Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Microarray-based global mapping of integration sites for the retrotransposon, intracisternal A-particle, in the mouse genome

Mammalian genomes contain numerous evolutionary harbored mobile elements, a part of which are still active and may cause genomic instability. Their movement and positional diversity occasionally result in phenotypic changes and variation by causing altered expression or disruption of neighboring host genes. Here, we describe a novel microarray-based method by which dispersed genomic locations of a type of retrotransposon in a mammalian genome can be identified. Using this method, we mapped the DNA elements for a mouse retrotransposon, intracisternal A-particle (IAP), within genomes of C3H/He and C57BL/6J inbred mouse strains; consequently we detected hundreds of probable IAP cDNA–integrated genomic regions, in which a considerable number of strain-specific putative insertions were included. In addition, by comparing genomic DNAs from radiation-induced myeloid leukemia cells and its reference normal tissue, we detected three genomic regions around which an IAP element was integrated. These results demonstrate the first successful genome-wide mapping of a retrotransposon type in a mammalian genome.
Rotavirus virus-like particles administered mucosally induce protective immunity

We have evaluated the immunogenicity and protective efficacy of rotavirus subunit vaccines administered by mucosal routes. Virus-like particles (VLPs) produced by self-assembly of individual rotavirus structural proteins coexpressed by baculovirus recombinants in insect cells were the subunit vaccine tested. We first compared the immunogenicities and protective efficacies of VLPs containing VP2 and VP6 (2/6-VLPs) and G3 2/6/7-VLPs mixed with cholera toxin and administered by oral and intranasal routes in the adult mouse model of rotavirus infection. VLPs administered orally induced serum antibody and intestinal immunoglobulin A (IgA) and IgG. The highest oral dose (100 microg) of VLPs induced protection from rotavirus challenge (> or = 50% reduction in virus shedding) in 50% of the mice. VLPs administered intranasally induced higher serum and intestinal antibody responses than VLPs administered orally. All mice receiving VLPs intranasally were protected from challenge; no virus was shed after challenge. Since there was no difference in immunogenicity or protective efficacy between 2/6- and 2/6/7-VLPs, protection was achieved without inclusion of the neutralization antigens VP7 and VP4. We also tested the immunogenicities and protective efficacies of 2/6-VLPs administered intranasally without the addition of cholera toxin. 2/6-VLPs administered intranasally without cholera toxin induced lower serum and intestinal antibody titers than 2/6-VLPs administered with cholera toxin. The highest dose (100 microg) of 2/6-VLPs administered intranasally without cholera toxin resulted in a mean reduction in shedding of 38%. When cholera toxin was added, higher levels of protection were achieved with 10-fold less immunogen. VLPs administered mucosally offer a promising, safe, nonreplicating vaccine for rotavirus.
Long-term dual antiplatelet therapy and concomitant optimal medical therapy following percutaneous coronary intervention.

The dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) consisting of aspirin and a P2Y12 inhibitor exerts protection against ischemic myocardial recurrences. During last two decades, DAPT has become the mainstay for treating patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), following the initial demonstration that DAPT was superior to anticoagulant therapy in these patients. Initially, and for many years, DAPT was prescribed for 2 to 6 months after PCI in important trials of stent implantation leading to the approval of early-generation drug-eluting stents (DES) by the US Food and Drug Administration. However, the subsequent increasing safety concerns related to the potential occurrence of late and very late stent thrombosis (ST) after implantation of early-generation DES lead to the recommendation of prolonging DAPT to 12 months by the American guidelines (1).
Effects of various weaning times on growth performance, rumen fermentation and microbial population of yellow cattle calves

Objective This study was conducted to investigate the effects of weaning times on the growth performance, rumen fermentation and microbial communities of yellow cattle calves. Methods Eighteen calves were assigned to a conventional management group that was normally weaned (NW, n = 3) or to early weaned (EW) group where calves were weaned when the feed intake of solid feed (starter) reached 500 g (EW500, n = 5), 750 g (EW750, n = 5), or 1,000 g (EW1,000, n = 5). Results Compared with NW, the EW treatments increased average daily gain (p<0.05). The calves in EW750 had a higher (p<0.05) starter intake than those in EW1,000 from wk 9 to the end of the trial. The concentrations of total volatile fatty acids in EW750 were greater than in NW and EW1,000 (p<0.05). The EW treatments decreased the percentage of acetate (p<0.05). The endogenous enzyme activities of the rumen were increased by EW (p<0.05). EW had no effect on the number of total bacteria (p>0.05), but changes in bacterial composition were found. Conclusion From the present study, it is inferred that EW is beneficial for rumen fermentation, and weaning when the feed intake of the starter reached 750 g showed much better results.
Functional recovery after fracture of the hip.

