Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Clinical indicators for pulmonary arterial hypertension in thalassemia.

OBJECTIVE To explore clinical indicators for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in thalassemia (Thal). MATERIAL AND METHOD A study was conducted in thalassemia patients at Chiang Rai Hospital, Chiang Rai, Thailand. Pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP) was determined by doppler echocardiography and PAH was defined as PASP > 35 mmHg. Patient characteristics were extracted from medical records. Characteristics of patients with and without PAH were compared. Risk indicators were explored with logistic regression analysis. RESULTS Two hundred twenty four patients were included, 144 E/beta-Thal, 37 homozygous beta-Thal and 43 Hb H disease. There were 65 patients (29.0%) with PAH, 53 (81.5%) with E/beta-Thal, 8 (12.3%) with homozygous beta-Thal and 4 (6.2%) with Hb H disease. In a multivariable analysis, features significantly associated with PAH were E/beta-Thal (OR = 1.98, 95% CI; 1.29-3.01) and post splenectomy status (OR = 2.36, 95% CI; 1.17-4.73). CONCLUSION Significant indicators for PAH in thalassemia were E/beta-Thal and post splenectomy status.
Unstable molecules form stable tissues

Collagens are major structural proteins in the extracellular matrix, making up about one-third of protein mass in higher animals. In addition to their sheer bulk, this protein family is of interest because of their diversity of structural and morphogenetic roles and the attribution of an increasing number of hereditary diseases to mutations in collagens (1–4). All collagens have a distinctive molecular conformation: a triple-helix composed of three supercoiled polyproline II-like helical chains (5–7). This triple-helical conformation places strict constraints on amino acid sequence, requiring Gly as every third residue and a high content of proline and hydroxyproline residues. There are more than 20 distinct genetic types of collagens, and the most abundant are types I, II, and III, found in fibrils with a characteristic 67-nm axial period (1). Type I collagen, a heterotrimer composed of two α1(I) chains and one α2(I) chain, forms the prominent fibrils in tendon, bone, and cornea, whereas type III collagen, a disulfide-linked homotrimer, is found together with type I in fibrils of blood vessels and skin. These fibril-forming collagens are synthesized in a procollagen form, with globular propeptides on each end of a central triple-helix (Fig. 1; ref. 3). Self-association and disulfide cross-linking of three C-propeptides are responsible for the initial events of chain selection and trimer formation, whereas subsequent events include nucleation and zipper-like folding of the triple-helix domain (8). After cleavage of the propeptides, the rod-like triple-helical molecules in the matrix self-associate in a staggered array, forming fibrils and interacting with other matrix molecules to provide the strength, flexibility, or compression required for each tissue. Collagen fibers are inherently stable structures, having lifetimes of at least 6 months, and often much longer. Turnover is accomplished through a specialized family of tightly regulated matrix metalloproteinases, because triple-helices are resistant …
Techniques for Measurement of Oxygen Consumption Rates of Hepatocytes during Attachment and Post-Attachment

Three techniques for measuring oxygen consumption rate (OCR) of cultured cells relevant to the development of bioartificial liver devices are reported. In an oxystat apparatus, HepG2 cells immobilised on Cytodex 3 microcarriers at a concentration of 106 cells ml-1 had a mean OCR of 0.7 nmol s-1/106 cells. The OCR decreased with increasing cell density, a characteristic previously reported for other cell lines. Rat hepatocytes immobilised on single collagen layers in a flow cell and challenged with ammonia had a mean OCR of 0.59 nmol s-1/106 cells. A novel two-compartment oxystat system was used to determine the OCR of rat hepatocytes during the attachment phase. OCR declined from 1.0 nmol s-1/106 immediately after seeding to 0.7 nmol s-1/106 cells at nine hours. The low OCR for HepG2 reflects loss of certain oxygen dependent metabolic pathways. The OCR measured for rat hepatocytes during and post-attachment are significantly higher than those reported elsewhere and have major implications for the development of bioartificial liver devices.
Sound fields focused by a biconcave acoustic lens for normal and oblique incidence

