Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
European survey on efficacy and safety of duty-cycled radiofrequency ablation for atrial fibrillation

Aims Duty-cycled radiofrequency ablation (RFA) has been used for atrial fibrillation (AF) for around 5 years, but large-scale data are scarce. The purpose of this survey was to report the outcome of the technique. Methods and results A survey was conducted among 20 centres from seven European countries including 2748 patients (2128 with paroxysmal and 620 with persistent AF). In paroxysmal AF an overall success rate of 82% [median 80%, interquartile range (IQR) 74–90%], a first procedure success rate of 72% [median 74% (IQR 59–83%)], and a success of antiarrhythmic medication of 59% [median 60% (IQR 39–72%)] was reported. In persistent AF, success rates were significantly lower with 70% [median 74% (IQR 60–92%)]; P = 0.05) as well as the first procedure success rate of 58% [median 55% (IQR 47–81%)]; P = 0.001). The overall success rate was similar among higher and lower volume centres and were not dependent on the duration of experience with duty-cycled RFA (r = −0.08, P = 0.72). Complications were observed in 108 (3.9%) patients, including 31 (1.1%) with symptomatic transient ischaemic attack or stroke, which had the same incidence in paroxysmal and persistent AF (1.1 vs. 1.1%) and was unrelated to the case load (r = 0.24, P = 0.15), bridging anticoagulation to low molecular heparin, routine administration of heparin over the long sheath, whether a transoesophageal echocardiogram was performed in every patient or not and average procedure times. Conclusion Duty-cycled RFA has a self-reported success and complication rate similar to conventional RFA. After technical modifications a prospective registry with controlled data monitoring should be conducted to assess outcome.
Calcium and Magnesium in Exhaled Breath Condensate of Children with Endogenous and Exogenous Airway Acidification

Background and aims: Regulation of pH in the airways is of physiological importance. As acidification of the airways causes bronchoconstriction, the aim of the present study was to find out whether there is any difference in calcium and magnesium in exhaled breath condensate (EBC) of children with uncontrolled asthma (i.e., with endogenous acidification) and children with gastroesophageal reflux disease, GERD (i.e., with exogenous acidification). Material and methods: A total of 142 children were included in the study: children with uncontrolled asthma (N = 51), children with GERD (N = 61), and healthy controls (N = 30). In addition, according to the pH cut-off value children with asthma and GERD were divided into two subgroups, that is, patients with pH ≤ 6.93 (subgroup A) and patients with pH > 6.93 (subgroup B). Results: The mean EBC pH was significantly lower in children with asthma than in children with GERD (6.791 ± 0.374 vs. 7.002 ± 0.361, p = .006). Concentration [median and interquartile range—M (IQR)] of total magnesium, but not calcium, was lower in both asthmatic [(10 (10–40) μmol/L, p = . 016)] and GERD children [(20 (10–40) μmol/L, p = . 012)] in comparison with controls (47 ± 27 μmol/L). There was no statistically significant difference in EBC calcium and magnesium concentrations between asthmatic and GERD children. In asthmatic children a positive correlation was confirmed between forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1) and magnesium in EBC (r = 0.307; p = .030), and negative correlation was found between FEV1 and calcium/magnesium ratio (r = −0.290; p = .047). In addition, positive correlation was confirmed between fractional concentration of exhaled NO and calcium/magnesium ratio (r = 0.360; p = .018). In GERD patients a negative correlation (r = −0.404; p = .003) was found between magnesium and pH values. Concentration of calcium was higher in the GERD subgroup A children [(50 (30–90) μmol/L)] than in the subgroup B children [(30 (20–45) μmol/L, p = . 031)]. In addition, concentration of magnesium was higher in the GERD subgroup A children [(30 (20–70) μmol/L)] than in the subgroup B children [(10 (10–20) μmol/L, p < . 001)]. Conclusion: The present study indicates that decreased total magnesium concentration may be found in EBCs, irrespective of whether the acidification is the result of endogenous pathomechanisms or reflux-induced mechanisms. In children with GERD, EBC pH-metry should be performed after acute coughing episode. Future research is needed to investigate the mechanisms of onset and dynamics of these changes. Scientific significance: Lower concentration of magnesium may indicate its role in bronchoconstiction.
Quality-of-life for individuals with a vestibular impairment following an acquired brain injury (ABI); the clients’ perspective

