Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Circulating ICAM-1 is increased in septic shock.

Adhesion molecules play a critical role in the interaction of circulating neutrophils with vascular endothelium during inflammation. Increased quantities of soluble, circulating intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (cICAM-1) are present in various inflammatory conditions. The purpose of this investigation was to measure cICAM-1 levels in septic adults, as well as to examine the relationship between this potential marker of endothelial-cell activation and the consequences of sepsis (i.e., multiple organ failure and death). Using a sandwich-type enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), we measured cICAM-1 in blood samples obtained within 12 h of admission to an intensive care unit (ICU) for sepsis and other conditions. We found cICAM-1 levels to be increased in 25 septic patients (1,259 +/- 159 ng/ml, mean +/- SEM) as compared with 12 healthy volunteers (355 +/- 41 ng/ml, p < 0.0001) and four ICU patients without systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) (585 +/- 76 ng/ml, p < 0.001). Twenty-five patients with SIRS but no evidence of causative infection also had elevated levels of cICAM-1 (937 +/- 144 ng/ml, p = 0.12 versus sepsis). Serial measurements over the first week of sepsis demonstrated persistent elevation in most patients. Day 1 cICAM-1 levels were higher (p = 0.017, ANOVA) in 16 patients with septic shock than in seven with severe sepsis and two with sepsis but without hypotension or hypoperfusion. There was a positive correlation (r = 0.50, p = 0.009) between Day-1 cICAM-1 measurements and severity of shock as determined by the presence of hypotension and vasopressor use. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
ESPGHAN 2012 Guidelines for Coeliac Disease Diagnosis: Validation Through a Retrospective Spanish Multicentric Study

Objectives: A large retrospective multicentre study was conducted in Spain to evaluate the efficiency of the new European Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition (ESPGHAN) criteria for the diagnosis of coeliac disease (CD). Methods: The study protocol was approved by the ethics committee of Hospital Universitari i Politècnic La Fe (Valencia, Spain). The present study included 2177 children (ages 0.6–15.9 years) with small bowel biopsy (SBB) performed for diagnostic purposes (from 2000 to 2009) and with a minimum 2-year follow-up after biopsy. Results: CD was diagnosed in 2126 patients (97.5%) and excluded in 51 (2.5%). Tissue transglutaminase antibodies (TG2A), anti-endomysial antibodies (EMA), and human leukocyte antigen (HLA) were reported in 751 patients, 640 symptomatic and 111 asymptomatic. TG2A levels >10 times the upper limit of normal, plus positive EMA and HLA DQ2 and/or DQ8 haplotypes, were found in 336 symptomatic patients, all of them with final diagnosis of CD. In 65 of 69 asymptomatic patients, 65 had confirmed CD and 4 did not have CD. According to the 2012 ESPGHAN guidelines, SBB may have been omitted in 52% of the symptomatic patients with CD with serologic and HLA available data. Gluten challenge was performed in 158 children, 75 of them <2 years at first biopsy. Only 1 patient in whom according to the new proposed diagnostic criteria gluten challenge would not have been mandatory did not relapse. Conclusions: Our results support the new ESPGHAN 2012 guidelines for diagnosis of CD can be safely used without the risk of overdiagnosis. A prospective multicentre study is needed to confirm our results.
Validation of the English and French versions of the Brief Health Care Climate Questionnaire

Patient autonomy is a central value in medicine and critical component of adherence to medical advice. This article reports on a validation of the 6-item version of the Health Care Climate Questionnaire (HCCQ), a measure of autonomy support in health care settings, in a sample of 242 melanoma patients. The HCCQ showed excellent internal consistency (α = .91), structural validity (Tucker–Lewis index = .99; comparative fit index = .99; root mean square error of approximation = .06, 90 per cent confidence interval (.00, .11); standardized root mean square residual = . 02; χ2 (8, N = 235) = 13.99, p = . 08) and construct validity (92.31% of hypothesized correlations with other measures confirmed). Acceptable 3-month test–retest reliability was observed (r = .55, p < .001; intraclass correlation coefficient (A, 1) = . 54, p < . 001). The French version was found equivalent to the English version.
Toxic effects of PCB126 and TCDD on shortnose sturgeon and Atlantic sturgeon

