Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Differences in rates of gastrin release in normal persons and patients with duodenal-ulcer disease.

Abstract To compare gastrin release in response to a physiologic stimulus in normal persons and in patients with duodenal-ulcer disease, serum gastrin levels were measured in 22 patients with duodenal ulcer and 10 control subjects before ingestion of a protein-rich meal (180 g of beef) and five 15-minute intervals thereafter. The mean fasting serum gastrin concentration for the 22 patients with duodenal ulcer (76 ± 7.0 S.E.M. pg per milliliter) did not differ from that of the control subjects (71 ± 9.4 pg per milliliter). However, mean serum gastrin concentrations in the patients with duodenal ulcer were significantly greater than those of the control subjects 45, 60, and 75 minutes after feeding. The integrated gastrin response to feeding in these patients (99 ± 25 per cent) substantially and significantly (p less than 0.01) exceeded that of the control population (44 ± 10 per cent). Thus, increased gastrin release occurs in response to feeding in such patients as compared with normal persons, and, in sp.
Overtreatment in the United States

Background Overtreatment is a cause of preventable harm and waste in health care. Little is known about clinician perspectives on the problem. In this study, physicians were surveyed on the prevalence, causes, and implications of overtreatment. Methods 2,106 physicians from an online community composed of doctors from the American Medical Association (AMA) masterfile participated in a survey. The survey inquired about the extent of overutilization, as well as causes, solutions, and implications for health care. Main outcome measures included: percentage of unnecessary medical care, most commonly cited reasons of overtreatment, potential solutions, and responses regarding association of profit and overtreatment. Findings The response rate was 70.1%. Physicians reported that an interpolated median of 20.6% of overall medical care was unnecessary, including 22.0% of prescription medications, 24.9% of tests, and 11.1% of procedures. The most common cited reasons for overtreatment were fear of malpractice (84.7%), patient pressure/request (59.0%), and difficulty accessing medical records (38.2%). Potential solutions identified were training residents on appropriateness criteria (55.2%), easy access to outside health records (52.0%), and more practice guidelines (51.5%). Most respondents (70.8%) believed that physicians are more likely to perform unnecessary procedures when they profit from them. Most respondents believed that de-emphasizing fee-for-service physician compensation would reduce health care utilization and costs. Conclusion From the physician perspective, overtreatment is common. Efforts to address the problem should consider the causes and solutions offered by physicians.
Parental Economic Hardship and Children's Achievement Orientations.

While children's orientations to achievement are strong predictors of attainments, little is known about how parental economic hardship during recessionary times influences children's orientations to their futures. The Youth Development Study has followed a community sample of young people in St Paul, Minnesota from mid-adolescence through their mid-thirties with near-annual surveys, and has recently begun surveying the children of this cohort. Using linked parent and child data, the present study examines the relationship between parental economic hardship and children's achievement orientations in the aftermath of the recent "Great Recession. " Initial OLS analyses draw on 345 parent-child pairs, with data collected from parents during their adolescence, during the decade prior to the recession, and in 2011, and from their children (age 11 and older) in 2011. Then, first difference models are estimated, based on a smaller sample (N=186) of parents and children who completed surveys in both 2009 and 2011. Our findings indicate that when families are more vulnerable, as a result of low parental education and prior parental unemployment experience, children's achievement orientations are more strongly threatened by the family's economic circumstances. For example, as parental financial problems increased, economic expectations declined only among children of the least well-educated parents. Low household incomes diminished educational aspirations only when parents experienced unemployment during the ten years prior to the recent recession. Parental achievement orientations, as adolescents, were also found to moderate the impacts of shifts in the family's economic circumstances. Finally, boys reacted more strongly to their parents' hardship than girls.
Production of β-Defensin Antimicrobial Peptides by Maxillary Sinus Mucosa

