Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sleep deprivation suppresses neurogenesis in the adult hippocampus of rats

We reported previously that 96 h of sleep deprivation (SD) reduced cell proliferation in the dentate gyrus (DG) of the hippocampus in adult rats. We now report that SD reduces the number of new cells expressing a mature neuronal marker, neuronal nuclear antigen (NeuN). Rats were sleep‐deprived for 96 h, using an intermittent treadmill system. Total sleep time was reduced to 6.9% by this method in SD animals, but total treadmill movement was equated in SD and treadmill control (CT) groups. Rats were allowed to survive for 3 weeks after 5‐bromo‐2‐deoxyuridine (BrdU) injection. The phenotype of BrdU‐positive cells in the DG was assessed by immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy. After 3 weeks the number of BrdU‐positive cells was reduced by 39.6% in the SD group compared with the CT. The percentage of cells that co‐localized BrdU and NeuN was also lower in the SD group (SD: 46.6 ± 1.8% vs. CT: 71.9 ± 2.1, P < 0.001). The percentages of BrdU‐labeled cells co‐expressing markers of immature neuronal (DCX) or glial (S100‐β) cells were not different in SD and CT groups. Thus, SD reduces neurogenesis in the DG by affecting both total proliferation and the percentage of cells expressing a mature neuronal phenotype. We hypothesize that sleep provides anabolic or signaling support for proliferation and cell fate determination.
Relative Body Weight and Disability in Older Adults: Results From a National Survey

Objective: This study examined the sociodemographic, health, and economic determinants of limitations in performing instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) in Canadians 65 years and older with emphasis on the role of relative body weight. Furthermore, the study examined the relationship between these limitations and the whole range of relative body weight while controlling for the above determinants. Method: This research used data collected in the Canadian Community Health Survey in 2005 on Canadians 65 years and older (N = 21,255). Results: The odds of experiencing IADL limitations were higher for women, the poor, and those not living with a partner. These odds also increased with advancing age and weaker physical health. Controlling for socioeconomic and health characteristics, the odds of experiencing such limitations were significantly elevated in underweight and obese individuals but not in overweight individuals. Discussion: Prevention and intervention strategies targeting underweight and obese individuals should be a policy priority.
Comparison of the incidence rates of thromboembolic events reported for patients prescribed rofecoxib and meloxicam in general practice in England using prescription-event monitoring (PEM) data.

BACKGROUND Rofecoxib and meloxicam are classified as cyclo-oxygenase (COX)-2 selective inhibitors. The Drug Safety Research Unit (DSRU) monitored the post-marketing safety of these drugs in England using the non-interventional observational cohort technique of prescription-event monitoring (PEM). OBJECTIVES To compare the incidence rates of selected thromboembolic (TE)(cardiovascular, cerebrovascular and peripheral venous thrombotic) events reported for patients prescribed rofecoxib and meloxicam in general practice. METHODS Patients were identified from dispensed prescriptions written by general practitioners (GPs) for meloxicam (December 1996 to March 1997) and rofecoxib (July to November 1999). Simple questionnaires requesting details of events recorded during/after treatment, indication and potential risk factors (including age, sex and NSAIDs prescribed within 3 months of treatment) were posted to prescribing GPs approximately 9 months after the first prescription for each patient. Incidence rates of the first event within each TE group were calculated; crude and age- and sex-adjusted rate ratios (RR) obtained using regression modelling. RESULTS During the 9 months after starting treatment, 21 (0.14%) and 19 (0.10%) patients were reported to have cardiovascular TE events, and 74 (0.48%) and 52 (0.27%) cerebrovascular TE events, and 6 (0.05%) and 20 (0.10%) were reported to have peripheral venous thrombotic events for rofecoxib and meloxicam, respectively. Regarding time to first event, there was a persistent divergence between the two drugs from the start of treatment for both the cerebrovascular TE event group (log rank test P = 0.0063) and the peripheral venous thrombotic event group (log rank test P = 0.0264). Indication and use of a NSAID within 3 months prior to starting treatment had no statistically significant effect on the relative risk estimates of the event groups and was excluded from subsequent analyses. Adjusting for the two identified risk factors of age (age2) and sex, for rofecoxib the adjusted cerebrovascular TE event group rate was higher than for meloxicam [RR 1.68 (95% CI 1.15, 2.46)]; lower than meloxicam for the peripheral venous thrombotic event group [RR 0.29 (95% CI 0.11, 0.78)], and not different for the cardiovascular TE event group [RR 1.38 (95% CI 0.71, 2.67)]. CONCLUSIONS This study reports a relative increase in the rate of cerebrovascular TE events and a relative reduction in peripheral venous thrombotic events in users of rofecoxib compared with meloxicam. There was no difference in the rate of cardiovascular thromboembolic events. The incidence of these three groups of events reported in each of these two drug cohorts was low (less than 0.5%), therefore the relevance of our findings needs to be taken into consideration with other clinical and pharmacoepidemiological studies.
Gamification User Types zur Unterstützung der Konzeption in der Softwareentwicklung

