Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Excess Winter Morbidity and Mortality: Do Housing and Socio-Economic Status Have an Effect?

OBJECTIVE To review the published research evidence on the links between excess winter mortality (EWM) or excess winter hospitalization (EWH) and housing quality or socioeconomic status (SES). DESIGN Systematic review. CRITERIA Linked data on EWM or EWH and potential associations with housing quality or SES. RESULTS No consistent relations between SES and EWM or EWH. The results for housing quality are also inconsistent, with some studies showing a weak protective effect of home heating. CONCLUSION Studies to date do not provide good evidence that housing quality or SES factors affect EWM and EWH. More research is needed, particularly studies using individual level housing and SES data. Controlled trials of interventions would be desirable.
Discontinuous expression of endothelial cell adhesion molecules along initial lymphatic vessels in mesentery: the primary valve structure.

BACKGROUND Understanding lymphatic fluid uptake requires investigation of the primary valve system located at endothelial cell junctions. The objective of this study was to evaluate the expression pattern of adhesion molecules at endothelial cell junctions in an adult initial lymphatic network. METHODS AND RESULTS Mesenteric tissues from adult male Wistar rats were labeled with antibodies against PECAM-1 and VE-cadherin. Endothelial cells along initial lymphatics and blood microvascular networks expressed both junctional molecules. In contrast to continuous junctional labeling along blood vessels, PECAM and VE-cadherin labeling patterns were discontinuous with gaps along lymphatic endothelial cell junctions. Along larger draining vessels in proximal regions of the initial lymphatic network, the majority of labeling gaps along junctions were less than 1microm. In comparison to draining vessels, terminal lymphatics exhibited a decrease in PECAM staining intensity and a decrease in endothelial cell junctional length defined by positive PECAM and VE-cadherin staining. CONCLUSION These results suggest that primary valves responsible for unidirectional interstitial fluid uptake along initial lymphatic vessels are associated with discontinuous expression of endothelial junction molecules. This feature may render the ability to separate local membrane regions between neighboring endothelial cells.
Relationship Between Amyloid &bgr; Protein and Melatonin Metabolite in a Study of Electric Utility Workers

This study assessed the relationship between occupational magnetic field exposure, the urinary melatonin metabolite 6-hydroxymelatonin sulfate (6-OHMS), and concentrations of blood-borne soluble amyloid &bgr; (A&bgr;), a protein associated with the hallmark lesions of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Blood and urine samples were obtained from male electric utility workers (n = 60) to quantify two lengths of the protein in plasma, A&bgr;(amino acids 1–40) and A&bgr;(1–42), and the urinary concentrations of 6-OHMS. Average A&bgr; levels were positively associated with categories of magnetic field exposure, but this relationship was weak and did not achieve statistical significance. The melatonin metabolite was inversely correlated with A&bgr;(1–42) and the ratio of A&bgr;(1–42) to A&bgr;(1–40). This observation is consistent with recent in vitro data and provides a plausible mechanism for the association between magnetic field exposure and AD that has been observed in some studies.
Immigrant workers’ responses to stigmatized work: Constructing dignity through moral reasoning

In the past few decades, scholarship on immigrant workers has produced two contrasting images that remain theoretically unresolved. In the 1970s and 1980s, low-wage immigrant workers were viewed as target earners whose attachment to jobs in the US was seen as temporary. By contrast, recent scholarship has depicted immigrant workers as a potent social force whose quest for dignity and full societal membership is seen as having galvanized a moribund labour movement. This study draws from the lived experience of low-wage immigrant workers to examine how they relate to their socio-economic circumstances, and what, if anything, motivates their resistance to the status quo. Analysing interview data from immigrant workers in janitorial and nursing assistant occupations in the US, I delineate how workers construct dignity by reframing the meaning of work, transferring aspirations for social mobility to their children, and resisting stereotypes of immigrant workers to generate dignified collective identities. I conclude with a discussion that aims to shed light on the contrasting and contentious views of immigrant workers and their position in the American labour movement.
Physiopathology of anemia and transfusion thresholds in isolated head injury

