Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Combined Dietary Nitrate and Exercise Intervention in Peripheral Artery Disease: Protocol Rationale and Design

Background Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is caused by atherosclerotic occlusions in the legs. It affects approximately 8-12 million people in the United States alone, one-third of whom suffer from intermittent claudication (IC), defined as ischemic leg pain that occurs with walking and improves with rest. Patients with IC suffer a markedly impaired quality of life and a high perception of disability. Improving pain-free walking time is a primary goal of rehabilitation in this population. Objective The nitric oxide (NO)-PAD trial is designed to compare the effects that 12 weeks of supervised exercise training, in combination with a high inorganic nitrate-content (beetroot [BR] juice) beverage or placebo (PL) beverage, has on clinical outcomes of exercise and functional capacity in two groups of PAD+IC patients: exercise training plus beetroot (EX+BR) and exercise training plus placebo (EX+PL). The primary aims of this randomized controlled, double-blind pilot study are to determine group differences following 12 weeks of EX+BR versus EX+PL in the changes for (1) exercise capacity: pain-free walking time (claudication onset time, COT), peak walk time (PWT), and maximal exercise capacity (peak oxygen uptake, VO2peak) during a maximal-graded cardiopulmonary exercise test (max CPX) and (2) functional capacity: 6-minute walk (6MW) distance. The secondary aims will provide mechanistic insights into the exercise outcome measures and will include (1) gastrocnemius muscle oxygenation during exercise via near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS); (2) gastrocnemius muscle angiogenesis: capillaries per unit area and per muscle fiber, and relative fraction of type I, IIa, IIb, and IId/x fibers; and (3) vascular health/function via brachial artery flow-mediated dilation, lower-limb blood flow via plethysmography, and pulse wave velocity and reflection. Methods A total of 30 subjects between 40 and 80 years of age with PAD who are limited by IC will undergo exercise training 3 days per week for 12 weeks (ie, 36 sessions). They will be randomized to either the EX+BR or EX+PL group where participants will consume a beverage high in inorganic nitrate (4.2 mmol) or a low-nitrate placebo, respectively, 3 hours prior to each training session. Results Data collection from this study has been completed and is in the process of analysis and write-up. While the study is too underpowered—EX+BR, n=11; EX+PL, n=13—to determine between-group differences in the primary outcomes of COT, PWT, and 6MW, preliminary observations are promising with Cohen d effect sizes of medium to large. Conclusions Exercise training is currently the most effective therapy to increase functional capacity in PAD+IC. If the addition of inorganic nitrate to an exercise regimen elicits greater benefits, it may redefine the current standard of care for PAD+IC. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01684930; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01684930 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6raXFyEcP)
Porcine Innate and Adaptative Immune Responses to Influenza and Coronavirus Infections

