Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Psychiatric Disorders among Patients Undergoing Hemodialysis Therapy

We examined the incidence rates of psychiatric disorders in end-stage renal failure patients on hemodialysis (HD) based on 4-year long-term follow-up. Among various psychiatric disorders, the frequency of three psychiatric disorders, dementia, delirium, and major depression, was relatively high. One-year incidence rate of whole psychiatric disorders was 10.6% (7.1% in non-aged and 13.7% in aged). One-year incidence rate of dementia in aged patients was 4.2% (dementia of the Alzheimer’s disease, 0.5%; multi-infarct dementia, 3.7%). One-year incidence rate of multi-infarct dementia in aged HD patients was 7.4 times as large as that in the elderly general populations, suggesting that aged HD patients tend to exhibit multi-infarct dementia. The high incidence rate may be closely related to advanced arteriosclerosis and other medical conditions. Psychiatric management is required for ESRD patients with three major psychiatric disorders, dementia, delirium, and major depression, in particular for aged patients with multi-infarct dementia who has received long-term HD therapy.
Basalioma after amiodarone therapy—not only in Britain

1 Lamartine J. Towards a new classification of ectodermal dysplasias. Clin Exp Dermatol 2003; 28: 351–5. 2 Fosko SW, Stenn KS, Bolognia JL. Ectodermal dysplasias associated with clefting: significance of scalp dermatitis. J Am Acad Dermatol 1992; 27: 249–56. 3 Roelfsema NM, Cobben JM. The EEC syndrome: a literature study. Clin Dysmorphol 1996; 5: 115–27. 4 Felding IB, Björklund LJ. Rapp–Hodgkin ectodermal dysplasia. Pediatr Dermatol 1990; 7: 126–31. 5 Shwayder TA, Lane AT, Miller ME. Hay–Wells syndrome. Pediatr Dermatol 1986; 3: 399–402. 6 Celli J, Duijf P, Hamel BCJ et al. Heterozygous germline mutations in the p53 homolog p63 are the cause of EEC syndrome. Cell 1999; 99: 143–53. 7 van Bokhoven H, Hamel BCJ, Bamshad M et al. p63 gene mutations in EEC syndrome, limb–mammary syndrome, and isolated split hand–split foot malformation suggest a genotype– phenotype correlation. Am J Hum Genet 2001; 69: 481–92. 8 Kantaputra PN, Hamada T, Kumchai T, McGrath JA. Heterozygous mutation in the SAM domain of p63 underlies Rapp– Hodgkin ectodermal dysplasia. J Dent Res 2003; 82: 433–7. 9 van Bokhoven H, Brunner HG. Splitting p63. Am J Hum Genet 2002; 71: 1–13. 10 Berdon-Zapata V, Granillo-Alvarez M, Valdes-Flores M et al. p63 gene analysis in Mexican patients with syndromic and nonsyndromic ectrodactyly. J Orthop Res 2004; 22: 1–5. 11 Yang A, Schweitzer R, Sun D et al. p63 is essential for regenerative proliferation in limb, cranio-facial and epithelial development. Nature 1999; 398: 714–18.
Quantitation of myocardial fatty acid metabolism using PET.

UNLABELLED Abnormalities of fatty acid metabolism in the heart presage contractile dysfunction and arrhythmias. This study was performed to determine whether myocardial fatty acid metabolism could be quantified noninvasively using PET and 1-(11)C-palmitate. METHODS Anesthetized dogs were studied during control conditions; during administration of dobutamine; after oxfenicine; and during infusion of glucose. Dynamic PET data after administration of 1-(11)C-palmitate were fitted to a four-compartment mathematical model. RESULTS Modeled rates of palmitate utilization correlated closely with directly measured myocardial palmitate and total long-chain fatty acid utilization (r = 0.93 and 0.96, respectively, p < 0.001 for each) over a wide range of arterial fatty acid levels and altered patterns of myocardial substrate use (fatty acid extraction fraction ranging from 1% to 56%, glucose extraction fraction from 1% to 16% and myocardial fatty acid utilization from 1 to 484 nmole/g/ min). The percent of fatty acid undergoing oxidation could also be measured. CONCLUSION The results demonstrate the ability to quantify myocardial fatty acid utilization with PET. The approach is readily applicable for the determination of fatty acid metabolism noninvasively in patients.
When smokers are resistant to change: experimental analysis of the effect of patient resistance on practitioner behaviour.