Exposure to chemical contaminants is often invoked to explain recruitment failures to populations of sturgeon worldwide, but there is little empirical evidence to support the idea that young sturgeon are sensitive at environmentally relevant concentrations. The authors used shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostum) and Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus) as models to investigate the sensitivities of sturgeon to early‐life‐stage toxicities from embryonic exposures to graded doses of polychlorinated biphenyl 126 (PCB126) and 2,3,7,8‐tetrachlorodibenzo‐p‐dioxin (TCDD). Survival to hatching of shortnose sturgeon decreased with increasing dose, although the duration of the embryonic period was not significantly altered by exposure in either species. Morphometric features of larvae of both species were affected by dose, including shortening of the body, reduction in head size, reduction in quantity of yolk reserves, and reduction in eye size. Eye development in both species was delayed with increasing dose for both chemicals. The persistence of larvae in a food‐free environment decreased inversely with dose in both species, with sharp declines occurring at PCB126 and TCDD doses of ≥1 ppb and ≥0.1 ppb, respectively. Dose‐responsive early‐life‐stage toxicities reported here are among the more sensitive found in fish and occurred at burdens similar to those found in situ in a sympatric bottom‐dwelling bony fish in the Hudson River Estuary. The present study is among the first demonstrating the sensitivity of any sturgeon to the hallmark early‐life‐stage toxicities induced by aryl hydrocarbon receptor agonists. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2012; 31: 2324–2337. © 2012 SETAC
Neonatal Isolation Enhances Hippocampal Dentate Response to Tetanization in Freely Moving Juvenile Male Rats

The impact of early neonatal isolation on measures of hippocampal neuronal plasticity was examined in freely moving male rats at 30 days of age. Beginning on Postnatal (PN) Day 2, one-half of pups from each experimental litter were individually isolated from the nest, dam, and siblings for a period of 1 h per day over PN Days 2-9, while their siblings remained in the nest. In addition, randomly selected litters served as unhandled controls. On PN Day 26 all pups were weaned and chronically implanted for recording of evoked field potentials and induction of hippocampal longterm potentiation. At 30 days of age, pups from the three treatment groups (isolated, nonisolated siblings, and unhandled controls) were tested for their ability to establish and maintain long-term potentiation across the perforant path/hippocampal dentate granule cell synapse. Changes in population EPSP slope and population spike amplitude (PSA) recorded following tetanization were used to assess the effects of neonatal isolation of hippocampal response measures. No significant between-group differences were obtained for input/output response curves constructed prior to tetanization. All three groups showed immediate and significant enhancement of the PSA measure at 15 min posttetanization. The level of PSA enhancement obtained from previously isolated pups was significantly greater than that obtained from both the nonisolated sibling and unhandled control groups. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Mycobacterium tuberculosis appears to lack α‐ketoglutarate dehydrogenase and encodes pyruvate dehydrogenase in widely separated genes

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) persists for prolonged periods in macrophages, where it must adapt to metabolic limitations and oxidative/nitrosative stress. However, little is known about Mtb's intermediary metabolism or antioxidant defences. We recently identified a peroxynitrite reductase‐peroxidase complex in Mtb that included products of the genes sucB and lpd, which are annotated to encode the dihydrolipoamide succinyltransferase (E2) and lipoamide dehydrogenase (E3) components of α‐ketoglutarate dehydrogenase (KDH). However, we could detect no KDH activity in Mtb lysates, nor could we reconstitute KDH by combining the recombinant proteins SucA (annotated as the E1 component of KDH), SucB and Lpd. We therefore renamed the sucB product dihydrolipoamide acyltransferase (DlaT). Mtb lysates contained pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) activity, which was lost when the dlaT gene (formerly, sucB) was disrupted. Purification of PDH from Mtb yielded AceE, annotated as an E1 component of PDH, along with DlaT and Lpd. Moreover, anti‐DlaT antibody coimmunoprecipitated AceE. Finally, recombinant AceE, DlaT and Lpd, although encoded by genes that are widely separated on the chromosome, reconstituted PDH in vitro with Km values typical of bacterial PDH complexes. In sum, Mtb appears to lack KDH. Instead, DlaT and Lpd join with AceE to constitute PDH.
Comparative study of dimension reduction and recognition algorithms of DCT and 2DPCA

