Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Epstein-Barr Virus—Associated Posttransplantation Lymphoproliferative Disorder With Tacrolimus Metabolism Deterioration in Infants After Living-Donor Liver Transplantation

Background Posttransplantation lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD) in infants after liver transplantation is strongly associated with tacrolimus (Tac) administration and primary Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) transmission. Methods From 1991 to 2012, 32 survivors younger than 2 years who had undergone living-donor liver transplantation using Tac for primary immunosuppression were retrospectively investigated for changes in Tac trough levels before and at the onset of posttransplantation viral infection episodes. Results Twenty-one recipients experienced 33 viral infection episodes associated with EBV-related PTLD (n=5), symptomatic EBV infection without development of PTLD (n=8), and other viral infections (n=20). Although the average Tac trough levels during the 2 months before the onset of viral infection episodes were similar among the 33 episodes (9.0±2.8 ng/mL), the Tac trough levels at the onset were significantly higher in the episodes with PTLD than in those with EBV infection without the development of PTLD and with other viral infections (19.2±9.0 ng/mL vs. 9.3±5.2 ng/mL and 10.6±5.1 ng/mL, respectively) (P<0.05). Tacrolimus trough levels at the onset of PTLD were significantly higher during the 2 months before the onset (median, 1.83 times higher than average) compared with EBV infection (1.14 times higher) and other viral infections (1.06 times higher) (P<0.05). The Tac blood concentration-to-dose ratio at the onset of PTLD was more than twice as high as the average value during the 2 months before the onset. Conclusion Deteriorated Tac metabolism accompanied by a positive change in the blood EBV DNA load may enable us to predict the development of PTLD in liver-transplanted infants with viral infection.
FAU regulates carboplatin resistance in ovarian cancer

The development of chemotherapy resistance by cancer cells is complex, using different mechanisms and pathways. The gene FAU (Finkel‐Biskis‐Reilly murine sarcoma virus (FBR‐MuSV)‐associated ubiquitously expressed gene) was identified through functional expression cloning and previous data have shown that overexpression enhances apoptosis in several cell types. We demonstrate that the expression of FAU was reduced in the A2780cis (cisplatin resistant subclone of A2780) cell line compared with the A2780 ovarian cancer cell line, and was directly related to the cell line's sensitivity to carboplatin. Downregulation of FAU in the A2780 cell line by transfection with two predesigned short‐interfering RNAs (siRNAs) to FAU resulted in a significant increase in resistance to carboplatin‐induced cell death. Downregulation resulted in increased cell viability and reduced apoptosis after 72 hr of drug treatment compared with the negative controls (Kruskal‐Wallis P = 0.0002). Transfection of the A2780cis cell line with the pcDNA3 plasmid containing FAU was associated with increased sensitivity to carboplatin‐induced apoptosis, with decreased cell viability and increased apoptosis (Mann Whitney P < 0.0001). The expression of FAU was examined by quantitative real‐time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction in normal and malignant ovarian tissue. A significant reduction in the expression of FAU was seen in the malignant compared with normal ovarian samples (Kruskal‐Wallis P = 0.0261). These data support a role for FAU in the regulation of platinum‐resistance in ovarian cancer. Further research is needed into the apoptotic pathway containing FAU to investigate the potential for targeted therapies to increase or restore the platinum sensitivity of ovarian cancer. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Characterization of Connection Assignment of Diagnosable Systems

Preparata, Metze, and Chien [1] gave necessary conditions for identification of all faulty units in a system S capable of automatic fault diagnosis. We show that these conditions are sufficient if in S no two units test each other. Necessary and sufficient conditions are also obtained for the general case when no such restriction is placed on S.
Undiagnosed hyperglycemia in clozapine-treated patients with schizophrenia.

BACKGROUND Clozapine has been demonstrated to be superior to typical neuroleptics in reducing refractory symptoms in patients with schizophrenia, but it has also been associated with hyperglycemia and diabetes mellitus. This study was designed to investigate the proportion of undiagnosed impaired fasting glucose and diabetes mellitus in patients prescribed clozapine at 8 Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers. METHOD All patients diagnosed by the VA in New England with ICD-9 schizophrenia from Oct. 1, 1999, to Sept. 30, 2000, who received a prescription for clozapine were identified, and an attempt was made to obtain a fasting plasma glucose (FPG) test. All patients were also characterized as to whether they were diagnosed as diabetic prior to the screening FPG. Patients not previously diagnosed as diabetic were divided into 2 groups: normal FPG (< 110 mg/dL) and elevated FPG (>or= 110 mg/dL). Clinical and sociodemographic characteristics of the 2 groups were compared using chi-square and t tests. RESULTS Overall, 121 patients were not previously diagnosed as diabetic and received an FPG. Ninety-three (77%) had a normal FPG, and 28 (23%) had an elevated plasma glucose-including 17% with impaired fasting glucose and 6% with diabetes. Patients with hyperglycemia were significantly older (p =.007) and more commonly codiagnosed with bipolar disorder (p =.04). CONCLUSION Hyperglycemia was common in patients receiving clozapine who had not been previously diagnosed as diabetic. These patients should be considered a group at high risk to develop diabetes mellitus and deserve both close monitoring and early intervention at the first sign of the onset of either diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance.
A new approach in the evaluation of hospital information systems

