Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cost-Effectiveness of Early Treatment with First-Line NNRTI-Based HAART Regimens in the UK, 1996-2006

Aim Calculate time to first-line treatment failure, annual cost and cost-effectiveness of NNRTI versus PIboosted first-line HAART regimens in the UK, 1996–2006. Background Population costs for HIV services are increasing in the UK and interventions need to be effective and efficient to reduce or stabilize costs. 2NRTIs + NNRTI regimens are cost-effective regimens for first-line HAART, but these regimens have not been compared with first-line PIboosted regimens. Methods Times to first-line treatment failure and annual costs were calculated for first-line HAART regimens by CD4 count when starting HAART (2006 UK prices). Cost-effectiveness of 2NRTIs+NNRTI versus 2NRTIs+PIboosted regimens was calculated for four CD4 strata. Results 55% of 5,541 people living with HIV (PLHIV) started HAART with CD4 count ≤200 cells/mm3, many of whom were Black Africans. Annual treatment cost decreased as CD4 count increased; most marked differences were observed between starting HAART with CD4 ≤200 cells/mm3 compared with CD4 count >200 cells/mm3. 2NRTI+PIboosted and 2NRTI+NNRTI regimens were the most effective regimens across the four CD4 strata; 2NRTI+NNRTI was cost-saving or cost-effective compared with 2NRTI + PIboosted regimens. Conclusion To ensure more effective and efficient provision of HIV services, 2NRTI+NNRTI should be started as first-line HAART regimen at CD4 counts ≤350 cell/mm3, unless specific contra-indications exist. This will increase the number of PLHIV receiving HAART and will initially increase population costs of providing HIV services. However, starting PLHIV earlier on cost-effective regimens will maintain them in better health and use fewer health or social services, thereby generating fewer treatment and care costs, enabling them to remain socially and economically active members of society. This does raise a number of ethical issues, which will have to be acknowledged and addressed, especially in countries with limited resources.
Effects of opioid receptor activation on thermal antinociception in red-eared slider turtles (Trachemys scripta).

OBJECTIVE To determine the effects of mu-, delta-, and kappa-opioid receptor (MOR, DOR, and KOR, respectively) activation on thermal antinociception in red-eared slider turtles Trachemys scripta. ANIMALS 51 adult turtles. PROCEDURES Infrared heat stimuli were applied to the plantar surface of turtle hind limbs. Thermal hind limb withdrawal latencies (HLWLs) were measured before (baseline) and at intervals after SC administration of various doses of saline (0.9% NaCl) solution (SS), MOR, DOR, or KOR agonists (3 to 13 turtles/treatment). Treatment with a DOR antagonist SC prior to DOR agonist administration was also evaluated. RESULTS Treatment with an MOR agonist ([D-Ala(2), N-Me-Phe(4), Gly(5)-ol]-enkephalin acetate salt [DAMGO; 1.3 or 6.6 mg/kg]) increased HLWLs (from baseline) at 2 to 8 hours after injection; at the higher dose, the maximum mean increase was 5.6 seconds at 4 hours. Treatment with a DOR agonist ([D-Ala(2), D-Leu(5)]-enkephalin acetate salt [DADLE; 25 mg/kg]) increased mean HLWL by 11.3 seconds at 4 hours; however, treatment with DADLE (5.8 mg/kg) or with another DOR agonist ([D-Pen(2),(5)]-enkephalin hydrate [DPDPE; 1.2 or 6.3 mg/kg]) did not alter HLWL, compared with SS effects. Administration of a DOR antagonist (naltrindole hydrochloride; 10 mg/kg) prior to DADLE administration (25 mg/kg) increased mean HLWL by 2.7 seconds at 4 hours. One KOR agonist, U50488 ([-]-trans-[1S,2S]-U50488 hydrochloride hydrate; 6.7 mg/kg) decreased HLWL steadily from 2 to 24 hours (less than baseline value); another KOR agonist, U69593 ([+]-[5alpha,7alpha,8beta]-N-Methyl-N-[7-{1-pyrrolidinyl}-1-oxaspiro{4.5}dec-8-yl]-benzene-acet-amide; 6.7 or 26 mg/kg) did not alter HLWLs, compared with SS effects. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Opioid-dependent thermal antinociception in turtles appeared to be attributable mainly to MOR activation with a relatively minor contribution of DOR activation.
Physcomitrella patens DCL3 Is Required for 22–24 nt siRNA Accumulation, Suppression of Retrotransposon-Derived Transcripts, and Normal Development