Dieser Beitrag stellt die Verwendung von Gamification User Types als unterstützendes Element im Rahmen des Designprozesses von Software-Applikationen vor. Anhand der Erhebung und Klassifizierung von fünf verschiedenen Nutzertypen mit spielerischem Hintergrund wurde von der Firma Centigrade GmbH in einem konkreten Anwendungsfall das motivationale Konzept für die User Experience einer Smartphone App gestaltet. Hierzu wurde eine explorative Studie mit 121 Probanden durchgeführt.
Relationship Between NMO-Antibody and Anti–MOG Antibody in Optic Neuritis

Background: Damage to astrocytes by anti-aquaporin-4 antibody (AQP4-Ab), also known as NMO antibody, has been implicated as the cause of neuromyelitis optica. Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) is well known as the causative protein of multiple sclerosis (MS). MOG antigen is currently considered as a cause of optic neuritis (ON) associated with MS because immunization with MOG antigen derived from oligodendrocytes induces murine ON with myelitis. We investigated the relationship between NMO antibody (NMO-Ab) and anti-MOG antibody (MOG-Ab) and potential in patients with ON for recovery of vision. Methods: Thirty-three eyes of 23 patients with ON were studied. At presentation, serum NMO-Ab was measured by immunofluorescence using HEK 293 cells transfected with AQP4–GFP, and anti-MOG1–125 antibody was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. MOG-Ab seropositivity was defined by comparing with MOG-Ab level obtained from 8 healthy normal subjects. Results: Eleven (47%) of 23 ON patients were NMO-Ab seropositive, while 8 (34%) of the 23 patients were MOG-Ab seropositive. Six (26%) of 23 patients were seropositive for both NMO-Ab and MOG-Ab. Ten (43%) of 23 patients were seronegative for both antibodies. Three (50%) of 6 eyes of patients seropositive for both antibodies did not respond to corticosteroid pulse therapy and plasmapheresis, and visual acuity remained unchanged. In the NMO-Ab(−)/MOG-Ab(−) group, visual acuity improved significantly (P < 0.0001). In the other 3 groups (NMO-Ab(+)/MOG-Ab(+), NMO-Ab(+)/MOG-Ab(−), and NMO-Ab(−)/MOG-Ab(+)), visual acuity did not change significantly (P = 0.53, 0.42, and 0.45, respectively). Conclusion: NMO-Ab and MOG-Ab could be potential biomarkers to determine visual prognosis in patients with ON.
Absence of D– alloimmunization in AIDS patients receiving D‐mismatched RBCs

BACKGROUND : More than 80 percent of D– patients who receive D+ blood become alloimmunized to the D antigen. Anemia occurs in most AIDS patients at some point in the disease. D– patients with AIDS may require blood transfusion and, during times of blood shortage, may receive D+ RBCs. They would be expected to become alloimmunized to the d antigen.
Variable Size Packets Analysis in Load-balanced Switch with Finite Buffers

The Internet represents a complex asynchronous network operating with variable length packets which is strongly related to the application used. On the other hand, the requirements for the transmission and capacity characteristics of the Internet are rapidly increasing. Due to simple distributed control and high scalability Load-Balancing (LB) Birkhof-von Neumann switch appears to be a promising switch architecture. The previous research was focused on the assumption of unlimited amount of buffering and the transmission of fixed-size packets or cells. This paper analyzes packet and cell loss probabilities of the Load-Balanced switch operating with 1) variable size packets and 2) finite central stage buffers. In the course of the analysis we recognized a previously unpublished feature of the LB switch which is the asymmetry of different paths through the switch. This behavior has major impact on the fairness and loss inside the switch.
Fatal injuries of US citizens abroad.

