Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Protective effects of bradykinin on the ischaemic heart: implication of the B1 receptor

1 We studied the role of bradykinin (BK) and its active metabolite Des‐Arg9‐BK on noradrenaline release in association with the incidence of ventricular arrhythmias at reperfusion of the ischaemic myocardium. 2 Experiments were performed in Langendorff perfused isolated hearts of rats subjected to 30 min no flow followed by 5 min reperfusion. The electrocardiogram was monitored continuously and noradrenaline was measured in the effluent as well as in the myocardial tissue. 3 In untreated hearts, cumulative noradrenaline overflow following global ischaemia reached 226 ± 35 pmol g−1 of heart (n = 8, P < 0.05) during the 5 min of reperfusion along with ventricular tachycardia and/or fibrillation. A decrease in myocardial noradrenaline (–31%) was also observed. 4 Bradykinin perfused at concentrations between 0.01 and 1 μm, 10 min before flow was stopped and at reperfusion, inhibited noradrenaline overflow in a concentration‐dependent manner. At a concentration of 1 μm, bradykinin completely abolished noradrenaline overflow. For the same concentration of bradykinin, myocardial noradrenaline contents were significantly higher (n = 5–8, P < 0.05). Ventricular fibrillation but not ventricular tachycardia was also prevented. 5 Des‐Arg9‐BK (0.1 μm) in the same experimental conditions had similar effects. While Hoe 140, a selective antagonist at B2 receptors, did not abolish the effects of bradykinin, Lys [Leu8] Des‐Arg9‐BK, an antagonist at B1 receptors, abolished the effects of both Des‐Arg9‐BK and bradykinin. 6 These results suggest that the cardioprotective action of bradykinin in the preparation may be mediated partially by an inhibitory effect on noradrenaline liberation which could be mediated by the activation of B1 receptors.
Staffing requirements for infection control programs in US health care facilities: Delphi project.

BACKGROUND The guideline for staffing infection control programs of 1 infection control professional (ICP) for every 250 occupied acute care beds has been used in many health care facilities in the United States since 1985. Since that time, the health care system, patient populations, and expectations about the work of infection prevention and control programs have changed substantially. METHODS The Delphi method was used; data were obtained from a group of ICPs through a series of 10 surveys. Through this iterative process, participant responses were progressively synthesized and areas of agreement and disagreement identified. These surveys were conducted by electronic and paper mail to identify the personal ICP characteristics and structural variables associated with performance of activities required for contemporary infection prevention and control programs in a variety of health care settings. RESULTS Delphi panel members (n = 32) from 20 states and who represented acute care, long-term care, and community care settings reported tasks in addition to those identified in earlier task analyses as well as expanded responsibilities. Competing responsibilities and lack of adequate resources were the most frequently cited reasons for nonperformance of essential infection control tasks. A ratio of 0.8 to 1.0 ICP for every 100 occupied acute care beds was suggested as adequate staffing by the Delphi panel. CONCLUSIONS Infection control responsibilities have expanded beyond the traditional acute care setting. Recommendations for staffing must not only consider the number of occupied beds (average daily census) but also include the scope of the program, the complexity of the health care facility or system, the characteristics of the patient population, and the unique or urgent needs of the facility and community.
Resting blood pressure and heart rate measurement in the Canadian Health Measures Survey, cycle 1.