BACKGROUND Blood transfusion strategies among patients with critical illness use a restrictive hemoglobin threshold. However, among patients with head injury, no outcome differences have been shown between either liberal or restrictive strategies. Several studies and literature reviews suggest that anemia is associated with markers of tissue ischemia. The paucity of prospective data confuses the association between surrogates of tissue ischemia and neurological outcome. METHODS A narrative review of transfusion practices among patients in the acute phase of head injury was performed using PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane, and WEB of Science databases. A total of 104 articles were reviewed. RESULTS There are few data to guide clinical practice. Clinicians use blood hemoglobin concentrations to trigger transfusion. Markers of potential cerebral injury are not in regular use despite experimental and observational data rising from histologic examination, microdialysis, oximetry, and flow-based multimonitoring systems recommending their use to titrate blood transfusion in neurotrauma. CONCLUSION The generalization of transfusion triggers is common practice. Evidence-based approaches to transfusions strategies in head injury are lacking and not based on an understanding of cerebral physiopathology.
The Pragmatic Politics of Regulatory Enforcement

This paper describes regulatory enforcement as an intrinsically political endeavor. We argue that through daily enforcement transactions, regulators and the regulated reshape their interests and the environment in which they operate, reconstructing their perceptions of and preferences for compliance. We call this phenomenon the “sub-politics of regulatory enforcement”. After reviewing the trajectory of the field of regulatory enforcement as well as recent research on inspectors and street-level regulatory agents, we argue for a conception of politics that differs from the idea that predominates in the regulatory enforcement literature. Contrary to those who see enforcement styles and strategies as independent variables determining compliance, we posit that enforcement agencies and regulated entities engage in an indeterminate exploration of their institutional surroundings to create legal, technological, and managerial artifacts to address practical problems of doing business and complying with law. These agents move beyond imposing fines, issuing warnings, or educating their subjects. Rather, the daily routine of front-line enforcers around the world is best described as a political terrain, in which they are constantly building and revising agreements (with the regulated) that realign interests, reshape conflicts and reapportion risks, costs and benefits among various agents so as to make compliance tolerable, sometimes even advantageous to all involved.
Hematology and clinical chemistry values in pregnant Wistar Hannover rats compared with nonmated controls.

BACKGROUND The Wistar Hannover rat has been considered as an alternative animal model to the Sprague-Dawley rat in the safety evaluation of candidate pharmaceuticals for potential reproductive and developmental toxicity. Hematology and clinical chemistry results may provide useful evidence of maternal toxicity in the absence of fetal effects. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to evaluate differences in routine laboratory values between nonmated and pregnant (near-term)Wistar Hannover rats during a control developmental study. METHODS One hundred fifty pregnant female Wistar Hannover rats (Tac:Glx:WlfBR) were dosed orally once per day with distilled water from gestation days (GDs) 6 through 17. An additional 150 nonmated (nonpregnant) females used as age-matched controls were dosed from study days (SDs) 7 through 18. Blood samples were collected on GD 18 or 19 (SD 19 or 20) for routine hematology and plasma clinical chemistry tests. Reference intervals were established for pregnant and nonmated animals. RESULTS On GD 18/19, pregnant rats had a lower RBC count, hemoglobin concentration, and HCT, and higher MCH, MCHC, reticulocyte percentage, and platelet, WBC, absolute reticulocyte, segmented neutrophil, lymphocyte, and monocyte counts compared with nonmated rats. Pregnant rats had lower albumin, glucose, urea, and chloride concentrations, lower creatine kinase and alkaline phosphatase activities, higher total bilirubin, cholesterol, triglyceride, calcium, phosphorus, and globulin concentrations, and higher ALT activity than nonmated rats. Serum triglyceride concentration was approximately fourfold higher in pregnant rats compared with nonmated controls. CONCLUSION Differences in hematology and chemistry values in pregnant Wistar Hannover rats are similar to those in Sprague-Dawley rats and support use of the Wistar Hannover rat as an animal model in the assessment of maternal toxicity. Differences in laboratory values of pregnant rats should be considered when interpreting data following exposure to candidate pharmaceuticals.
Macroeconomic Conditions and Fluctuations of Presidential Popularity: The Question of Lagged Effects *