In this report, a sound pressure field focused by a biconcave lens was investigated using the wave theory and the numerical methods of the parabolic equation (PE) method and finite difference time domain (FDTD) method for normal incidence. For oblique incidence, the hybrid method which combines ray theory and wave theory was used in the calculation. The experimental data were compared with the theoretical results shown above. The experimental on-axis characteristics around the focal point agreed well with the calculated results but disagreed with the results for in front and behind the focal region. It was found that the second peak existed behind the focal point for normal incidence, though there is no second peak in the theoretical results by the analytical method and the FDTD method. After the numerical analysis by the hybrid method and the PE method, the second peak was found at the same position as the experiment. This was thought to be caused by the influence of the edge of the lens, which has a finite size. The dependence of convergent characteristics for oblique incidence was also compared with the results by the hybrid method.
Adsorption of Crystal Violet Dye from Aqueous Solution onto Zeolites from Coal Fly and Bottom Ashes

The adsorption of the cationic dye Crystal Violet (CV) over zeolites from coal fly ash (ZFA) and bottom ash (ZBA) was evaluated. The coal fly ash (CFA) and the coal bottom ash (CBA) used in the synthesis of the zeolites by alkaline hydrothermal treatment were collected in Jorge Lacerda coal-fired power plant located at Capivari de Baixo County, in Santa Catarina State, Brazil. The zeolitic materials were characterized predominantly as hydroxy-sodalite and NaX. The dye adsorption equilibrium was reached after 10 min for ZFA and ZBA. The kinetics studies indicated that the adsorption followed the pseudo-second order kinetics and that surface adsorption and intraparticle diffusion were involved in the adsorption mechanism for both the adsorbents. The equilibrium data of ZFA was found to best fit to the Langmuir model, while ZBA was best explained by the Freundlich model. The maximum adsorption capacities were 19.6 mg g -1 for the CV/ZFA and 17.6 mg g -1 for the CV/ZBA.
Genotoxicity, acute oral and dermal toxicity, eye and dermal irritation and corrosion and skin sensitisation evaluation of silver nanoparticles

Abstract To clarify the health risks related to silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs), we evaluated the genotoxicity, acute oral and dermal toxicity, eye irritation, dermal irritation and corrosion and skin sensitisation of commercially manufactured Ag-NPs according to the OECD test guidelines and GLP. The Ag-NPs were not found to induce genotoxicity in a bacterial reverse mutation test and chromosomal aberration test, although some cytotoxicity was observed. In acute oral and dermal toxicity tests using rats, none of the rats showed any abnormal signs or mortality at a dose level of ∼ 2000 mg/kg. Similarly, acute eye and dermal irritation and corrosion tests using rabbits revealed no significant clinical signs or mortality and no acute irritation or corrosion reaction for the eyes and skin. In a skin sensitisation test using guinea pigs, one animal (1/20) showed discrete or patchy erythema, thus Ag-NPs can be classified as a weak skin sensitiser.
A Survey of Bronchoscopy Practice in Australia and New Zealand

Background:The authors assessed the variability of bronchoscopy practice in Australia and New Zealand through survey in the setting of recently published guidelines. Methods:In June 2014, an email survey was sent to every member of The Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand who was a doctor. Results:Responses were received from 258 of 824 doctors. Australia and New Zealand was the location of training for 91% and the United Kingdom for 9%. United Kingdom–trained doctors are more likely to conduct bronchoscopy from the patient’s side rather than from behind. The services of anesthetists are utilized by 81% of private bronchoscopists compared with 38% of public ones. Two sedatives are used by 94% of bronchoscopists, 96% of whom use midazolam and fentanyl and 4% use midazolam and propofol. When anesthesia is provided by anesthetists, 77% use 2 agents, of which 53% use midazolam and fentanyl and 37% use midazolam and propofol. Those who work publicly conduct more procedures and are younger. For patients with heart valve defects, 39% prescribe prophylactic antibiotics and 16% do not cease clopidogrel where biopsy is anticipated. In 2013, pneumothoraces complicated 0.22% of procedures, whereas the mortality rate was 0.019%. Almost all monitor oxygen saturation during the procedures. Conclusions:This survey shows that there is a large variation in bronchoscopy practices both generally and between different groups of bronchoscopists, yet it is a safe procedure. An important finding was the significantly high utilization of the services of anesthetists for sedation and their different sedative choices, including the use of propofol.
An overview of genetic factors influencing plasma lipid levels and coronary artery disease risk.