BACKGROUND Directly measured blood pressure (BP) data have not been collected in Canada since the Canadian Heart Health Surveys, conducted between 1985 and 1992. Because hypertension is often asymptomatic, a large proportion of those with the condition are unaware of it. DATA AND METHODS These analyses use BP and heart rate (HR) data from cycle 1 of the 2007-2009 Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS) for respondents aged 6 to 79 years. Methods and quality assurance and control procedures are explained. Logistical and feasibility issues that arose during data collection are discussed. The reasons for repeating a series of measures are given. Between- and within- series variations and inter-tester variability are assessed. RESULTS The BP and HR of almost all respondents who attended the examination centre were measured. Only one series of measurements was taken for 88% of respondents. The series was repeated for around 5% with variability in their BP or HR measurements. About 3% had HR or BP values above the screening cut-offs for the fitness tests. Almost 35% of respondents with HR or BP values above the screening cut-offs after their first series had values below the cut-points after the second series; a further 3% had values below after the third series. Within a series of six measurements, BP decreased until about the fourth measure, after which it remained stable. Mean BP and HR values indicated no inter-tester variability. INTERPRETATION The protocol for measuring BP and HR by oscillometry in the CHMS appears to have produced reliable estimates. No benefit to repeating the series of six measurements a third time for screening purposes is evident. Four measurements may be sufficient to provide reliable BP and HR data. Oscillometry appears to eliminate inter-tester variability.
Eye Location Based on Gray Projection

A Method, to locate eye in image by using gray projection, is presented. We utilize the gray differential projection cure of the facial image to locate eye vertically position and utilize the gray integral projection cure to locate eye horizontal position. The method can apply to not only the upright front side face, but also the upright side face, lift up face and low face. When the face in image is obliqueness, we may use blocks gray projection. So the method could process rotated images. The method is simple and its calculation is less. The experiment results show that eyes can be located quite accurately by using gray projection.
Haemodynamic and neural responses to hypercapnia in the awake rat

The relationship between localized changes in brain activity and metabolism, and the blood oxygenation level‐dependent (BOLD) signal used in functional magnetic resonance imaging studies is not fully understood. One source of complexity is that stimulus‐elicited changes in the BOLD signal arise both from changes in oxygen consumption due to increases in activity and purely ‘haemodynamic’ changes such as increases in cerebral blood flow. It is well established that robust cortical haemodynamic changes can be elicited by increasing the concentration of inspired CO2 (inducing hypercapnia) and it is widely believed that these haemodynamic changes occur without significant effects upon neural activity or cortical metabolism. Hypercapnia is therefore commonly used as a calibration condition in functional magnetic resonance imaging studies to enable estimation of oxidative metabolism from subsequent stimulus‐evoked functional magnetic resonance imaging BOLD signal changes. However, there is little research that has investigated in detail the effects of hypercapnia upon all components of the haemodynamic response (changes in cerebral blood flow, volume and oxygenation) in addition to recording neural activity. In awake animals, we used optical and electrophysiological techniques to measure cortical haemodynamic and field potential responses to hypercapnia (60 s, 5% CO2). The main findings are that firstly, in the awake rat, the temporal structure of the haemodynamic response to hypercapnia differs from that reported previously in anaesthetized preparations in that the response is more rapid. Secondly, there is evidence that hypercapnia alters ongoing neural activity in awake rats by inducing periods of cortical desynchronization and this may be associated with changes in oxidative metabolism.
Anemia Is Associated with Mortality in Kidney‐Transplanted Patients—A Prospective Cohort Study

