Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of Efforts to Increase Response Rates on a Workplace Chronic Condition Screening Survey

Objective. Expanded health risk appraisal (HRA) surveys can help employers target chronic conditions for outreach or disease management interventions by providing data on the prevalences of conditions and their effects on work performance. However, concerns exist about the accuracy of this data because most HRAs have low response rates. We evaluated these concerns by examining the prevalences and work impairments associated with chronic conditions across four HRA subsamples that differed in intensity of recruitment effort. Methods. Two thousand five hundred thirty-nine working people were invited to complete an expanded HRA survey that included questions about chronic conditions, work impairments, and demographics. Condition prevalences and associations between conditions and work impairment were compared across subsamples who responded after a single mailing, after two mailings, and in a telephone interview after the mailings either with or without a $20 incentive. Results. Consistent with previous research, response rates varied dramatically across the four subsamples (from 20.1% with only one mailing to 67.7% with telephone administration and a financial incentive). However, the estimated prevalences of chronic conditions, levels of work impairment, and effects of chronic conditions on work impairment did not differ with intensity of recruitment effort. Conclusions. Expanded HRAs can provide useful data on the prevalences and work impairments associated with chronic conditions even if response rates are low. Confirmation of these results is required, however, in new samples. Additional research is also needed on innovative and cost-effective strategies to improve HRA response rates.
Adverse drug reactions to antiretroviral therapy in AIDS patients at a tertiary care hospital in India: A prospective observational study.

OBJECTIVES To identify the adverse drug reactions (ADRs) to antiretroviral therapy (ART) and to assess their impact on treatment compliance in patients with HIV/AIDS. MATERIALS AND METHODS Two hundred and thirty-five (235) AIDS patients who received ART were monitored for ADRs over a period of 6 months. The incidence and nature of ADRs occurring with different ART regimens were recorded. We also assessed the severity, causality as well as the impact of ADRs on the patients' compliance. RESULTS Of 235 patients receiving ART, 90.6% patients experienced ADRs. A total of 618 ADRs involving various systems were observed. A majority were related to gastrointestinal (42.39%) and central nervous (25.57%) system. 23.1% ADRs were severe in intensity. Severe ADRs occurred in 41 out of 235 (17.4%) patients necessitating drug withdrawal. A majority of the patients (87.8%) who complained of severe ADRs received combination of stavudine, lamivudine and nevirapine. Causality assessment revealed 6.63% ADRs were probable and 93.3% ADRs were possible. Non-compliance due to ADRs was observed in 28.9% patients. CONCLUSIONS Myriad ADRs are associated with ART which leads to poor patient compliance. With the increasing access to ART in India, it is prudent that antiretroviral drugs are used judicially with regular monitoring of ADRs.
Scrub or toss? Making the case for disposable laryngoscope blades.

Airway-management equipment undeniably assumes a position of prime importance in the EMS arsenal. Of all EMS interventions, appropriate airway management, along with early defibrillation, is most likely to be truly life saving. However, in the course of routine reevaluation of system equipment, Pinellas County (Florida) EMS recently had cause to ask whether or not we were potentially harming both patients and EMS practitioners in the long run with this very same lifesaving equipment. Pinellas County EMS is a large, all-ALS, public utility model system serving a base population of approximately 900,000 in central Florida. In 2003, almost 1,200 intubations were performed by our 800 paramedics. The system was using reusable laryngoscope blades and handles, with one set of handles and blades (pediatric and adult) issued per ALS unit. The system’s equipment committee had periodically been evaluating disposable laryngoscopes and laryngoscope blades, primarily because of infection control considerations. When the committee was ready to recommend adopting a disposable laryngoscope blade system, the county EMS Authority requested a detailed analysis of pros and cons related to moving to disposable equipment.
Coliform species recovered from untreated surface water and drinking water by the membrane filter, standard, and modified most-probable-number techniques

