Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Overcoming Therapeutic Inertia in Patients with Hypertension

Abstract Uncontrolled blood pressure (BP) remains a leading contributor to cardiovascular disease and mortality worldwide. Although current practice guidelines recommend treating patients with hypertension to defined BP goals, the approach is not widely implemented, and BP control in clinical practice is much worse than that attained in clinical trials. Recent and ongoing clinical trials are utilizing more aggressive approaches with combination therapy as initial treatment. This article discusses the problem of therapeutic or clinical inertia when attempting to control hypertension and highlights differences in BP control rates between clinical trials and real-world practice. Additionally, the rationale for an ongoing treat-to-goal study using a fixed-dose combination of amlodipine/olmesartan medoxomil in patients with hypertension not controlled on monotherapy is provided.
Patients and the internet: are websites on glue ear readable?

Sir, A large proportion of the UK population has limited literacy skills. For this reason, it is important that any patient information published on the internet is readable to the majority of patients for whom the information is intended. Otitis media with effusion (Glue ear) is a complicated and common pathology. Parents often make use of the internet to supplement their information about the disease. Assessments of readability are therefore crucial to ensure good information transfer. Such an assessment was made of diabetes websites by Boulos, which resulted in the revision and improvement of many diabetes websites. We used the internet search engine Google to search for UK web pages. The search term ‘glue ear’ was used and the first 20 consecutive websites that contained patient information pages were analysed. Only the text of the site was analysed with all additional hyperlink text and pictures removed. We used the Flesch Reading Ease score and the Flesch–Kincaid reading grade level to assess the readability of the website. There was a strong negative correlation between the two different scoring systems (Pearson 1⁄4 )0.93, P < 0.001), which supports the validity of these results. From these results, we calculated the UK reading age required to understand the content of the information on the site. The reading ages of the 20 sites ranged from 11.1 to 16.5 years with a mean of 13.57 years (sd 1.55). Fortyfive percent of the Flesch Reading Ease score were in the ‘difficult’ or ‘fairly difficult’ category with 55% falling into the ‘standard’ or ‘fairly easy’ categories. No site fell into the ‘Easy’ or ‘Very Easy’ categories. These levels were well above the estimated reading age of the UK population in general. Most sites were not affiliated to any organization promoting and regulating online health-care information content. The poor readability of many of the commonly encountered sites about glue ear on the internet may confuse and frustrate patients who turn to the internet for additional information. These limitations should be recognized by website authors during the construction of their patient information websites so that the information that they upload will not only be accurate but also readable. D.D. Pothier Department of Otolaryngology, Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, Great Western Road, Gloucester GL1 3NN, UK, E-mail: email@davepothier.com
Diabetic Cardiomyopathy: Cardiac Changes, Pathophysiological Mechanisms, Biologic Markers, and the Available Therapeutic Armamentarium

Patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) exhibit greatly increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The increased mortality of patients with DM stems from the more frequent development of heart failure (HF) (Bell, 2003a; Jaffe et al., 1984; Kamalesh, 2007; Marwick, 2006; Solomon et al., 2002). In the past, the high incidence and poor prognosis of HF in diabetic patients was attributed to the concurrent presence of hypertension and/or myocardial ischemia. However, follow-up studies have shown that the increased risk for developing HF persists in DM patients even after adjusting for concomitant risks such as coronary artery disease and blood pressure (Ho et al., 1993; Kannel & McGee, 1979). It is now well established that DM increases the risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality by promoting cardiomyopathy, a distinct entity independent of coronary artery disease, hypertension or other known cardiac risk factors with origins in diabetic cardiac muscle (Bell, 1995; Cohen, 1995; Hamby et al., 1974; Regan et al., 1977; Spector, 1998). According to a new study commissioned by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 25.8 million children and adults in the United States, or 8.3% of the population, have DM, with about 1.9 million new cases of DM being diagnosed annually (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011). Worldwide, the number of people with DM has more than doubled since 1980 to 347 million (Danaei et al., 2011). With the global burden of DM rising, it is likely that the incidence of diabetes-induced cardiomyopathy and subsequent HF will continue to increase in this high-risk population. The goal of this chapter is to review the structural and functional changes in the diabetic heart and the pathophysiological mechanisms involved in the development of diabetic cardiomyopathy, taking into account the most recent developments in basic and clinical research. An overview of the latest advances in therapeutic approaches to treat diabetic cardiomyopathy will also be presented. Particular attention is given to the role of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of diabetic cardiomyopathy and the potential of anti-oxidative therapy. The value of newly identified candidate biomarker proteins in assessing disease presence and progression, prognosis, and efficacy of therapies in the setting of diabetic cardiomyopathy will also be discussed.
The Location of Japanese MNCs Affiliates: Agglomeration Spillovers and Firm Heterogeneity