Although anemia is a known risk factor of mortality in several patient populations, no prospective study to date has demonstrated association between anemia and mortality in kidney‐transplanted patients. In our prospective cohort study (TransQol‐HU Study), we tested the hypothesis that anemia is associated with mortality and graft failure (return to dialysis) in transplanted patients. Data from 938 transplanted patients, followed at a single outpatient transplant center, were analyzed. Sociodemographic parameters, laboratory data, medical history and information on comorbi‐dity were collected at baseline. Data on 4‐year outcome (graft failure, mortality or combination of both) were collected prospectively from the patients' charts. Both mortality and graft failure rate during the 4‐year follow‐up was significantly higher in patients who were anemic at baseline (for anemic vs nonanemic patients, respectively: mortality 18% vs. 10%; p < 0.001; graft failure 17% vs 6%; p < 0.001). In multivariate Cox proportional hazard models the presence of anemia significantly predicted mortality (HR = 1.690; 95% CI: 1.115–2.560) and also graft failure (HR = 2.465; 95% CI: 1.485–4.090) after adjustment for several covariables. Anemia, which is a treatable complication, is signi‐ficantly and independently associated with mortality and graft failure in kidney‐transplanted patients.
Effect of Facet Joint Injection Versus Systemic Steroids in Low Back Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Study Design. Randomized clinical trial. Objective. To compare the effectiveness of facet joint injection versus systemic steroid in patients with a diagnosis of facet joint syndrome. Summary of Background Data. The term facet joint syndrome has been used to define back pain originating from the facet joints. Treatment is mainly conservative, although interventions, including intra-articular injections and medial branch nerve blocks are used to manage facet-mediated pain. Several studies have evaluated the effectiveness of these interventions. Results of facet joint injection, however, are conflicting. Methods. Sixty subjects with a diagnosis of facet joint syndrome were enrolled in the study. They were randomized into experimental and control groups. The experimental group was administered with intra-articular injection of 6 lumbar facet joints with triamcinolone hexacetonide; the control group was administered with triamcinolone acetonide intramuscular injection of 6 lumbar paravertebral points. Visits were taken at baseline and at 1, 4, 12, and 24 weeks after interventions. Outcome measures were used: pain visual analogue scale, pain visual analogue scale during extension of the spine, Likert scale, improvement percentage scale, Roland-Morris, 36-Item Short Form Health Survey, and accountability of medications taken. Homogeneity was tested using the Student t, Pearson &khgr;2, and Mann-Whitney tests. Analysis of variance was used to analyze differences in the groups over time and the Student t test to analyze differences between groups at each time evaluation. Results. The groups were similar at baseline. Comparisons between the groups showed, in analysis of variance analysis, an improvement in the experimental group regarding diclofenac intake and quality of life, in the “role physical” profile, assessed by 36-Item Short Form Health Survey. In the analysis at each time point, an improvement in the experimental group was also found in the Roland-Morris questionnaire, in the improvement percentage scale and in the response to treatment, assessed by the Likert scale. Conclusion. Both treatments were effective, with a slight superiority of the intra-articular injection of steroids over intramuscular injection. Level of Evidence: 2
"Pumped-up propulsion" during front crawl swimming.

PURPOSE It is currently held that propulsion in human front crawl swimming is achieved by lift and drag forces predominantly generated by the hands. Calculation of these propulsive forces relies on the quasi-steady assumption that the fluid dynamic behavior of a hand model in a flow channel (constant velocity and orientation) is similar to that of a hand of a real swimmer. However, both experimental and theoretical analyses suggest that this assumption is questionable and that unsteady and rotational propulsion mechanisms play a significant role. Theoretical considerations suggest that arm rotation could lead to a proximodistal pressure gradient, which would induce significant axial flow along the arm toward the hand. METHODS To gain insight into such mechanisms, we used tufts to study the flow directions around the arm and hand during the front crawl, which consists of a glide, an insweep, and an outsweep phase. In a second experiment, we measured pressure during the stroke at various points along the arm and hand. RESULTS It was observed that 1) the flow during insweep and part of the outsweep was highly unsteady; 2) the arm movements were largely rotational; 3) a clear axial flow component, not in the direction of the arm movement, was observed during insweep and outsweep; and 4) both the V-shaped "contracting" arrangement of the tufts during the outsweep and pressure recordings point to a pressure gradient along the direction of the arm during the outsweep, as predicted on theoretical grounds. CONCLUSION Our results demonstrate the reality of the predicted rotational and unsteady effects during front crawl swimming. We hypothesize that the axial flow observed during the outsweep has a propulsion-enhancing effect by increasing the pressure difference over the hand. Further investigation is required to establish more accurately the role of axial flow on propulsion.
Geographic variation in floral allometry suggests repeated transitions between selfing and outcrossing in a mixed mating plant.