β-Defensins are endogenous cationic peptides with broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity that are thought to play a role in the innate immune response. Two human β-defensins, β-defensin-1 (HBD-1) and β-defensin-2 (HBD-2), have been identified. These peptides have recently been characterized in several human tissues. The presence of these peptides in the paranasal sinuses has not been investigated. We examined maxillary sinus secretions from six patients with sinusitis and 10 patients without signs, symptoms, or radiologic evidence of sinus disease for the presence of β-defensins. Cationic peptides were extracted from antral lavage specimens and examined for the presence of HBD-1 and HBD-2 by Western blot. Normal maxillary sinus epithelium was obtained from two patients and analyzed by RT-PCR for the presence of HBD-I and HBD-2 mRNA. Tissue immunostaining for the two peptides was also used. Western blot analysis identified HBD-1 in two of 10 patients in the control group and in three of six patients in the sinusitis group. HBD-2 was identified in one of 10 patients in the control group and in four of six patients in the sinusitis group. RT-PCR revealed HBD-1 mRNA in one of two normal controls tested. Immunostaining localized HBD-1 and HBD-2 to the epithelial cell cytoplasm. This is the first demonstration of HBD-1 and HBD-2 production in the paranasal sinuses. In the present study, HBD-1 and HBD-2 were detected more frequently in the maxillary sinus fluid of patients with inflamed sinuses than in normal controls.
A System-of-Systems Framework for Improved Human, Ecologic and Economic Well-Being

“Advances in technology and management not keeping pace with the ever-increasing urban problems” is attributed in this research to the poor understanding of person-focused governance of societal, environmental and economic entities. The objective of this paper is to present an adaptive institutional model of person-driven effectiveness and ineffectiveness. The model proposes that human, ecologic and economic outcomes are heavily influenced by a complex system of systems, spanning from individually unique “non-physical influencers” to a broader set of social and environmental influencers that have a common impact on the larger society-environment-economy (SEE) system. At the heart of the model is an analytic formulation that explains the phenomena of non-physical blocker, enhancer and indifferent, which are responsible for the adaptation and maladaptation of social agents and, accordingly, for the sustainability and unsustainability of SEE systems. Examples are provided to illustrate the model applications: (a) the non-physical and maladaptive syndromes as antecedents of multi-morbidity; and (b) the broadened and narrowed minds as sources of sustainability and unsustainability at the SEE system level within the context of emerging technologies such as engineered nanomaterials.
Bronchus‐ and nasal‐associated lymphoid tissues

Summary: The bronchus‐associated lymphoid tissue (BALT) and the nasal‐associated lymphoid tissue (NALT) constitute organized lymphoid aggregates that are capable of T‐ and B‐cell responses to inhaled antigens. BALT, located mostly at bifurcations of the bronchus in animals and humans, is present in the fetus and develops rapidly following birth, especially in the presence of antigens. Humoral immune responses elicited by BALT are primarily immunoglobulin A secretion both locally and by BALT‐derived B cells that have trafficked to distant mucosal sites. Similarly located T‐cell responses have been noted. On the basis of these findings, the BALT can be thought of as functionally analogous to mucosal lymphoid aggregates in the intestine and is deemed a member of the common mucosal immunologic system. NALT has been described principally in the rodent nasal passage as two separate lymphoid aggregates. It develops after birth, likely in response to antigen, and B‐ and T‐cell responses parallel those that occur in BALT. It is not known whether NALT cells traffic to distant mucosal sites, although mucosal responses have been detected after nasal immunization. NALT appears from many studies to be a functionally distinct lymphoid aggregate when compared with BALT and Peyer's patches. It may exist, however, in humans as a diffuse collection of isolated lymphoid follicles.
Histone H3 lysine 27 trimethylation acts as an epigenetic barrier in porcine nuclear reprogramming.