Abstract Primary objective: To investigate how a vestibular deficit following an acquired brain injury (ABI) affects an individuals’ quality-of-life. Research design: A qualitative exploratory design. Participants: Nine community dwelling individuals who experienced significant symptoms and limitations as a result of their vestibular deficits. Methods: The individuals participated in face-to-face interviews with open ended questions. Data was analysed initially using a case study research approach, exploring the experience for each individual and then cross-case analysis to determine common themes for the group with the assistance of nVivo 10 qualitative analysis software. Results: Thematic analysis determined four main themes arising from the interviews; (1) validation, (2) definitive diagnosis is more difficult amongst an array of ABI symptoms, (3) vestibular adaptation is more difficult in the presence of an ABI and (4) emotional and social. Conclusion: Individuals who suffer a brain injury and experience vestibular symptoms as part of their overall presentation are not diagnosed in a timely manner, with individuals, their families, associates and even health professionals feeling uncertain of the legitimacy of their reported symptoms. It is important that all patients who experience an acquired brain injury are screened for vestibular impairment and, if necessary, receive vestibular rehabilitation including explanation and education.
Impact of FOMC Announcement on Stock Price Index in Southeast Asian Countries

This paper examines the impact of Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) announcements, which include information about target Federal fund rate and the revision to the future path of monetary policy, on Southeast Asian stock markets performance. It compares these effects in two periods, 1997 Asian financial crisis and subprime mortgage crisis. To do this, a sample of five national equity market indexes is analysed over the period 1997–2013 that covers 132 scheduled FOMC meetings. The result first shows that all stock markets examined do response to information in FOMC announcements. Second, target Federal fund rate has more impact on Southeast Asian stocks performance than information about the future path of monetary policy does. Third, different Southeast Asian equity markets respond similarly to target Federal fund rate, while the responses to monetary policy differ each other. Fourth, the response of each country to FOMC announcement is not statistically different in the two financial crises periods.
EGYPT: THE FIRST INTERNET REVOLT?

Friedman appears to have had an either/or dichotomy in mind when assessing the Egyptian revolt that started in January 2011. That‘s an oversimplification, ignoring not only the lack of opposition from the elites, military, and US government, but also the role of social media and the organized groups and informal networks that brought people to the streets. It‘s clear that social media such as Facebook played important roles in transforming organized groups and informal networks, establishing external linkages, developing a sense of modernity and community, and drawing global attention. Their impact suggests that those concerned with the quest for democracy and peace should pay more attention to the explicit and implicit effects of these social media.
Gene therapy for treatment of inherited haematological disorders

Gene therapy, a molecular medicine based on vector-mediated transfer of therapeutic genes, holds promise for a cure of monogenetic inherited diseases. In recent years, tremendous progress has been reported in the treatment of haematological disorders: clinical trials in severe combined immune deficiencies have been successful by using retroviral vectors to express target genes in haematopoietic stem cells, which after transplantation efficiently reconstituted the immune system concomitant with substantial improvement in the clinical status of patients. Conversely, unexpected adverse events were also encountered. In other work, progress towards clinical studies on ex vivo gene transfer for Fanconi anaemia and haemoglobinopathies has been made. Each approach features a unique treatment strategy and also faces various impediments to success. In the case of the X-linked bleeding disorder haemophilia, several Phase I/II clinical trials were conducted, including in vivo administration of viral vectors to skeletal muscle and liver. Adeno-associated viral gene transfer of coagulation Factor IX has been documented in human subjects, reaching therapeutic levels after infusion into a hepatic blood vessel. However, sustained expression of therapeutic levels (as shown in large animal models of haemophilia) has not yet been achieved in humans. In general, long-term follow-up will be important for assessment of the safety of all existing gene therapy strategies.
An Epidemiological Study on Anaplasma Infection in Cattle, Sheep, and Goats in Mashhad Suburb, Khorasan Province, Iran