Endogenous 24 nt short interfering RNAs (siRNAs), derived mostly from intergenic and repetitive genomic regions, constitute a major class of endogenous small RNAs in flowering plants. Accumulation of Arabidopsis thaliana 24 nt siRNAs requires the Dicer family member DCL3, and clear homologs of DCL3 exist in both flowering and non-flowering plants. However, the absence of a conspicuous 24 nt peak in the total RNA populations of several non-flowering plants has raised the question of whether this class of siRNAs might, in contrast to the ancient 21 nt microRNAs (miRNAs) and 21–22 nt trans-acting siRNAs (tasiRNAs), be an angiosperm-specific innovation. Analysis of non-miRNA, non-tasiRNA hotspots of small RNA production within the genome of the moss Physcomitrella patens revealed multiple loci that consistently produced a mixture of 21–24 nt siRNAs with a peak at 23 nt. These Pp23SR loci were significantly enriched in transposon content, depleted in overlap with annotated genes, and typified by dense concentrations of the 5-methyl cytosine (5 mC) DNA modification. Deep sequencing of small RNAs from two independent Ppdcl3 mutants showed that the P. patens DCL3 homolog is required for the accumulation of 22–24 nt siRNAs, but not 21 nt siRNAs, at Pp23SR loci. The 21 nt component of Pp23SR-derived siRNAs was also unaffected by a mutation in the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase mutant Pprdr6. Transcriptome-wide, Ppdcl3 mutants failed to accumulate 22–24 nt small RNAs from repetitive regions while transcripts from two abundant families of long terminal repeat (LTR) retrotransposon-associated reverse transcriptases were up-regulated. Ppdcl3 mutants also displayed an acceleration of leafy gametophore production, suggesting that repetitive siRNAs may play a role in the development of P. patens. We conclude that intergenic/repeat-derived siRNAs are indeed a broadly conserved, distinct class of small regulatory RNAs within land plants.
Isolation of Aerobic Anoxygenic Photosynthetic Bacteria from Black Smoker Plume Waters of the Juan de Fuca Ridge in the Pacific Ocean

ABSTRACT A strain of the aerobic anoxygenic photosynthetic bacteria was isolated from a deep-ocean hydrothermal vent plume environment. The in vivo absorption spectra of cells indicate the presence of bacteriochlorophyll a incorporated into light-harvesting complex I and a reaction center. The general morphological and physiological characteristics of this new isolate are described.
Association between Randall’s plaque and calcifying nanoparticles

Objectives Randall initially described calcified subepithelial papillary plaques, which he hypothesized as nidi for urinary calculi. The discovery of calcifying nanoparticles (CNP), also referred to as nanobacteria, in calcified soft tissues has raised another hypothesis about their possible involvement in urinary stone formation. This research is the first attempt to investigate the potential association of these two hypotheses. Methods We collected renal papilla and blood samples from 17 human patients who had undergone laparoscopic nephrectomy. Immunohistochemical staining (IHS) was applied using monoclonal antibody (mAb) against CNP. Homogenized papillary tissues and serum samples were cultured for CNP. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) were performed on papillary samples. Serum samples were tested for CNP antigen and antibody with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results Randall’s plaques (RP) were visible on gross inspection in 11 out of 17 samples. IHS was positive for CNP antigen in 8 of the visually positive samples, but in only 1 of the remaining samples. SEM revealed spherical apatite-formations in 14 samples confirmed by EDS analysis. In cultures, all serum samples and 13 tissue homogenates grew CNP. In ELISA, 14 samples were positive for CNP-antigen and 11 samples were positive for CNP-antibody. Conclusion There was evidence of a link between detection of CNP and presence of RP. Although causality was not demonstrated, these results suggest that further studies with negative control samples should be made to explore the etiology of RP formation, thus leading to a better understanding of the pathogenesis of stone formation.
Free Solidification of Undercooled Eutectics