The species of total coliform bacteria isolated from drinking water and untreated surface water by the membrane filter (MF), the standard most-probable-number (S-MPN), and modified most-probable-number (M-MPN) techniques were compared. Each coliform detection technique selected for a different profile of coliform species from both types of water samples. The MF technique indicated that Citrobacter freundii was the most common coliform species in water samples. However, the fermentation tube techniques displayed selectivity towards the isolation of Escherichia coli and Klebsiella. The M-MPN technique selected for more C. freundii and Enterobacter spp. from untreated surface water samples and for more Enterobacter and Klebsiella spp. from drinking water samples than did the S-MPN technique. The lack of agreement between the number of coliforms detected in a water sample by the S-MPN, M-MPN, and MF techniques was a result of the selection for different coliform species by the various techniques.
A review of anthrax in Canada and implications for research on the disease in northern bison

During the first half of the century, the majority of anthrax outbreaks in Canada occurred in the southern portions of Ontario and Quebec and were often associated with pastures contaminated by effluent from textile industries dealing with imported animal materials. In 1952, introduction of Federal regulations requiring disinfection of these materials greatly reduced the incidence of anthrax in eastern Canada. Since 1962, domestic outbreaks of the disease have been reported almost exclusively in cattle in the western prairie provinces. Between 1962 & 1993, nine anthrax epizootics have been recorded in the bison herds of the Northwest Territories and northern Alberta resulting in the deaths of at least 1309 animals. During the nothern epizootics there has been a strong sex bias in mortalities with the majority of carcasses being sexually mature bulls. The northern epizootics occur during drought conditions in the late summer, preceded by a wet spring, and end with the arrival of coolers weather. It has been hypothesized that stress factors associated with these meteorological conditions coupled with breeding stress during the late summer rut may predispose the bulls to infection. Alternatively, the meteorological conditions may work to concentrate anthrax spores in the environment into low lying wallows preferentially utilized by the bulls. Recent genetic analyses of Bacillus anthracis isolates from Canada and the United States have identified that, while closely related to isolates from domestic outbreaks, isolates from northern bison epizootics form their own distinct strain. This suggests that the establishment of anthrax in northern Canada was a singular event that occurred prior to the first recognized epizootic in 1962. A review of the agricultural history of northern Canada has identified several situations in the first half of the century which may have provided the opportunity for the transfer of anthrax from cattle to the indigenous bison.
ASSOCIATION OF GENETIC RESISTANCE TO GASTROINTESTINAL NEMATODES AND THE POLYMORPHISM AT CAHI-DQA1 EXON 2

The Major Histocampatability Complex (MHC) is an organised cluster of tightly linked genes having immunological functions. The MHC has been consistently associated with nematode resistance and the polymorphism in MHC class II genes is playing important role in resistance to gastrointestinal nematodes. The widest polymorphism among the MHC genes is found in locus DRB and DQA. The most frequently investigated fragment of the DRB and DQA gene covers exon 2, which codes the binding site for a foreign protein. The present study was to know the polymorphism in the cahi-DQA1 gene in resistance to Kumaon hill goats. A total of 60 animals were used for analysing resistance of Kumaon hill goats. The blood samples were collected and genomic DNA was isolated. The cahi-DQA1 gene was amplified from the genomic DNA, purified and sequenced for the polymorphism. The nested PCR amplicons of DQA1.2 revealed 349bp in agarose gel electrophoresis. The sequence obtained was analysed and found the existence of five cahi-DQA1 alleles in Kumaon hill goats. The occurrence of alleles varied with different proportion among the population. The variation in cahi-DQA1 gene was correlated with the published alleles.
Folding of the Glucocorticoid Receptor by the Reconstituted hsp90-based Chaperone Machinery