This study examines the determinants of location choices of foreign affiliates by manufacturing Japanese firms, using a new data set that matches parents and their affiliates created over the years 1995-2003. The analysis is based on new economic geography theory and thus focuses on the effect of market and supplier access, as well as production and trade costs. Our interest is twofold. First, we investigate the importance of agglomeration and spillover effects on the firms' decision through the use of proxies relating to the presence of Japanese affiliates in the host countries as well as to that of Japanese multinational firms at home. Overall, our results confirm the economic importance of information sharing and network effects both at home and in the host country beside traditional determinants pertaining to production and transaction costs and access and supply access. Second, we explore whether the effects of key determinants of locational choice vary substantially depending on the characteristics of the investing firm and the plant. We find less productive and smaller parents to be more likely to create an affiliate in China rather than in Western Europe or an OECD country. Moreover less productive firms appear to be more sensitive to distance-related costs and low institutional quality while being more responsive to the presence of Japanese firms and JETRO presence in the host country.
The measurement of surface gravity

This review covers basic theory and techniques behind the use of ground-based gravimetry at the Earth's surface. The orientation is toward modern instrumentation, data processing and interpretation for observing surface, land-based, time-variable changes to the geopotential. The instrumentation side is covered in some detail, with specifications and performance of the most widely used models of the three main types: the absolute gravimeters (FG5, A10 from Micro-g LaCoste), superconducting gravimeters (OSG, iGrav from GWR instruments), and the new generation of spring instruments (Micro-g LaCoste gPhone, Scintrex CG5 and Burris ZLS). A wide range of applications is covered, with selected examples from tides and ocean loading, atmospheric effects on gravity, local and global hydrology, seismology and normal modes, long period and tectonics, volcanology, exploration gravimetry, and some examples of gravimetry connected to fundamental physics. We show that there are only a modest number of very large signals, i.e. hundreds of µGal (10−8 m s−2), that are easy to see with all gravimeters (e.g. tides, volcanic eruptions, large earthquakes, seasonal hydrology). The majority of signals of interest are in the range 0.1–5.0 µGal and occur at a wide range of time scales (minutes to years) and spatial extent (a few meters to global). Here the competing effects require a careful combination of different gravimeter types and measurement strategies to efficiently characterize and distinguish the signals. Gravimeters are sophisticated instruments, with substantial up-front costs, and they place demands on the operators to maximize the results. Nevertheless their performance characteristics such as drift and precision have improved dramatically in recent years, and their data recording ability and ruggedness have seen similar advances. Many subtle signals are now routinely connected with known geophysical effects such as coseismic earthquake displacements, post-glacial rebound, local hydrological mass balances, and detection of non-steric sea level changes.
Anti-inflammatory effects of Simvastatin in patients with acute intracerebral hemorrhage in an intensive care unit

Intracerebral hemorrhage is one of the most common types of cerebrovascular disease in humans and often causes paralysis, a vegetative state and even death. Patients with acute intracerebral hemorrhage are frequently monitored in intensive care units (ICUs). Spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage is associated with a higher rate of mortality and morbidity than other intracephalic diseases. The expression levels of inflammatory factors have important roles in inflammatory responses indicative of changes in a patient's condition and are therefore important in the monitoring and treatment of affected patients at the ICU as well as the development of therapeutic strategies for acute cerebral hemorrhage. The present study investigated the anti-inflammatory effects of Simvastatin in patients with acute intracerebral hemorrhage at an ICU, and inflammatory factors and cellular changes were systematically analyzed. The plasma concentrations of inflammatory factors, including interleukin (IL)-4, IL-6, IL-8 and IL-10, were evaluated by ELISAs. The plasma concentrations of inflammatory cellular changes were detected by using flow cytometry. The results demonstrated that after Simvastatin treatment of patients with acute cerebral hemorrhage at the ICU, the plasma concentrations of IL-4, IL-6, IL-8 and IL-10 were downregulated compared with those in placebo-treated controls. In addition, Simvastatin treatment at the ICU decreased lymphocytes, granulocytes and mononuclear cells in patients with acute cerebral hemorrhage. The levels of inflammatory factors were associated with brain edema in patients with acute cerebral hemorrhage treated at the ICU. In addition, the amount of bleeding was reduced in parallel with the inflammatory cell plasma concentration of lymphocytes, granulocytes and mononuclear cells. Importantly, Simvastatin treatment produced beneficial outcomes by improving brain edema and reducing the amount of bleeding. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated the efficacy of Simvastatin in treating acute intracerebral hemorrhage and evidenced the association between inflammatory responses and the progress of affected patients at the ICU, thereby providing insight for applying effective therapies for patients with acute intracerebral hemorrhage.
Investigation of glucocorticoid receptor and calpain-10 gene polymorphisms in Turkish patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Background/aim: We proposed to investigate the role of calpain-10 (CAPN10) gene single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-19 and SNP-44 and glucocorticoid receptor (NR3C1) gene N363S polymorphisms in Turkish patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Materials and methods: Peripheral blood samples were obtained from 125 patients with T2DM and 112 healthy volunteers. Genotyping was carried out by the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. Results: There were no statistically significant differences found between the allele and genotype frequencies of CAPN10 SNP-19, CAPN10 SNP-44, and NR3C1 N363S polymorphisms and T2DM development (P > 0.05). The CAPN10 SNP-19 del-allele, CAPN10 SNP-44 C-allele, and NR3C1 N363S G-allele were determined to be risk factors for T2DM development. In T2DM patients an association was identified between the CAPN10 SNP-19 del-allele, homozygous del/del genotype, SNP-44 C-allele, heterozygous TC genotype, NR3C1 N363S G-allele, heterozygous AG genotype, and increased BMI. Conclusion: The present study demonstrates that the SNP-44 polymorphism is associated with T2DM susceptibility and contributes to the risk of T2DM.
Topology comparison of ferrite magnet synchronous machines with consideration of low inertia