AIMS In the field of motivational interviewing, practitioner confrontational behaviour has been associated with lower levels of patient behaviour change. We set out to explore whether resistance to change among smokers affects practitioner confrontational and other behaviours. DESIGN Experimental manipulation of levels of patient resistance in a role play. SETTING The study was conducted at the start of a 2-day health behaviour change workshop. PARTICIPANTS Thirty-two practitioners who had registered for the workshop. INTERVENTION The practitioners were assigned randomly to interview a standardized patient (actor) who portrayed a smoker who had been briefed to display either high or low levels of resistance to change. MEASUREMENTS Interviews were audiotaped and transcribed. Practitioners and standardized patients completed interview ratings at the end of each interview. After listening to each taped interview practitioners were assigned a global score for confrontation, empathy and expert instructional style. Interviews were then submitted to a qualitative analysis. FINDINGS Higher levels of practitioner confrontational behaviour were observed in the high resistance group. This was evident both from the global scores (median 2 versus 0, P = 0.001) and the qualitative analysis. Global scores for empathy and expert instruction were not significantly different. Qualitative analysis also suggests a pervasive negative impact on other practitioner behaviours. CONCLUSIONS Higher patient resistance probably leads to an increase in confrontational and other negative behaviours in health professionals attempting to promote behaviour change. This challenges important assumptions about the influence of practitioner behaviour on patient behaviour and subsequent health-related outcomes.
A unique P‐region residue is required for slow voltage‐dependent gating of a G protein‐activated inward rectifier K+ channel expressed in Xenopus oocytes.

1. The structural determinants of a G protein‐activated inwardly rectifying potassium channel, GIRK1 (KIR3.1), involved in voltage‐ and time‐dependent gating properties were investigated by heterologous expression of chimeric constructs and point mutants in Xenopus oocytes. 2. Chimeras between GIRK1 and the weakly rectifying potassium channel, ROMK1 (KIR1.1), indicate that residues in the putative transmembrane segments TM1 and TM2 affect the steep inward rectification of GIRK1, while residues in the main pore‐forming domain, the P‐region segment, are critical for the manifestation of GIRK1 time‐dependent activation. 3. Phenylalanine 137 in the P‐region of GIRK1 is unique; in ROMK1, as in other inward rectifiers, there is a serine residue at this position. Mutation of the phenylalanine 137 to serine leads to expression of currents with nearly time‐independent activation. 4. An acidic residue (aspartate) in TM2 partially controls the time‐ and voltage‐dependent gating in IRK1 (KIR2.1). Mutation of the equivalent aspartate 173 to glutamine in GIRK1 did not abolish the time‐dependent activation but did decrease the degree of inward rectification. 5. These results reveal an important role for the P‐region in controlling the time‐dependent gating of an inwardly rectifying potassium channel and suggest a close relationship between permeation and gating in this family of K+ channels.
The Carboxyl-Terminal Domain of the Protein Kinase Fused Can Function as a Dominant Inhibitor of Hedgehog Signaling