Rabbit reticulocyte lysate contains a multiprotein chaperone system that assembles steroid receptors into a complex with hsp90. The glucocorticoid receptor (GR) is bound to hsp90 via its hormone binding domain (HBD), which must be associated with hsp90 to have a steroid binding conformation. Recently, we have reconstituted a receptor·hsp90 heterocomplex assembly system with purified rabbit hsp90 and hsp70 and bacterially expressed human p23 and p60 (Dittmar, K. D., Hutchison, K. A., Owens-Grillo, J. K., and Pratt, W. B. (1996) J. Biol. Chem. 271, 12833–12839). In this work we show that when the GR is incubated with hsp90, hsp70, and p60, steroid binding sites are generated despite the absence of p23. In this minimal reconstituted system, the GR is incubated with the chaperones in the presence of [3H]triamcinolone acetonide ([3H]TA), which binds to the receptor as GR·hsp90 complexes are formed. When molybdate or p23 is also present during the incubation with chaperones at 30 °C, the formation of steroid binding sites can be assayed by incubating the washed GR with [3H]TA after heterocomplex assembly at 30 °C. However, in the absence of p23 or molybdate, rapid disassembly of GR·hsp90 complexes apparently occurs simultaneously with assembly, such that [3H]TA must be present during the assembly process to trap evidence of conversion of the GR HBD from a non-steroid binding to a steroid binding conformation. Mixture of purified rabbit hsp90 and hsp70 with bacterial lysate containing human p60 results in spontaneous formation of an hsp90·p60·hsp70 complex that can be adsorbed with anti-p60 antibody, and the resulting immune complex converts the GR HBD to a steroid binding state in an ATP-dependent and K+-dependent manner. When the GR is incubated with hsp90, hsp70, and p60 in the presence of the hsp90-binding antibiotic geldanamycin, GR·hsp90·p60· hsp70 complexes are formed, but they have no steroid binding activity. Our data suggest that hsp90, hsp70, and p60 work together as a chaperone complex that possesses all of the folding/unfolding activity necessary to generate the high affinity steroid binding conformation of the receptor.
The Politics of Discretionary Medicaid Spending, 1980-1993

Why do some states choose to spend more than four times as much as others to provide health care to the disadvantaged? Political scientists who have traditionally explored this question by analyzing trends in overall Medicaid expenditures lumped states' discretionary spending in with other money that states are mandated to spend. Analyses of total expenditures found that socioeconomic factors drove spending but that party control of state legislatures made no difference in health policy making. Focusing not on the spending that the federal government requires of state officials but on the policies that state officials actually choose allows a balanced exploration of both political and economic effects on welfare expenditures. This research also provides new insights about which forces will shape policy decisions if more and more control of the public health care system is devolved to the states.
Seroepidemiology of hepatitis A virus infection among school children in Delhi and north Indian patients with chronic liver disease: Implications for HAV vaccination

Background: Universal vaccination against hepatitis A virus (HAV) has been recommended for children because of the changing epidemiological pattern of HAV. Vaccination has also been advised for patients with chronic liver disease as HAV superinfection in these patients can result in severe or even fatal disease. In India, the indications for HAV vaccination are not clear due to contradictory seroepidemiological data in children and lack of data on HAV seroprevalence in patients with chronic liver disease.
Expression of protease‐activated receptor‐2 during embryonic development

Protease‐activated receptor‐2 (PAR‐2) is the second member of a novel family of G‐protein‐coupled receptors, activated through proteolytic cleavage within the extracellular domain to reveal a newly formed amino terminus that acts as a tethered ligand causing receptor activation. PAR‐2 is expressed in a number of adult tissues, but its distribution during development has not been characterized. Knowledge of the tissue distribution of PAR‐2 during development will provide clues as to its function(s) in vivo. In the current immunohistochemical study, a polyclonal antibody raised against a peptide corresponding to the post‐cleavage amino terminal sequence of PAR‐2 was used to localize PAR‐2 expression in developing mouse tissues. In the developing central nervous system and cardiac muscle, PAR‐2 expression was detectable at embryonic day 12 and persisted throughout embryogenesis. At embryonic day 14, PAR‐2 expression was strong in peripheral nerves, but either weak or absent in skin, bone, skeletal muscle, and blood vessels. In embryonic day 17 and postnatal day 1 hindlimbs, however, PAR‐2 staining was observed throughout the layers of the epidermis, in osteoblasts, muscle fibers, and in vascular smooth muscle and endothelium. The pattern of PAR‐2 expression observed during embryonic development and the association of expression with differentiation in certain tissues suggest compelling physiological roles for this novel receptor. Dev Dyn 2000;218:465–471. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Plant Gene Register Nucleotide Sequences of cDNAs Encoding the Precursors for Soybean ( G / ycine max ) Trypsin lnhibitors ( Kunitz Type ) '