Fracture of the hip remains one of the most common and potentially devastating injuries in the geriatric population. These fractures have an impact that extends far beyond the obvious orthopaedie injury into the domains of medicine, rehabilitation, psychiatry, social work, and economics. Fractures of the proximal pant of the femur continue to consume a major portion of national healthcane resources’235; their importance becomes even more apparent because of the increasing number that occur each year3’. in the face of increasing pressure for the containment of costs at all levels of our system of health care55. Despite improvements in patient care, including advances in operative technique and implant technology. the outcome of treatment often falls short of expeetations. All too often. the operation is successful in terms of healing of the fracture but the patient is unable to regain the preinjuny level of function and independence: a true measure of the successful treatment of any injury or disease is to what extent the patient has returned to the premorbid level of function. Knowledge of both positive and negative predictors of outcome is needed to guide treatment, planning of the discharge of the patient from the hospital, and utilization of health-care
Designing and testing a tangible interface prototype

This paper describes the design and testing of a research Tangible User Interface (TUI) prototype for children. Some theoretical background is given on the evaluation methodology for children's products and designing TUI for children. The prototype is described and an exploratory initial study that investigated its usefulness is outlined. The authors found that the prototype went some way towards meeting the requirements but that it also needed some modifications for future use. The paper concludes with some reflections on the design of research prototypes and some recommendations for further studies in this area. The authors propose that a modified prototype can be used for evaluating the usability of a range of child-centered evaluation methods in future studies.
Strain Tuning of Individual Atomic Tunneling Systems Detected by a Superconducting Qubit

Bend to Straighten At low temperatures, the behavior of disordered solids, such as glasses, deviates from that of ordered crystals. The deviations may stem from the ability of some atomic entities to tunnel between two sites of almost identical energy, forming two low-energy states; such two-level systems (TLSs) are also thought to be a major contributor to the decoherence of superconducting qubits. Grabovskij et al. (p. 232) used mechanical strain to control the splitting between the energy levels of TLSs formed in the disordered barrier of the Josephson junction in a superconducting qubit. For some of the detected TLSs, the splitting exhibited the predicted minimum as a function of strain, verifying the TLS model of disordered solids. A process responsible for the decoherence of superconducting qubits is controlled using mechanical strain. In structurally disordered solids, some atoms or small groups of atoms are able to quantum mechanically tunnel between two nearly equivalent sites. These atomic tunneling systems have been identified as the cause of various low-temperature anomalies of bulk glasses and as a source of decoherence of superconducting qubits where they are sparsely present in the disordered oxide barrier of Josephson junctions. We demonstrated experimentally that minute deformation of the oxide barrier changes the energies of the atomic tunneling systems, and we measured these changes by microwave spectroscopy of the superconducting qubit through coherent interactions between these two quantum systems. By measuring the dependence of the energy splitting of atomic tunneling states on external strain, we verify a central hypothesis of the two-level tunneling model for disordered solids.
In vitro effects of NIPRISAN (Nix‐0699): a naturally occurring, potent antisickling agent

Summary. Among the various potential antisickling agents tested, hydroxyurea (HU) has been the most effective compound used for the treatment of patients with sickle cell disease (SCD). Although HU is effective in many patients, not all patients respond to this drug. In addition, some patients reveal adverse effects, including myelosuppression. In an attempt to find other effective agents with less adverse effects, we investigated the antisickling effect of NIPRISAN (Nix‐0699). We found that Nix‐0699, an ethanol/water extract from indigenous plants, has a strong antisickling effect. The concentration of Nix‐0699 required to inhibit 50% of erythrocyte sickling was about 0·05 mg/ml. As for the kinetics of polymerization, addition of 0·05 μg/ml Nix‐0699 caused a sixfold prolongation of the delay time prior to deoxy‐Hb S polymerization when compared with that of untreated Hb S samples. The solubility of deoxy‐Hb S significantly increased upon treatment with Nix‐0699. Analysis of the effect of Nix‐0699 on the Hb S oxygen affinity indicated that the drug slightly shifted the oxygen‐dissociation curve of Hb S toward the left without any apparent change in the Hill coefficient. These results suggest that the antisickling properties of Nix‐0699 may involve direct interaction with Hb molecules. Incubation of red blood cell (RBC) suspensions with various concentrations of Nix‐0699 did not dehydrate RBCs, cause haemolysis, increase the amount of denatured Hb, nor form met‐Hb. In view of the outcome of this study, Nix‐0699 may be a promising option for the treatment of patients with SCD.
Decreased HDL2 and HDL3 Cholesterol, Apo A‐I and Apo A‐II, and Increased Risk of Myocardial Infarction

