Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of pollination and postpollination processes on selfing rate in Mimulus ringens.

PREMISE OF THE STUDY Selfing rates vary widely within and among populations of self-compatible flowering plants. This variation is often attributed to differences in the amount and timing of self and outcross pollen deposition on stigmas, as well as to the influence of postpollination mechanisms that control fertilization success. This study explores the relative importance of pollination and postpollination processes in determining selfing rates in monkeyflower, Mimulus ringens. METHODS We hand-pollinated flowers on 17 unrelated mothers with pollen from one of three experimental treatments intended to replicate field conditions: (1) simultaneous deposition of 50% self pollen and 50% outcross pollen from 5 unrelated donors; (2) self pollen followed 15 min later by application of an equal amount of outcross pollen from five unrelated donors; and (3) outcross pollen from 5 unrelated donors followed 15 min later by application of an equal amount of self pollen. We genotyped 757 progeny at 8 polymorphic microsatellite loci and used paternity exclusion to determine whether each seedling was selfed or outcrossed. KEY RESULTS When self and outcross pollen arrived simultaneously, and when self pollen arrived 15 min prior to outcross pollen, the observed proportions of self and outcross progeny did not deviate from the expected 1:1 ratio. However, when outcross pollen was applied 15 min prior to self pollen, there was a significant excess of outcross progeny. CONCLUSIONS Selfing rate in Mimulus ringens is influenced by small differences in the timing of pollen arrival, but not by nonrandom postpollination sorting.
Pentoxifylline Rescue Preserves Lung Function in Isolated Canine Lungs Injured With Phorbol Myristate Acetate

Objective: We hypothesized that pentoxifylline, administered after phorbol myristate acetate (PMA), would diminish the severity of lung injury. Setting: Animal research laboratory. Design: Comparative study. Subjects: Mongrel dogs (n 5 33). Interventions: Baseline measurements were obtained from the isolated blood-perfused dog lung lobes afte r1ho fstable perfusion and ventilation. Four different measures of lung compliance were obtained along with WBC and neutrophil counts. Pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) and capillary filtration coefficient (Kf) were calculated, and the ratio of a normalized maximal enzymatic conversion rate to the Michaelis-Menten constant (Amax/Km) was used to assess perfused capillary surface area. The control lobes (n 5 8) were ventilated and perfused for an additional 40 min while the injured lobes (n 5 17) received PMA (0.1 mg/mL of perfusate). The pentoxifylline-protected lobes (n 5 8) were treated with pentoxifylline (1 mg/mL of perfusate) 10 min after injury with PMA. All measurements were then repeated. Measurement and main results: The three groups did not differ significantly at baseline. The control lobes remained relatively stable over time. The injured lobes demonstrated marked deterioration in compliance: 8.79 6 0.7 to 5.97 6 0.59 mL/cm H2 O( p< 0.05) vs 10.1 6 1.0 to 8.07 6 0.72 mL/cm H2O and 9.6 6 1.1 to 9.9 6 0.85 mL/cm H2O in the control and protected lobes, respectively. Both groups receiving PMA had similar drops in WBC and neutrophil counts, but the pentoxifylline-protected lobes had preservation of all four compliance measures. PVR increased from 37.8 6 1.8 to 118.6 6 12.7 cm H2O/L/min (p < 0.05) in the injured lobes vs 35.4 6 0.5 to 36.3 6 2.8 cm H2O/L/min and 40.4 6 0.04 to 46.7 6 2.8 cm H2O/L/min (p < 0.05) in the control and protected lobes, respectively. Kf increased < 25% in the protected group but more than tripled in the injured group. Amax/Km dropped from 559 6 36 to 441 6 33 mL/min (p < 0.05) in the injured lobes vs 507 6 14 to 490 6 17 mL/min and 609 6 34 to 616 6 37 mL/min in the control and pentoxifylline-protected lobes, respectively. Conclusions: The use of pentoxifylline as a rescue agent prevented the PMA-induced deterioration of lung compliance, vascular integrity, and endothelial metabolic function in this acute lung injury model, despite significant pulmonary neutrophil sequestration. (CHEST 2001; 119:1893‐1900)
LIVER ENZYMES IN OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNOEA SYNDROME