Aberrant epigenetic reprogramming is the main obstacle to the development of somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) embryos and the generation of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, which results in the low reprogramming efficiencies of SCNT and iPS. Histone H3 lysine 27 trimethylation (H3K27me3), as a repressive epigenetic mark, plays important roles in mammalian development and iPS induction. However, the reprogramming of H3K27me3 in pig remains elusive. In this study, we showed that H3K27me3 levels in porcine early cloned embryos were higher than that in IVF embryos. Then GSK126 and GSK-J4, two small molecule inhibitors of H3K27me3 methylase (EZH2) and demethylases (UTX/JMJD3), were used to regulate the H3K27me3 level. The results showed that H3K27me3 level was reduced in cloned embryos after treatment of PEF with 0.75 μM GSK126 for 48 h, incubation of one-cell reconstructed oocytes with 0.1 μM GSK126 and injection of antibody for EZH2 into oocyte. Meanwhile, the development of the cloned embryos was significantly improved after these treatments. On the contrary, GSK-J4 treatment increased the H3K27me3 level in cloned embryos and decreased the cloned embryonic development. Furthermore, iPS efficiency was both increased after reducing the H3K27me3 level in donor cells and in early reprogramming phase. In summary, our results suggest that H3K27me3 acts as an epigenetic barrier in SCNT and iPS reprogramming, and reduction of H3K27me3 level in donor cells and in early reprogramming phase can enhance both porcine SCNT and iPS efficiency.
An investigation of constructions of justice and injustice in chronic pain: A Q-methodology approach

This study used Q-methodology to explore justice-related accounts of chronic pain. Eighty participants completed the Q-sorting procedure (33 chronic pain sufferers and 47 non-pain sufferers). Analysis revealed five main factors. Three factors blame: society for poor medical and interpersonal treatment; the chronic pain sufferer for indulging in self-pity and unempathic healthcare workers for ignoring patients. A fourth factor acknowledges the unfairness of pain and encourages self-reliance. The fifth factor rejects injustice in the chronic pain discourse. Overall, there is a shared view that chronic pain brings unfair treatment, disrespect and a de-legitimization of pain. Future research ideas are suggested.
Comparison of thiopentone sodium and propofol for electro convulsive therapy (ECT).

OBJECTIVE For safe conduct of electro convulsive therapy (ECT), general anaesthesia is administered to the patients. In this study we compared thiopentone sodium and propofol as induction agents for ECT. PATIENTS AND METHODS Twenty five patients each undergoing at least 2 sessions of ECT at the psychiatry department were included in the study. Each patient either received thiopentone or propofol for induction of sleep in a randomized manner. Drugs were evaluated regarding their effects on ECT induced haemodynamic changes (Blood pressure, Heart rate), seizure duration related to the procedure and recovery from sleep. Any side effects during the procedure and recovery were also noted. RESULTS Propofol offered a superior haemodynamic stability during the procedure and a quick recovery from sleep. CONCLUSION Propofol was found to be a better induction agent for ECT compared to thiopentone sodium.
Growth and Feedlot Performance of Lori-Bakhtiari, Romanov × Lori-Bakhtiari and Pakistani × Lori-Bakhtiari Crossbred Lambs

This study was conducted to compare the feedlot performance and growth traits of Lori-Bakhtiari (n=39), Romanov × Lori-Bakhtiari (n=38) and Pakistani × Lori-Bakhtiari crossbred (n=12) lambs during two consecutive years. Lambs were weaned at the age of 90 ± 5 days. After weaning and preliminary fattening period, three groups of lambs were fattened for 90 days in the same conditions. The results showed that weaning weight in Romanov × Lori-Bakhtiari crossbred lambs were significantly higher than in Lori-Bakhtiari and Pakistani × Lori-Bakhtiari crossbred lambs. Lori-Bakhtiari and Romanov × Lori-Bakhtiari lambs were not significantly different (P < 0.05) for daily gain, feed intake, feed conversion ratio and final weight of the finishing period. Lori-Bakhtiari and Romanov × Lori-Bakhtiari lambs for daily gain (200 and 184 gr), feed conversion ratio (8.52 and 8.95) and final weight (51.78 and 50.26 kg) of the finishing period were significantly (P < 0.05) higher than in Pakistani × Lori-Bakhtiari crossbred lambs for this traits (47.71 kg, 155 gr and 11.07, respectively). Effect of year in different genetic group on fattening traits was significant (P < 0.05). In each genetic group between male and female lambs for fattening traits was significant differences (P < 0.05), however, between Lori-Bakhtiari and Romanov × Lori-Bakhtiari lambs for fattening traits were not significantly different. Therefore, crossbreeding between Romanov and Lori-Bakhtiari were better than crossbreeding between Pakistani and Lori-Bakhtiari to improve growth and fattening performance.
Clustered Tuberculosis in a Low-Burden Country: Nationwide Genotyping through 15 Years

