Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evolving epidemiology of injecting drug use-associated infective endocarditis: A regional centre experience.

INTRODUCTION AND AIMS Injecting drug use (IDU) is a major risk factor for infective endocarditis (IE). An understanding of the epidemiology of IE and IDU is vital for delivery of health care for this disease. Our aim was to examine the rates of IDU-associated IE (IDU-IE) in a single centre over the last 12 years. DESIGN AND METHODS Retrospective analysis of two cohorts of consecutive patients (n = 226) admitted with IE from 2002 to 2013. Numbers of cases and rates of IE were compared between two cohorts (2002-2006 and 2009-2013). Rate ratios were calculated using Poisson distributions. Poisson regression was used to examine relationship over time. RESULTS One hundred thirty cases of endocarditis were seen in the first observation period (6 IDU-IE) and 96 in the second observation period (15 IDU-IE). The estimated incidence rate of IE had fallen from 10.1 to 6.45 per 100, 000 person-years [rate ratio 0.64, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.48, 0.85]. In contrast, the estimated incidence rate of IDU-E has risen from 0.48 to 0.79 per 100, 000 person-years (rate ratio 1.65, 95% CI 0.59, 4.57). Incidence rate regression suggests that the number of IDU-IE cases is expected to increase by a factor of 1.25 (95%CI 1.09-1.44) for each increase of 1 year. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS Over the last decade, there has been a decrease in incidence rate and total number of cases of IE but a rise in rate and number of cases of IDU-IE. This may indicate increasing IDU or increased rates of endocarditis in intravenous drug users in this region. This finding may inform health-care planning in the area.
An investigation of factors predictive of independence in transfers and ambulation after hip fracture.

OBJECTIVES To compare the predictive value of measurements of mobility on the second day postsurgery with previously established outcome predictors after hip fracture and to establish a statistical model for the prediction of independence in transfers and ambulation. DESIGN Prospective, validation cohort study. SETTING Primary care center. PATIENTS Two samples of 50 patients admitted with primary diagnosis of hip fracture. INTERVENTIONS Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Independence in transfers and ambulation within 2 weeks of surgery. Predictor variables considered were age, mental state, prefracture mobility, and 4 measurements of transfers and ambulation on the second day postsurgery. RESULTS In bivariate logistic regression analysis, all variables were significant predictors. In multiple logistic regression analysis, only distance walked and assistance required in transferring supine to sitting on day 2 postsurgery were significant. The multiple logistic regression model produced from the analysis had an outcome classification accuracy of 88% when tested on an independent sample. CONCLUSIONS Measurements of mobility on day 2 postsurgery are significant and reliable predictors of independence in transfers and ambulation. Further consideration of the variables age, mental state, and prefracture mobility do not appear to improve the accuracy of the prediction.
Asian women have attenuated sympathetic activation but enhanced renal–adrenal responses during pregnancy compared to Caucasian women

Asian women have a lower prevalence of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy than Caucasian women. This is the first longitudinal study to investigate neural and humoral responses during pregnancy in Asians and Caucasians. The key finding was that Asians had attenuated sympathetic activation but enhanced renal–adrenal responsiveness during pregnancy compared to Caucasians. These results may provide insights into the pathophysiological mechanisms for racial differences in the prevalence of hypertensive disorders during pregnancy.
Modification of tRNALys UUU by Elongator Is Essential for Efficient Translation of Stress mRNAs