ABSTRACT The secreted protein hedgehog (Hh) plays a critical role in the developmental patterning of multiple tissues. In Drosophila melanogaster, a cytosolic multiprotein signaling complex appears necessary for Hh signaling. Genes that encode components of this Hh signaling complex (HSC) were originally identified and characterized based on their genetic interactions with hh, as well as with each other. It is only in recent years that the mechanistic functions of these components have begun to be unraveled. Here, we have investigated the relationship between two components of the HSC, the serine/threonine protein kinase Fused (Fu) and the kinesin-related protein Costal2 (Cos2). We have reconstituted a Fu/Cos2 complex in vitro and shown that Fu is able to directly associate with Cos2, forming a complex whose molecular size is similar to a previously described complex found in Drosophila cell extracts. We have also determined that the carboxyl-terminal domain of Fu is necessary and sufficient for the direct binding of Fu to Cos2. To validate the physiological relevance of this interaction, we overexpressed the carboxyl-terminal domain of Fu in wild-type flies. These flies exhibit a phenotype similar to that seen in fu mutants and consistent with an hh loss-of-function phenotype. We conclude that the carboxyl-terminal domain of Fu can function in a dominant negative manner, by preventing endogenous Fu from binding to Cos2. Thus, we provide the first evidence that Hh signaling can be compromised by targeting the HSC for disruption.
Phylogenetic Analysis of the Small Subunit Ribosomal RNA of Marteilia refringens Validates the Existence of Phylum Paramyxea (Desportes and Perkins, 1990)1

Abstract Marteilia refringens is recognized as one of the most significant pathogens of bivalve molluscs. The nucleotide sequence of the small subunit ribosomal RNA gene of Marteilia refringens is used to elucidate the phylogenetic position of the phylum Paramyxea. Genomic DNA was extracted from sporangia of Marteilia, purified from infected blue mussels, Mytilus edulis, and flat oysters, Ostrea edulis. The sequences obtained from Marteilia species purified from both oysters and mussels were identical. The sequence identity was confirmed by in situ hybridization using a DNA probe targeted to a variable region of the ribosomal DNA. The small subunit ribosomal RNA gene sequence of M. refringens is very different from all known sequences of eukaryotic organisms, including those of myxosporeans and haplosporeans. Therefore, the phylum Paramyxea should continue to be recognized as an independent eukaryotic phylum.
Computational Environment to Semi-Automatically Build a Conceptual Model Represented in OntoUML

A conceptual model can be an important instrument to support the software functional requirements elicitation because it promotes better understanding of a domain. However, the representation quality of the conceptual model depends on the expressivity of the language used. OntoUML is a proposed language to solve expressivity problems. Nevertheless, OntoUML models are complicated to build for novice modelers. This study presents an experiment performed in order to semi-automatically build a conceptual model represented in OntoUML. All the experiment steps were executed by a computational environment named ENSURE. The results showed that it is possible to identify 60% of the meaningful concepts.
Kidney Transplantation Outcomes in HIV Infection: The European Experience

The authors state in the Discussion section that, to their knowledge, their study is the first one describing a European cohort of HIV-positive kidney transplant recipients. However, in 2006, we published an initial study that analyzed the outcomes of all the HIV-infected patients who had undergone kidney transplantation in the high-activity antiretroviral therapy era in another European country, Spain (2). Recently, and almost simultaneously with Touzot et al., we have also reported the results of a case-control study that is an extension of our previous study (3). In this recent paper, we compare 20 HIV-positive renal transplant patients with a matched cohort of 40 HIVnegative recipients who received a kidney graft in our country.
Composition and uses of anaerobic digestion derived biogas from wastewater treatment facilities in North America

A study was conducted to determine the current knowledge of biogas production and its use at municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) across North America. Information was provided by municipal WWTPs across Canada and the US. It was determined that hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and silicon (Si) compounds had sufficient variability to be of concern. The only biogas production trend that could be identified was a possible seasonal relationship with sludge input and biogas production. Secondary analysis was performed to observe trends in biogas usage in urban areas larger than 150,000 in the US and 50,000 in Canada; 66% of facilities had anaerobic digestion systems and, of those, only 35% had an energy recovery system. Climatic, population, and socio-political influences on the trends were considered. The primary conclusion was that more data is required to perform significant analyses on biogas production and composition variation.
Molecular Analyses of a Three-Subunit Euryarchaeal Clamp Loader Complex from Methanosarcina acetivorans

