Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Position and Mobilisation Post-Angiography Study (PAMPAS): a comparison of 4.5 hours and 2.5 hours bed rest

After cardiac catheterisation, haemostasis is usually achieved by manual compression of the puncture site. The patient is then laid flat, allowed to sit up and then to mobilise—a process taking considerably longer than the procedure itself, and possibly involving more prolonged bed occupancy than is necessary. Well conducted, randomised, controlled trials of patient position (supine or upright) and duration of rest after catheterisation, with consistent use of the small calibre catheters used in contemporary practice, and robust definitions of haemorrhagic complications, are few, and include only small numbers of patients.1–3 Consequently, a poll of 32 institutions in the UK in the year 2000 (conducted by SDP) revealed that the length of time patients are kept supine varies from 0–6 hours (mean 2.2 hours), with bed rest lasting from 3–24 hours (mean 5.7 hours). We aimed to examine the safety of early sit-up and mobilisation after routine cardiac catheterisation in contemporary practice. We performed a prospective, randomised, open label, controlled trial in which patients, who had undergone elective 6 French cardiac catheterisation via the femoral artery, were randomly assigned to either 4.5 hours bed rest, with sit-up (elevation of the head of the bed to 60°) after 4 hours (group A) or 2.5 hours bed rest, with sit-up after 1 hour (group B). The primary end point was vascular complications, comprising …
The effect of Rumor Clarification on Chinese Stock Markets

Rumor and stock markets are coexisted. Most previous studies have focused on the effect of rumor on stock movements. However, few investigated the reactions of investors when a rumor is verified by authorities. Since Chinese Securities Regulatory Commission requires the listed firms to clarify the relevant rumors in time, it is of great interests to understand the effect of rumor clarification on Chinese stock markets. In this study, we first obtained the information of rumor clarification which is announced by rumor confirmation column in the www.p5w. net, one of the largest rumor clarification websites in China, using text mining techniques, and then study its direct impact on stock movements. Our main findings are that the reactions of investors are strongly related with the types of rumors and the responses of the relevant listed firms. In particular, the positive or negative response to good rumors tends to further raise up or drag down the stock price, while either the positive or negative response to bad rumors is not able to stop the downward trend of stock prices. In addition, the stock market is quite sensitive to the rumors of restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, which leads to the violent fluctuation of stock prices.
Dipeptidyl Peptidase 4 Inhibitor Sitagliptin Protects Endothelial Function in Hypertension Through a Glucagon–Like Peptide 1–Dependent Mechanism

Sitagliptin, a selective dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitor, inhibits the inactivation and degradation of glucagon like peptide 1 (GLP-1), which is used for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus. However, little is known about the role of GLP-1 in hypertension. This study investigated whether the activation of GLP-1 signaling protects endothelial function in hypertension. Two-week sitagliptin treatment (10 mg/kg per day, oral gavage) improved endothelium-dependent relaxation in renal arteries, restored renal blood flow, and reduced systolic blood pressure in spontaneously hypertensive rats. In vivo sitagliptin treatment elevated GLP-1 and GLP-1 receptor expressions, increased cAMP level, and subsequently activated protein kinase A, liver kinase B1, AMP-activated protein kinase-&agr; and endothelial NO synthase in spontaneously hypertensive rat renal arteries. Inhibition of GLP-1 receptor, adenylyl cyclase, protein kinase A, AMP-activated protein kinase-&agr;, or NO synthase reversed the protective effects of sitagliptin. We also demonstrate that GLP-1 receptor agonist exendin 4 in vitro treatment had similar vasoprotective effects in spontaneously hypertensive rat renal arteries and increased NO production in spontaneously hypertensive rat aortic endothelial cells. Studies using transient expressions of wild-type and dominant-negative AMP-activated protein kinase-&agr;2 support the critical role of AMP-activated protein kinase-&agr; in mediating the effect of GLP-1 in endothelial cells. Ex vivo exendin 4 treatment also improved endothelial function of renal arteries from hypertensive patients. Our results elucidate that upregulation of GLP-1 and related agents improve endothelial function in hypertension by restoring NO bioavailability, suggesting that GLP-1 signaling could be a therapeutic target in hypertension-related vascular events.
Causes of Death in Children Aged < 15 Years in the Inner Mongolia Region of China, 2008-2012