Abstract: Both innate and adaptative immune responses contribute to the control of infectious diseases, including by limiting the spreading of zoonotic diseases from animal reservoirs to humans. Pigs represent an important animal reservoir for influenza virus infection of human populations and are also naturally infected by coronaviruses, an important group of viruses, which includes the recently emerged severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus. Studies on both innate and adaptative immune responses of pigs to influenza virus and coronaviruses contribute, therefore, to a better control of these infections in their natural hosts and will be briefly reviewed in this article. Pro‐inflammatory cytokines, including type I interferon (IFN), tumor necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α), and interleukin‐6 (IL‐6), were found in lung secretions of influenza virus infected pigs, and correlated with the intensity of clinical signs, whereas prior vaccination against influenza strongly reduced the production of infectious virus and cytokines in the lungs upon challenge, which was associated with clinical protection. An early type I IFN production was also found in coronavirus infected pigs, including at mucosal sites. IFN induction by coronavirus is shown to involve interaction between a viral glycoprotein and a leukocyte subset, likely equivalent to plasmacytoid dendritic cells, present in the mucosae and associated lymphoid tissues. Given the IFN mediated antiviral and immunomodulatory effects, the use of IFN or IFN inducers may prove an efficient strategy for a better control of influenza virus and coronavirus infections in pigs. Because influenza and coronaviruses target mucosal surfaces, adaptative immune responses have to be characterized at mucosal sites. Thus, nasal and pulmonary antibody responses were analyzed in influenza virus infected or vaccinated pigs showing short‐lived, but potentially protective local IgA and IgG antibody (Ab) responses. Interestingly, primary influenza virus infection induced long‐lived increase of lung CD8+ T cells and local lymphoproliferative responses. Pigs infected by a respiratory coronavirus (PRCV) showed virus‐specific IgG Ab‐secreting cells in the bronchial lymph nodes, whereas the transmissible gastroenteritis coronavirus (TGEV) induced more IgA Ab‐secreting cells in gut tissues, which illustrates the importance of the route of antigen administration for inducing local immune effector mechanisms. Porcine viral infections provide, therefore, valuable models for evaluating the immune parameters that are important for controlling transmission of important viral zoonotic infections.
Oral treprostinil for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension in patients receiving background endothelin receptor antagonist and phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor therapy (the FREEDOM-C2 study): a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND Treprostinil is a stable prostacyclin analog approved for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) as parenteral or inhaled therapy. Treprostinil diolamine, a sustained-release oral formulation of treprostinil, was studied to determine whether it could provide a more convenient prostacyclin treatment option for patients with less severe PAH. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of oral treprostinil in patients with PAH receiving stable background endothelin receptor antagonist (ERA), phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor (PDE-5I) therapy, or both. METHODS A 16-week, multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in 310 patients with PAH compared bid administration of oral treprostinil (n = 157) with placebo (n = 153). The primary end point was change in 6-min walk distance at week 16. Secondary efficacy end points were World Health Organization functional class, Borg dyspnea score, dyspnea-fatigue index, signs and symptoms of PAH, and clinical worsening. RESULTS One hundred thirty-two patients (84%) receiving oral treprostinil and 138 (90%) receiving placebo completed the study. The mean ± SD dose of oral treprostinil at week 16 was 3.1 ± 1.9 mg bid. The Hodges-Lehmann placebo-corrected median difference in 6MWD at week 16 was 10.0 m (95% CI, -2 to 22 m; P = .089). There were no significant changes in secondary end points. The most common adverse events associated with oral treprostinil were headache (71%), diarrhea (55%), nausea (46%), flushing (35%), and jaw pain (25%). CONCLUSIONS The addition of oral treprostinil to background ERA and PDE-5I therapy did not result in a statistically significant improvement in exercise capacity. Side effects were common but tolerated by most subjects. TRIAL REGISTRY ClinicalTrials.gov; No.: NCT00887978; URL: www.clinicaltrials. gov.
Nondestructive Maturity Assessment Methods for Mango: A Review of Literature and Identification of Future Research Needs

A review of the literature on nondestructive methods for objective assessment of maturity in mango was conducted. Most of the research conducted on this topic involved cultivars that are not currently marketed in the USA. A number of promising technologies exist for nondestructive assessment of mango maturity. Future research topics are proposed, with a focus on the mango cultivars that are currently marketed in the USA (e
How good are the maternity services for ‘drug misusers’ in England and Wales? A national survey

Summary To assess the state of maternity services for pregnant drug misusers, a postal questionnaire-based survey was carried out in England and Wales in 2005. A total of 222 questionnaires were sent with a response rate of 80.63%, reporting a total of 5,324 births to drug-misusers. Data were collated and analysed using Microsoft Excel 2003. Despite improvement in the services provided to the pregnant drug-misusers, there is wide regional variation. Hepatitis-C screening is particularly under-offered. Pre-birth meetings appear to be the way forward to optimise overall outcome. Maternity-unit staff need appropriate training for providing sufficient knowledge of drug use and its consequences for the pregnancy.
The National Council of State Boards of Nursing.

The long-awaited results of phase I (RNs in hospitals) of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing’s (NCSBN) multisite, randomized, controlled Transition to Practice study have been released (Spector et al., 2015). This large, national study is the only transition-to-practice research that randomly assigned sites to a control group (they used their existing onboarding strategies) or to NCSBN’s evidencebased transition to practice (TTP) program. The study investigated whether a transition-to-practice program for new graduates made a difference in several outcomes related to quality and safety. We [Query #1: Please clarify “we” here and on the top left of page 2. ] collected detailed information on the control sites’ programs so that they eventually were divided into three groups: NCSBN’s TTP program, those with an established program with institutional support (established program), and those with a very limited program (limited program) with little support. Then the outcomes were compared among the TTP and the established and limited programs. The results are promising for nursing, although other areas needed improvement. Many of the control group hospitals had excellent, “homegrown” programs (national programs such as the Versant or University HealthSystem Consortium/American Association of Colleges of Nursing residency programs were excluded from the study) that incorporate evidence-based components and support new graduates. However, some of the transition programs were sparse, with little or no support for the new graduate. We found that outcomes (competence, which was reported by the new graduate and preceptor; self-reports of errors, the use of safety practices, stress, and job satisfaction; and hospital data on retention) were significantly better when the transition program had the following characteristics:
Suicide in Israel: 1985-1997.