Hospital information system (HIS) evaluation frameworks have largely been discussed in the literature. However, existing frameworks lack one important aspect: to what extent user expectations of HISs are met. In this study, user expectation data are collected by means of the 'expectation questionnaire'. The internal consistencies of the answers to the questionnaire are measured by Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Fuzzy logic methodologies are used to evaluate the expectation variables in the proposed evaluation framework. The evaluation variables are not represented in the results equally; they are reflected by the weights assigned by the users. Our proposed framework provides the overall degree of to what extent the user expectations are met. It also gives the opportunity to analyze to what extent each expectation is met and the degree of to what extent different user groups' expectations are met. The proposed framework is not a rival of but is rather an alternative or complementary to the existing frameworks. It is a different approach and has a different computation methodology, supported by fuzzy logic. The acceptable meeting ratio depends on the evaluator; we do not propose a threshold.
The Dynamics of Complex Biological-Psychosocial Systems

The scope of this introductory contribution is to present some general facts and ideas which could enhance our understanding of this enigmatic illness. By ‘mediating processes’ (or ‘mediators’) I mean mechanisms providing bridges between different aspects of knowledge of the schizophrenia-puzzle which, so far, have not been linked together in a satisfactory way: one of the central problems is the identification of mediators between psychosocial factors on the one hand, and biological factors on the other. If we do not succeed in building up conceptually valid bridges between these two aspects, which are testable for hypothesis-orientated research, a disastrous splitting of our understanding and treatment of schizophrenia into either biological or psychosocial reductionism is likely.
Regulation of domestic cat ownership to protect urban wildlife: a justification based on the precautionary principle

While it is undeniable that both feral cats and owned domestic cats prey on native wildlife, evidence that this is a threat to the viability of wildlife populations is contentious, particularly in the suburbs. Where uncertainty is great or the risks are high, the precautionary principle is a guide as to whether or not action should be taken to regulate domestic cats This involves an evaluation of the available evidence and the extent of uncertainty, as well as consideration of the viewpoints of major stakeholders. Applying this approach leads to the conclusion that wildlife can be protected while improving cat welfare, Containing cats at night not only separates cats and nocturnal wildlife, but minimises trauma from both cat fights and road accidents while reducing nuisance to neighbours from caterwauling and fighting. Desexed cats no longer contribute toward unwanted stray and feral cat populations that depredate native wildlife populations and are often less of a nuisance to neighbours and themselves as spraying and fighting are reduced. Cats with identification can be returned to their owners should they be found lost or injured, while problem cats can be identified. Therefore, the cat welfare issue is the key to a successful precautionary approach because it achieves wildlife protection while respecting the interests of cat owners.
A longitudinal study of calprotectin as an inflammatory marker in patients with reactive arthritis.

OBJECTIVE To examine the value of calprotectin, a major granulocyte protein with bactericide properties, as an inflammatory marker in patients with reactive arthritis. METHODS Twenty-five patients with Chlamydia-induced and 27 patients with enterobacteria-induced reactive arthritis were analysed. At the first visit and after 3, 12, 24, 52 and 104 weeks, calprotectin concentrations were measured in plasma and when possible, in synovial fluid. C-reactive protein (CRP) and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) were analysed and clinical assessments of disease activity were performed. RESULTS Of the inflammatory markers, the plasma calprotectin concentrations were the first to normalize during recovery. Calprotectin concentrations in the plasma were highly correlated with CRP and ESR, and calprotectin was found to have high correlation coefficients with the clinical assessments of disease activity. High calprotectin concentrations were found in the synovial fluid. CONCLUSION The high correlations between calprotectin in plasma and clinical and laboratory markers of inflammation, as well as the rapid normalization following clinical improvement, demonstrate that calprotectin may be used as an inflammatory marker in patients with reactive arthritis.
Weinberg's Differential Rule Reconsidered