In order to replace rare-earth magnets five different machine topologies are considered, designed and studied in detail. With a synchronous reluctance machine (SRM) a machine without magnets is included in this comparison. The improvement by the insertion of cheap ferrite magnets in a SRM is studied by designing two different types of a permanent magnet assisted synchronous reluctance machine (PMASRM). With this approach torque density and power factor can be significantly increased. As an alternative a spoke-type PMSM with ferrite magnets and a Vernier machine containing a Halbach ferrite cylinder are designed and studied. Despite all optimizations and improvements in design, electrical machines without rare earth magnets lead to greater weight and ultimately to a greater moment of inertia. Therefore the reduction of the moment of inertia is also considered in this comparison.
Metabolic fate of radioactive digitoxin in human subjects.

Biosynthetically labeled C 14 -digitoxin was administered intravenously in multiple doses to three terminal patients. The various tissue samples obtained at autopsy were assayed for both the unchanged drug and its metabolic products. The myocardium does not have any special affinity for the cardiac glycoside in comparison to other organs. On a tissue-weight basis the kidney and the contents of the gall bladder, jejunum, ileum, and colon have the highest concentration of unchanged digitoxin. The gall bladder contents, jejunum contents, and spleen have the highest concentration of metabolic products. On a whole organ basis the liver has the largest amount of both digitoxin and its metabolic products. The majority of the administered glycoside is metabolized in the body with the liver being the major organ involved in the detoxification of the drug. The kidney is the major organ involved in the ultimate removal of digitoxin and its metabolic products. The probable pathway for the metabolic fate and excretion of C 14 -digitoxin in terminal patients has been discussed.
Dual HeR 2 blockade in the neoadjuvant and adjuvant treatment of HeR 2-positive breast cancer

License. The full terms of the License are available at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed. Permissions beyond the scope of the License are administered by Dove Medical Press Limited. Information on how to request permission may be found at: http://www.dovepress. com/permissions.php Breast Cancer: Targets and Therapy 2015:7 321–335 Breast Cancer: Targets and Therapy Dovepress
Indexed Debt Contracts and the Financial Accelerator

This paper addresses the positive and normative implications of indexing risky debt to observable aggregate conditions. These issues are pursued within the context of the celebrated financial accelerator model of Bernanke, Gertler and Gilchrist (1999). The principal conclusions are that the optimal degree of indexation is significant, and that the business cycle properties of the model are altered under this level of indexation.
Phyllosilicate Diversity and Past Aqueous Activity Revealed at Mawrth Vallis, Mars

Observations by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter/Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars in the Mawrth Vallis region show several phyllosilicate species, indicating a wide range of past aqueous activity. Iron/magnesium (Fe/Mg)–smectite is observed in light-toned outcrops that probably formed via aqueous alteration of basalt of the ancient cratered terrain. This unit is overlain by rocks rich in hydrated silica, montmorillonite, and kaolinite that may have formed via subsequent leaching of Fe and Mg through extended aqueous events or a change in aqueous chemistry. A spectral feature attributed to an Fe2+ phase is present in many locations in the Mawrth Vallis region at the transition from Fe/Mg-smectite to aluminum/silicon (Al/Si)–rich units. Fe2+-bearing materials in terrestrial sediments are typically associated with microorganisms or changes in pH or cations and could be explained here by hydrothermal activity. The stratigraphy of Fe/Mg-smectite overlain by a ferrous phase, hydrated silica, and then Al-phyllosilicates implies a complex aqueous history.
Pilot Field Trials with Aedes albopictus Irradiated Sterile Males in Italian Urban Areas