Objectives: Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is a common form of sleep disordered breathing. OSAS is associated with the cluster of metabolic abbreations that comprise the metabolic syndrome, including nonalcoholic fatty liver disease ( NAFLD ). We investigated the effects of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and its treatment with short term nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy on serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels. Methods: We studied 20 adult males and postmenopausal female aged 50-60 years with OSAS. None had hepatitis B antigen or C antibody positive, autoimmune disease, an alcohol intake higher than 20 g per day or on regular use of hepatotoxic drugs. Abdominal ultrasound was done to establish the presence of fatty liver. Serum levels of AST and ALT were determined at baseline and after nasal CPAP treatment. RESULTS: The baseline ALT and AST values were within normal limits. There was no significant change in ALT (25.9±4.7 Vs 26.2±3.4 after CPAP, p>0.05) and AST (27.5±2.0 Vs 24.6±1.8, p>0.05) values after one night of CPAP treatment. CONCLUSION: Serum aminotransferase may have limited use in assessing liver damage in the OSAS patients. Short term CPAP therapy doesn’t seem have beneficial effects on serum aminotransferase levels in patients of OSAS. Keywords: OSAS, CPAP, NAFLD, serum aminotransferease.
Evaluation of nutritional status in children hospitalized in Mofid Children’s Hospital, Tehran, Iran

Introduction: Children who are admitted to the hospital are at high risk of developing malnutrition. Malnutrition may cause com plication during and after hospitalization. Aim: To determine the frequency of weight reduction among children hospitalized in a tertiary referral hospital in Tehran. Material and methods: Patients aged ≥ 1 month and length of hospital stay > 48 h were included in this study. Duration of this study was 3 months from 1 st November 2006. Age, sex, disease severity, respiratory difficulty, calorie intake, diarrhea, vomiting, dysphagia, length of hospital stay, and type of disease (surgical vs. medical) were assessed during admission. Children with weight reduction < 2% were placed in group I. Data were analyzed by SPSS ver. 14.0 (Chicago, IL, USA). Results: In this study 322 cases were included. Group I included 156 patients (48.44%) and group II included 110 patients (51.56%). One hundred and fifty patients (46.6%) had caloric intake less than 50% and 172 (53.4%) had caloric intake ≥ 50%. Analysis showed that calorie intake equal to or less than 50%, disease grade 2 and 3, duration of hospital stay, diarrhea, and dyspnea had a significant correlation with weight reduction ≥ 2% ( p < 0.05). Conclusions: Calorie intake < 50%, disease severity, length of hospital stay, diarrhea, and dyspnea were significantly higher among cases with weight reduction ≥ 2% than cases with weight reduction < 2%.
CIRCULATING FACTORS OF THE HAEMOSTATIC SYSTEMS AS INDICATORS OF INCREASED OR REDUCED CORONARY RISK

If an intracoronary thrombus does precipitate the acute attack of either unstable angina, acute myocardial infarction or sudden cardiac death, then it is worthwhile to study the plasmatic and the endothelial system of enzymes and their inhibitors which regulate thrombus formation. Are there local or systemic alterations detectable, which favour thrombus formation: Are platelets more sticky? Is the coagulation system activated? Is fibrinolysis depressed? Is the endothelial-plasma barrier damaged? Obviously it is almost impossible to analyse the patient’s blood immediately before the onset of an acute coronary attack; therefore one is left with follow-up studies which associate the results of earlier analyses to later events. Two different study designs have so far been applied: (1) epidemiological, long-term follow-up studies of apparently healthy individuals without symptoms of coronary heart disease, and (2) the short-term clinical follow-up of patients who are symptomatic and in whom the vessel disease has been made evident and quantified. The present update of relationships between the haemostatic system of the blood and the development of occlusive coronary heart disease will be described.
Symphysio-Fundal Height Nomogram In Ultrasound Dated Pregnancies