BACKGROUND Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in most Western countries and its origin involves a significant genetic component. METHODS Genetic and epidemiologic studies have been performed to identify factors that influence the CAD risk in the population. RESULTS The primary loci that have been demonstrated to be associated with increased CAD risk owing to genetic mutations include the low-density lipoprotein receptor, apolipoprotein B-100, and lipoprotein(a). Additional implicated loci include lipoprotein lipase, apolipoprotein CII, cholesteryl ester transfer protein, apolipoprotein AI, and lecithin-cholesterol acyl transferase. CONCLUSIONS Numerous mutations in known genes exert a major effect on CAD risk in some patients. However, in most patients with CAD, the genetic component is believed to be attributable to the aggregate effect of loci that, individually, exert only a minor influence on lipoprotein levels.
Melatonin: daily cycle in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid of calves.

Melatonin was measured by radioimmunoassay in jugular vein plasma and lateral ventricle cerebrospinal fluid collected from calves at 12 times of the day and night. Melatonin in cerebrospinal fluid increased 17-fold from an average (+/- standard error) of 38 +/- 8 picograms per milliliter during the day to an average of 637 +/- 133 picograms per milliliter during the night (P less than .001). Plasma concentrations of melatonin increased sixfold from an average, per milliliter, of 19 +/- 4 picograms during the day to 121 +/- 24 picograms during the night (P less than .001).
Developmentally Regulated Expression of a Novel 59-kDa Product of the Major Surface Protease (Msp or gp63) Gene Family of Leishmania Chagasi(*)

All species of Leishmania express a major surface protease (Msp or gp63) that facilitates the interactions of the parasite with its environment at several steps in its life cycle. The msp gene family in Leishmania chagasi contains three classes of genes whose mRNAs are differentially expressed during parasite growth. Logarithmic phase (low infectivity) promastigotes express only 63-kDa versions of Msp, whereas stationary phase (high infectivity) promastigotes express both 63- and 59-kDa Msps. The different migrations of the 59- and 63-kDa proteins on acrylamide gels are not due to differences in N-linked glycosylation or the membrane anchor. Plasmid transfections of Leishmania demonstrate that mspS2 of the stationary gene class encodes a 59-kDa protein. Expression of the 59-kDa protein in stationary phase promastigotes ceases after about 12 weeks of in vitro cultivation when the parasites become attenuated. Attenuated parasites can be stimulated to re-express the 59-kDa Msp by passage through mice followed by several in vitro passages of recovered promastigotes. Amastigotes express yet another subset of Msp proteins. Thus, the 59-kDa product of mspS2 is expressed only in stationary phase promastigotes and only after recent exposure to environmental changes encountered in the mammalian host cell.
Neglected Parasitic Infections in the United States: Needs and Opportunities

Parasitic infections are a major global health burden. The impact of debilitating diseases caused by parasites is greatest among those who struggle to meet their daily basic needs and access basic health care services in low-income countries. However, persons who have or are at risk for parasitic infections are present in every income and social strata, and residents of the United States and other developed nations are not unaffected. For some persons living in the United States, these parasitic infections are acquired in their own immediate environment; for example, exposure to feces from domestic dogs or cats puts children at risk for toxocariasis and toxoplasmosis. For others, chronic parasitic infections acquired years ago in other areas of the world can manifest with severe illness later in life, such as neurocysticercosis leading to adult– onset epilepsy or Chagas disease leading to severe cardiomyopathy requiring heart transplant. We know much less than we should about the health and economic burden and impact of parasitic diseases in developed countries, including
Inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor α suppresses neuroprotective endogenous erythropoietin from astrocytes mediated by hypoxia‐inducible factor‐2α