OBJECTIVE To examine trends in suicide rates in Israel over a 13-year period. METHOD All cases of autopsy-confirmed suicide in Israel from 1985 to 1997 were retrospectively reviewed. RESULTS An overall annual increase in suicide rates, with rates in men 3 times higher than those in women, was observed. Suicide rates were highest in the second and third decades of life. Unlike Western countries where gunshot wounds are the most common method of suicide for men and poisoning is most common for women, asphyxiation by hanging was the most common method used by men in Israel, followed by firearm wounds and jumping from heights. In women, however, jumping from heights was the most common method, followed by hanging and poisoning. CONCLUSION Increasing rates of suicide may be associated with waves of immigration to Israel, increased substance abuse and depression and the political and social climate. Further study to examine the precipitating factors is warranted.
Evaluation and measurement of Learning Management System based on user experience

Learning Management System (LMS) becomes more accessible to provide a virtual learning environment. The growth of pervasive and ubiquitous computing promotes development and improvement LMS rapidly. Shifting paradigm in designing LMS from technology-centered to user-centered design drives the developer to consider user experience as the primary concern to improve LMS. Therefore, evaluation and measurement of user experience for LMS become crucial. There were some studies have been conducted to evaluate and measure an LMS product in to gain feedback from the user. However, the studies implement a partial view of LMS product. They have conducted researches that limited to comparing LMS and getting perception rather than observing the quality of the LMS. This paper proposed an evaluation and measurement of user experience (UX) for LMS by implementing user experience questionnaire tools. The study aims to get feedback, benchmark and identify UX while interacting with an LMS. The data are taken from 38 students who have experience using two LMS in a different semester. The first LMS based on Moodle was implemented in the first semester (LMS 1), on the other hand, the LMS using Schoology was applied in the second semester (LMS 2). As the results, LMS 1 and LMS 2 got the relative different impression in user perception. Similarly, they also achieved a different level of relative quality. Generally, evaluation and measurement LMS using user experience questionnaire not only provide comprehensive user perception but also provide relative quality level about LMS. The results give the feedback and support when implementing the LMS.
Impaired perception of biological motion in Parkinson's disease.

OBJECTIVE We examined biological motion perception in Parkinson's disease (PD). Biological motion perception is related to one's own motor function and depends on the integrity of brain areas affected in PD, including posterior superior temporal sulcus. If deficits in biological motion perception exist, they may be specific to perceiving natural/fast walking patterns that individuals with PD can no longer perform, and may correlate with disease-related motor dysfunction. METHOD Twenty-six nondemented individuals with PD and 24 control participants viewed videos of point-light walkers and scrambled versions that served as foils, and indicated whether each video depicted a human walking. Point-light walkers varied by gait type (natural, parkinsonian) and speed (0.5, 1.0, 1.5 m/s). Participants also completed control tasks (object motion, coherent motion perception), a contrast sensitivity assessment, and a walking assessment. RESULTS The PD group demonstrated significantly less sensitivity to biological motion than the control group (p < .001, Cohen's d = 1.22), regardless of stimulus gait type or speed, with a less substantial deficit in object motion perception (p = .02, Cohen's d = .68). There was no group difference in coherent motion perception. Although individuals with PD had slower walking speed and shorter stride length than control participants, gait parameters did not correlate with biological motion perception. Contrast sensitivity and coherent motion perception also did not correlate with biological motion perception. CONCLUSION PD leads to a deficit in perceiving biological motion, which is independent of gait dysfunction and low-level vision changes, and may therefore arise from difficulty perceptually integrating form and motion cues in posterior superior temporal sulcus. (PsycINFO Database Record
Source Code Revision History Visualization Tools: Do They Work and What Would it Take to Put Them to Work?

Source code revision history visualization tools have been around for over two decades. Yet, they have not become a mainstream tool in a typical programmer's toolbox and are not typically available in intergraded development environments. So, do they really work? And if they do, what would it take to put them to work? This paper seeks to answer these two questions through experiments, surveys, and interviews. A source code history visualization tool named TeamWATCH was implemented to visualize subversion code repositories. Two comparative controlled experiments were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of TeamWATCH. The experimental results showed that the subjects using TeamWATCH spent less time than subjects using the command-line subversion client and TortoiseSVN in answering the same set of questions regarding source code revision history. In addition, surveys and interviews were conducted to identify obstacles in adopting source code history visualization tools. Collectively, the results show that source code history visualization tools do bring value to programmers. Key obstacles to wider adoption in practice include nontrivial overhead in using the tools and perceived complexity in visualization.
B-cell function in vitro during rubella infection

B-cell function in vitro was studied in patients with natural rubella virus infection. Lymphocyte responses to mitogens in a blast transformation test were decreased at the onset of the rash. Spontaneous immunoglobulin production by peripheral blood lymphocytes was increased during the acute phase of illness. In regulatory T-cell subpopulations, increased proportions of cells with suppressor/cytotoxic phenotypes and decreased proportions of cells with helper/inducer phenotypes were detected simultaneously with the increased spontaneous immunoglobulin production. All parameters studied were recovered during the convalescent phase.
HLA-A11-Restricted Epitope Polymorphism among Epstein-Barr Virus Strains in the Highly HLA-A11-Positive Chinese Population: Incidence and Immunogenicity of Variant Epitope Sequences