Objective: Fundal height measurements in centimeters have always been an objective method of evaluating fetal growth in pregnancy. The accepted Mcdonald's rule refers primarily to Caucasians regrettably. Since fundal height may actually vary in an anthropological sense it was considered necessary to apply Mcdonald's rule to African subjects to see whether there is any significant difference. The aim of this study is to construct symphysio-fundal height nomogram for normal pregnant Nigerian women. Material & Methods: In a cross sectional mode, four hundred and five pregnant Nigerian women were studied to examine how their fundal height values compared with those in the literature. A regression equation was derived for the 10th and 90th centiles. Values outside the range of 10 – 90th centiles are to be used for the prediction of small-for-dates and large-for-dates babies respectively. The prediction formulae for the various centiles derived from regression analysis and their usefulness in clinical anthropological practice using fundal height measurement are highlighted. Results: The study demonstrated a significant difference in fundal height values of Nigerian women especially in late pregnancy compared with other published values in the literature. A positive linear correlation between symphysio-fundal height and fetal gestational age was found in Nigerians with a correlation coefficient of R2 = 0.9962 (p<0.001). The relationship is best described by the second order polynomial regression equation y = – 0.0024x2 + 1.1255x – 1.8334 where y is the symphysio-fundal height in centimeters while x is the gestational age in weeks. Conclusion: Symphysio-fundal height chart is a valuable tool for assessing fetal growth in the antenatal clinic in as much as it is cautiously constructed for a given population and the same method of measurement is strictly adhered to by different observers in the same organization.
Plasma zinc concentration responds to short-term zinc supplementation, but not zinc fortification, in young children in Senegal1,2.

BACKGROUND Simple, low-cost methods are needed to evaluate the effect of zinc-fortification programs. Plasma zinc concentration is a useful biomarker of zinc intake from supplementation, but responses to zinc fortification are inconsistent. OBJECTIVE The objective was to compare the change in plasma zinc concentrations in young children who received zinc from either a liquid supplement or a zinc-fortified complementary food. DESIGN A double-blind intervention trial was conducted in 137 young Senegalese children aged 9-17 mo who were randomly assigned to receive one of the following treatments for 15 d: 1) 30 g dry weight of an iron-fortified cereal porridge and a liquid multivitamin supplement without zinc (control group), 2) the same porridge and multivitamin supplement with 6 mg Zn added to the supplement dose (ZnSuppl group), or 3) the same porridge with added zinc to provide 6 mg Zn per 25 g dry weight of porridge and multivitamin without zinc (ZnFort group). RESULTS Mean (±SD) plasma zinc concentration (μg/dL) increased by 4.7 ± 1.6 (P = 0.004) in the ZnSuppl group, which was significantly greater (P = 0.009) than the mean change in the control group (-1.0 ± 1.6; P = 0.51) and in the ZnFort group (-1.8 ± 1.7; P = 0.29). The latter 2 groups did not differ from each other (P = 0.99). CONCLUSIONS Plasma zinc concentration increased in children who received daily zinc supplementation for 15 d but not in those who received a zinc-fortified complementary food containing a similar amount of zinc. Additional longer-term studies are needed to assess the effect of zinc-fortification programs on zinc-related functional outcomes and the usefulness of plasma zinc as a biomarker of program effect. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials. gov as study NCT0094398.
Palliative care in dementia: issues and evidence

Palliative care is an approach that stands well with the aims of person-centred dementia care. There is no doubt that the standards of care for many people with advanced dementia are poor. There is a lack of good-quality evidence, however, to support any particular approach for palliative care in dementia. Still, there are a number of areas in relation to caring for people with severe dementia where a palliative approach might be beneficial. In general, the relevant decisions have to be made on an individual basis but within a palliative framework. Advance care planning is likely to be crucial in encouraging this process. There is certainly a moral imperative behind the idea that care at the end of life for people with dementia should be improved.
Spoilage potentials and antimicrobial resistance of Pseudomonas spp. isolated from cheeses.