Interest in erythropoietin (EPO) as a neuroprotective mediator has grown since it was found that systemically administered EPO is protective in several animal models of disease. However, given that the blood–brain barrier limits EPO entry into the brain, alternative approaches that induce endogenous EPO production in the brain may be more effective clinically and associated with fewer untoward side‐effects. Astrocytes are the main source of EPO in the central nervous system. In the present study we investigated the effect of the inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) on hypoxia‐induced upregulation of EPO in rat brain. Hypoxia significantly increased EPO mRNA expression in the brain and kidney, and this increase was suppressed by TNFα in vivo. In cultured astrocytes exposed to hypoxic conditions for 6 and 12 h, TNFα suppressed the hypoxia‐induced increase in EPO mRNA expression in a concentration‐dependent manner. TNFα inhibition of hypoxia‐induced EPO expression was mediated primarily by hypoxia‐inducible factor (HIF)‐2α rather than HIF‐1α. The effects of TNFα in reducing hypoxia‐induced upregulation of EPO mRNA expression probably involve destabilization of HIF‐2α, which is regulated by the nuclear factor (NF)‐κB signaling pathway. TNFα treatment attenuated the protective effects of astrocytes on neurons under hypoxic conditions via EPO signaling. The effective blockade of TNFα signaling may contribute to the maintenance of the neuroprotective effects of EPO even under hypoxic conditions with an inflammatory response.
E-business process networks - successful value chains through standards

In the 1990s, companies focused on the design and implementation of their internal business processes to overcome functional barriers. The 2000s are about the integration between enterprises and inter‐enterprise processes, particularly the improvement of supply chain management and customer relationship processes, The major enabler is the Internet, which has resulted in entire networks of e‐business processes across various organizations. To design and implement those processes efficiently and effectively, more and more organizations use available industry standards in the form of reference models, e.g. the supply chain reference model (SCOR), the RosettaNet Standards, or software reference models. Unclear for many enterprises is how to use those standards. This article describes a comprehensive methodology for the use of reference models, to design and implement inter‐enterprise collaborations within value chain networks. The methodology leads to fast and reliable results in value chain improvement. It increases the performance of the implementation procedure and the resulting business processes.
Low‐salinity pools at Barbados, West Indies: Their origin, frequency, and variability

A vertical array of conductivity-temperature recorders moored off the west coast of Barbados, West Indies, from May 1996 to November 1997 revealed a heterogeneous and variable salinity pattern punctuated by five pools of low-salinity water (<34.5 practical salinity units (psu)) entering the region. A typical pool extended to 30-m depth and lasted-25 days, although one pool extended to 47 m and lasted 94 days. Water samples taken from a pool in May 1997 have radium 228/226 activity ratios of ∼1, consistent with previous measurements in Barbados of water that originated in the Amazon River mixing zone. The Amazon water likely was translated to Barbados in rings spawned from the North Brazil Current. Analysis of sea height anomaly and residual derived from the TOPEX/Poseidon satellite supports this conclusion and reveals that, contrary to previous studies, rings are shed throughout the year, mostly during spring. The pools of low-salinity water and their associated velocities dramatically changed the already variable flow in our study area. We believe the complex salinity and flow we observed represented the disorganized remnants of North Brazil Current rings that were at or near the ends of their lives. The changes we observed in the velocity and water structure are interesting in their own right as evidence of the Barbados region as a mixing zone and for their influence on recruitment of larval fishes to the reef along the island's west coast.
Distribution and antimicrobial resistance of enteric pathogens in Chinese paediatric diarrhoea: a multicentre retrospective study, 2008–2013