PREMISE OF THE STUDY Isometric and allometric scaling of a conserved floral plan could provide a parsimonious mechanism for rapid and reversible transitions between breeding systems. This scaling may occur during transitions between predominant autogamy and xenogamy, contributing to the maintenance of a stable mixed mating system. METHODS We compared nine disjunct populations of the polytypic, mixed mating species Oenothera flava (Onagraceae) to two parapatric relatives, the obligately xenogamous species O. acutissima and the mixed mating species O. triloba. We compared floral morphology of all taxa using principal component analysis (PCA) and developmental trajectories of floral organs using ANCOVA homogeneity of slopes. KEY RESULTS The PCA revealed both isometric and allometric scaling of a conserved floral plan. Three principal components (PCs) explained 92.5% of the variation in the three species. PC1 predominantly loaded on measures of floral size and accounts for 36% of the variation. PC2 accounted for 35% of the variation, predominantly in traits that influence pollinator handling. PC3 accounted for 22% of the variation, primarily in anther-stigma distance (herkogamy). During O. flava subsp. taraxacoides development, style elongation was accelerated relative to anthers, resulting in positive herkogamy. During O. flava subsp. flava development, style elongation was decelerated, resulting in zero or negative herkogamy. Of the two populations with intermediate morphology, style elongation was accelerated in one population and decelerated in the other. CONCLUSIONS Isometric and allometric scaling of floral organs in North American Oenothera section Lavauxia drive variation in breeding system. Multiple developmental paths to intermediate phenotypes support the likelihood of multiple mating system transitions.
Controllability and Stabilization of a Canal with Wave Generators

This paper deals with a physical system that can be represented by an abstract wave equation: a canal with wave generators. We first study the various degrees of controllability that this system can enjoy, with two kinds of input operators and associated control spaces, corresponding to "flexible" and "rigid" generators. A counterexample to the exact controllability and a positive result for the approximate controllability are given for the flexible generator case. In the rigid case, we show that approximate controllability in finite time does not hold. We also study the stability of the system when the elevation of the surface is measured at x=0, and a static feedback is used to control a rigid generator. We show that strong stability holds (but with a nonuniform decay), although the perturbation caused by the feedback on the system operator is not dissipative in the natural topology.
Plasma homocysteine levels in renal transplanted patients on cyclosporine or tacrolimus therapy: effect of treatment with folic acid

Hyperhomocysteinemia, an independent risk cardiovascular factor, has been reported in renal transplanted patients (RTP). The aim of the present study was to evaluate homocysteine levels in RTP treated with cyclosporine or tacrolimus, and the changes observed in the two groups of patients after treatment with folic acid. Forty‐two RTP with stable function (21 treated with cyclosporine and 21 with tacrolimus, matched by gender and age) were studied. Forty healthy control subjects were matched by age and gender with the patients. In RTP, homocysteine was increased compared with the controls (16.4±5.2 vs 8.0±1.8 μmol/L; p<0.001), but there was no difference in vitamin B12 and folic acid levels. Thirty‐three patients and one control showed hyperhomocysteinemia (78.5 vs 2.5%; p<0.001). Homocysteine correlated negatively with creatinine clearance in the patients (p=0.04), but no correlation was found with vitamin B12, folic acid and lipoproteins. By univariate analysis, patients treated with cyclosporine had higher homocysteine than those treated with tacrolimus (p=0.03), but multivariate analysis did not confirm these results. In 21 patients with hyperhomocysteinemia and folate levels similar to those of the controls, folic acid (5 mg/d for 3 months) was administered. Homocysteine decreased significantly (19.1±4.8 vs 13.2±3.4 μmol/L; p<0.001), with a median reduction of 31% and with no differences observed in patients treated with either cyclosporine or tacrolimus. We concluded that hyperhomocysteinemia is very frequent in RTP, but homocysteine levels are not different in patients treated with cyclosporine or tacrolimus. Folic acid therapy produces a significant decrease in homocysteine concentrations, in the absence of clear folate deficiency, without differences in relation to immunosuppressant therapy.
Characterization of the Limbal Epithelial Stem Cell Niche: Novel Imaging Techniques Permit In Vivo Observation and Targeted Biopsy of Limbal Epithelial Stem Cells