The Elongator complex, including the histone acetyl transferase Sin3/Elp3, was isolated as an RNA polymerase II-interacting complex, and cells deficient in Elongator subunits display transcriptional defects. However, it has also been shown that Elongator mediates the modification of some tRNAs, modulating translation efficiency. We show here that the fission yeast Sin3/Elp3 is important for oxidative stress survival. The stress transcriptional program, governed by the Sty1-Atf1-Pcr1 pathway, is affected in mutant cells, but not severely. On the contrary, cells lacking Sin3/Elp3 cannot modify the uridine wobble nucleoside of certain tRNAs, and other tRNA modifying activities such as Ctu1-Ctu2 are also essential for normal tolerance to H2O2. In particular, a plasmid over-expressing the tRNALys UUU complements the stress-related phenotypes of Sin3/Elp3 mutant cells. We have determined that the main H2O2-dependent genes, including those coding for the transcription factors Atf1 and Pcr1, are highly expressed mRNAs containing a biased number of lysine-coding codons AAA versus AAG. Thus, their mRNAs are poorly translated after stress in cells lacking Sin3/Elp3 or Ctu2, whereas a mutated atf1 transcript with AAA-to-AAG lysine codons is efficiently translated in all strain backgrounds. Our study demonstrates that the lack of a functional Elongator complex results in stress phenotypes due to its contribution to tRNA modification and subsequent translation inefficiency of certain stress-induced, highly expressed mRNAs. These results suggest that the transcriptional defects of these strain backgrounds may be a secondary consequence of the deficient expression of a transcription factor, Atf1-Pcr1, and other components of the transcriptional machinery.
Assessing and Addressing Moral Distress and Ethical Climate, Part 1

Background: There is minimal research exploring moral distress and its relationship to ethical climate among nurses working in acute care settings. Objectives: Objectives of the study were to explore moral distress, moral residue, and perception of ethical climate among registered nurses working in an academic medical center and develop interventions to address study findings. Method: A mixed-methods design was used. Two versions of Corley and colleagues’ Moral Distress Scale, adult and pediatric/neonatal, were used in addition to Olson’s Hospital Ethical Climate Survey. Participants were invited to respond to 2 open-ended questions. This article reports the results for those nurses working in adult acute and critical care units. Results: The sample (N = 225) was predominantly female (80%); half held a bachelor of science in nursing or higher, were aged 30 to 49 years, and staff nurses (77.3%). The mean item score for moral distress intensity ranged from 3.79 (SD, 2.21) to 2.14 (SD, 2.42) with mean item score frequency ranging from 2.86 (SD, 1.88) to 0.23 (SD, 0.93). The mean score for total Hospital Ethical Climate Survey was 94.39 (SD, 18.3) ranging from 23 to 130. Qualitative comments described bullying, lateral violence, and retribution. Discussion: Inadequate staffing and perceived incompetent coworkers were the most distressing items. Almost 22% left a previous position because of moral distress and perceived the current climate to be less ethical compared with other participants. Findings may potentially impact nurse retention and recruitment and negatively affect the quality and safety of patient care. Interventions developed focus on the individual nurse, including ethics education and coping skills, intraprofessional/interprofessional approaches, and administrative/policy strategies.
Examining the Limits of Crowdsourcing for Relevance Assessment

Evaluation is instrumental to developing and managing effective information retrieval systems. For this process, enlisting crowdsourcing has proven viable. However, less understood are crowdsourcing's limits for evaluation, particularly for domain-specific search. The authors compare relevance assessments gathered using crowdsourcing with those from a domain expert to evaluate different search engines in a large government archive. Although crowdsourced judgments rank the tested search engines in the same order as expert judgments, crowdsourced workers appear unable to distinguish different levels of highly accurate search results the way expert assessors can.
A low-power fully differential 9-bit C-2C cyclic ADC

This paper describes a low-power fully differential cyclic ADC. It utilizes a 3-bit C-2C ladder to achieve 9-bit resolution. For the 9-bit resolution the 3-bit C-2C ladder occupies 64 times less area than a binary weighted capacitance array. The operational amplifier with the slew rate detection is used in order to increase the speed of the ADC. The simulated power consumption of the ADC is 33 µW@3.3 V at the sampling rate of 10 kS/s. The DNL and INL are both less than 0.53 LSB. The spurious-free dynamic range (SFDR) is 63 dB and the signal-to-noise and distortion ratio (SNDR) is 54.2 dB. The equivalent number of bits (ENOB) is 8.7.
Absolute auctions and secret reserve prices: Why are they used?