SUMMARY The enteric pathogens causing diarrhoea impair children's health severely. This study retrospectively analysed 1577 pathogens isolated from inpatients and outpatients in six hospitals located in Northern (Inner Mongolia), Northeastern (Hebei), Eastern (Shanghai and Jiangsu), Southern (Hainan) and Central (Hubei) China between 2008 and 2013. Of the 1577 enteric pathogens, Salmonella presented with the highest frequency (36·0%), followed by diarrhoeagenic Escherichia coli (23·7%), Staphylococcus aureus (15·0%), Shigella (13·1%), and Aeromonas (4·6%). The predominant pathogens varied in different regions of China, with Salmonella most prevalent in Shanghai and Hainan, diarrhoeagenic E. coli most prevalent in Inner Mongolia, Jiangsu and Hubei, and Shigella most prevalent in Hebei. Enteric pathogens were more frequently isolated in males (56·9%) than in females (43·1%). The highest proportion of all enteric pathogens was found in infants (67·6%) with a peak in summer and autumn (68·5%). Antimicrobial susceptibility assay demonstrated that Shigella was more resistant to ampicillin, ceftriaxone and sulfamethoxazole than Salmonella. Of the top two serotypes in Salmonella, Typhimurium was more resistant to ciprofloxacin, sulfamethoxazole and chloramphenicol than Enteritidis (P < 0·001). Meanwhile, the resistance rates of Shigella flexneri against ampicillin/sulbactam, ciprofloxacin, and chloramphenicol were significantly higher than those of Shigella sonnei (P < 0·001). Multidrug resistance was apparent in 58·2% of Shigella and 45·9% of Salmonella, and this phenomenon was more pronounced in S. flexneri.
Management of acute traumatic intracranial haematoma in rural and remote areas of Australia

Outcomes are reviewed with traumatic brain injury (TBI) involving intracranial haematomata (ICH) with patients in rural and remote areas of South Australia and adjacent states. Patients were referred to the Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH), a level 1 trauma centre with a major neurosurgical service.
Poleward Kinetochore Fiber Movement Occurs during Both Metaphase and Anaphase-A in Newt Lung Cell Mitosis

Microtubules in the mitotic spindles of newt lung cells were marked using local photoactivation of fluorescence. The movement of marked segments on kinetochore fibers was tracked by digital fluorescence microscopy in metaphase and anaphase and compared to the rate of chromosome movement. In metaphase, kinetochore oscillations toward and away from the poles were coupled to kinetochore fiber shortening and growth. Marked zones on the kinetochore microtubules, meanwhile, moved slowly polewards at a rate of ",,0.5/zm/min, which identifies a slow polewards movement, or "flux" of kinetochore microtubules accompanied by depolymerization at the pole, as previously found in PtK2 cells (Mitchison, 1989b). Marks were never seen moving away from the pole, indicating that growth of the kinetochore microtubules occurs only at their kinetochore ends. In anaphase, marked zones on kinetochore microtubules also moved polewards, though at a rate slower than overall kinetochore-to-pole movement. Early in anaphase-A, microtubule depolymerization at kinetochores accounted on average for 75 % of the rate of chromosome-to-pole movement, and depolymerization at the pole accounted for 25 %. When chromosome-to-pole movement slowed in late anaphase, the contribution of depolymerization at the kinetochores lessened, and flux became the dominant component in some cells. Over the whole course of anaphase-A, depolymerization at kinetochores accounted on average for 63 % of kinetochore fiber shortening, and flux for 37 %. In some anaphase cells up to 45 % of shortening resulted from the action of flux. We conclude that kinetochore microtubules change length predominantly through polymerization and depolymerization at the kinetochores during both metaphase and anaphase as the kinetochores move away from and towards the poles. Depolymerization, though not polymerization, also occurs at the pole during metaphase and anaphase, so that flux contributes to polewards chromosome movements throughout mitosis. Poleward force production for chromosome movements is thus likely to be generated by at least two distinct molecu-