Abstract: The prevalence of Anaplasma infection was studied in cattle, sheep, and goats in the Mashhad area from 1999 to 2002. A total of 160 cattle from 32 farms and 391 sheep and 385 goats from 77 flocks were clinically examined for the presence of Anaplasma spp. in blood smears. The study revealed that 19.37% of cattle were infected with Anaplasma marginale and 80.3% of sheep and 38.92% of goats were infected with Anaplasma ovis. Prevalence of Anaplasma infection between male and female and between different age groups of cattle, sheep, and goats were statistically nonsignificant. Seasonally, the prevalence of Anaplasma infection in sheep and goats reached its highest level in summer, while a decrease was observed in autumn, and reached the lowest level in winter. The seasonal prevalence of Anaplasma infection in cattle was not significantly different. Symptomatic cases were not observed in any of the cattle, sheep, and goats. The ranges of anaplasmatemia in infected cattle, sheep, and goats were 0.005–0.5%, 0.01–3%, and 0.01–3%, respectively.
A New Technique for Gaseous Radiation Detectors: The Multigrid High-Pressure Xenon Gas Proportional Scintillation Counter

A new technique is presented for high-pressure gaseous radiation detectors leading to pulse amplitudes at least one order of magnitude larger than in ionization-chamber-based gamma-ray detectors. The technique uses room-temperature pure Xe or Xe-based gaseous mixtures at pressures of about 5-20 bar (or higher) to detect ionizing radiation in a multigrid high-pressure gas proportional scintillation counter (MGHP-GPSC) with a CsI deposit as the photocathode in direct contact with the gas, with no optical windows. The detector relies on secondary scintillation as the amplification stage followed by photoelectron production in a CsI photocathode layer. Experimental results are presented for a small prototype filled with pure Xe up to 5 bar, showing that the principle of operation of the detector works. The maximum detector gain obtained so far is about 10.
Neuroanatomy of Cardiac Activity‐regulating Circuitry: A Transneuronal Retrograde Viral Labelling Study in the Rat

The anatomy of cardiac activity‐regulating circuitry was studied with retrograde transneuronal viral labelling after pseudorabies virus injections into different parts of the rat heart. Transection of the spinal cord at Th1 was used to reveal selectively the parasympathetic neuronal networks. Virus‐labelled sympathetic preganglionic cells were found in the Th1‐Th7 thoracic intermediolateral cell groups, with some additional infections at Th8‐Thll after inoculations of the ventricular myocardium. After ventricular injections the thoracic spinal labelling pattern was bilateral and after right atrial infection it was contralateral. Approximately 20% of the parasympathetic preganglionic cells were located in the dorsal motor vagus nucleus; the rest occupied positions in the peri‐ambiguus area ventrolateral to the nucleus ambiguus. Here and in the ventrolateral reticular formation myocardiotopy was found. Supraspinal transneuronal infections were bilateral, showed no apparent side dominance and were found in the nucleus of the solitary tract, the area postrema, the raphe nuclei, the A5 group, the parabrachial region, the periaqueductal grey, the hypothalamus, the amygdala and the cortex, in particular the anterior cingulate, the frontal, prelimbic, infralimbic and insular cortices. Spinal transections at Th1 reduced the number of labelled cells, gave a right side labelling dominance and affected the infection patterns in the ventrolateral reticular area, the raphe nuclei, the periaqueductal grey matter, the perifornical and retrochiasmatic area and the rostra1 parts of the insular cortex. The latter structures are linked selectively to the sympathetic innervation of the heart. The anatomical and functional aspects of these findings are discussed in relation to the autonomic control of heart activity.
Antiradical and antilipoperoxidative effects of some plant extracts used by Sri Lankan traditional medical practitioners for cardioprotection