Based on the application of DCT (discrete cosine transform) in the image compression, the feasibility of DCT to be used in image feature dimension reduction is analyzed, and the basic principle of the image feature dimension reduction based on DCT is given in this paper. And then, taking the face recognition and the facial expression recognition as the research background, the theoretical analysis that DCT algorithm has the higher recognition than 2DPCA (two-dimensional principal component analysis) in the face recognition and the facial expression recognition is given under the condition that DCT and 2DPCA algorithms have the approximate dimension reduction effect. At last, the comparative simulation experiment is performed on DCT and 2DPCA algorithms respectively by use of the AT&T face database and JAFFE facial expression database.
Duration of Untreated Illness as a Predictor of Treatment Response and Remission in Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder

Abstract Objectives. The Duration of Untreated Illness (DUI), defined as the time elapsing between the onset of a disorder and the beginning of the first pharmacological treatment, has been increasingly investigated as a predictor of outcome and course across different psychiatric disorders. Purpose of this naturalistic study was to evaluate the influence of DUI on treatment response and remission in a sample of patients with obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). Methods. Sixty-six outpatients with a DSM-IV diagnosis of OCD were included in the study. Patients received, according to their clinical conditions, an open pharmacological treatment of 12 weeks and were evaluated by the administration of the Yale Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) at baseline and endpoint. Treatment response was defined as a decrease . 25% on Y-BOCS score compared to baseline, while remission was defined as an endpoint Y-BOCS total score #10. A logistic regression was performed considering DUI as the independent continuous variable and treatment response and remission as the dependent variables. Moreover, the sample was divided into two groups according to a categorical cut-off for the DUI of 24 months and odds ratios (OR) were calculated on the basis of the same variables. Results. DUI, considered as a continuous variable, was not predictive of treatment response (OR51.00, P50.15) nor remission (OR51.00, P50.59). When considered as a categorical variable, however, a DUI # 24 months was predictive of treatment response (OR50.27, P50.03). Conclusions. Results from the present naturalistic study suggest a complicated relationship between DUI and treatment outcome in OCD encouraging further investigation with larger samples in order to better define long versus short DUI in this condition.
Changes in the Expression of Calcitonin Receptor-Like Receptor, Receptor Activity-Modifying Protein (RAMP) 1, RAMP2, and RAMP3 in Rat Uterus During Pregnancy, Labor, and by Steroid Hormone Treatments1

Abstract Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and its related peptide, adrenomedullin (AM), are potent smooth muscle relaxants in a variety of tissues. The CGRP has been reported to play an important role in maintaining uterine relaxation during pregnancy. We have previously reported that CGRP-induced uterine relaxation was gestationally regulated. Calcitonin receptor-like receptor (CRLR), a seven-domain transmembrane protein functions as CGRP-A receptor, in association with receptor activity-modifying protein (RAMP) 1, a single-domain transmembrane protein, whereas CRLR and RAMP2 or RAMP3 constitute a receptor for AM. In the present investigation, we examined the mRNA expression of CRLR, RAMP1, RAMP2, and RAMP3 in rat uterus (n = 8) by reverse transcriptional analysis and polymerase chain reaction to assess the changes in the expression of CGRP-A- and AM-receptor components during pregnancy and labor and by steroid hormone treatments in adult ovariectomized rats. The changes in mRNA are expressed relative to the 18S mRNA in the uterus of rats at various stages: nonpregnant, pregnant on Day 18, spontaneous labor at term, Day 2 postpartum, and in pregnant rats on treatment with RU486. Ovariectomized rats treated for 3 days twice daily s.c. with estradiol-17β (2.5 μg/injection), progesterone (2 mg/injection), and the combination of estradiol-17β and progesterone (same doses as above) were also examined for the expression of various receptor components. Results showed that mRNA expression of the receptor components was significantly higher (P < 0.001 for CRLR, P < 0.01 for RAMP1, P < 0.05 for RAMP2, and P < 0.01 for RAMP3) in pregnant compared to nonpregnant rats. Except for RAMP3, expression of all the other three genes decreased significantly (P < 0.05) during labor. A progesterone antagonist, RU486 significantly decreased (P < 0.01 for CRLR, P < 0.05 for RAMP1, RAMP2, and RAMP3) all the receptor components during pregnancy. In adult ovariectomized rats, progesterone caused significant increases in CRLR (P < 0.001), RAMP1 (P < 0.05), and RAMP2 (P < 0.01). Levels of RAMP3 were unaffected by the progesterone treatment. Estradiol-17β treatment decreased all of the four receptor components significantly (P < 0.01 for CRLR, P < 0.05 for RAMP1, RAMP2, and RAMP3). Our results demonstrate that both CGRP and AM may play a role in uterine quiescence during pregnancy and that their receptor components are regulated by the steroid hormones.
Bleeding risk assessment in patients undergoing elective cardiac surgery using ROTEM® platelet and Multiplate® impedance aggregometry