Time-series studies assuming distributed lag models have demonstrated strong effects of the economy on presidential popularity. How justified are these assumptions in view of the nonstationary behavior and autocorrelation typical of economic and popularity series? Our analysis relies on Box-Jenkins (ARIMA) techniques and uses monthly observations of unemployment, inflation, and presidential approval ratings covering 1961-1980. We fail to discern the assumed lag structures. Once the nonstationary aspects of the autocorrelation manifested by the two economic series are removed, past values of those series do not appear to influence current approval ratings of presidents with any particular lag structure. Some measurement and specification problems raised by the "prewhitening" of time series are discussed, and analysis strategy modifications are proposed to answer more conclusively the quesiton of lagged effects of the economy on presidential popularity. Economic disarray, probably more than anything, has caused a precipitous drop in Reagan's poll standing. And that has much to do with his sudden promotion of the so-called "social issues" beloved by his right wing.
Religiosity and Adaptation in the Oldest-Old

Previous research has yielded mixed results with respect to the relationship between religiosity and adaptation in older adults. Most studies show that religiosity is stable over the life span, but that religiosity may or may not be related to such factors as physical and mental health, life satisfaction, and coping. This study adds to earlier investigations by including centenarians among the sample. The preliminary results of this research project support earlier findings that religiosity does not change significantly as one ages, although there is a trend in the results that suggests otherwise. The results also indicate a significant relationship between religiosity and physical health but no significant relationship between religiosity and mental health and life satisfaction. Religiosity and coping are strongly related, and there is the suggestion that religious coping mechanisms might be more important in the oldest-old.
Translation initiation at alternate in-frame AUG codons in the rabies virus phosphoprotein mRNA is mediated by a ribosomal leaky scanning mechanism

The phosphoprotein of rabies virus is a 297-amino-acid polypeptide encoded by the longest open reading frame of the P gene. Immunoprecipitation experiments using a monoclonal antiserum directed against the P protein detected the P protein and at least four additional shorter products in infected cells, cells transfected with a plasmid encoding the wild-type P protein, and purified virus (CVS strain). By means of deletion analyses, these proteins were shown to be translated from secondary downstream in-frame AUG initiation codons. Immunofluorescence experiments indicated that all these P products were found in the cytoplasm of transfected cells; however, the proteins initiated from the third, fourth, and fifth AUG codons were found mostly in the nucleus. Changes in the 5'-terminal region of the P mRNA (including site-specific mutations, deletions, and insertions) demonstrated that a leaky scanning mechanism is responsible for translation initiation of the P gene at several sites.
Authentic leadership, empowerment and burnout: a comparison in new graduates and experienced nurses.

AIM To examine the effect of authentic leadership and structural empowerment on the emotional exhaustion and cynicism of new graduates and experienced acute-care nurses. BACKGROUND Employee empowerment is a fundamental component of healthy work environments that promote nurse health and retention, and nursing leadership is key to creating these environments. METHOD In a secondary analysis of data from two studies we compared the pattern of relationships among study variables in two Ontario groups: 342 new graduates with <2 years of experience and 273 nurses with more than 2 years of experience. RESULTS A multi-group path analysis using Structural Equation Modelling indicated an acceptable fit of the final model (χ(2) = 17.52, df = 2, P < 0.001, CFI = 0.97, IFI = 0.97 and RMSEA = 0.11). Authentic leadership significantly and negatively influenced emotional exhaustion and cynicism through workplace empowerment in both groups. CONCLUSIONS The authentic behaviour of nursing leaders was important to nurses' perceptions of structurally empowering conditions in their work environments, regardless of experience level, and ultimately contributed to lower levels of emotional exhaustion and cynicism. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT Leadership training for nurse managers may help develop the empowering work environments required in today's health-care organizations in order to attract and retain nurses.
Comt1 genotype and expression predicts anxiety and nociceptive sensitivity in inbred strains of mice