The traditional eutectic solidification theories always stress the role of eutectic growth and morphology selection. However, when a eutectic alloy solidifies freely from an undercooled state, the first step commences from nucleation and then follows eutectic growth. This paper reviews the free solidification behavior of various undercooled eutectic alloys from the viewpoints of nucleation and growth. It is realized that an independent eutectic colony should be the basic unit when discussing eutectic solidification rather than a bulk sample, which urges us to re-examine the previous discussions and conclusions that were based on bulk solidification in which the role of nucleation was frequently ignored. Regarding to the eutectic growth after nucleation, particular emphasis is devoted to shedding light upon the physical mechanisms of the anomalous eutectic formation when the eutectic is undercooled beyond a certain critical undercooling. The interface attachment kinetics of terminal phases in a eutectic reaction is of great importance in yielding decoupled growth between a mobile interface and a sluggish interface. Further growth behavior after decoupled growth occurs is investigated when the effect of crystallization heat on solidification is considered. Future work is briefly directed to improve current understanding on the free solidification from undercooled states.
Integration Through Incentives Within Differentiated Organizations

Drawing on the concepts of organizational differentiation and integration, we present a formal analysis of the manner in which these two consequences of specialization shape the effectiveness of collaborative incentives in complex organizations. We show that ignoring the coordination challenges created by differentiation does not merely impede the achievement of gains from integration through incentives, but can lower organizational performance below the levels achieved when such gains are simply ignored. Thus, treating interunit collaboration purely as a problem of motivating cooperation can be counterproductive. We describe implications in the context of interdivisional relationships and postmerger integration.
International Journal of Nephrology and Renovascular Disease Dovepress

effect of zinc supplementation on body mass index and serum levels of zinc and leptin in pediatric hemodialysis patients ahmed Nabih el-shazly 1 soha abd el-hady Ibrahim Introduction: Zinc is an essential trace element for human nutrition, and its deficiency is associated with anorexia, poor food efficiency, growth retardation, and impaired neurological and immune systems. The zinc-deficiency rate is particularly high in many disease states, such as with end-stage renal disease patients undertaking hemodialysis. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of zinc supplementation on body mass index (BMI) and serum levels of zinc and leptin in pediatric hemodialysis patients. Patients and methods: This was a prospective clinical trial study in which 60 hemodialysis patients were randomly divided into two groups: group I received 50–100 mg zinc sulfate (equivalent to 11–22 mg elemental zinc) according to age, sex, and nutritional status of the child; and group II received placebo (cornstarch) twice daily for 90 days. Anthropometric measurements were taken, and serum zinc and leptin levels were determined by colorimetric test with 5-Br-3′-phosphoadenosine-5′-phosphosulfate and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, respectively, at days 0 and 90 of the study. Results: Zinc supplementation resulted in a significant increase in mean serum zinc level and BMI. Serum leptin decreased significantly after supplementation in children under hemodialysis. A significant negative correlation was observed between serum zinc and leptin levels as a result of zinc supplementation. Conclusion: There was an increase in serum zinc level and BMI and decreased serum leptin after zinc supplementation in children under hemodialysis.
Prognostic Value of the Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR) in Lung Cancer Cases

Haemogram assessment is a cheap and easy method which can be readily performed for almost all patients. Leucocyte, neutrophil and lymphocyte counts and the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) are markers of systemic inflammation. We here aimed to evaluate haemogram parameters of our patients with lung cancer according to the pathologic diagnosis of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Materials and Methods: The study included 386 patients diagnosed with lung cancer in our hospital between January 2006 and January 2014. A retrospective examination was made of the data from the patient records and the hospital information. NLR values were categorised into two groups: <3 and ≥3. Results: Median survival time in patients aged <65 years was 28.7 months and in those aged ≥65 years, it was 18.4 months (p<0.001). The median survival time was 20.2 months in NSCLC and 13.0 months in SCLC patients (p<0.001). In NSCLC cases with NLR<3 the median survival time (31.1 months) was longer than that of patients with NLR≥3 (18 months) (p=0.003). In SCLC patients, no relationship could be found between NLR and median survival time (p=0.408). With every 1 unit increase in lymphocyte count a 5.5% decrease in risk of periodic death ((1/0.947)x100=5.5%) was noted. Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrated that lymphocyte count, neutrophil count, Hb, Htc, and NLR are useful in determining prognosis in lung cancer (LC) patients and NLR could be more significant in determining the prognosis in NSCLC than in SCLC cases.
Blood platelets in disseminated sclerosis; quantitative variations in peripheral blood.