ABSTRACT A central problem in research on twins is the estimation of the rates of monozygotic and dizygotic twin maternities. The estimation usually follows Weinberg's differential rule. According to this rule, the rate of dizygotic twinning is twice the rate of twin maternities in which the twins are of opposite sex. The monozygotic twinning rate is the difference between the rates of same-sex and opposite-sex twin sets. Weinberg's differential rule is implicitly based on the assumptions that the probability of a male equals the probability of a female and that the sexes in a dizygotic twin set are independent. Although Weinberg's differential rule has been the target of continuing discussions, the reliability of these assumptions has never been conclusively verified or rejected. In this study we present new variance formulas for the monozygotic and dizygotic twinning rates obtained using Weinberg's differential rule and stress that these new formulas have to be used. We analyze the accuracy of Weinberg's differential rule by considering alternative attempts. Especially, we build a general likelihood function and show that the maximum-likelihood estimates differ only slightly from the rates obtained using Weinberg's differential rule. In addition, our methods are applied to twinning data from Finland and Sweden. We compare our results with findings in the literature. In conclusion, our findings indicate that Weinberg's differential rule is rather robust and that despite its simplicity, it gives reliable results when official birth registers are analyzed.
Does Mirtazapine Interfere With Naturalistic Diabetes Treatment?

Abstract Mirtazapine is known to induce weight gain and possibly leads to exacerbation of diabetic profiles. However, many cases of diabetic patients, who complained of insomnia and depression, were treated with mirtazapine in the clinical situations. Thus, this study aimed to assess any negative effects that treatment with mirtazapine may incur in diabetic patients. This study included 33 patients enrolled in naturalistic diabetes treatment that had also been diagnosed with depression and prescribed mirtazapine for at least 6 months. Another 33 diabetic patients who had not taken any psychiatric medicines were included as a control group. Body mass index, fasting plasma glucose, HbA1c, total cholesterol, triglyceride levels, high-density lipoprotein, and low-density lipoprotein were assessed at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months. The dose of mirtazapine at baseline was 24.3 ± 14.0 mg/d in the mirtazapine group, and the 2 groups did not differ in any baseline characteristics except for total cholesterol levels. Body mass index increased in both groups, and the change in the mirtazapine group (1.0 ± 0.6 kg/m2) was significantly greater than that in the control group (0.3 ± 0.4 kg/m2, P < 0.001) at 6 months. Only the control group exhibited a decrease in fasting plasma glucose, whereas both groups showed a decrease in HbA1c, low-density lipoprotein, and total cholesterol, an increase in high-density lipoprotein, and no change in triglyceride levels. None of the differences between the groups were statistically significant. In conclusion, mirtazapine increased the weight gain of diabetic patients; however, other diabetic and lipid markers generally did not worsen during the 6-month treatment period. These results suggest that, at least in the short term, mirtazapine is safe for diabetic patients in a stable state and are undergoing appropriate diabetic treatment.
Investigations into Enhanced Alert Management for Collision Avoidance in Ship-borne Integrated Navigation Systems

High sophisticated integrated navigation systems are installed on the ship navigational bridges to support the operator of modern container ships. The integrated systems should assist the captains, navigation officers and the pilots to avoid any dangerous situation when sailing from port of departure to the port of destination. Numerous Human Machine Interfaces require interaction to control the voyage in every situation under all possible circumstances. However, with respect to shipping statistics collisions and groundings are major risks. This paper deals with investigations into the alert management on board modern ships and potential approach to reduce the number of alarms. Results gained during several field studies on board ships are presented. Based on these results the draft of a concept for reducing the high frequency of collision warnings to be implemented into the navigation systems on board is discussed. First preliminary results are introduced.
Antigenic variation of parasite-derived antigens on the surface of Babesia bovis-infected erythrocytes

The hemoparasite Babesia bovis antigenically alters the bovine erythrocyte membrane surface by expression of isolate-specific, parasite-derived polypeptides. To determine whether antigenic variation also occurred on the infected erythrocyte surface, a calf was infected once with parasitized erythrocytes carrying the C9.1 clonal line of B. bovis. In vitro cultures then were established periodically from the peripheral blood and analyzed with sequentially collected sera from the same animal. The surface reactivity of infected erythrocytes cultured from the infected animal varied over time, on the basis of reactivity in live cell immunofluorescence, surface immunoprecipitation, and panning assays. Subclones C8 and H10, established from day 41 cultures, were analyzed immunochemically. A loss of immunoreactivity was observed in antigens corresponding to the 113- and 128-kDa parasite-derived antigens of clone C9.1, demonstrating epitopic variation in these antigens; the immunochemical recognition of these antigens paralleled the results of live cell immunofluorescence and panning assays. Concomitant size polymorphism suggested polypeptide structural variation of these antigens as well. Calves infected by inoculation of infected blood or by injection of cloned parasites from in vitro cultures rapidly developed antibodies which cross-reacted among the clonal variant lines, suggesting the presence of common as well as unique epitopes. These results demonstrate that antigenic variation occurs on the surface of B. bovis-infected erythrocytes and that the parasite-derived antigens of 113 and 128 kDa compose at least a part of the antigens undergoing variation.
DOES REGULAR ONLINE TESTING ENHANCE STUDENT LEARNING ? EVIDENCE FROM A LARGE FIRST-YEAR QUANTITATIVE METHODS COURSE