BACKGROUND US citizens are increasingly traveling, working, and studying abroad as well as retiring abroad. The objective of this study was to describe the type and scope of injury deaths among US citizens abroad and to compare injury death proportions by region to those in the United States. METHODS A cross-sectional design using reports of US citizen deaths abroad for 1998, 2000, and 2002 on file at the US State Department was employed. The main outcome measures were the frequencies of injury deaths and proportional mortality ratios (PMRs) comparing deaths abroad to deaths in the United States. RESULTS Two thousand eleven injury deaths were reported in the 3 years, comprising 13% of all deaths. The overall age-adjusted PMR for injury fatalities abroad compared to the United States was 1.6 (95% confidence interval 1.6-1.7). The highest age-adjusted PMRs for motor vehicle crashes were found in Africa (2.7) and Southeast Asia (1.6). The proportion of drowning deaths was elevated in all regions abroad. CONCLUSIONS Injuries occur at a higher proportion abroad than in the United States. Motor vehicle crash and drowning fatalities are of particular concern. Improved data quality and surveillance of deaths would help government agencies create more evidence-based country advisories.
The Adoption and Use of Human Resource Information System (HRIS) in Ghana

The study looked at the adoption of Human Resource Information System (HRIS) among Ghanaian firms. A survey was conducted on 129 firms out of the 150 samples randomly selected from both the public and the private sectors in the country with a response rate of 86%. The findings first revealed that the adoption rate of HRIS in enterprises is not a common practice in Ghana since two-thirds of the organizations have never adopted HRIS use. Major general denominators for adoption and use of HRIS include firm size, organization type (i.e. profit making limited liability companies and profit making government organization) and age as well as the industry to which firms belong. Firms attributed the slow rate of adoption to reasons including the low numbers of employees, high cost of system installation, unawareness and low priority for such a system. Again, it was realized that the companies? readiness to adopt such a system was not encouraging. There were some technical, organizational and environmental factors that affect HRIS adoption which were unearthed.
Analysis of Artificial Radiocarbon in Different Skeletal and Dental Tissue Types to Evaluate Date of Death

ABSTRACT: Radiocarbon dating, with special reference to the modern bomb‐curve, can provide useful information to elucidate the date of death of skeletonized human remains. Interpretation can be enhanced with analysis of different types of tissues within a single skeleton because of the known variability of formation times and remodeling rates. Analysis of radiocarbon content of teeth, especially the enamel in tooth crowns, provides information about the date of formation in the childhood years and in consideration of the known timing of tooth formation can be used to estimate the birth date after 1950 ad. Radiocarbon analysis of modern cortical and trabecular bone samples from the same skeleton may allow proper placement on the pre‐1963 or post‐1963 sides of the bomb‐curve as most trabecular bone generally undergoes more rapid remodeling than does most cortical bone. Pre‐1963 bone formation would produce higher radiocarbon values for most trabecular bone than for most cortical bone. This relationship is reversed for formation after 1963. Radiocarbon analysis was conducted in this study on dental, cortical, and trabecular bone samples from two adult individuals of known birth (1925 and 1926) and death dates (1995 and 1959). As expected, the dental results correspond to prebomb‐curve values reflecting conditions during the childhoods of the individuals. The radiocarbon content of most bone samples reflected the higher modern bomb‐curve values. Within the bone sample analyses, the values of the trabecular bone were higher than those of cortical bone and supported the known placement on the pre‐1963 side of the bomb‐curve.
Risk variables in the association between frequency of alcohol consumption and periodontitis.