Absolute auctions, i.e. auctions with a zero public reserve price, and auctions with secret reserve prices are frequently used by various auction sites. However, it is hard to find a rationale for these formats. By introducing the possibility that buyers differ in their understanding of how the participation rate varies with the auction format, and how reserve prices are distributed when secret, we show in a competitive environ- ment that these auction formats may endogenously emerge. We also analyze how the objects of various quality sort into the different auction formats in equilibrium and the cognitive characteristics of the buyers who participate in the various auctions, thereby offering a range of testable predictions.
Complex Sample Data in Structural Equation Modeling

Large-scale surveys using complex sample designs are frequently carried out by government agencies. The statistical analysis technology available for such data is, however, limited in scope. This study investigates and further develops statistical methods that could be used in software for the analysis of data collected under complex sample designs. First, it identifies several recent methodological lines of inquiry which taken together provide a powerful and general statistical basis for a complex sample, structural equation modeling analysis. Second, it extends some of this research to new situations of interest. A Monte Carlo study that empirically evaluates these techniques on simulated data comparable to those in largescale complex surveys demonstrates that they work well in practice. Due to the generality of the approaches, the methods cover not only continuous normal variables but also continuous nonnormal variables and dichotomous variables. Two methods designed to take into account the complex sample structure were
Par 4 is a coactivator for a splice isoform – specific transcriptional activation domain in WT 1

The Wilms’ tumor suppressor protein WT1 is a transcriptional regulator involved in differentiation and the regulation of cell growth. WT1 is subject to alternative splicing, one isoform including a 17–amino acid region that is specific to mammals. The function of this 17–amino acid insertion is not clear, however. Here, we describe a transcriptional activation domain in WT1 that is specific to the WT1 splice isoform that contains the 17–amino acid insertion. We show that the function of this domain in transcriptional activation is dependent on a specific interaction with the prostate apoptosis response factor par4. A mutation in WT1 found in Wilms’ tumor disturbs the interaction with par4 and disrupts the function of the activation domain. Analysis of WT1 derivatives in cells treated to induce par4 expression showed a strong correlation between the transcription function of the WT1 17–amino acid insertion and the ability of WT1 to regulate cell survival and proliferation. Our results provide a molecular mechanism by which alternative splicing of WT1 can regulate cell growth in development and disease.
In vitro assessment of the pharmacodynamic properties and the partitioning of OZ277/RBx-11160 in cultures of Plasmodium falciparum.

OBJECTIVES Using synchronous cultures of Plasmodium falciparum malaria, the stage sensitivity of the parasite to OZ277 (RBx-11160), the first fully synthetic antimalarial peroxide that has entered Phase II clinical trials, was investigated in vitro over a concentration range of 1 x to 100 x the IC50. Secondly, partitioning of OZ277 into P. falciparum-infected red blood cells (RBCs) and uninfected RBCs was studied in vitro by measuring its distribution between RBCs and plasma (R/P). METHODS The effects of timed in vitro exposure (1, 6, 12 or 24 h) to OZ277 were monitored by incorporation of [3H]hypoxanthine into parasite nucleic acids and by light-microscopic analysis of parasite morphology. Partitioning studies were performed with radiolabelled [14C]OZ277. RESULTS After 1 h of exposure to OZ277 at the highest concentration (100 x the IC50) followed by removal of the compound, the hypoxanthine assay showed that growth of mature stages of P. falciparum was reduced to below 20%. Young ring forms were slightly less sensitive (43% growth). Similar stage-specific profiles were found for the antimalarial reference compounds artemether and chloroquine. Strong inhibition (< or = 6% growth) of all parasite stages was observed when the parasites were exposed to each of the three compounds for 6 h or longer. After removal of the compounds, the parasites did not recover, indicating that the observed growth inhibitions were cytotoxic rather than cytostatic. Pyrimethamine was confirmed to be active exclusively against young schizonts. Light-microscopic analysis also demonstrated the specificity of pyrimethamine against the schizont forms and showed that OZ277, artemether and chloroquine attenuated parasite growth more rapidly than did pyrimethamine. The R/P for OZ277 was 1.5 for uninfected RBCs and up to 270 for infected RBCs. CONCLUSIONS The present study indicates similar stage-specific profiles for OZ277 and for the more well-established antimalarial agents artemether and chloroquine. Secondly, the study describes a significant accumulation of radiolabelled OZ277 in P. falciparum-infected RBCs.
Chromosomal Abnormalities in Mental Retardation: Indian Experience