ABSTRACT The pilot field studies here presented are part of a long-term research program aimed to develop a cost-effective sterile insect technique (SIT) methodology to suppress Aedes albopictus (Skuse) populations. Aedes albopictus is a mosquito species mainly developing in man-made containers and with an island-like urban and suburban distribution. These two features make the application of the sterile insect technique a possible control strategy. Five trials have been performed in three small towns from 2005 to 2009 (Emilia-Romagna region, northern Italy). Reared male pupae, sexed by a sieving technique allowing the recovery of ≈26–29% of males, were exposed to gamma rays and immediately released in the field. Adult population density was estimated based on a weekly monitoring of egg density in the ovitraps, whereas induced sterility was estimated by measuring the hatching percentage of weekly collected eggs in SIT and control areas. Results showed that sterile males released at the rate of 896–1,590 males/ha/wk induced a significant sterility level in the local population. In addition, when the sterility level achieved values in the range of 70–80%, a similar reduction also was found for the egg density in the ovitraps. We could estimate that the minimum egg sterility value of 81% should be maintained to obtain suppression of the local population. Immigration of mated females was not a main issue in the small villages where trials have been run.
Measurement of von Willebrand factor activity: relative effects of ABO blood type and race

Summary. Tests based on three different principles are reported to measure the activity of von Willebrand factor (VWF): ristocetin cofactor (VWF:RCo), collagen binding (VWF:CB), and the so‐called ‘activity ELISA’ (VWF:MoAb). We measured these and other diagnostic parameters in a population of 123 randomly selected female study controls, age 18–45 years. Type O subjects had significantly lower levels than non‐O subjects in each test. Race differences were seen in all tests except VWF:RCo, with Caucasians having significantly lower levels than African‐Americans. ABO differences accounted for 19% of the total variance in VWF:Ag (P < 0.0001) and race for 7% (P < 0.0001), for a total of 26%. Both effects were mediated through VWF:Ag and were independent. VWF:Ag level was the primary determinant of VWF function, accounting for approximately 60% of the variance in VWF:RCo and VWF:CB and 54% of the variance in factor VIII. The ratio VWF:RCo/VWF:Ag differed significantly by race within blood group. The median ratios were 0.97 for type O Caucasians vs. 0.79 for type O African‐Americans and 0.94 for non‐O Caucasians vs. 0.76 for non‐O African‐Americans. The ratio VWF:CB/VWF:Ag did not vary. This suggests racial differences in the interaction of VWF with GP1b but not with subendothelium. Alternatively, VWF:RCo may be regulated to maintain a relatively constant plasma level in the presence of excessive VWF:Ag. This heterogeneity within the normal population is partially responsible for the difficulty in defining diagnostic limits for von Willebrand disease.
The role of CD 200 in immunity to B cell lymphoma

CD200 is a transmembrane protein broadly expressed on a variety of cell types, which delivers immunoregulatory signals through binding to receptors (CD200Rs) expressed on monocytes/myeloid cells and T lymphocytes. Signals delivered through the CD200:CD200R axis have been shown to play an important role in the regulation of anti-tumor immunity, and overexpression of CD200 has been reported in a number of malignancies, including CLL, as well as on cancer stem cells. We investigated the effect of CD200 blockade in vitro on a generation of CTL responses against a poorly immunogenic CD200 lymphoma cell line and fresh cells obtained from CLL patients using anti-CD200 mAb and CD200-specific siRNAs. Suppression of functional expression of CD200 augmented killing of the CD200 cells, as well as production of the inflammatory cytokines IFNand TNFby effector PBMCs. Killing was mediated by CD8 cytotoxic T cells, and CD4 T cells play an important role in CD200-mediated suppression of CTL responses. Our data suggest that CD200 blockade may represent a novel approach to clinical treatment of CLL. J. Leukoc. Biol. 88: 000–000; 2010.
RFID Grids: Part I—Electromagnetic Theory

The close displacement of UHF RFID tags can be considered as an electromagnetic interconnected system having specific properties. The so denoted RFID Grid includes single-chip tags in close mutual proximity or a single tag with a multiplicity of embedded microchips. A multi-port scattering framework is used to derive the macroscopic parameters governing the system response which could be optimized for the specific application. Moreover, unique features are introduced, such as the possibility to improve the power scavenging and the generation of analog identifiers and fingerprint. The last ones are electromagnetic responses independent on the position and orientation of the reader and on the nearby environment, with great relevance for Sensing and Security.