed pressure and cardiac power were preserved in ADQ-/- mice. Rates of fatty acid oxidation, glucose oxidation and glycolysis were unchanged between groups. While myocardial oxygen consumption was slightly reduced (-24%) in ADQ-/- mice in isolated working hearts, rates of maximal ADP-stimulated mitochondrial oxygen consumption and ATP synthesis in saponin-permeabilized cardiac fibers were preserved in ADQ-/- mice with glutamate, pyruvate or palmitoyl-carnitine as a substrate. In addition, enzymatic activity of respiratory complexes I and II was unchanged between groups. Phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase and SIRT1 activity were not decreased, expression and acetylation of PGC-1α were unchanged, and mitochondrial content of OXPHOS subunits was not decreased in ADQ-/- mice. Finally, increasing energy demands due to prolonged subcutaneous infusion of isoproterenol did not differentially affect cardiac contractility or mitochondrial function in ADQ-/- mice compared to WT. Thus, mitochondrial and contractile function are preserved in hearts of mice lacking adiponectin, suggesting that adiponectin may be expendable in the regulation of mitochondrial energetics and contractile function in the heart under non-pathological conditions.
Acromio-Axillo-Suprasternal Notch Index: A New Screening Test to Predict Difficult Laryngoscopy in General Population

Background: Airway management expertness is essential in every medical specialty. Inability to manage Difficult Visualization of Larynx (DVL) can be life threatening. This trail was performed to assess the ability of a new index Acromio-axillo-suprasternal notch indexto predict difficult laryngoscopy in normal population in comparison with the other common predictors. Materials and Methods: 728 consecutive patients with ASA class I & II candidate for general anesthesia with endotracheal intubation were enrolled to this study. The four usual tests MMT, ULBT, RHTMD, NC/TMD were assessed before induction of anesthesia. The new AASI test is calculated as follow: 1) Using a ruler a line is drawn vertically from the top of the acromion process to the superior border of the axilla at the pectoralis major muscle named as line A. 2) A second line is drawn perpendicular to line A from the suprasternal notch (line B); and 3)That portion of line A that lies above where line B bisects line A is line C. AASI is calculated from the length of line C divided by line A(AASI = C/A). By a skilled anesthesiologist who blinded to the assessment, the laryngoscopy was done and based on Cormack-Lehane classification, garding of laryngoscopy was recorded. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and AUC or ROC for each airway predictor in isolation and comparison with each other was established. Results: The sensitivity of AASI was 66.67% with AUC = 0.790(P = 0.000). But MMT as an old predictive test with NC/TMD and RHTMD with AUC or ROC curve 0.626, 0.531, 0.537 respectively, are not good predictors in this study (P > 0.05). But ULBT with sensitivity 52.38% can be a good predictor (P = 0.003). There are stepwise increases in the incidence of Cormack-Lehane grade III and IV as AASI was greater than 0.6. Conclusion: We considered the value of preoperative assessment of AASI ≥ 0.6 to be a good and reliable predictor for difficult visualization of larynx *Corresponding author: Azim Honarmand, Professor, Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran, Tel:0989133136286; E-mail: honarmand@med.mui. ac.ir
The Factorial Structure of a 15-Item Version of the Italian Empathy Quotient Scale

The Empathy Quotient (EQ) scale is a self-report measure designed to assess empathy in adults. Although the scale is widely used and has been validated into different languages, its dimensionality is still controversial, as well as it is not clear which scale version should be considered. The aim of the present study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the EQ scale. The Italian version of the EQ scale was administered to a sample of 633 adults. Results showed that the 15-item EQ scale version proposed by Muncer and Ling (2006) had excellent reliability and validity indices, with a gender invariant three-factor structure (Cognitive Empathy, Emotional Reactivity, and Social Skills) and a higher order factor of general empathy. The overall results confirmed that the 15-item EQ scale is an eligible and stable tool for the assessment of empathy.
The Investigation of Pre-service Elementary Mathematics Teachers’ Subject Matter Knowledge About Probability

Because of the change in the middle school mathematics curriculum in Turkey, it is necessary to examine subject matter knowledge of pre-service elementary mathematics teachers about probability. This study is significant in terms of the Turkish mathematics education literature since it contributes to the future curriculum efforts for elementary mathematics education programs. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews which were focused on explanations about basic probability concepts and an instrument which was developed for evaluating content knowledge for probability of elementary mathematics teachers. Since mathematics teachers should have both procedural and conceptual knowledge regarding the concept taught, researcher aimed to understand to what extent pre-service elementary mathematics teachers are capable of conceptual and procedural knowledge needed for probability teaching. Findings showed that the 23 participants needed to develop their conceptual knowledge regarding probability and they tended to behave computational oriented while solving probability problems which showed also their higher procedural understanding. Besides, it was concluded that they couldn’t make expected connections between probability and statistics concepts.
The Status of Semantic and Episodic Memory in Amnesia