Abstract At a Tertiary Genetic Centre, children with mental retardation (MR) (also referred as intellectualdisability) and associated developmental disabilities were investigated for genetic diagnosis which is important inprevention and genetic counseling while offering the risk of recurrence to the family. A prospective and retrospectivecytogenetic study was conducted on 1760 MR cases for chromosomal abnormalities using routine GTG and highresolution banding methods of karyotyping. Out of 1760 MR cases, 555 cases showed abnormal chromosomalconstitution (31.5%), and males were more than females (2.1: 1). Numerical chromosomal abnormalities weredetected in 40.4% (224 of 555), out of which autosomal abnormalities were 36% (199 of 555) and sex chromosomalabnormalities were 4.5% (25 of 555). Structural chromosomal abnormalities were detected in 52% (289 of 555), outof which autosomal abnormalities were 28.6% (159 of 555) and sex chromosomal abnormalities were 29.5% (164 of555), with some having both numerical-structural (7.6%) and autosomal-sex abnormalities (1.4%). The chromosomalstudy revealed Down syndrome as the most common chromosomal abnormality i.e. 45% (250 of 555). The childrenvaried from mild to severe mental retardation with and without multiple congenital anomalies and dysmorphism. Afew genetic syndromes with characteristic clinical features were also confirmed due to chromosomal aberrations.Genetic counseling was provided to the family members explaining the importance of recurrence risk, the need forprenatal diagnosis in subsequent pregnancies, along with the management of MR children in Indian set-up.
Cytoplasmic Translocation of p 53 by Human Cytomegalovirus Infection

p53 is a well-known multi-functional transcription regulator and is critical in the induction of apoptosis in response to various stresses. Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection induced the accumulation of p53, which was partly relocalized in cytoplasm, but no apparent cell death in human fibroblasts. p53 in HCMV-infected cells was mainly mono-ubiquitinated, which might be resulted from the decreased expression of MDM2 in the course of HCMV infection. Ubiquitinated p53 was also phosphorylated at serine 20. CRM1 increased in the cytoplasm of HCMV-infected cells. It was found that p53 and its mutant in nuclear export sequences were localized in the cytoplasm of cells when co-expressed with CRM1. Collectively, our data suggest that HCMV infection modifies p53 into a stable and exportable form and accumulates it in the cytoplasm, but does not result in apoptotic death of cells.
On the recollection of specific- and partial-source information.

Memory judgments can be based on information that is more or less specific with respect to the source of an item. The authors introduce a procedure and multinomial model for measuring specific- and partial-source information. In 2 experiments, participants heard words spoken by 4 different voices: 2 male voices and 2 female voices. During the test, participants were required to remember who spoke the test items (e.g., Male 1, Male 2, Female 1, Female 2, or new word). Participants often remembered information about the gender of the source (i.e., partial-source information) when they did not remember information that identified the source itself (i.e., specific-source information). Dividing attention during retrieval impaired participants' memory for specific-source information (i.e., voice information) but did not affect memory for partial-source information (i.e., gender information).
Limited Role of Bone Marrow Aspiration and Biopsy in the Initial Staging Work-up of Gastric Mucosa-Associated Lymphoid Tissue Lymphoma in Korea