Impaired platelet function is a major risk factor for peri‐operative bleeding and transfusion. This prospective, observational study enrolled 101 consecutive patients undergoing elective cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass. Platelet function was assessed by two whole blood impedance aggregometers (ROTEM® platelet and Multiplate®), using three different activators (arachidonic acid, adenosine diphosphate and thrombin receptor‐activating peptide‐6), at three peri‐operative time points (before anaesthesia, after aortic declamping and 5–10 min after protamine administration). Platelet function was impaired over the time‐course in all assays. Results after protamine administration demonstrated the best correlation with postoperative chest tube drainage. Patients with a chest tube drainage exceeding the 75th percentile of the entire study population, during the first 24 postoperative hours, were characterised to have excessive bleeding. Both devices provided similar predictability for postoperative chest tube drainage and red blood cell transfusion requirements. The latter was associated with the degree of platelet inhibition and the number of pathways inhibited determined respective cut‐off values.
Platelet Aggregation and Fibrinogen Binding in Human, Rhesus Monkey, Guinea-Pig, Hamster and Rat Blood: Activation by ADP and a Thrombin Receptor Peptide and Inhibition by Glycoprotein IIb/IIIa Antagonists

Summary Platelet aggregation and fibrinogen binding in whole blood, induced either by ADP or by a 14 amino acid peptide mimicking an N-terminal region of the platelet thrombin receptor (TRP, thrombin receptor activating peptide), have been studied with blood from different species. Aggregation was assessed by counting the number of single platelets in blood before und after addition of the agonist with an automated cell counter. Both ADP (0.02-0.5 μM) and TRP (1-10 μM) were found to be potent agonists of platelet aggregation in human, rhesus monkey and guinea-pig blood, causing a near-maximal aggregatory response within 2 min of agonist addition. In contrast, hamster and rat platelets were much less responsive to both ADP and TRP in terms of the whole blood aggregation. Echistatin, RGDW and a synthetic glycoprotein (GP) IIb/IIIa antagonist, Ro 43-8857, inhibited fibrinogen binding to purified immobilized human GP-IIb/IIIa with IC50’s of 1.6, 88 and 11.4 nM, respectively. In whole human blood, the respective IC50’s (as determined by flow cytometric analysis of platelet fibrinogen binding) were 4.4, 1700 and 29.5 nM. The affinities of these three compounds for inhibiting fibrinogen binding in whole blood from rhesus monkeys and guinea-pigs were similar to the affinities for human platelets, but with rat blood echistatin, RGDW and Ro 43-8857 were all around 100-fold less potent. Ro 43-8857 was a potent inhibitor of ADP- or TRP-induced platelet aggregation in human, rhesus monkey and guinea-pig whole blood (IC50 of 69-320 nM) but was much less active in hamster blood. These results highlight important species differences in the response of platelets to activation by two different agonists and also in their inhibition by GP-IIb/IIIa antagonists. In particular, platelets from the rat and hamster were insensitive to agonists and antagonists, whereas guinea-pig and rhesus monkey platelets responded with an affinity similar to human platelets. Since these studies were performed in whole blood, the results should be representative of those expected in animal experiments. These recently developed methods for studying platelet responses in small aliquots of whole blood are simple to perform and provide important information concerning the optimal choice of species for subsequent in vivo studies with these compounds.
The nucleus basalis of Meynert in neurological disease: A quantitative morphological study