ABSTRACT Chromosomal DNA replication is dependent on processive DNA synthesis. Across the three domains of life and in certain viruses, a toroidal sliding clamp confers processivity to replicative DNA polymerases by encircling the DNA and engaging the polymerase in protein/protein interactions. Sliding clamps are ring-shaped; therefore, they have cognate clamp loaders that open and load them onto DNA. Here we use biochemical and mutational analyses to study the structure/function of the Methanosarcina acetivorans clamp loader or replication factor C (RFC) homolog. M. acetivorans RFC (RFC Ma ), which represents an intermediate between the common archaeal RFC and the eukaryotic RFC, comprises two different small subunits (RFCS1 and RFCS2) and a large subunit (RFCL). Size exclusion chromatography suggested that RFCS1 exists in oligomeric states depending on protein concentration, while RFCS2 exists as a monomer. Protein complexes of RFCS1/RFCS2 formed in solution; however, they failed to stimulate DNA synthesis by a cognate DNA polymerase in the presence of its clamp. Determination of the subunit composition and previous mutational analysis allowed the prediction of the spatial distribution of subunits in this new member of the clamp loader family. Three RFCS1 subunits are flanked by an RFCS2 and an RFCL. The spatial distribution is, therefore, reminiscent of the minimal Escherichia coli clamp loader that exists in space as three γ-subunits (motor) flanked by the δ′ (stator) and the δ (wrench) subunits. Mutational analysis, however, suggested that the similarity between the two clamp loaders does not translate into the complete conservation of the functions of individual subunits within the RFC Ma complex.
Design and Synthesis of Highly Potent and Selective Pharmacological Chaperones for the Treatment of Gaucher's disease

The chemical-chaperone approach is an emerging concept in drug research that holds promise for the treatment of inherited diseases caused by improperly folded proteins. This strategy is based on the capacity of certain low-molecular-weight compounds to stabilize or alter the three-dimensional architecture of defective proteins. Recently, the effectiveness of the chemical-chaperone concept has been demonstrated in the field of lysosomal-storage disorders, a group of more than 40 rare diseases that are characterized by the deficiency of the glycosidases involved in the catabolism of glycosphingolipids in the lysosome. In 1999, it was reported that the residual agalactosidase A activity in the lymphoblasts of patients with Fabry disease could be significantly enhanced by using iminosugar-based inhibitors of the deficient glycosidase at subinhibitory concentrations. This “nonintuitive” result can be explained by the fact that, even though the defective enzyme is predisposed to misfolding and/or instability, it is still catalytically active. Reversible competitive inhibitors positively influence the folding state of the abnormal enzyme, thus preventing its degradation by quality control in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and ER-associated degradation (ERAD) before its transfer to lysosomes. According to the so-called threshold theory, the severity of the disease correlates with the residual degrading capacity in the patients’ lysosomes and, therefore, even a slight elevation in enzyme activity can lead to a significant improvement in the symptoms associated with a lysosomal-storage disorder. Active-site-specific chaperone strategies are being evaluated clinically for the treatment of Fabry disease, thus highlighting their strong potential as a new therapeutic option for these disorders. Recent studies have shown that this approach may be applied to Gaucher’s disease, the most prevalent lysosomal-storage disorder. 7] This autosomal recessive disease is caused by a deficiency of glucosylceramide b-glucosidase, also called bglucocerebrosidase, (GCase) that leads to the accumulation of undegraded glucosylceramide (GlcCer), especially in macrophages, and to severe symptoms. In type 1, the mildest and most common of the three clinical forms of Gaucher’s disease, patients suffer from bone pain, skeletal lesions, anaemia and liver or spleen damage. The first-line treatment for Gaucher’s disease is based on the administration of CerezymeA, a recombinant form of GCase, to supplement the defective hydrolytic enzyme. A second strategy makes use of a small molecule, N-butyl-1-deoxynojirimycin 1 (NB-DNJ, ZavescaA), to inhibit the biosynthesis of GlcCer.
Market-Sensing Capability and Business Performance of Retail Entrepreneurs