Catechol‐O‐methyltransferase (COMT) is a ubiquitously expressed enzyme that maintains basic biologic functions by inactivating catechol substrates. In humans, polymorphic variance at the COMT locus has been associated with modulation of pain sensitivity and risk for developing psychiatric disorders. A functional haplotype associated with increased pain sensitivity was shown to result in decreased COMT activity by altering mRNA secondary structure‐dependent protein translation. However, the exact mechanisms whereby COMT modulates pain sensitivity and behavior remain unclear and can be further studied in animal models. We have assessed Comt1 gene expression levels in multiple brain regions in inbred strains of mice and have discovered that Comt1 is differentially expressed among the strains, and this differential expression is cis‐regulated. A B2 short interspersed nuclear element (SINE) was inserted in the 3′‐untranslated region (3′‐UTR) of Comt1 in 14 strains generating a common haplotype that correlates with gene expression. Experiments using mammalian expression vectors of full‐length cDNA clones with and without the SINE element show that strains with the SINE haplotype (+SINE) have greater Comt1 enzymatic activity. +SINE mice also exhibit behavioral differences in anxiety assays and decreased pain sensitivity. These results suggest that a haplotype, defined by a 3′‐UTR B2 SINE element, regulates Comt1 expression and some mouse behaviors.
Pricing Automobile Insurance under a Cross-Classification of Risks: Evidence from New Jersey

In pricing automobile insurance, most companies and rating bureaus estimate the loss pure premium on the basis of some classification of insureds. Usually the classification variables include at least (1) the place where the auto is principally garaged (territory) and (2) driver characteristics (driver class). Premiums are then based on the observed experience, the average loss of each combination (cell) of territory and driver experience. In this note we focus on the problem that arises when there are small numbers of insured autos in some of the individual cells. For these cells, random variation in the observed average losses renders them inadequate for premium estimation. Two general methods are employed in this situation to utilize information from the whole population of insureds: credibility techniques (see for example Kahn, 1975) and smoothing procedures (Chang and Fairley, 1978, 1979). Here we concentrate on three methods of the second type. Chang and Fairley (1978, 1979) compared three methods for determining the loss pure premium for a particular cell. The traditional multiplicative method (Bailey, 1963) was compared with standard statistical estimation techniques based on a simple additive model and a log-linear model. I They carried out their comparative analysis on Massachusetts automobile insurance data, and concluded that an additive estimation model avoided systematic errors and had greater overall accuracy than the log-linear estimation model or the traditional multiplicative approach. While these results provide an important beginning to the assessment of alternative estimation techniques, they are based on data from a single state during a single period of time. In order to reach a more general understanding of the issues, we must extend the analyses to include other regions and time
cAMP Stimulates Osteoblast-like Differentiation of Calcifying Vascular Cells

The role of the cAMP signaling pathway in vascular calcification was investigated using calcifying vascular cells (CVC) derived from primary aortic medial cell cultures. We previously showed that CVC have fibroblastic morphology and express several osteoblastic differentiation markers. After confluency, they aggregate into cellular condensations, which later mature into nodules where mineralization is localized. Here, we investigated the effects of cAMP on CVC differentiation because it plays a role in both osteoblastic differentiation and vascular disease. Dibutyryl-cAMP or forskolin treatment of CVC for 3 days induced osteoblast-like “cuboidal” morphology, inhibited proliferation, and enhanced alkaline phosphatase activity, all early markers of osteoblastic differentiation. Isobutylmethylxanthine and cholera toxin had the same effects. Treatment of CVC with pertussis toxin, however, did not induce the morphological change or increase alkaline phosphatase activity, although it inhibited CVC proliferation to a similar extent. cAMP also increased type I procollagen production and gene expression of matrix γ-carboxyglutamic acid protein, recently shown to play a role inin vivo vascular calcification. cAMP inhibited the expression of osteopontin but did not affect the expression of osteocalcin and core binding factor. Prolonged cAMP treatment enhanced matrix calcium-mineral incorporation but inhibited the condensations resulting in diffuse mineralization throughout the monolayer of cells. Treatment of CVC with a protein kinase A-specific inhibitor, KT5720, inhibited alkaline phosphatase activity and mineralization during spontaneous CVC differentiation. These results suggest that the cAMP pathway promotes in vitro vascular calcification by enhancing osteoblast-like differentiation of CVC.
The Effect of Lung Expansion and Positive End-Expiratory Pressure on Respiratory Mechanics in Anesthetized Children