The objective of our study was to identify the causes of death in children <15 years of age in Inner Mongolia and to examine the age-specific causes of death. Study data from 2008–2012 were obtained from the Death Registry System that is maintained by the Inner Mongolia Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The mortality rate (per 100,000) for children <15 years of age was calculated and stratified by age in different years. We computed the proportion of age-specific causes of death for children <15 years that occurred between 2008 and 2012 across eight monitoring points in Inner Mongolia. We used a log-linear model to analyze the year and age effects on childhood mortality. From 2008-2012, the standardized mortality of children <15 years of age was 42.78/100,000. The mortality rate was not significantly different from 2008 to 2012 (p>0.05); the mortality rate was the highest in the <1-year age group (p<0.05); and the mortality rate of the <1-year age group was higher in 2012 compared to that in 2009 (p<0.05), 2010 (p<0.05), and 2011 (p<0.05). In children aged 1-14 years, the leading cause of death was injuries, among which transport accident injuries were the most prevalent. To reduce the childhood mortality rate in Inner Mongolia, China, we should focus on the prevention of perinatal deaths in infants <1 year of age and on the prevention of transport accident injuries among older children (1-14 years).
Effect of Bicycling on the Baroreflex Regulation of Pulse Interval

The reflex control of pulse interval during erect bicycle exercise was studied in nine normal subjects aged 18 to 28, breathing an oxygen-rich mixture. Rises in the directly measured arterial pressure were produced by intravenous injections of phenylephrine, and systolic pressure was correlated with the following pulse interval. The slope of the systolic pressure-pulse interval relation was used to express reflex sensitivity. With increasing exercise, the reflex sensitivity decreased progressively so that at a level of exercise which produced a heart rate of 150/min there was no reflex cardiac slowing in response to a provoked rise of pressure. The reduction in reflex sensitivity was studied during the changes from rest to exercise and vice versa. Reflex sensitivity decreased within 5 seconds of the onset of exercise.
Comprehensive Investigation of Marine Actinobacteria Associated with the Sponge Halichondria panicea

ABSTRACT Representatives of Actinobacteria were isolated from the marine sponge Halichondria panicea collected from the Baltic Sea (Germany). For the first time, a comprehensive investigation was performed with regard to phylogenetic strain identification, secondary metabolite profiling, bioactivity determination, and genetic exploration of biosynthetic genes, especially concerning the relationships of the abundance of biosynthesis gene fragments to the number and diversity of produced secondary metabolites. All strains were phylogenetically identified by 16S rRNA gene sequence analyses and were found to belong to the genera Actinoalloteichus, Micrococcus, Micromonospora, Nocardiopsis, and Streptomyces. Secondary metabolite profiles of 46 actinobacterial strains were evaluated, 122 different substances were identified, and 88 so far unidentified compounds were detected. The extracts from most of the cultures showed biological activities. In addition, the presence of biosynthesis genes encoding polyketide synthases (PKSs) and nonribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs) in 30 strains was established. It was shown that strains in which either PKS or NRPS genes were identified produced a significantly higher number of metabolites and exhibited a larger number of unidentified, possibly new metabolites than other strains. Therefore, the presence of PKS and NRPS genes is a good indicator for the selection of strains to isolate new natural products.
On the existence of efficient estimators

The common signal processing problem of estimating some nonrandom parameters of a signal in additive noise is considered. The problem investigated in this paper is under what conditions an efficient estimator exists, i.e., an unbiased estimator with a variance equal to the Cramer-Rao lower bound (CRB). It is well known that if the signal is linear or, more generally, affine in the parameters and the noise Gaussian, an efficient estimator does exist. This paper shows that under some conditions, this is the only case where an efficient estimator exists.
Motion Artifact Removal for Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy: A Comparison of Methods

Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is rapidly gaining popularity for functional brain imaging. It is well suited to studies of patients or children; however, in these populations particularly, motion artifacts can present a problem. Here, we propose the use of imaging channels with negligible distance between light source and detector to detect subject motion, without the need for an additional motion sensor. Datasets containing deliberate motion artifacts were obtained from three subjects. Motion artifacts could be detected in the signal from the co-located channels with a minimum sensitivity of 0.75 and specificity of 0.98. Five techniques for removing motion artifact from the functional signals were compared, namely two-input recursive least squares (RLS) adaptive filtering, wavelet-based filtering, independent component analysis (ICA), and two-channel and multiple-channel regression. In most datasets, the median change in SNR across all channels was the greatest using ICA or multiple-channel regression. RLS adaptive filtering produced the smallest increase in SNR. Where sharp spikes were present, wavelet filtering produced the largest SNR increase. ICA and multiple-channel regression are promising ways to reduce motion artifact in functional NIRS without requiring time-consuming manual techniques.
The Dynamic Logic of Permission

Intelligent legal information systems require the ability to represent two different notions of permission, one of which, free choice permission, cannot be adequately represented in standard modal logics. A logic that handles this modality by using ideas from dynamic logic is defined. The main result is the completeness of an axiomatization of the logic. >
Immunopathology and Infectious Diseases Tolerance to Melanin-Associated Antigen in Autoimmune Uveitis Is Mediated by CD 4 CD 25 T-Regulatory Cells

Experimental autoimmune anterior uveitis (EAAU) serves as an animal model for human idiopathic AU, the most common form of intraocular inflammation of significant morbidity whose recurrence can lead to permanent vision loss. This study was undertaken to inhibit EAAU by inducing tolerance to melanin-associated antigen (MAA) and to investigate the underlying mechanisms responsible for tolerance induction. Intravenous administration of MAA both induced tolerance and inhibited EAAU in Lewis rats. Flow cytometric analysis revealed that the proliferation of lymph node cells in response to antigenic stimulation was drastically reduced in the state of tolerance both in vivo and in vitro. Our results from co-culture experiments demonstrated that intravenous administration of MAA led to the generation of T-regulatory cells that suppress T-cell proliferative responses and induce tolerance. Expression levels of both interleukin-10 and transforming growth factor2 were elevated whereas reduced levels of tumor necrosis factor, interferon, and interleukin-2 were detected in tolerance-induced animals. Tolerance was reversed by replenishing these animals with recombinant interleukin-2. Tolerance could be adoptively transferred by removing lymph node cells from tolerance-induced donors and giving them to recipient rats. Interestingly, adoptive transfer of tolerance failed when lymph nodes cells were depleted of CD4 CD25 T cells. In conclusion, T-cell nonresponsiveness because of active suppression mediated by T-regulatory cells facilitates the development of tolerance to MAA in EAAU. (Am J Pathol 2008, 173:1440–1454; DOI: 10.2353/ajpath.2008.080150)
Concurrent Vismodegib and Radiotherapy for Recurrent, Advanced Basal Cell Carcinoma.

IMPORTANCE Vismodegib is a targeted agent recently approved for treating patients who develop recurrent or locally advanced basal cell carcinoma (BCC), and will inevitably be integrated into existing therapy for advanced BCC as it becomes increasingly used. Improved understanding of how vismodegib interacts with other treatment modalities, including radiotherapy, would help optimize multidisciplinary therapy and clinical outcomes. OBSERVATIONS We report 2 cases of recurrent, advanced BCC treated from April 1, 2012, through October 31, 2014, with concurrent radiotherapy and vismodegib. Concurrent treatment appeared to be well tolerated and efficacious, with both patients having no evidence of progressive disease at last follow-up. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE We found that the combination of vismodegib and radiotherapy is feasible for patients with recurrent or locally advanced BCC and that combined use of currently available therapies for advanced BCC warrants further prospective study.
Quality Evaluation of Composite Bread Produced from Wheat, Maize and Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato Flours