BackgroundA large and consistent body of evidence supports the judgment that elevation of total plasma blood cholesterol is a cause of myocardial infarction (MI) and that high levels of low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol have a positive relation and high levels of high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol an inverse relation with MI. At present, however, the roles, if any, of the major subfractions of HDL, namely, HDL2 and HDL3, have not been clarified. In addition, the relation of plasma apolipoprotein concentrations to MI and whether they provide predictive information over and above their lipoprotein cholesterol associations is unknown. Methods and ResultsWe evaluated these questions in a case-control study of patients hospitalized with a first MI and neighborhood controls of the same age and sex. Cases had significantly lower levels of total HDL (p < 0.0001) as well as HDL2 (p < 0.0001) and HDL3 (p < 0.000l) cholesterol. These differences persisted after controlling for a large number of demographic, medical history, and behavioral risk factors and levels of other lipids. There were significant (p < 0.0001) inverse dose-response relations with odds ratios for those in the highest quartile relative to those in the lowest of 0.15 for total HDL, 0.17 for HDL2, and 0.29 for HDL3 cholesterol levels. Levels of LDL and very low density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides were also higher among cases than controls, but only for triglycerides was the difference statistically significant after adjustment for coronary risk factors and other lipids (p = 0.044). Apolipoproteins A-I and A-II were both significantly (p < 0.0001) lower in cases, and differences remained even after adjustment for coronary risk factors and lipids. There were significant dose-response relations for both apolipoprotein A-I (p = 0.026) and A-II (p = 0.002). Neither apolipoprotein B nor E was significantly related to MI after adjustment for lipids and other coronary risk factors. When all four apolipoproteins were taken together, there was an increased level of prediction of MI over the information provided by the lipids and other coronary risk factors (p = 0.003), but this appeared present only for the individual apolipoproteins A-I (p = 0.027) and A-II (p = 0.011) ConclusionsThese data indicate that both HDL2 and HDL3 cholesterol levels are significantly associated with MI. They also raise the possibility that apolipoprotein levels, especially A-I and A-II, may add importantly relevant information to determination of risk of MI.
Enuresis - Background and Treatment

Nocturnal urinary continence is dependent on 3 factors: 1) nocturnal urine production, 2) nocturnal bladder function and 3) sleep and arousal mechanisms. Any child will suffer from nocturnal enuresis if more urine is produced than can be contained in the bladder or if the detrusor is hyperactive, provided that he or she is not awakened by the imminent bladder contraction. Urine production is regulated by fluid intake and several interrelated renal, hormonal and neural factors, foremost of which are vasopressin, renin, angiotensin and the sympathetic nervous system. Detrusor function is governed by the autonomic nervous system which under ideal conditions is under central nervous control. Arousal from sleep is dependent on the reticular activating system, a diffuse neural network that translates sensory input into arousal stimuli via brain stem noradrenergic neurons. Disturbances in nocturnal urine production, bladder function and arousal mechanisms have all been firmly implicated as pathogenetic factors in nocturnal enuresis. The group of enuretic children are, however, pathogenetically heterogeneous, and two main types can be discerned: 1) Diuresis-dependent enuresis - these children void because of excessive nocturnal urine production and impaired arousal mechanisms. 2) Detrusor-dependent enuresis - these children void because of nocturnal detrusor hyperactivity and impaired arousal mechanisms. The main clinical difference between the two groups is that desmopressin is usually effective in the former but not in the latter. There are two first-line therapies in nocturnal enuresis: the enuresis alarm and desmopressin medication. Promising second-line treatments include anticholinergic drugs, urotherapy and treatment of occult constipation.
2014 European Thyroid Association Guidelines for the Management of Subclinical Hypothyroidism in Pregnancy and in Children

This guideline has been produced as the official statement of the European Thyroid Association guideline committee. Subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) in pregnancy is defined as a thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) level above the pregnancy-related reference range with a normal serum thyroxine concentration. Isolated hypothyroxinaemia (defined as a thyroxine level below the 2.5th centile of the pregnancy-related reference range with a normal TSH level) is also recognized in pregnancy. In the majority of SCH the cause is autoimmune thyroiditis but may also be due to iodine deficiency. The cause of isolated hypothyroxinaemia is usually not apparent, but iodine deficiency may be a factor. SCH and isolated hypothyroxinaemia are both associated with adverse obstetric outcomes. Levothyroxine therapy may ameliorate some of these with SCH but not in isolated hypothyroxinaemia. SCH and isolated hypothyroxinaemia are both associated with neuro-intellectual impairment of the child, but there is no evidence that maternal levothyroxine therapy improves this outcome. Targeted antenatal screening for thyroid function will miss a substantial percentage of women with thyroid dysfunction. In children SCH (serum TSH concentration >5.5-10 mU/l) normalizes in >70% and persists in the majority of the remaining patients over the subsequent 5 years, but rarely worsens. There is a lack of studies examining the impact of SCH on the neuropsychological development of children under the age of 3 years. In older children, the evidence for an association between SCH and impaired neuropsychological development is inconsistent. Good quality studies examining the effect of treatment of SCH in children are lacking.
Schema evolution in OODBs using class versioning