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are implicated in many pathogenic processes including the cardiovascular system. Detoxification of ROS by antioxidants (AO) therefore affords protection against such diseases. There is a growing body of evidence suggesting that antioxidants contribute to cardioprotection. Therefore, nine plants that are components of Ayurvedic formulations used for the therapy of cardiovascular diseases were investigated to determine whether antioxidant activity is one of the mechanisms by which these plants exert cardioprotection.
Pathogenic Serum Amyloid A 1.1 Shows a Long Oligomer-rich Fibrillation Lag Phase Contrary to the Highly Amyloidogenic Non-pathogenic SAA2.2*

Background: Murine SAA1.1 is pathogenic and SAA2.2 is non-pathogenic in AA amyloidosis. Results: SAA1.1 and SAA2.2 exhibit different biophysical properties, including fibrillation kinetics and fibril morphology. Conclusion: The distinct biophysical properties of highly homologous SAA proteins may contribute to their different pathogenicity during chronic inflammation. Significance: Structural and kinetic factors, more than their intrinsic amyloidogenicity, may determine the diverse pathogenicity among nearly identical SAA isoforms. Serum amyloid A (SAA) is best known for being the main component of amyloid in the inflammation-related disease amyloid A (AA) amyloidosis. Despite the high sequence identity among different SAA isoforms, not all SAA proteins are pathogenic. In most mouse strains, the AA deposits mostly consist of SAA1.1. Conversely, the CE/J type mouse expresses a single non-pathogenic SAA2.2 protein that is 94% identical to SAA1.1. Here we show that SAA1.1 and SAA2.2 differ in their quaternary structure, fibrillation kinetics, prefibrillar oligomers, and fibril morphology. At 37 °C and inflammation-related SAA concentrations, SAA1.1 exhibits an oligomer-rich fibrillation lag phase of a few days, whereas SAA2.2 shows virtually no lag phase and forms small fibrils within a few hours. Deep UV resonance Raman, far UV-circular dichroism, atomic force microscopy, and fibrillation cross-seeding experiments suggest that SAA1.1 and SAA2.2 fibrils possess different morphology. Both the long-lived oligomers of pathogenic SAA1.1 and the fleeting prefibrillar oligomers of non-pathogenic SAA2.2, but not their respective amyloid fibrils, permeabilized synthetic bilayer membranes in vitro. This study represents the first comprehensive comparison between the biophysical properties of SAA isoforms with distinct pathogenicities, and the results suggest that structural and kinetic differences in the oligomerization-fibrillation of SAA1.1 and SAA2.2, more than their intrinsic amyloidogenicity, may contribute to their diverse pathogenicity.
Depression Treated with Imipramine: A Follow-up Study

This method of therapy is particularly valuable for out-patients, and most of the patients in this series were treated as such. The results obtained in this series (88% initial improvement) were maintained by most of the patients over a nine-months period. In those cases in which relapses did occur they were slight and easily controlled by further local treatment. No deaths occurred in this series. These results compare favourably with the experience of others with local therapy (Truelove, 1956, 1957, 1958; Watkinson, 1958). Corticosteroid therapy has many disadvantages when given systemically. Among these are the insidious onset of infection (British Medical Journal, 1954; Stevens, 1960), acute adrenal insufficiency in response to sudden stress (Lancet, 1957), and other multiple possible dangers (corticoid psychosis, osteoporosis, perforation of peptic ulcer, etc.). Local corticosteroid therapy, however, carries none of these risks and, so far, no complications have been reported following its use.
Testing the relationship between electricity supply, development of industrial sector and economic growth: An empirical analysis using time series data for Pakistan

Abstract Industrial sector of a country is an engine to economic growth, a sustained and incessant supply of electricity is an important determinant of industrial sector performance, which further contributes to better growth of economic indicators. This research study analyzes the joint role of electricity supply and industrial sector development for economic growth of Pakistan, moreover it also finds the impact of electricity shortage on overall economic growth. Theoretically this study is based on endogenous growth model, and empirically it applies Auto Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) approach to find short run as well as longrun estimates. Major findings of the study include that labor, capital, electricity supply and industrial sector development play an important role for improving the economic growth of Pakistan and shortage of electricity results in dismal performance of industrial sector. Major recommendations include that, despite there are policies and incentives in the industrial sector, it cannot be improved or contribute to economic growth, unless the problem of electricity is fixed.
Michael G. Farnworth on Brian Ferguson's “Is Addiction a Failure of Rationality?”

