Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Challenging Diversity - Social Media Platforms and a New Conception of Media Diversity

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Soluble forms of extracellular cytokeratin 18 may differentiate simple steatosis from nonalcoholic steatohepatitis.

AIM To investigate whether serum levels of two soluble forms of extracellular cytokeratin 18 (M30-antigen and M65-antigen) may differentiate nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) from simple steatosis in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). METHODS A total of 83 patients with suspected NAFLD and 49 healthy volunteers were investigated. Patients with suspected NAFLD were classified according to their liver histology into four groups: definitive NASH (n=45), borderline NASH (n=24), simple fatty liver (n=9), and normal tissue (n=5). Serum levels of caspase-3 generated cytokeratin-18 fragments (M30-antigen) and total cytokeratin-18 (M65-antigen) were determined by ELISA. RESULTS Levels of M30-antigen and M65-antigen were significantly higher in patients with definitive NASH compared to the other groups. An abnormal value (> 121.60 IU/L) of M30-antigen yielded a 60.0% sensitivity and a 97.4% specificity for the diagnosis of NASH. Sensitivity and specificity of an abnormal M65-antigen level (> 243.82 IU/L) for the diagnosis of NASH were 68.9% and 81.6%, respectively. Among patients with NAFLD, M30-antigen and M65-antigen levels distinguished between advanced fibrosis and early-stage fibrosis with a sensitivity of 64.7% and 70.6%, and a specificity of 77.3% and 71.2%, respectively. CONCLUSION Serum levels of M30-antigen and M65-antigen may be of clinical usefulness to identify patients with NASH. Further studies are mandatory to better assess the role of these apoptonecrotic biomarkers in NAFLD pathophysiology.
White coat effect, blood pressure and mortality in men: prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND Because long-term follow-up studies, which also included normotensive controls, have been lacking, the clinical significance of 'white coat' effect and of 'white coat' hypertension has remained controversial. METHODS AND RESULTS Twenty-one-year prospective data was gathered in 536 men with cardiovascular risk factors at baseline. Blood pressure was measured both by a nurse and by a physician and 'white coat effect' was defined as the difference between the two measurements (physician minus nurse). In addition, four blood pressure groups were categorized: normotensive (n=259), white coat hypertensive (n=18), mildly hypertensive (n=150) and persistently hypertensive (n=109). Comparison of these groups at baseline showed that men with white coat hypertension had higher levels of metabolic risk factors. Sixty-eight men died during follow-up. The men with a white coat effect >30 mmHg (n=37) had significantly higher mortality than other men (relative risk 2.2, 95% confidence interval 1.1-4.2). Mortality was significantly higher in the white coat hypertensive group (33.3%) than in the normotensive group (9.5%, P=0.0005 between groups). Relative risk adjusted for baseline risk factors in the white coat hypertensive group was 3.3 (1.2-7.6) compared with the normotensive group. The development of drug-treated hypertension was also more common (27.8% vs 13.4% in the normotensive group, P<0.0001 between groups). CONCLUSION The results suggest that white coat hypertension or a large white coat effect is not an innocent phenomenon. It tends to co-exist with metabolic risk factors and predicts total and cardiovascular mortality during long-term follow-up.
Autologous Umbilical Cord Blood Mononuclear Cell Transplantation Preserves Right Ventricular Function in a Novel Model of Chronic Right Ventricular Volume Overload