This study aims to shed light on the market-sensing capabilities of retail entrepreneurs and the effect of these capabilities on their business performance. A conceptual model based on a literature review is presented, followed by an Internet survey of 226 K-retailers from the Finnish K-alliance. Structural equation modeling (SEM) is used to test the conceptual model and to investigate the effect of market-sensing capability on growth and profitability. The study reveals that most of the studied retail entrepreneurs have relatively well-developed market-sensing capabilities. A weak positive relationship is found to exist between market-sensing capability and company growth. However, no positive relationship is found between market-sensing capability and profitability. Factors other than market-sensing capability were not considered in the present study. However, other factors that might affect business performance in the present research context are identified and discussed. The article sensitizes practitioners to think how entrepreneurs’ market-sensing capabilities should be conceptualized and developed in the retail chain context. The paper presents a novel and distinctive empirical investigation of the relationship between entrepreneurs’ market-sensing capability and firm performance in the retailing context. Keywords: Market-Sensing, Capability, Profitability, Growth, Retail Entrepreneurs
Cystathionine β‐synthase, a key enzyme for homocysteine metabolism, is preferentially expressed in the radial glia/astrocyte lineage of developing mouse CNS

Cystathionine β‐synthase (CBS; EC 4.2.1.22) is a key enzyme in the generation of cysteine from methionine. A deficiency of CBS leads to homocystinuria, an inherited human disease characterized by mental retardation, seizures, psychiatric disturbances, skeletal abnormalities, and vascular disorders; however, the underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown. Here, we show the regional and cellular distribution of CBS in the adult and developing mouse brain. In the adult mouse brain, CBS was expressed ubiquitously, but it is expressed most intensely in the cerebellar molecular layer and hippocampal dentate gyrus. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that CBS is preferentially expressed in cerebellar Bergmann glia and in astrocytes throughout the brain. At early developmental stages, CBS was expressed in neuroepithelial cells in the ventricular zone, but its expression changed to radial glial cells and then to astrocytes during the late embryonic and neonatal periods. CBS was most highly expressed in juvenile brain, and a striking induction was observed in cultured astrocytes in response to EGF, TGF‐α, cAMP, and dexamethasone. Moreover, CBS was significantly accumulated in reactive astrocytes in the hippocampus after kainic acid‐induced seizures, and cerebellar morphological abnormalities were observed in CBS‐deficient mice. Taken together, these results suggest that CBS plays a crucial role in the development and maintenance of the CNS and that radial glia/astrocyte dysfunction might be involved in the complex neuropathological features associated with abnormal homocysteine metabolism.
Superior vena cava stent placement: results with the Wallstent endoprosthesis.

PURPOSE To assess the clinical success and short-term patency of the Wallstent endoprosthesis in the treatment of superior vena cava (SVC) syndrome. MATERIALS AND METHODS Twenty-one 14-mm-diameter endoprostheses were implanted in 15 patients (mean age, 60 years) treated for SVC syndrome due to malignant compression (n = 14) or postirradiation fibrotic stenosis (n = 1) of the SVC. RESULTS Immediate technical success was achieved in all patients. Two early complications occurred: retroperitoneal hemorrhage due to venous iliac tear and early stent thrombosis. In the 14 patients without early stent occlusion, stent placement resulted in complete relief of SVC syndrome; clinical success was 93%. SVC syndrome did not recur from 1 to 14 months, until the patient died (n = 11) or until the end of the study (n = 3). Helical CT showed a patent stent in five patients, respectively, at 3, 6, 8, 10, and 11 months. CONCLUSION SVC stent placement has good clinical results and a high patency rate at short-term follow-up in patients with SVC syndrome.
Chromosomal alterations in marine fish cells in vitro.

The modal chromosome number of the GF cell line is 46, consisting of 44 telocentrics and two metacentrics. Primary grunt fin tissue exhibits 2n = 48; all are telocentric chromosomes. The modal cell of the GF cell line does not represent the in vivo genetic constitution conserved by Robertsonian translocation since the modal cells are variously haploid or nullo for the chromosome pair bearing secondary constrictions. Despite the fact that GF cells possess 44 telocentric chromosomes, only limited centric fusion appears to have occurred during 8 years of culture in vitro.