Riding a bicycle is a skill that may be appreciated for many years. The Becker and Murphy (1988) theory of rational addiction proposes that when people make choices at any point in time, they consider factors that last such as health and cravings. Many of these choices are not associated with addiction; for example, people may ride a bike when young so that they can occasionally enjoy doing this when older. Ferguson (2012) provides an overview of the Becker and Murphy (1988) theory of rational addiction, pointing out that incorporating uncertainty raises the issue of suboptimal paths, and links this model to the general term addiction. Below I provide a brief summary of the Becker and Murphy (1988) model and point out the potential of suboptimal paths that Ferguson (2012) proposes. My own area of interest involves the application of statistical duration analysis, and hence I report some descriptive analysis as well as some of my own research regarding when people start to smoke and when they first try marijuana. The fact that many people first start consuming potentially addictive goods during the learning and developmental teenage years is good reason to consider the potentially suboptimal paths that Ferguson (2012) proposes. I also briefly mention some economic empirical research into quitting. The fact that quitting can be difficult and often requires multiple attempts is another good reason to consider the types on uncertainty that Ferguson (2012) discusses. The final paragraph points out that much of the empirical economics literature on addiction is linked to the Becker and Murphy (1988) model in some way. As Ferguson (2012) points out it is valuable to keep in mind that people who face uncertainty and thoughtfully consider the future may end up on an unplanned path. The Becker and Murphy model is about rational forward-looking choices. For example, some people may regularly ride a bicycle knowing that in the future it may be difficult to put this hobby aside. This may be pleasurable and healthy for some, while for others very long and frequent rides may be damaging to their health and so-
African American young people's views of youth participation and its implications for addressing community problems

AFRICAN AMERICAN YOUNG PEOPLE’S VIEWS OF YOUTH PARTICIPATION AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR ADDRESSING COMMUNITY PROBLEMS By ISABELLE MADELEINE ELISHA Dissertation chair: Martin D. Ruck, Ph.D. Youth participation has been brought to the forefront of scholarly concerns by a growing interest in the positive effects of youth participation on developmental outcomes. However, few studies have investigated within group variations in African American young people’s views of civic participation. The present study examined African American early adolescents’ perceptions of youth participation in resolving community problems. Using a written protocol instrument with open-ended questions, the present study elicited diverse narratives from thirty-one 11-14 year old African American adolescents in order to address within-group variations in their experiences with youth participation and their understanding of racial discrimination. Participants described their understandings of social problems in their communities and their understandings of the role of young people in addressing those social problems. Participants were also asked to write about whether they believe that people are treated differently based on their race and ethnicity. Based on a narrative plot analysis (Daiute, 2013), the two most commonly identified problems for young people in their communities were bullying and racial discrimination. Participants wrote of both problems as forms of social exclusion. As in
Consumption Externalities and Monetary Policy with Limited Asset Market Participation

This article explores the interaction between consumption externalities and limited asset market participation (LAMP) in the standard New‐Keynesian model. We assess the performance of simple Taylor‐type interest rate rules with respect to (a) equilibrium determinacy, (b) the model's ability to simultaneously generate output and inflation volatility similar to the pre‐Volcker era, and (c) the model's response to a technology shock. We find that when individual preferences are affected by average household consumption (Aggregate Consumption Externality), stronger externalities increase the range of LAMP for which multiple equilibria arise even if the policy rule satisfies the Taylor principle. The interaction of LAMP and externalities can generate vast inflation/output relative volatility in line with the one observed in the data in the 1970s. According to our analysis, consumption externalities also affect the responses of endogenous variables to total factor productivity shocks.