We aimed to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of autologous umbilical cord blood mononuclear cell (UCMNC) transplantation on right ventricular (RV) function in a novel model of chronic RV volume overload. Four-month-old sheep (n = 20) were randomized into cell (n = 10) and control groups (n = 10). After assessment of baseline RV function by the conductance catheter method, a transannular patch (TAP) was sutured to the right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT). Following infundibulotomy the ring of the pulmonary valve was transected without cardiopulmonary bypass. UCMNC implantation (8.22 ± 6.28 × 107) in the cell group and medium injection in the control group were performed into the RV myocardium around the TAP. UCMNCs were cultured for 2 weeks after fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) analysis for CD34 antigen. Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) and computed tomography were performed after 6 weeks and 3 months, respectively. RV function was assessed 3 months postoperatively before the hearts were excised for immunohistological examinations. FACS analysis revealed 1.2 ± 0.22% CD34+ cells within the isolated UCMNCs from which AcLDL+ endothelial cells were cultured in vitro. All animals survived surgery. TTE revealed grade II–III pulmonary regurgitation in both groups. Pressure-volume loops under dobutamine stress showed significantly improved RV diastolic function in the cell group (dP/dtmin: p = 0.043; Eed: p = 0.009). CD31 staining indicated a significantly enhanced number of microvessels in the region of UCMNC implantation in the cell group (p < 0.001). No adverse tissue changes were observed. TAP augmentation and pulmonary annulus distortion without cardiopulmonary bypass constitutes a valid large animal model mimicking the surgical repair of tetralogy of Fallot. Our results indicate that the chronically volume-overloaded RV profits from autologous UCMNC implantation by enhanced diastolic properties with a probable underlying mechanism of increased angiogenesis.
Simulation of AMB turbomachinery for transient loading conditions

The use of active magnetic bearings for both land base turbomachinery and aircraft jet engines is now a proven reality. The major concern in AMB turbomachinery, is not the steady state characteristics, but the ability of the bearings to handle upset load conditions and possible failure of the magnetic bearings. The backup bearings that support the rotor in case of such power failures or magnetic bearing failures play a very vital role in the transient behavior of the rotor. This work discusses the results of the transient analysis of the AMB supported rotor on solid brass backup bearings. The results obtained by the simulation are compared to the experimental results. The influence of the contact stiffness, contact damping, the coefficient of friction of the backup bearing surface and the location of the unbalance on the transient behavior of the rotor are also studied.
Selective regimes and functional anatomy in the mustelid forelimb: Diversification toward specializations for climbing, digging, and swimming

Abstract Anatomical traits associated with locomotion often exhibit specializations for ecological niche, suggesting that locomotor specializations may constitute selective regimes acting on limb skeletal traits. To test this, I sampled 42 species of Mustelidae, encompassing climbing, digging, and swimming specialists, and determined whether trait variation reflects locomotor specialization by performing a principal components analysis on 14 forelimb traits. In addition to Brownian motion models, three Ornstein–Uhlenbeck models of selective regimes were applied to PC scores describing trait variation among mustelids: one without a priori defined phenotypic optima, one with optima based upon locomotor habit, and one with a single phenotypic optimum. PC1, which explained 43.8% of trait variance, represented a trade‐off in long bone gracility and deltoid ridge length vs. long robustness and olecranon process length and distinguished between climbing specialists and remaining mustelids. PC2, which explained 17.4% of trait variance, primarily distinguished the sea otter from other mustelids. Best fitting trait diversification models are selective regimes differentiating between scansorial and nonscansorial mustelids (PC1) and selective regimes distinguishing the sea otter and steppe polecat from remaining mustelids (PC2). Phylogenetic half‐life values relative to branch lengths suggest that, in spite of a strong rate of adaptation, there is still the influence of past trait values. However, simulations of likelihood ratios suggest that the best fitting models are not fully adequate to explain morphological diversification within extant mustelids.
Expression patterns for nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunit genes in smoking-related lung cancers