Since Scoville and Milner's landmark report of the amnesic patient referred to as H.M. , it has been known that the medial temporal lobes play a critical role in our ability to form new memories. Importantly, studies of amnesia have highlighted the fact that not all forms of memory are equally affected by damage to the medial temporal lobes. Nondeclarative or implicit memory is largely intact, allowing patients to acquire perceptual and motor skills, conditioned responses, and to demonstrate priming. Declarative or explicit memory, in contrast, is disrupted. While this distinction between nondeclarative and declarative memory in amnesia has been explored in detail over the past five decades, more recent studies have begun to examine possible dissociations within the domain of declarative memory. One issue regards the extent to which new semantic information can be learned following damage to the medial temporal lobe. The present chapter will review evidence suggesting that (a) the medial temporal lobe is not required for normal retrieval of semantic knowledge but is necessary for normal acquisition of factual information and that (b) while semantic learning is not normal following damage to the hippocampal formation, acquisition of some new semantic knowledge can be supported by regions outside of the hippocampus proper (e.g., perirhinal, parahippocampal, or lateral temporal cortices). Another issue concerns whether the cognitive processes contributing to episodic memory performance are uniformly disrupted following damage to the medial temporal lobe. The current chapter will review data suggesting that (a) amnesia disrupts recollection-based mechanisms more so than familiarity-based mechanisms and that (b) when amnesic patients are encouraged to rely on their feelings of familiarity, their performance on recognition tasks can be enhanced.
Clinical Outcomes of Intraoperative Radiation Therapy for Extremity Sarcomas

Purpose. Radiation of extremity lesions, a key component of limb-sparing therapy, presents particular challenges, with significant risks of toxicities. We sought to explore the efficacy of intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT) in the treatment of soft tissue sarcomas of the extremities. Patients. Between 1995 and 2001, 17 patients received IORT for soft tissue sarcomas of the extremities. Indications for IORT included recurrent tumors in a previously radiated field or tumors adjacent to critical structures. Results. Gross total resections were achieved in all 17 patients. Two patients experienced locoregional relapses, six patients recurred at metastatic sites, and one patient died without recurrence. Thirty-six month estimates for locoregional control, disease free survival, and overall survival were 86%, 50%, and 78%, respectively. IORT was extremely well tolerated, with no toxicities referable to IORT. Conclusions. For patients with soft tissue sarcomas of the extremities, IORT used as a boost to EBRT provides excellent local control, with limited acute toxicities.
Ideologies of legitimate mockery: Margaret Cho's revoicings of mock Asian

This article examines a Korean American comedian’s use of Mock Asian and the ideologies that legitimate this racializing style. These ideologies of legitimacy depend on assumptions about the relationship between communities, the authentication of a speaker’s community membership, and the nature of the interpretive frame that has been “keyed”. Specifically, her Mock Asian depends on and, to some extent, reproduces particular ideological links between race, nation, and language despite the apparent process of ideological subversion. Yet her use of stereotypical Asian speech is not a straightforward instance of racial crossing, given that she is ‘Asian’ according to most racial ideologies in the U.S. Consequently, while her use of Mock Asian may necessarily reproduce mainstream American racializing discourses about Asians, she is able to simultaneously decontextualize and deconstruct these very discourses. This article suggests that it is her successful authentication as an Asian American comedian, particularly one who is critical of Asian marginalization in the U.S., that legitimizes her use of Mock Asian and that yields an interpretation of her practices primarily as a critique of racist mainstream ideologies.
Investigation on the performance of airliner cabin air filter throughout the lifetime usage

The supply air from the airliner ventilation system is a mixture of outside air and recirculated air that passes through a high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter. The effectiveness of two commercial-available airliner cabin air filters were investigated under the laboratory-based measurement due to the practical restriction of airliner cabin filter test during usage. The filtration efficiency and pressure drop were assessed at particle size range of 20-500 nm under various airflow rates throughout the filter usage period. The Most Penetrating Particle Sizes (MPPS) were observed at ~150 and ~55 nm, where the filtration efficiency was 86% and 99% at the rated airflow rates (1600 m h and 1970m h), respectively. The filtration efficiency decreased in response to the increased airflow rate from 1000 m h to 2200 m h with the greatest reduction (~10%) occurred at MPPS. An increase of 250 Pa pressure drop across the filter was observed as the airflow rate increased from 1000 m h to 2200 m h. The filter usage led to the increases of filtration efficiency and pressure drop. The actual filter usage was estimated using dust loading in the laboratory. Filtration efficiency increased ~10% and pressure drop increased ~800% as 220 g m dust was loaded that corresponds to ~6000 hours filter usage at in-cabin PM10 concentration of 100 μg m. Explicit relationships among filtration efficiency, pressure drop and filter usage under various in-cabin particle concentrations were presented as a reference to facilitate airliner cabin air filter exchange periods.