In recent years, online tools have increasingly contributed to both course delivery and assessment across various domains with mixed quantitative results. We examine the introduction of a regular online assessment tool ('e-quiz') delivered by the WebCT Vista content management system to a large first-year quantitative methods course at UNSW, Sydney (Australia). Unique aspects of this study include the quantitative (mathematical) nature of the online learning, the larger than usual sample size (n > 1500 in toto), the inclusion of several difficult-to-obtain explanatory variables, and the high diversity in sub-population attributes. We principally measure the effectiveness of the e-quiz tool from the perspective of student performance in an end of semester closed-book examination. We also consider student opinions and attitudes to the introduction of the online tool. Data taken on attendance at voluntary peerassisted learning classes, used as a proxy for student effort, along with pre-enrolment mathematical aptitude data are used to identify the specific contribution of the e-quiz tool to student learning. We find support for the hypothesis that regular usage of online learning tools (not grade) significantly and positively contributes to student performance. Furthermore, we find that the hypothesis that this improvement is due mainly to improving student feedback is supported by an analysis of student surveys. Finally, in an extension, we consider the use of such low-cost, online quizzes as a possible identifier for 'at-risk' students.
Without it no music: beat induction as a fundamental musical trait

Beat induction (BI) is the cognitive skill that allows us to hear a regular pulse in music to which we can then synchronize. Perceiving this regularity in music allows us to dance and make music together. As such, it can be considered a fundamental musical trait that, arguably, played a decisive role in the origins of music. Furthermore, BI might be considered a spontaneously developing, domain‐specific, and species‐specific skill. Although both learning and perception/action coupling were shown to be relevant in its development, at least one study showed that the auditory system of a newborn is able to detect the periodicities induced by a varying rhythm. A related study with adults suggested that hierarchical representations for rhythms (meter induction) are formed automatically in the human auditory system. We will reconsider these empirical findings in the light of the question whether beat and meter induction are fundamental cognitive mechanisms.
Association of single Nucleotide Missence Polymorphism Val109Asp of Omentin-1 gene and coronary artery disease in Pakistani population: Multicenter study

Background & Objective: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a most important cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide as well as in Pakistan. Recent studies have shown that the combination of obesity, insulin resistance and fluctuation in circulating adipocytokines levels is associated with the pathogenesis of coronary artery disease. Omentin-1 is recently found adipocytokine that is highly expressed in visceral adipose tissue. It has anti- inflammatory properties and is negatively correlated with ischemic heart disease. Therefore, this study was designed to investigate the relationship between omentin-1 Val109Asp polymorphism and CAD in Pakistani population. Methods: A total of 350 subjects were included in the study. Two hundred fifty were diagnosed with coronary artery disease while 100 served as healthy controls. PCR-RFLP was performed at Dr. A Q. Khan Institute of Biotechnology (KIBGE) to analyze Val109Asp polymorphism. In this, case control study SPSS software version 16 (Chicago, IL, USA) was used for data analysis. Continuous variables and categorical variables were presented as mean±SD or in percentage. Independent sample test and chi-square test was performed to compare the differences in means between cases and controls. Genotype distribution was analyzed by chi-square test and results were presented as percentage and frequency. Multivarible regression analysis indicated that Val109Asp SNP might be an independent risk factor for CAD susceptibility after adjustment for some well- known CAD risk factors including age, gender, body mass index, smoking, hypertension, diabetes mellitus and lipid abnormalities. There was estimation of odd ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to determine the correlation between genotypes and the risk of CAD. (p> 0.05). Genotype frequencies were compared by Chi-square test. Results: There was prevalence of Omentin-1 Val109Asp polymorphism in both case and control groups. However, Val/Asp (heterozygous mutant) genotype was detected more frequently in patients with CAD, OR(95%)=1.921; CI=1.173-3.1469 in comparison of Asp/Asp and Val/Val genotypes. Conclusion: Individuals having Val/Asp heterozygous gemotype of omentin-1 gene polymorphism are at more risk of developing CAD in Pakistani population, further studies are required in different populations and ethnicities to confirm our findings.