The peripheral blood of patients with disseminated sclerosis has been examined with a view of studying blood platelet variations. We have concentrated particularly on blood platelet counts for the reason that blood platelet agglutinations have been noted in the blood vessels in encephalomyelitic foci. These agglutinations may, of course, be regarded as agonal, but the possibility of intravital agglutinations exists, and the probability of such a phenomenon would become greater if variations in the total blood platelet system of the organism, with a tend-ency to increased agglutination, could be demonstrated in patients with the disease. Recognition of the stated agglutinations is a result of the great interest taken in the vascular condition in disseminated sclerosis, in which the degenerative and reactive tissue changes have been found to bear a pronounced relation to the venous system (Putnam,* Broman, 4 Fog,f Haarr 8 ). MATERIAL AND METHODS The material comprises 103 cases of
Investigation the Relationship of Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms with Vascular Risk Factors

Abstract Our aim was to investigate the relationship between lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in terms of vascular risk factors include diabetes. In a prospective study, a total of 116 men aged 40 years or more who presented to the outpatient clinics of urology or endocrinology between January 2012 and April 2013 were included. After receiving a detailed medical history, fasting blood glucose, serum lipids including total cholesterol, HDL and triglyceride, HbA1c, creatinine, total testosterone and total prostate-specific antigen were measured. Urinalysis and uroflowmetry were done. Postvoiding residual urine and prostate volume were measured by suprapubic ultrasonography. International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) of the patients were determined. Existence of vascular risk factors including hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus, coronary artery disease and obesity as well as age, body mass index (BMI), weight, waist circumference and body fat percentage values were recorded. Of the patients, 41 (35.3%) had hypertension, 54 (46.6%) dyslipidemia, 68 (58.6%) diabetes mellitus, 34 (29.3%) coronary artery disease and 39 (33.6%) obesity. When the patients were grouped according to the presence of the risk factors (no risk [14 patients], mild to moderate [1-2 risk factor] [65 patients] and severe [3 or more risk factors] [37 patients]), there was no a significant difference among the groups in terms of IPSS (p = 0.76). The results of this prospective study show that vascular risk factors and diabetes may not be related to LUTS Key words: Lower urinary tract symptoms, vascular diseases, aging, diabetes
An integrated low-cost system for at-home rehabilitation

We show here how integrating novel natural user interfaces, like Microsoft Kinect, with a fully adappatient's current statustive game engine, a system that can be used for rehabilitation at home can be built. A wide variety of game scenarios, a balanced scoring system, quantitative and qualitative exercise evaluation, automatic gameplay level adaptation to patient's current status, and audiovisual feed-back are all implemented inside the Intelligent Game Engine for Rehabilitation here introduced, and are aimed at maximizing patient's motivation and rehabilitation effectiveness. The system is integrated into a multi-level platform that provides continuous monitoring by the hospital and it has been developed inside the framework of the EU funded Rewire project.
Relay-mapper aided multi-user lattice coding for the multiple-access relay channel

This paper considers the multi-antenna multiple access relay channel (MARC), in which multiple users transmit messages to a common destination with the assistance of a relay. In a variety of MARC settings, the dynamic decode and forward (OOF) protocol is very useful due to its outstanding rate performance. However, the lack of good structured codebooks so far hinders practical applications of OOF for MARC. In this work, a new structured MARC code, one-to-one relaymapper aided multiuser lattice coding (O-MLC), is proposed. It is shown that, in order to approach the rate performance obtained previously by using an unstructured code book with maximum-likelihood decoding, it is crucial to use a new Kstage coset decoder instead of the one-stage decoder proposed in previous works. However, if O-MLC is decoded with the one-stage decoder only, it can still achieve the optimal OOF diversity-multiplexing gain tradeoff when the signaI-to-noise ratio is high. Simulation results show that the proposed coding scheme outperforms existing schemes in terms of outage probabilities.
Selected coping strategies in labor: an investigation of women's experiences.