The research was carried out to evaluate the effect of addition of yellow maize (YM) and orange fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) flours on the quality of wheat bread. Maize and sweet potato were processed into flour and mixed with wheat flour for bread production. Five samples of bread were produced and denoted as Samples A to E. Sample A was the control with 100% wheat flour, while Sample B to E had maize and sweet potato flours added in an increasing order of 5 to 20%. The physical properties of the bread loaves were evaluated and the result decreased significantly with increasing levels of yellow maize and orange fleshed sweet potato flours. The loaf volume varied from 340 to 182 cm3 and the bread specific volume ranged from 1.35 to 0.99 cm3/g. The result of the proximate composition showed that moisture and protein contents decreased significantly (p<0.05) with increase in yellow maize and orange fleshed potato flours varying from 34.97 to 29.97% and 13.12 to 7.67% respectively. The fat, crude fibre, ash and carbohydrate contents of the bread samples generally increased significantly (p<0.05) with increase in maize and orange fleshed potato flours. The result of the mineral content revealed that β-carotene and calcium increased significantly with increased levels of maize and sweet potato. The values of magnesium iron and phosphorus in the bread samples had no definite trend. The result of the sensory properties showed that there was significant difference in the texture and taste of 100% wheat bread and the other samples. The 100% wheat bread recorded the highest scores in all the parameters evaluated however all the other samples were well accepted. There was a decrease in the values of overall acceptability, appearance and flavor of the bread samples with increasing levels of maize and sweet potato flours but the decrease was not significantly different.
Transcriptional Regulation of Carbohydrate Metabolism in the Human Pathogen Candida albicans

Glycolysis is a metabolic pathway that is central to the assimilation of carbon for either respiration or fermentation and therefore is critical for the growth of all organisms. Consequently, glycolytic transcriptional regulation is important for the metabolic flexibility of pathogens in their attempts to colonize diverse niches. We investigated the transcriptional control of carbohydrate metabolism in the human fungal pathogen Candida albicans and identified two factors, Tye7p and Gal4p, as key regulators of glycolysis. When respiration was inhibited or oxygen was limited, a gal4tye7 C. albicans strain showed a severe growth defect when cultured on glucose, fructose or mannose as carbon sources. The gal4tye7 strain displayed attenuated virulence in both Galleria and mouse models as well, supporting the connection between pathogenicity and metabolism. Chromatin immunoprecipitation coupled with microarray analysis (ChIP-CHIP) and transcription profiling revealed that Tye7p bound the promoter sequences of the glycolytic genes and activated their expression during growth on either fermentable or non-fermentable carbon sources. Gal4p also bound the glycolytic promoter sequences and activated the genes although to a lesser extent than Tye7p. Intriguingly, binding and activation by Gal4p was carbon source-dependent and much stronger during growth on media containing fermentable sugars than on glycerol. Furthermore, Tye7p and Gal4p were responsible for the complete induction of the glycolytic genes under hypoxic growth conditions. Tye7p and Gal4p also regulated unique sets of carbohydrate metabolic genes; Tye7p bound and activated genes involved in trehalose, glycogen, and glycerol metabolism, while Gal4p regulated the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex. This suggests that Tye7p represents the key transcriptional regulator of carbohydrate metabolism in C. albicans and Gal4p provides a carbon source-dependent fine-tuning of gene expression while regulating the metabolic flux between respiration and fermentation pathways.
Aerosolized Surfactant in Adults with Sepsis-Induced Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome

Background Patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) have a deficiency of surfactant. Surfactant replacement improves physiologic function in such patients, and preliminary data suggest that it may improve survival. Methods We conducted a prospective, multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial involving 725 patients with sepsis-induced ARDS. Patients were stratified according to the risk of death at base line (indicated by their score on the Acute Physiologic and Chronic Health Evaluation [APACHE III] index) and randomly assigned to receive either continuously administered synthetic surfactant (13.5 mg of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine per milliliter; 364 patients) or placebo (0.45 percent saline; 361 patients) in aerosolized form for up to five days. Results The demographic and physiologic characteristics of the two treatment groups were similar at base line. The mean (±SD) age was 50±17 years in the surfactant group and 53±18 years in the placebo group, and the mean A.
Periostin increases migration and proliferation of human periodontal ligament fibroblasts challenged by tumor necrosis factor -α and Porphyromonas gingivalis lipopolysaccharides.