ABSTRACT Molecular genotyping of Mycobacterium tuberculosis has proved to be a powerful tool in tuberculosis surveillance, epidemiology, and control. Based on results obtained through 15 years of nationwide IS6110 restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) genotyping of M. tuberculosis cases in Denmark, a country on the way toward tuberculosis elimination, we discuss M. tuberculosis transmission dynamics and point to areas for control interventions. Cases with 100% identical genotypes (RFLP patterns) were defined as clustered, and a cluster was defined as cases with an identical genotype. Of 4,601 included cases, corresponding to 76% of reported and 97% of culture-verified tuberculosis cases in the country, 56% were clustered, of which 69% were Danes. Generally, Danes were more often in large clusters (≥50 persons), older (mean age, 45 years), and male (male/female ratio, 2.5). Also, Danes had a higher cluster frequency within a 2-year observation window (60.8%), and higher clustering rate of new patterns over time, compared to immigrants. A dominant genotype, cluster 2, constituted 44% of all clustered and 35% of all genotyped cases. This cluster was primarily found among Danish males, 30 to 59 years of age, often socially marginalized, and with records of alcohol abuse. In Danes, cluster 2 alone was responsible for the high cluster frequency level. Immigrants had a higher incidence of clustered tuberculosis at a younger age (0 to 39 years). To achieve tuberculosis elimination in Denmark, high-risk transmission environments, like the cluster 2 enviornment in Danes, and specific transmission chains in immigrants in the capital area, e.g., homeless/socially marginalized Somalis/Greenlanders, often with alcohol abuse, must be targeted, including groups with a high risk of reactivation.
Expression of cathepsin B in human hepatocellular carcinoma and its prognostic significance

The objective of this study was to analyze the expression of cathepsin B (CTSB) and its clinicopathological significance in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The expression of CTSB mRNA was analyzed in Oncomine database. The expression of CTSB protein in 90 specimens of HCC and paired non-tumor tissue microarray (TMA) was determined by immunohistochemistry. Associations of CTSB expression with the clinicopathological features were analyzed, and prognosis of HCC patients was evaluated. Unlike the expression pattern in most other cancers, the status of CTSB mRNA and protein in HCC tissues is much lower than that in paracarcinoma tissues or normal liver tissues. In our research, we used IHC analysis to reveal low expression levels of CTSB in 55 of 90 (61.11%) hepatic carcinoma and 31 of 90 (34.4%) paracarcinoma specimens. Down-expression of CTSB was significantly associated with survival (P = 0.001) and tumor grade (P = 0.007). In addition, Multivariate analysis also suggested that CTSB expression was an independent prognostic marker for survival in patients with HCC (HR 0.514, 95% CI 0.281-0.942; P = 0.031). To sum up, the down-expression of CTSB may be an independent prognostic factor for HCC patients.
Cooperative Modulation Classification for Multipath Fading Channels via Expectation-Maximization