BACKGROUND Antenatal education classes offer women information about labor and birth and ways of coping with pain and emotional distress. The purpose of this paper was to describe women's experiences of using, starting, and discontinuing three coping strategies in labor that were taught in antenatal education classes. METHODS An exploratory research design was used in which 121 women were interviewed within 72 hours of the birth of their first child. Information was obtained on why women initiated and discontinued their use of three coping strategies (breathing technique, postural changes, relaxation technique) and the reported effects of use. RESULTS The effects of the coping strategies investigated varied widely among participants. Common aspects of care, changes of environment, and use of pharmacological pain relief affected women's discontinuation of coping strategies. CONCLUSIONS The implications of study findings for clinical practice include the need for caregivers to provide women with accurate information about the effects of coping strategies and to be alert to aspects of care that may disrupt women's use of strategies.
Vascular Endothelial Expression of Indoleamine 2,3-Dioxygenase 1 Forms a Positive Gradient towards the Feto-Maternal Interface

We describe the distribution of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) in vascular endothelium of human first-trimester and term placenta. Expression of IDO1 protein on the fetal side of the interface extended from almost exclusively sub-trophoblastic capillaries in first-trimester placenta to a nearly general presence on villous vascular endothelia at term, including also most bigger vessels such as villous arteries and veins of stem villi and vessels of the chorionic plate. Umbilical cord vessels were generally negative for IDO1 protein. In the fetal part of the placenta positivity for IDO1 was restricted to vascular endothelium, which did not co-express HLA-DR. This finding paralleled detectability of IDO1 mRNA in first trimester and term tissue and a high increase in the kynurenine to tryptophan ratio in chorionic villous tissue from first trimester to term placenta. Endothelial cells isolated from the chorionic plate of term placenta expressed IDO1 mRNA in contrast to endothelial cells originating from human umbilical vein, iliac vein or aorta. In first trimester decidua we found endothelium of arteries rather than veins expressing IDO1, which was complementory to expression of HLA-DR. An estimation of IDO activity on the basis of the ratio of kynurenine and tryptophan in blood taken from vessels of the chorionic plate of term placenta indicated far higher values than those found in the peripheral blood of adults. Thus, a gradient of vascular endothelial IDO1 expression is present at both sides of the feto-maternal interface.
N6‐isopentenyladenosine arrests tumor cell proliferation by inhibiting farnesyl diphosphate synthase and protein prenylation

The physiological effects of a variety of N6‐substituted adenine and adenosine derivatives called cytokinins have been documented in plants, but information on their occurrence and function in other biological system is limited. Here we investigated the anti‐proliferative effect of N6‐isopentenyladenosine (i6A), an adenosine and isoprenoid derivative, in a thyroid cell system, FRTL‐5 wild‐type, and K‐ras transformed KiMol cells. Addition of i6A to FRTL‐5 cells caused a dose‐dependent arrest of the G0‐G1 cell phase transition associated with a reduction of cells in the S phase that was much more evident in KiMol cells. I6A arrested tumor cell proliferation by inhibiting farnesyl diphosphate synthase (FPPS) and protein prenylation. Indeed the addition of farnesol reversed these effects and i6A affected protein prenylation, in particular lamin B processing. I6A effect was not mediated by the adenosine receptor but was due to a direct modulation of FPPS enzyme activity as a result of its uptake inside the cells. I6A inhibited FPPS activity more efficaciously in KiMol cells than in normal FRTL‐5. Moreover, the i6A anti‐proliferative effect was evaluated in vivo in a nude mouse xenograft model, where KiMol cells were implanted subcutaneously. Mice treated with i6A showed a drastic reduction in tumor volume. Our findings indicate that this isoprenoid end product might be used for antineoplastic therapy, an application emulating that of the lovastatin and/or farnesyltransferase inhibitors. —Laezza, C. , Notarnicola, M. , Caruso, M. G. , Messa, C. , Macchia, M. , Bertini, S. , Minutolo, F. , Portella, G. , Fiorentino, L. , Stingo, S. , Bifulco, M. N6‐isopentenyladenosine arrests tumor cell proliferation by inhibiting farnesyl diphosphate synthase and protein prenylation. FASEB J. 20, 412–418 (2006)