BACKGROUND In the chronic established periodontal lesion, the proliferation and migration potential of periodontal ligament (PDL) cells are significantly compromised. Thus, the progressive loss of tissue integrity is favored and normal healing and regeneration compromised. Periostin, a known PDL marker, modulates cell-matrix interactions, cell behavior, as well as the matrix biomechanics and PDL homeostasis. OBJECTIVE To evaluate whether periostin restores the regenerative potential of PDL cells in terms of proliferation, migration, and activation of survival signaling pathways after being challenged by Porphyromonas gingivalis lipopolysaccharides and tumor necrosis factor alpha α. METHODS Human PDL (hPDL) cells were cultured under different conditions: control, periostin (50 or 100 ng/mL), and fibroblast growth factor 2 (10 ng/mL) to evaluate cell proliferation (by Ki67), cell migration (by scratch assays) and PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway activation (by western blot analyses of total AKT, phospho-AKT and PS6). A different set of cultures was challenged by adding tumor necrosis factor alpha α (10 ng/mL) and P. gingivalis lipopolysaccharides (200 ng/mL) to evaluate the effects of periostin as described above. RESULTS Periostin significantly increased cell proliferation (twofold), migration (especially at earlier time points and low dose) and activation of survival signaling pathway (higher phosphorylation of AKT and PS6). Furthermore, periostin promoted similar cellular effects even after being challenged with proinflammatory cytokines and bacterial virulence factors. CONCLUSION Periostin acts as an important modulator of hPDL cell-matrix dynamics. It modulates hPDL proliferation, migration and PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. It also helps in overcoming the altered biological phenotype that chronic exposure to periodontal pathogens and proinflammatory cytokines produce in hPDL cells.
Differential Transformation Efficiencies Observed for pUC 19 and pBR 322 in E . coli May Be Related to Calcium Chloride Concentration

Calcium chloride is commonly included in buffers used to generate chemocompetent bacterial cells. The mechanism that underlies the uptake of exogenous DNA into bacteria is not completely understood. Previous studies have suggested that calcium ions may function to neutralize electrostatic repulsion between DNA and membrane proteins, thereby allowing exogenous DNA to enter membrane pores. Other studies have shown that transformation efficiency decreases as plasmid size increases. We hypothesized that increasing calcium chloride concentrations during the transformation may increase transformation efficiency of larger sizes. To test whether or not calcium chloride concentration is related to differential transformation efficiency of plasmids of different sizes, we compared the transformation efficiency of pUC19 (2686 base pairs) and pBR322 (4361 base pairs) at varying calcium chloride concentrations of 0.05 M, 0.1 M, 0.15 M, 0.2 M, 0.3 M, 0.4 M, 0.5 M and 1.0 M. We observed maximum transformation efficiencies of pUC19 and pBR322 at 0.15 M CaCl2 and 0.1 M CaCl2, respectively. Further increases in calcium chloride concentrations resulted in a decrease in transformation efficiency for both plasmids. Above 0.2 M CaCl2, no transformants were observed with either plasmid. A decreasing trend in cell viability was observed in the absence of antibiotic suggesting that the increasing hypertonic environment may affect cell viability. Based on our experiments, maximal transformation efficiency for pUC19 was found to be 4.8x10 colony forming units per ug at 0.15 M of calcium chloride while pBR322 had a maximum transformation efficiency of 1.8x10 colony forming units per ug at 0.1 M of calcium chloride. Taken together, our results do not show a clear relationship between calcium chloride concentration and plasmid size with respect to transformation efficiency.