Pseudomonas spp. are aerobic, gram-negative bacteria that are recognized as major food spoilage microorganisms. A total of 32 (22.9%) Pseudomonas spp. from 140 homemade white cheese samples collected from the open-air public bazaar were isolated and characterized. The aim of the present study was to investigate the biochemical characteristics, the production of extracellular enzymes, slime and β-lactamase, and antimicrobial susceptibility of Pseudomonas spp. isolated from cheeses. The identified isolates including Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes, Pseudomonas alcaligenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas fluorescens biovar V, and P. pseudoalcaligenes ssp. citrulli were found to produce extracellular enzymes, respectively: protease and lecithinase production (100%), and lipase activity (85.7, 42.9, 100, and 100%, and nonlipolytic, respectively). The isolates did not produce slime and had no detectable β-lactamase activity. The antimicrobial susceptibility of the isolates was tested using the disk diffusion method. Pseudomonas spp. had the highest resistance to penicillin G (100%), then sulphamethoxazole/trimethoprim (28.1%). However, all Pseudomonas spp. isolates were 100% susceptible to ceftazidime, ciprofloxacin, amikacin, gentamicin, and imipenem. Multidrug-resistance patterns were not observed among these isolates. In this study, Pseudomonas spp. , exhibiting spoilage features, were isolated mainly from cheeses. Isolation of this organism from processed milk highlights the need to improve the hygienic practices. All of the stages in the milk processing chain during manufacturing have to be under control to achieve the quality and safety of dairy products.
Antiretroviral Activity and Safety of Once-Daily Etravirine in Treatment-Naive HIV-Infected Adults: 48-Week Results

Background Etravirine (ETR), a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor approved for 200 mg twice-daily dosing in conjunction with other antiretrovirals (ARVs), has pharmacokinetic properties which support once-daily dosing. Methods In this single-arm, open-label study, 79 treatment-naive HIV-infected adults were assigned to receive ETR 400 mg plus tenofovir disoproxil fumarate/emtricitabine (TDF/FTC) 300/200 mg once daily to assess antiviral activity, safety and tolerability. ARV activity at 48 weeks was determined by proportion of subjects with HIV-1 RNA<50 copies/ml (intention-to-treat, missing = failure). Results Of 79 eligible subjects, 90% were men, 62% African-American and 29% Caucasian. At baseline, median (Q1, Q3) age was 29 years (23, 44) and HIV-1 RNA 4.52 log10 copies/ml (4.07, 5.04). A total of 69 (87%) completed a week 48 visit and 61 (77%, 95% CI 66%, 86%) achieved HIV-1 RNA<50 copies/ml at week 48. At time of virological failure, genotypic resistance-associated mutations were detected in three participants, two with E138K (one alone and one with additional mutations). Median (95% CI) CD4+ cell count increase was 163 (136, 203) cells/μl. Fifteen (19.0%) participants reported a new sign/symptom or lab abnormality ≥ Grade 3 and three participants (3.8%) permanently discontinued ETR due to toxicity. Two participants had psychiatric symptoms of any grade. There were no deaths. Conclusions In this study of ARV-naive HIV-positive adults, once-daily ETR with TDF/FTC had acceptable antiviral activity and was well-tolerated. Once-daily ETR may be a plausible option as part of a combination ARV regimen for treatment-naive individuals. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00959894.
Effects of a Low-Fat versus a Low-Carbohydrate Diet on Adipocytokines in Obese Adults

Background and Aims: There are few studies addressing the effect of weight loss on circulating levels of adipocytokines. The aim of our study was to determine whether different diets would have different weight loss effects and to examine the changes in adipocytokine levels. Methods: A population of 90 obesity non-diabetic outpatients was analyzed in a prospective way. The patients were randomly allocated to two groups: (a) diet I (low-fat diet), and (b) diet II (low-carbohydrate diet). At baseline and after 3 months on the diet, adipocytokines were evaluated. Results: 43 patients were randomized to group I and 47 patients to diet group II. No differences were detected between weight loss in either group (3.3 ± 0.51 vs. 4.4 ± 0.6 kg; n.s.). In group I, a significant decrease in leptin levels was found. In group II, leptin and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels also decreased. The decrease in leptin levels was lower with diet I than II (16.4 vs. 22.8%; p < 0.05). Conclusion: The serum leptin concentration decreased due to the 3-month intervention with low-fat and low-carbohydrate diets, without changes in other adipocytokines. The decrease in leptin and CRP levels were higher with a low-carbohydrate diet than a low-fat diet.
End-Stage Kidney Disease Due to Fibrillary Glomerulonephritis and Immunotactoid Glomerulopathy - Outcomes in 66 Consecutive ANZDATA Registry Cases