Background/Aims The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of disseminated gastric mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma and the role of bone marrow study in the initial staging work-up. Methods A total of 194 patients with gastric MALT lymphoma was enrolled. The incidence of disseminated disease was evaluated in the initial staging work-up. The demographic data and tumor characteristics were compared according to Helicobacter pylori infection status. Results Localized disease of Lugano stage I accounted for 97.4% of the enrolled cases. Abdominal computed tomography revealed abdominal lymph node metastasis in five patients (2.6%). Bone marrow (BM) involvement was found in only one patient without H. pylori infection (0.5%). No patient showed positive findings on chest computed tomography or positron emission tomography. H. pylori-negative cases showed a significantly higher frequency of advanced-stage disease than H. pylori-positive cases (10.0% vs 0.6%). In patients achieving complete remission, no extragastric recurrence occurred during follow-up. Conclusions The incidence of disseminated disease, including BM involvement, was very low in Korean gastric MALT lymphoma patients. It might be beneficial to perform BM aspiration and biopsy as a part of staging work-up only in patients with risk factors for advanced disease such as H. pylori negativity.
Bolocam Survey for 1.1 mm Dust Continuum Emission in the c2d Legacy Clouds. I. Perseus

We have completed a 1.1 mm continuum survey of 7.5 deg2 of the Perseus Molecular Cloud using Bolocam at the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory. This represents the largest millimeter or submillimeter continuum map of Perseus to date. Our map covers more than 30,000 31'' (FWHM) resolution elements to a 1 σ rms of 15 mJy beam-1. We detect a total of 122 cores above a 5 σ point-source mass detection limit of 0.18 M☉, assuming a dust temperature of TD = 10 K, 60 of which are new millimeter or submillimeter detections. The 1.1 mm mass function is consistent with a broken power law of slope α1 = 1.3 (0.5 M☉ < M < 2.5 M☉) and α2 = 2.6 (M > 2.5 M☉), similar to the local initial mass function slope (α1 = 1.6, M < 1 M☉; α2 = 2.7, M > 1 M☉). No more than 5% of the total cloud mass is contained in discrete 1.1 mm cores, which account for a total mass of 285 M☉. We suggest an extinction threshold for millimeter cores of AV ~ 5 mag, based on our calculation of the probability of finding a 1.1 mm core as a function of AV. Much of the cloud is devoid of compact millimeter emission; despite the significantly greater area covered compared to previous surveys, only 5-10 of the newly identified sources lie outside previously observed areas. The two-point correlation function confirms that dense cores in the cloud are highly structured, with significant clustering on scales as large as 2 × 105 AU. Our 1.1 mm emission survey reveals considerably denser, more compact material than maps in other column density tracers such as 13CO and AV, although the general morphologies are roughly consistent. These 1.1 mm results, especially when combined with recently acquired c2d Spitzer Legacy data, will provide a census of dense cores and protostars in Perseus and improve our understanding of the earliest stages of star formation in molecular clouds.
Altered Expression of P2 Receptor mRNAs in the Basilar Artery in a Rat Double Hemorrhage Model

Background and Purpose — Extracellular ATP might induce cerebral vasospasm after subarachnoid hemorrhage through P2 receptor. To investigate the roles of P2 receptor subtypes in vasospasm, we examined the changes in mRNA expression of P2 receptor subtypes in basilar arteries from double cisternal blood injection rat models. Methods — One hundred male Sprague-Dawley rats, each weighing 350 to 400 g, were divided into 2 groups of 50. In the first group (n=50), the autologous arterial blood (0.2 to 0.3 mL) was injected into the cisterna magna on days 0 and 2. The rats were killed on day 3, 5, or 7 (n=10 in each group). In the sham group (n=10), the rats were injected with saline (0.3 mL) instead of blood. Ten rats were killed without blood or saline injection and served as control. The basilar arteries from rats in each group were used for reverse transcription and polymerase chain reaction. In another group of 50 rats, the same experiment was conducted, and the basilar arteries were collected for transmission electron microscopic study. Results — In the subarachnoid hemorrhage groups, transmission electron microscopy showed the reduction in vessel perimeter on days 5 and 7 to be approximately 30% to 40%. The P2X1 mRNA level was significantly decreased on day 3 and recovered on days 5 and 7. The P2Y1 mRNA level was transiently increased on day 5, and the P2Y2 mRNA level was elevated from day 5 to day 7 (P <0.05). Conclusions — The differential expression of the P2 receptors indicates that P2X1 subtype might not play an important role in vasospasm. The upregulation of P2Y1 and P2Y2 receptors might enable ATP to produce contraction at low levels of concentration.