BACKGROUND: Imaging studies have shown that general anesthesia in children results in atelectasis. Lung recruitment total lung capacity (TLC) maneuvers plus positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) are effective in preventing atelectasis. However, physiological changes in children during general anesthesia have not been elucidated. METHODS: In eight anesthetized and mechanically ventilated children (median age: 3.5 years; range: 2.3–6.5), we measured static respiratory system elastance (Est), flow resistance (Rint), and elastance and resistance components resulting from tissue viscoelasticity (&Dgr;E and &Dgr;R, respectively) using the constant inflow, end-inspiratory occlusion method preceded by TLC maneuvers, both with zero PEEP (ZEEP) and PEEP (5 cm H2O) for comparison. RESULTS: With constant inspiratory flow (&OV0312;I) and ZEEP, increases in end-inspiratory lung volume above relaxation volume (tidal volume, VT) from 8 to 20 mL · kg−1 resulted in decreases in Est from 1.06 to 0.82 cm H2O · mL−1 · kg, &Dgr;E from 0.16 to 0.09, and Rint from 0.13 to 0.11 cm H2O · mL−1 · s · kg, whereas &Dgr;R increased from 0.08 to 0.12 (P < 0.05). Similar relationships were found with PEEP. Increases in &OV0312;I (8 to 26 mL · s−1 · kg) with constant VT and ZEEP resulted in decreases in Est from 1.09 to 0.9 and &Dgr;R from 0.17 to 0.06 (P < 0.01), whereas &Dgr;E and Rint did not change. There was a similar flow and volume dependence of elastance and resistance with PEEP. CONCLUSIONS: The observed steady decreases in Est with increasing VT (up to 16 mL/kg with PEEP) indicate marked reductions in end-expiratory relaxation volume (functional residual capacity) even with PEEP. Similarity in results with ZEEP and PEEP suggests that TLC-maneuvers and O2-N2 ventilation prevented airway closure throughout the study.
Effect of benazepril on survival and cardiac events in dogs with asymptomatic mitral valve disease: a retrospective study of 141 cases.

BACKGROUND Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) improve quality of life and extend the life span of dogs with naturally acquired ISACHC class II-III congestive heart failure (CHF). However, their effects on asymptomatic heart disease remain controversial. HYPOTHESIS Benazepril (BNZ), an ACEI, could have beneficial effects at the asymptomatic stage of degenerative mitral valve disease (MVD). ANIMALS Dogs with ISACHC class Ia MVD and moderate-to-severe mitral regurgitation (MR) assessed by the color Doppler mapping technique at entry (Day 0) were retrospectively included. METHODS Dogs were assigned to the treated group (BNZ group) if they received BNZ (and no other cardiac medication) from Day 0 or to the untreated group (UT group) if they did not receive any cardioactive treatment until occurrence of CHF. RESULTS A total of 141 dogs were included in the study, 66 in the BNZ group (dosage: 0.30 +/- 0.13 mg/kg) and 75 in the UT group. In the population (n = 93) including all breeds except Cavalier (CKC) and King Charles Spaniels (KC), median survival time to all causes of death in the BNZ group (n = 34, 3.3 years) was significantly longer than in the UT group (n = 59, 1.9 years) as was time to cardiac event (P < .05). Conversely, no effect of the BNZ treatment was observed in the CKC and KC population. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE BNZ had beneficial effects in asymptomatic dogs other than CKC and KC affected by MVD with moderate-to-severe MR. Breed distribution should be taken into account for interpretation of clinical trials performed in dogs with cardiac disease.