Proteinase inhibitors are widely distributed in animals, plants, and microorganisms (Ryan, 1973; Richardson, 1977). In soybean (Glycine max), at least three different classes of proteinase inhibitors have been identified, which make up to 6% of the total seed protein. These include the SKTI, the Bowman-Birk proteinase inhibitor, and its isoinhibitors. SKTI, which inhibits both trypsin and chymotrypsin, is a single polypeptide chain of 181 amino acids (20 kD) including two disulfide bonds (Kunitz, 1946). It has been shown that SKTI is synthesized in the seed only during maturation and maintains tissue and developmental stage-specific gene expression pattern (Goldberg et al., 1981; Jofuku and Goldberg, 1989; Jofuku et al., 1989). To study the structure and expression-regulatory mechanism of the SKTI gene, a cDNA clone for the soybean trypsin inhibitor (SKTI-a), Ti-31, was isolated by immunological screening of a soybean Xgt-11 expression vector cDNA library with anti-SKTI antibody (Table I). cDNA was synthesized from total poly(A)+ RNA isolated from the seeds of G. max cv Paldal (Lee et al., 1985). Another cDNA clone for SKTI, S-4, was isolated by nucleic acid hybridization screening with the cDNA clone Ti-31 as a molecular probe. The nucleotide sequence of Ti-31 shows that the insert size of the clone was 773 bp, and there was one open reading frame of 651 bp, which encoded 217 amino acids. S-4 had nearly the same structure as Ti-31. The insert size of the clone was 784 bp, and there was one open reading frame of 651 bp, which encoded 217 amino acids. When the deduced amino acid sequences were compared with the reported amino acid sequence of mature SKTI from seed (Kim et al., 1985), Ti-31 and S-4 matched SKTI-a and SKTI-b, respectively, except that amino acids 12 and 13 of S4 are Asp-Ser rather than Ser-Asn of SKTI-b. However, there are an extra 25 amino acids at the N terminus and 11 amino acids at the C terminus that are not present in mature SKTI polypeptide in seeds. The extended N terminus is composed mostly of hydrophobic amino acids, and it could be a signal peptide, which is commonly observed in many storage proteins of plants. On the other hand, the C terminus is composed mostly of hydrophilic amino acids, but the function of
Audit of deaths less than a week after admission through an emergency department: how accurate was the ED diagnosis and were any deaths preventable?

Aim: To review the causes of death in patients admitted via the emergency department (ED) who died within 7 days of admission and to identify any ways in which ED care could have been better. The study also aims to compare the diagnosis made in the ED and the mortality diagnosis. Methods: A retrospective study; subjects were all patients who attended the ED over 4 months and died within 7 days of admission. The paramedics’ notes, ED case cards, inpatient medical notes and details of postmortem findings were examined to identify the time and date of arrival in the ED, presenting complaint, provisional diagnosis made by the ED, treatment plan devised by the ED, diagnosis made in wards, and the cause of death as issued on death certificates or from postmortem findings. Summary sheets of cases where the care provided by the emergency department could have been improved were reviewed, errors were identified and deaths were classified as preventable or unpreventable. Results: Database revealed 3521 admissions via the ED over 4 months, of which 95 cases (2.69%) died within 7 days of admission. 78 patients (82.1% of cases) were appropriately diagnosed and managed whereas 17 (17.87% of cases) were identified with deficiencies in either the diagnosis or the management provided in the ED. We reviewed the quality of care provided in the ED for these cases and rated deaths according to our preventability criteria: 5 (5.26%) deaths were unpreventable despite the deficiency in care provided in the ED; 3 (3.15%) deaths were definitely preventable; 3 (3.15%) were probably preventable; and 6 (6.31%) were possibly preventable deaths. Conclusion: The ED is playing a good role in the management of critically ill patients, with appropriate diagnosis and management in 82% of cases. Training of junior doctors is required to prevent occurrence of errors and thus preventable deaths, but all deaths are not preventable. New guidelines for sepsis management and management of undifferentiated clinical presentations are being introduced and we intend to audit the implications of new guidelines.
PIP 2 and ATP Cooperatively Prevent Cytosolic Ca 2 +-Induced Modification of ATP-Sensitive K + Channels in Rat Pancreatic-Cells