Background: Fibrillary glomerulonephritis (FGN) and immunotactoid glomerulopathy (IG) are uncommon and characterised by non-amyloid fibrillary glomerular deposits. The aim of this study was to investigate characteristics and outcomes of patients undergoing renal replacement therapy (RRT) for end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) secondary to FGN and IG. Methods: All ESKD patients who commenced RRT in Australia and New Zealand 1 January 1990 to 31 December 2010 were included. Outcomes were assessed by Kaplan-Meier, multivariate logistic-regression analysis and multivariable Cox proportional-hazards survival analysis. Results: Of 45,216 individuals with ESKD, 55 (0.12%) had FGN and 11 (0.02%) had IG. The median survival of FGN patients on dialysis (5.63 years, 95% CI 3.31-7.96) was not significantly different from patients with other ESKD causes (median 4.01 years, 95% CI 4.34-4.47; log-rank 1.32, p = 0.25), but was significantly longer than that of IG patients (median 2.93 years, 95% CI 0.00-6.17; log-rank 4.8, p = 0.03). Thirteen (24%) FGN patients received 13 renal-allografts, 4 (36%) IG patients received 4 renal-allografts and 11,528 (26%) other ESKD patients received 12,278 renal-allografts. FGN patients experienced comparable outcomes to other ESKD patients for both 10-year patient survival (100 vs. 84%, p = 0.93) and renal-allograft survival (67 vs. 76%, p = 0.06). For IG, the median follow-up was 3.66 years with 75% patient survival and 100% renal-allograft survival. One (8%) FGN patient and 1 (25%) IG patient experienced recurrent FGN and IG respectively in their allograft. Conclusion: Patients with FGN have comparable dialysis and renal transplant outcomes to patients with other causes of ESKD. IG patients have inferior survival on dialysis, although renal transplant outcomes are acceptable. Disease recurrence in renal-allografts was low for both FGN and IG.
The MDM2 309 T/G Polymorphism is Associated with Head and Neck Cancer Risk Especially in Nasopharyngeal Cancer: A Meta-Analysis

Background: Published data on the association between mouse double minute 2 (MDM2) 309 T/G single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and head and neck cancer (HNC) risk are inconclusive. To derive a more precise estimation of the relationship, we performed a meta-analysis. Material and Methods: A systematic computerized search of PubMed was performed. Crude odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to assess the strength of association between the polymorphism and HNC risk. The pooled ORs were performed for TT versus GG, TG versus GG, dominant model (TT+TG vs. GG) and recessive model (TT vs. TG+GG), respectively. Results: A total of 9 studies including 2,755 cases and 4,121 controls were involved in the final meta-analysis. The results of the overall meta-analysis provided some evidence of an association between the polymorphism and HNC risk (OR = 0.82, 95% CI 0.67–0.99 for TG vs. GG). In the subgroup meta-analysis based on the types of tumor, we detected a significantly decreased NPC risk for all genetic models. Conclusion: This meta-analysis suggests that the GG genotype of MDM2 SNP309 is associated with HNC risk. The MDM2 SNP309G allele is a highly penetrant risk factor for developing NPC.
Chemotherapy uptake and wait times in early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer.

BACKGROUND Treatment uptake and elapsed times along the care path have emerged as potential quality indicators for cancer care delivery. This retrospective study examined changes in adjuvant chemotherapy uptake and elapsed times along the care path for patients in 2005 and in 2007 who had early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer (nsclc) and who underwent curative-intent surgery in Nova Scotia, Canada. METHODS All patients who underwent curative-intent surgery for stages i-iii nsclc in the two years of interest were included. Logistic regression and general linear models were used to examine factors associated with chemotherapy uptake patterns and, at various resolutions (low, intermediate, high), elapsed times between all care events in the care path. RESULTS In the 223 patients who underwent curative-intent surgery (108 in 2005, 115 in 2007), several factors were associated with uptake patterns and elapsed times. Cohort year (2007 vs. 2005) was not associated with referral to medical oncology [odds ratio (or): 1.05; 95% confidence interval (ci): 0.51 to 2.15; p = 0.905], but it was associated with less treatment after referral (or: 0.34; 95% ci: 0.11 to 1.00; p = 0.057) and less overall uptake (or: 0.35; 95% ci: 0.13 to 0.95; p = 0.040). Patients were referred sooner to medical oncology in 2007 than in 2005 (21 days vs. 35 days, p = 0.008), but experienced longer waits between consultation and chemotherapy delivery (18 days vs. 7 days, p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS Significant differences were observed in care patterns over time. Frequent monitoring of care patterns at high resolution may optimize insights into emerging trends within cancer care systems.