It is anticipated that stem cell (SC) therapy will enable the regeneration of diseased tissues and organs. Understanding SC niches is an essential step toward realizing this goal. By virtue of its optical transparency and physical separation of SC and transient amplifying cell compartments, the human cornea provides a unique opportunity to visualize and observe a population of adult stem cells, limbal epithelial stem cells (LESCs), in their niche environment. To date, the characteristics of the LESC niche have remained unclear. State‐of‐the‐art imaging techniques were used to construct a three‐dimensional (3D) view of the entire human corneal limbus and identify the structural characteristics of the LESC niche. Two distinct candidate LESC niche structures were identified. Cells within these structures express high levels of the putative limbal stem cell markers p63α and ABCG2; however, current methods cannot identify for certain which exact cells within this cell population are truly LESCs. These structures could be located and observed in vivo in normal human subjects, but not in patients with clinically diagnosed corneal LESC deficiency. The distribution of these structures around the corneal circumference is not uniform. Biopsies targeted to limbal regions rich in LESC niche structures yielded significantly higher numbers of LESCs in culture. Our findings demonstrate how adult stem cell niches can be identified and observed in vivo in humans and provide new biological insight into the importance of LESC niche structures in maintaining normal LESC function. Finally, the concept of targeted biopsy of adult SC niches improves stem cell yield and may prove to be essential for the successful development of novel adult stem cell therapies.
Simpler score of routine laboratory tests predicts liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B

Background and Aim: In recent years, a great interest has been dedicated to the development of noninvasive predictive models to substitute liver biopsy for fibrosis assessment and follow‐up. Our aim was to provide a simpler model consisting of routine laboratory markers for predicting liver fibrosis in patients chronically infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV) in order to optimize their clinical management.
Spectral Statistics of Acoustic Resonances in Aluminum Blocks.

We measure several hundred acoustic resonances in aluminum blocks. The statistical properties of these spectra are analyzed and compared to predictions from random matrix theory. A Poisson behavior is found for a rectangular block. The transition from Poisson to Gaussian orthogonal ensemble statistics is studied by measuring aluminum blocks manufactured in the shape of three-dimensional Sinai billiards.
Rheological Characterization of Yield-Stress Materials: Flow Pattern and Apparent Wall Slip

Abstract An experimental and numerical investigation of the rotational rheometry of yield-stress materials is performed, using waterbased Carbopol dispersions. The flow and fluid characterization in different rheometer geometries, namely the smooth Couette, the grooved Couette, and the vane-in-cup are analysed. The bi-dimensional flow governing equations are solved numerically, using the finite volume method and Fluent software (Ansys Inc.). The viscoplastic behavior of Carbopol dispersions is modeled using the Generalized Newtonian constitutive equation with the regularized viscoplastic viscosity function proposed by de Souza Mendes and Dutra [1], herein called SMD function. The flow pattern and the presence of apparent wall slip in rheometric measurements of yield-stress materials are investigated and discussed.
Mosaicism in a patient with Down syndrome reveals post‐fertilization formation of a robertsonian translocation and isochromosome

It has been estimated that a few hundred children are born each year in the United States with translocation Down syndrome. About 5% of the cases with Down syndrome carry a Robertsonian translocation involving chromosome 21. The case described here is a patient with Down syndrome who showed mosaicism for two cell lines. Each cell line contains a different, de novo acrocentric rearrangement. We constructed somatic cell hybrids from the patient's cells and determined the parental origins of the rearrangements by molecular and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analyses. The analysis showed that the rob(14q21q) formed between a paternally inherited chromosome 21 and a maternally inherited chromosome 14, indicating that this rearrangement formed post‐zygotically. Further molecular analysis also determined that the rea(21q21q) is an isochromosome of paternal origin. The cell line containing the isochromosome is unbalanced, resulting in trisomy 21. Because the same paternal chromosome 21 was involved in both the isochromosome and the Robertsonian translocation, we speculate that an unstable chromosome 21 was stabilized either through formation of a rob(14q21q) or through formation of an isochromosome. The mechanism proposed for the formation of the rob(14q21q) in this case is different from that for most de novo rob(14q21q), but similar to a previously reported mosaic case of Down syndrome. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.