This paper describes work carried out on a model for the versioning of class definitions in an object-oriented database. By defining update and backdate functions on attributes of the previous and current version of a class definition, instances of any version of the class can be converted to instances of any other version. This allows programs written to access an old version of the schema to still use data created in the format of the changed schema.
In Vitro Susceptibility to Thrombin-Induced Platelet Microbicidal Protein Is Associated With Reduced Disease Progression and Complication Rates in Experimental Staphylococcus aureus Endocarditis: Microbiological, Histopathologic, and Echocardiographic Analyses

Background—Mammalian platelets contain small, cationic, staphylocidal peptides, termed thrombin-induced platelet-microbicidal proteins (tPMPs). Evidence suggests that tPMPs play a key role in host defense against endovascular infections, such as infective endocarditis (IE). In the present study, we evaluated the influence of differences in staphylococcal tPMP-susceptibility profiles in vitro on disease severity in experimental IE. Methods and Results—Experimental IE was induced in rabbits with either a tPMP-susceptible or an isogenic tPMP-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strain. Vegetation size, left ventricular fractional shortening, and onset of aortic valvular regurgitation were serially assessed by echocardiography over an 11-day postinfection period. In addition, blood cultures were performed daily. Parameters delineated at autopsy included vegetation weights; bacterial densities in vegetations, myocardium, and kidneys; extent of valvular and perivalvular tissue damage; and renal embolization. The following significant differences were observed in animals infected with the tPMP-susceptible versus the tPMP-resistant S aureus strain: substantially lower bacteremia rates (P =0.02); reduced vegetation growth (P <0.001) and weight (P <0.001); a later onset of aortic valvular regurgitation (P =0.0039); increased preservation of left ventricular function (P <0.001); reduced valvular tissue damage (P =0.01) and perivalvular inflammation (P =0.015); and reduced bacterial densities in vegetations (P <0.001) and kidneys (P <0.01). Conclusions—The in vitro tPMP-susceptibility profile in S aureus substantially affects a number of well-defined cardiac and microbiological parameters related to disease severity and prognosis in IE. These findings underscore the likelihood that platelets mitigate the pathogenesis of endovascular infections via local secretion of antimicrobial peptides.
Chest compression with kneeling posture in hospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation: A randomised crossover simulation study

We suggest an alternative chest compression (CC) in kneeling posture using a ‘kneeling stool’ on which the performer kneels beside the patient on a bed in‐hospital. In kneeling posture, we can maintain high quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) without the bed height adjustment, which is necessary and inconvenient in standing posture.
Life cycle‐based water assessment of a hand dishwashing product: Opportunities and limitations

It is only recently that life cycle‐based indicators have been used to evaluate products from a water use impact perspective. The applicability of some of these methods has been primarily demonstrated on agricultural materials or products, because irrigation requirements in food production can be water‐intensive. In view of an increasing interest on life cycle‐based water indicators from different products, we ran a study on a hand dishwashing product. A number of water assessment methods were applied with the purpose of identifying both product improvement opportunities, as well as understanding the potential for underlying database and methodological improvements. The study covered the entire life cycle of the product and focused on environmental issues related to water use, looking in‐depth at inventory, midpoint, and endpoint methods. “Traditional” water emission driven methods, such as freshwater eutrophication, were excluded from the analysis. The use of a single formula with the same global supply chain, manufactured in 1 location was evaluated in 2 countries with different water scarcity conditions. The study shows differences ranging up to 4 orders in magnitude for indicators with similar units associated with different water use types (inventory methods) and different cause–effect chain models (midpoint and endpoint impact categories). No uncertainty information was available on the impact assessment methods, whereas uncertainty from stochastic variability was not available at the time of study. For the majority of the indicators studied, the contribution from the consumer use stage is the most important (>90%), driven by both direct water use (dishwashing process) as well as indirect water use (electricity generation to heat the water). Creating consumer awareness on how the product is used, particularly in water‐scarce areas, is the largest improvement opportunity for a hand dishwashing product. However, spatial differentiation in the inventory and impact assessment model may lead to very different results for the product used under exactly the same consumer use conditions, making the communication of results a real challenge. From a practitioner's perspective, the data collection step in relation to the goal and scope of the study sets high requirements for both foreground and background data. In particular, databases covering a broad spectrum of inventory data with spatially differentiated water use information are lacking. For some impact methods, it is unknown as to whether or not characterization factors should be spatially differentiated, which creates uncertainty in their interpretation and applicability. Finally, broad application of life cycle‐based water assessment will require further development of commercial life cycle assessment software. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2013;9:633–644. © 2013 SETAC