In this paper, we investigate the cooperative modulation classification problem under multipath scenarios with blind channel information. Multipath channels cause severe degradation on the modulation classification performance, which has not yet been thoroughly solved in the existing literature. To address this issue, a likelihood-based classifier using the expectation-maximization algorithm is proposed, which is capable of finding the maximum likelihood estimates of unknown parameters in a tractable way. Furthermore, to evaluate the upper bound performance of the proposed algorithm, the Cramér–Rao lower bounds of the joint estimates of unknown parameters are derived. Extensive simulations show that the classification performance of the proposed algorithm with good initialization scheme is close to the performance upper bound in the high signal-to-noise ratio region. The results also demonstrate that the proposed algorithm provides significant performance improvement in the multipath channels compared with conventional approaches.
Modeling Interaction Effects in Polarization: Individual Media Influence and the Impact of Town Meetings

We are increasingly exposed to polarized media sources, with clear evidence that individuals choose those sources closest to their existing views. We also have a tradition of open face-to-face group discussion in town meetings, for example. There are a range of current proposals to revive the role of group meetings in democratic decision-making. Here, we build a simulation that instantiates aspects of reinforcement theory in a model of competing social influences. What can we expect in the interaction of polarized media with group interaction along the lines of town meetings? Some surprises are evident from a computational model that includes both. Deliberative group discussion can be expected to produce opinion convergence. That convergence may not, however, be a cure for extreme views polarized at opposite ends of the opinion spectrum. In a large class of cases, we show that adding the influence of group meetings in an environment of self-selected media produces not a moderate central consensus but opinion convergence at one of the extremes defined by polarized media.
Most calretinin-containing amacrine cells in the rabbit retina co-localize glycine

Calretinin-containing retinal amacrine cells are heterogeneous with regard to their neurochemical properties. In the rabbit retina, about 90% of them contain glycine, as evidenced in the present study by double-label immunocytochemistry. In a previous report, we showed that a small population of amacrine cells contains both γ-aminobutyric acid and calretinin. In this study, we further identified this cell population by means of known secondary markers. However, none of the markers we tested (choline acetyltransferase, serotonin accumulation, NADPH-diaphorase, vasoactive intestinal polypeptide) co-localized with calretinin. A small population (1%) of the cells in the ganglion cell layer contains both calretinin and glycine. Since calretinin-positive cells in the ganglion cell layer have been identified as ganglion cells based on soma size and presence of calretinin-positive axons in the optic nerve fiber layer, this population may represent a class of ganglion cell which contains glycine. Our results, together with those of other studies, suggest that calretinin is not a general marker of any of the well-known amacrine cell types in the mammalian retina. Rather, calretinin, just as other calcium-binding proteins, is distributed in a species-specific manner. At the same time it appears that, as shown for horizontal cells, one or more of the major buffer-type calcium-binding proteins of the EF-hand family is present in most of the retinal amacrine cells.
Replacement of fish meal with maggot meal in African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) diets.

Maggot meal produced from maggots grown on a mixture of cattle blood and wheat bran was used in substituting fish meal in African catfish, Clarias gariepinus, diet. A feeding trial was carried out for a period of ten weeks to evaluate the growth and nutrient utilization of catfish juveniles using diets in which fish meal was substituted with maggot meal at the following levels, 0, 50, and 100 %. Proximate and amino acid analyses of the maggot meal were carried out. Also the proximate composition of the test diets was determined. The results showed that maggot meal has 92.7% dry matter, 47.6% crude protein, 25.3% fat, 7.5% crude fiber, 6.25% ash, and an amino acid profile comparable to fish meal. Maggot meal-based diets compared favourably with fish meal-based diets as there were no significant differences in the growth and nutrient utilization indices (weight gain, length gain, daily growth rate, specific growth rate, feed conversion ratio and protein efficiency ratio). It is concluded that maggot meal is a viable alternative protein source to fish meal in the diet of African catfish. Its utilization is expected to reduce feed cost drastically, thus leading to a viable and sustainable aquaculture industry.