OBJECTIVE Investigate the association between the frequency of alcohol consumption and periodontitis. Moreover, evaluate the influence of biological, behavioural, and social risk variables in this association. METHODS Sample was comprised by 542 subjects of both genders, 35-55 years of age, who underwent a complete periodontal examination, and was divided into four groups according to the frequency of alcohol use, based on alcohol use disorders identification test (AUDIT) and Cut-down, Annoyed, Guilty, Eye-opener (CAGE) instruments: (1) no or occasional alcohol use (NA), (2) moderate alcohol use (MA), (3) intense alcohol use (IA) and (4) alcohol dependence (DA). Associations between the occurrence of periodontitis and potential risk variables were analysed by univariate and multivariate logistic regression stratified by smoking status when appropriate. RESULTS The prevalence of periodontitis in NA, MA, IA and DA groups were 17.2%, 24.0%, 29.6% and 53%, respectively. Alcohol odds ratio (OR) estimates significantly increased with an increase in consumption frequency (DA>IA>MA>NA) and were approximately two times higher in smokers (OR = 3.43 to 7.91) compared to non-smokers (OR = 1.22 to 3.02). CONCLUSION Occurrence of periodontitis among alcohol users were high and the frequency of alcohol consumption increased the odds of periodontitis incrementally mainly in smokers.
Depression after stroke: a review of the evidence base to inform the development of an integrated care pathway. Part 2: Treatment alternatives

Background: Depression is a common complication of stroke, leading to increased morbidity and mortality. It can impede the process of rehabilitation, and has been associated with poorer outcomes and increased length of stay in hospital. This systematic review was undertaken as a preliminary step to the development of an evidence-based integrated care pathway (ICP) for the management of post-stroke depression (PSD) in a rehabilitation setting, and is divided into two parts. In part 1 we reviewed the frequency of depression in stroke, its impact on functional recovery and the different methods for assessment. Aims and objectives: In part 2, we discuss the rationale for treatment of PSD, appraise the evidence for effectiveness of the different antidepressant drugs, and consider whether we can identify a recommended ”rst-line treatment for use in our ICP. Methods: Data sources comprised a computer-aided search of published studies on depression in stroke and references to literature used in reviews. Main ” ndings: From the few controlled trials of anti-depressant therapy in PSD, both tricyclics and selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) appear to be effective, but the latter may be preferable in stroke because of their prompt action and better side-effect pro”les. Within the group of SSRIs there is currently no direct evidence to guide the choice of agent. In the absence of ”rm guidance, sertraline was chosen on theoretical grounds as one of the most potent with minimal sedative effects and no reported interaction with warfarin. Citalopram may offer an appropriate second choice. Conclusions: A suggested regimen for the use of sertraline in PSD was put forward. Development of an ICP may help to establish a more consistent approach to assessment and treatment of PSD, and form a basis for future comparison of different treatments as they become available.
Antidote stocking in British Columbia hospitals.

INTRODUCTION Previous studies have demonstrated that antidotes are insufficiently stocked in Canadian and US health care facilities. The purpose of this study was to determine the adequacy of antidote stocking in British Columbia hospitals based on the current guidelines. METHODS A written survey was mailed to hospital pharmacy directors at all 93 acute care facilities in BC. Availability of 14 essential antidotes was classified as sufficient or insufficient based on the current guidelines. Facilities were stratified into small (<50 beds), medium (50-250 beds) or large (>250 beds); teaching or non-teaching; trauma or non-trauma, urban or rural, and isolated or non-isolated. RESULTS Complete responses were received from 75 (81%) of 93 hospitals. No hospital had adequate stock of all 14 antidotes. Overall, the average number (+/- standard deviation) of antidotes adequately stocked was 4.2 +/- 2.9 per hospital. Urban hospitals had adequate stocks of 6.5 +/- 2.6 antidotes while rural centres had adequate stocks of 2.6 +/- 1.8 (p < 0.001). Corresponding figures were 9.0 +/- 1.8 for teaching hospitals vs. 3.7 +/- 2.4 for non-teaching hospitals (p < 0.001), 8.9 +/- 2.0 for trauma centres vs. 3.8 +/- 2.5 non-trauma centres (p < 0.001), and 2.5 +/- 2.1 for isolated hospitals vs. 4.6 +/- 2.9 for non-isolated hospitals (p = 0.018). Small, medium, and large hospitals adequately stocked 2.3 +/- 1.7, 5.7 +/- 2.2, and 7.7 +/- 3.0 antidotes, respectively (p < 0.001). The 4 antidotes most adequately stocked were sodium bicarbonate (77%), N-acetylcysteine (64%), ethanol (49%) and naloxone (47%). Digoxin immune Fab fragments, glucagon, pyridoxine and rattlesnake antivenin were poorly stocked with sufficient supplies of 5%, 7%, 7% and 13%, respectively. CONCLUSION BC hospitals do not have adequate antidote stocks. Provincial stocking guidelines and coordination of antidote purchasing and stocking are necessary to correct these deficiencies.
Spatial autoregressive models for statistical inference from ecological data