The factors that influence functional coupling between the sulfonylurea receptor (SUR1) and Kir6.2 subunits of ATP-sensitive K (KATP) channels were studied in rat pancreatic -cells using patch clamp and microfluorometric techniques. Tolbutamide at 10 μmol/l inhibited KATP channels in association with occurrence of action currents, but further exposure of -cells to the drug for 30 min or longer resulted in reappearance of KATP channel events. Half-maximal inhibition concentration (IC50) for tolbutamide was 1.5 μmol/l in 2.8 mmol/l glucose, and it was increased to 13.3 μmol/l when the cellular metabolism was inhibited by 0.5 mmol/l 2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP) for 5 min. Tolbutamide at 10 μmol/l induced an increase in cytosolic Ca concentration ([Ca]i), and its amplitude was markedly reduced following exposure to 0.5 mmol/l DNP or long-term (30 min) exposure to 10 μmol/l tolbutamide. This tolbutamide insensitivity, as assessed by the [Ca]i response, was not observed when the external Ca was omitted during the long-term exposure to tolbutamide. In cell-attached membrane patches, the tolbutamide insensitivity was also produced by treatment of cells with 150 μmol/l diazoxide and 25 mmol/l KCl in the presence, but not absence, of 2 mmol/l Ca in the external solution. When the cytoplasmic face of inside-out membrane patches was treated with higher Ca concentrations (2 μmol/l), both ADP-evoked activation and tolbutamide-induced inhibition of KATP channels were attenuated with retaining ATP-induced inhibition, indicating the modification of KATP channels. The Ca -induced channel modification was prevented partially by phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2) and completely by ATP and PIP2 together, but not by ATP alone. Treatment of the channel with cytochalasin D, a disrupter of F-actin, evoked channel modification similar to that induced by Ca. The modification was prevented completely by phalloidin, a stabilizer of F-actin. In conclusion, long-term exposure to tolbutamide or metabolic inhibition causes modification of KATP channels via mechanisms involving Ca-dependent reaction. The modification, which may reflect functional disconnection between SUR1 and Kir6.2, is prevented by ATP and PIP2, which may act cooperatively to stabilize membrane cytoskeletons (F-actin structures). Diabetes 49:1830–1839, 2000
Hypsometric analysis of Margaritifer Sinus and origin of valley networks

[1] The formation of Martian valley networks has been debated since their discovery. The relative roles of groundwater sapping and fluvial runoff processes have different implications onMartian paleoclimate. This paper uses a hypsometric analysis technique that has been tested on terrestrial landforms to analyze the hypsometric attributes of watershed basins in theMargaritifer Sinus region onMars usingMars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) gridded topographic data. On the basis of quantitative characteristics of their hypsometric attributes, the majority of the basins (covering 3/5 of the study area) look more like terrestrial basins of sapping origin, and a significant number of basins (covering 1/5 of the study area) are more fluvial like. The classification of the rest of the basin is less certain at the presently available resolution of the digital elevation model (DEM). Overlay with Viking photomosaic indicates that the classification is generally consistent with the morphology shown in Viking images. Although this analysis alone cannot make a sure determination of valley network origin, combined with other morphometric analysis, the results from this study are consistent with a valley network formation by precipitation-recharged groundwater sapping, suggesting a warm and wet climate for early Mars.