ABSTRACT An individual's CD8+-cytotoxic-T-lymphocyte (CTL) response to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) latent cycle antigens focuses on a small number of immunodominant epitopes often presented by just one of the available HLA class I alleles; for example, HLA-A11-positive Caucasians frequently respond to two immunodominant HLA A11 epitopes, IVTDFSVIK (IVT) and AVFDRKSDAK (AVF), within the nuclear antigen EBNA3B. Here, we reexamine the spectrum of EBV strains present in the highly HLA-A11-positive Chinese population for sequence changes in these epitopes relative to the Caucasian type 1 prototype strain B95.8. The IVT epitope was altered in 61 of 64 Chinese type 1 viruses, with four different sequence variants being observed, and the AVF epitope was altered in 46 cases with six different sequence variants; by contrast, all 10 Chinese type 2 viruses retained the prototype 2 epitope sequences. All but one of the type 1 epitope variants were poorly recognized by IVT- or AVF-specific CTLs in pulse-chase assays of peptide-mediated target cell lysis. More importantly, we screened HLA-A11-positive Chinese donors carrying viruses with known epitope mutations for evidence of epitope-specific CTL memory by enzyme-linked immunospot assays: none of the type 1 variants tested, nor the type 2 prototype, appeared to be immunogenic in vivo. The data remain consistent with the possibility that, during virus-host coevolution, pressure from the host CTL-mediated immune response has given A11 epitope-loss viruses a selective advantage.
Commentary on Journal of Cognitive Historiography, Issue 1

The first issue of the Journal of Cognitive Historiography was designed to continue a dialogue between students of ancient religion and cognitive scientists.2 It is perhaps not a coincidence that contributions bunch around a specific range of phenomena. Two treat the technique of healing through induced dreams, supposedly of divine origin, known as incubation. Another (that by Aleš Chalupa) discusses prophecy at Delphi, and concludes that the Pythia’s trance is an instance of Patterned Dissociative Identity. Cognitive science did not exist in 1951 when E. R. Dodds published The Greeks and the Irrational, and cognitive scientists would doubtless not be flattered to be seen as heirs to the Society for Psychical Research of which Dodds was a lifelong member and eventually President. But Dodds’ interest in psychical research was rigorously rational, and his classic work ought certainly to be recalled in this context for its ambitious attempt to explain many aspects of ancient religion through what he calls “the promising recent alliance between social anthropology and social psychology”. 3 With incubation and trance we are firmly in Doddsian territory, and I see little difference between his understanding of the Pythia’s trance and Patterned Dissociative Identity; the phenomenon had already been identified in Dodds’s day, and what cognitive science is perhaps contributing is a better understanding of the underlying neurology. We can also be grateful to Chalupa for re-stating the view that the Pythia’s trance has its origin in the Pythia’s mind, primed by preliminary rituals, and not in any external source; the
Cyclooxygenase-2 Inhibitors Decrease Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Expression in Colon Cancer Cells by Enhanced Degradation of Sp1 and Sp4 Proteins

Cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) inhibitors, such as celecoxib (Cel), nimesulfide (NM), and NS-398 [NS; N-[2-(cyclohexyloxy)-4-nitrophenyl]methanesulfonamide] and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs inhibit colon cancer growth and angiogenesis; however, the mechanism of this response is not well defined. Treatment of SW-480 colon cancer cells with Cel, NS, or NM decreased vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) mRNA and immunoreactive protein expression. This was also accompanied by decreased transactivation in cells transfected with constructs containing VEGF gene promoter inserts. Deletion analysis of the VEGF promoter indicated that decreased VEGF expression by COX-2 inhibitors was associated with the proximal -131 to -47 GC-rich region of the VEGF promoter that binds Sp proteins. Treatment of SW-480 cells with Cel, NM, and NS also decreased Sp1 and Sp4 protein expression but not that of Sp2 or Sp3. Similar results were observed in RKO, HT-29, and DLD colon cancer cells demonstrating comparable responses in COX-2-expressing and -nonexpressing colon cancer cell lines. COX-2 inhibitors do not affect Sp1 or Sp4 mRNA levels in SW-480 cells; however, decreased expression of both proteins was accompanied by increased protein ubiquitination and inhibited by the proteasome inhibitor gliotoxin. These results suggest that the antiangiogenic activity of COX-2 inhibitors in colon cancer cells is linked to activation of proteasome-dependent degradation of Sp1 and Sp4 proteins.