The recent finding of neuronal degeneration in the nucleus basalis of Meynert (nbM) in Alzheimer's disease suggests a possible role of this nucleus and the cholinergic system in dementing illness. We assessed neuronal population and density in two anatomical levels of the nbM in 38 coded brains from patients with a broad variety of neurological disorders. We found the most striking nbM degeneration in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. An intermediate loss of neurons was noted in the transmissible dementia Creutzfeldt‐Jakob disease and in progressive supranuclear palsy. The usually nondementing diseases amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and multiple sclerosis showed cell counts comparable to those in a control group of nondemented patients with cerebrovascular disease. Characteristic neuropathological changes of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Creutzfeldt‐Jakob diseases, progressive supranuclear palsy, and subacute sclerosing panencephalitis were also found in the nbM. Most previous studies of the nbM have been based on small numbers of cases compared with controls. In our large series we used consistent methodology and a multiple‐comparison statstical procedure to avoid overreporting of statistical significance. Our comparison of the nbM not only confirms the marked degeneration of the nbM in Alzheimer's disease, but also places such degeneration into perspective in a spectrum of dementing and nondementing neurological diseases. Larger case studies, using appropriate statistical techniques for multiple group comparisons, are needed to establish the significance of nbM degeneration in neurological disease.
The Effects of Job Insecurity on Job Satisfaction, Organizational Citizenship Behavior, Deviant Behavior, and Negative Emotions of Employees

This research examines the effects of job insecurity on three outcomes: job attitudes (satisfaction), work behaviors (organizational citizenship behavior and deviant behavior), and negative emotions (anxiety, anger, and burnout). A total of 320 U. S. managers responded to a self-report electronic survey. Additionally, two independent referees have analyzed and rated a subset of the sample of managers' (N = 97) comments over an electronic discussion group about their job satisfaction, organizational citizenship behavior, and deviant behavior. Analyses of both sets of data show that job insecurity is negatively related to satisfaction and that job insecurity has both direct and indirect effects on work behaviors and emotions. We address these results in the context of growing pressures on business to improve efficiencies through human capital reductions bearing in mind the trade-offs that businesses must anticipate as employees respond to job insecurity in ways that are counterproductive to organizational purpose.
Job satisfaction and organisational citizenship behaviour: An empirical study at higher learning institutions

This study is designed to measure the two dimensions of organisational citizenship behaviour (i.e., OCBI and OCBO) and to examine how these organisational citizenship behaviours are related to the two facets of job satisfaction (intrinsic and extrinsic). To achieve the research objectives, the survey method is employed. Findings of this study reveal that both extrinsic and intrinsic job satisfaction are very important in predicting citizenship behaviour. Implications and limitations of the study are discussed along with suggestions for future research.
Hindsight bias as a function of anchor distance and anchor plausibility

This study explored the influence of anchor distance on hindsight bias and how the subjective plausibility of different anchors moderates this relation. In addition to the standard memory design used in hindsight bias research, participants were asked to indicate the range of values for possible answers to difficult almanac questions. Varying anchor distance on the basis of each participant's individual range of possible answers showed (1) that anchor plausibility decreased with increasing anchor distance following a non-linear monotone function, (2) that size of hindsight bias initially increased with increasing anchor distance but, from a certain distance, started to decrease, and (3) that hindsight bias was found to be always higher for plausible than for implausible anchors.
Quality parameters of pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus) and tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum) gutted and stored on ice for different periods

The purpose of this work was to assess the quality of pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus) and tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum) gutted and stored on ice for a period of 19 days. Color, texture, pH, acid value, peroxide value, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, total volatile bases and counts of aerobic mesophilic heterotrophic and psychrotrophic bacteria assessments were performed in the meat of tambaqui and pacu gutted and stored on ice for different periods. We concluded that tambaqui and pacu, when gutted and stored on ice, continue to be fit for consumption, up until the 18 th and 11 th day of storage, respectively.