Ecological data often exhibit spatial pattern, which can be modeled as autocorrelation. Conditional autoregressive (CAR) and simultaneous autoregressive (SAR) models are network-based models (also known as graphical models) specifically designed to model spatially autocorrelated data based on neighborhood relationships. We identify and discuss six different types of practical ecological inference using CAR and SAR models, including: (1) model selection, (2) spatial regression, (3) estimation of autocorrelation, (4) estimation of other connectivity parameters, (5) spatial prediction, and (6) spatial smoothing. We compare CAR and SAR models, showing their development and connection to partial correlations. Special cases, such as the intrinsic autoregressive model (IAR), are described. Conditional autoregressive and SAR models depend on weight matrices, whose practical development uses neighborhood definition and row-standardization. Weight matrices can also include ecological covariates and connectivity structures, which we emphasize, but have been rarely used. Trends in harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) in southeastern Alaska from 463 polygons, some with missing data, are used to illustrate the six inference types. We develop a variety of weight matrices and CAR and SAR spatial regression models are fit using maximum likelihood and Bayesian methods. Profile likelihood graphs illustrate inference for covariance parameters. The same data set is used for both prediction and smoothing, and the relative merits of each are discussed. We show the nonstationary variances and correlations of a CAR model and demonstrate the effect of row-standardization. We include several take-home messages for CAR and SAR models, including (1) choosing between CAR and IAR models, (2) modeling ecological effects in the covariance matrix, (3) the appeal of spatial smoothing, and (4) how to handle isolated neighbors. We highlight several reasons why ecologists will want to make use of autoregressive models, both directly and in hierarchical models, and not only in explicit spatial settings, but also for more general connectivity models.
Decitabine enhances stem cell antigen-1 expression in cigarette smoke extract-induced emphysema in animal model

Stem cell antigen-1 (Sca-1) is a mouse glycosyl phosphatidylinositol-anchored protein and a cell surface marker found on hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). Despite decades of study, its biological functions remain little known. Sca-1 is a typical marker of bone marrow-derived HSCs, it is also expressed by a mixture of tissue-resident stem, progenitor cells in nonhematopoietic organs. Endothelial progenitor cell (EPC) is a subtype of HSC and contributes to endothelial repair by homing in on locations of injury. Abnormal genetic methylation has been detected in smoking-related diseases. The present study aimed to investigate the lung function and histomorphology, the expression of Sca-1 gene in lung tissues, and bone marrow-derived EPCs in cigarette smoke extract (CSE)-induced emphysema mice, and to further determine whether Decitabine (Dec), the most widely used inhibitor of DNA methylation, could protect against the damages caused by CSE. The results of the present study demonstrated that Dec could partly protect against CSE-induced emphysema in mice, enhance Sca-1 expression in lung tissue, and bone marrow-derived EPCs. The results suggested that the depletion of the progenitor cell pool and DNA methylation of Sca-1 gene may be involved in the progression of emphysema in mice.
A dual-risk model of user adoption of mobile-based smoking cessation support services

This study proposes and validates a dual-risk model of the drivers and inhibitors of the adoption of a mobile e-health application for smoking cessation. This model extends existing approaches for risk taking by accounting for two opposite types of risk: the risk of using the mobile service and risks of not using it, both of which are argued to be instrumental to user decision to use healthcare support technologies. The proposed model was estimated with data collected from 422 smokers and mobile phone users in the UK and Canada. The findings suggest that adoption decisions regarding such a mobile service are driven by intrinsic and extrinsic motivations which channel the effects of the above-mentioned risk assessments on use intentions. This implies that to increase the success of mobile phone use in smoking cessation programmes, perceptions regarding both risks could be targeted.