Cigarette smoking is associated with increased risk for all histologic types of lung cancer, but why the strength of this association is stronger for squamous cell carcinoma than adenocarcinoma of the lung (SQC-L, ADC-L) is not fully understood. Because nicotine and tobacco-specific nitrosamines contribute to carcinogenesis by activating nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) on lung tumors and epithelial cells, we investigated whether differential expression of nAChR subtypes in these tumors could explain their different association with smoking. Expression of nAChR subunit genes in paired tumor and non-tumor lung specimens from 40 SQC-L and 38 ADC-L patients was analyzed by quantitative PCR. Compared to normal lung, both tumors share: i) transcriptional dysregulation of CHRNA3/CHRNA5/CHRNB4 (α3, α5, β4 subunits) at the chromosomal locus that predisposes to lung cancer; and ii) decreased expression of CHRFAM7A (dupα7 subunit); this last subunit negatively modulates α7-nAChR activity in oocytes. In contrast, CHRNA7 (α7 subunit) expression was increased in SQC-L, particularly in smokers and non-survivors, while CHRNA4 (α4 subunit) expression was decreased in ADC-L. Thus, over-representation of cancer-stimulating α7-nAChR in SQC-L, also potentiated by smoking, and under-representation of cancer-inhibiting α4β2-nAChR in ADC-L could explain the different tobacco influences on the tumorigenic process in each cancer type.
Legionella pneumophila Subversion of Host Vesicular Transport by SidC Effector Proteins

Tethering proteins play a key role in vesicular transport, ensuring that cargo arrives at a specific destination. The bacterial effector protein SidC and its paralog SdcA have been described as tethering factors encoded by the intracellular pathogen Legionella pneumophila. Here, we demonstrate that SidC proteins are important for early events unique to maturation of vacuoles containing Legionella and discover monoubiquitination of Rab1 as a new SidC‐dependent activity. The crystal structure of the SidC N‐terminus revealed a novel fold that is important for function and could be involved in Legionella adaptations to evolutionarily divergent host cells it encounters in natural environments.
Immunohistochemical localization of FAP‐1, an inhibitor of Fas‐mediated apoptosis, in normal and neoplastic human tissues

Fas, a death receptor, is widely expressed in human tissue, but its expression, although a prerequisite for the induction of apoptosis, does not predict its biological function. To understand the mechanisms of Fas resistance in human tissues in vivo, we performed immunohistochemistry using an antibody against Fas‐associated phosphatase‐1 (FAP‐1), which interacts with the cytosolic domain of Fas and inhibits Fas‐mediated apoptosis. In normal human tissues, FAP‐1 immunostaining was easily detected, for example, in renal tubules, skeletal muscle, myocardiocytes, pituitary gland, parathyroid gland, pancreatic islets, hepatocytes, testicular germ cells, prostatic glands, neurons, epithelium of fallopian tube, endometrial glands, trophoblasts, bronchial epithelial cells, and some types of gastrointestinal epithelial cells. In 123 (78%) of 158 cancers of various origins, including breast carcinomas, stomach carcinomas, colon carcinomas, lung carcinomas and several types of sarcomas, variable intensities of FAP‐1 expression were evident. Taken together, these findings demonstrated that FAP‐1 is widely expressed in normal human tissues and partly overlapped with Fas expression described in earlier reports, suggesting that FAP‐1 may have an important role in the regulation of apoptosis in vivo. In addition, FAP‐1 expression in cancers suggests that many cancers may be resistant to Fas‐mediated apoptosis through the action of FAP‐1 in vivo.
The information role of dividends in the Netherlands 1961-2006.

We investigate the dividend policy of Dutch firms in the period 1961-2006. Dividends are the payouts to shareholders by corporations. As such the dividend policies of firms are a measure of the relation between shareholders and managers of corporations. First, we first describe the level of dividends payout and the changes over roughly the second half of the 20 century. Next, we test a model that relates changes in profitability to dividends. The relation between profits and dividends reflects the informational role of dividends in financial markets. Based on this model, we describe the changing relevance of financial markets in the Dutch corporate system. * Preliminary draft; please do not cite or quote without the author’s permission. Corresponding author: H.C. van Beusichem, Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, Department of Financial Management, Room T8-21 P.O. Box 1738, 3000 DR Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Phone: +31 10 408 2792, Fax: +31 10 408 9017, Email: hbeusichem@rsm.nl.
Phosphorus bioavailability and digestibility of normal and genetically modified low-phytate corn for pigs.

We conducted two studies to determine the bioavailability and apparent digestibility of P in a low-phytate corn hybrid (.28% total P, .10% phytate P) genetically modified to be homozygous for the 1pa1-1 allele and a nearly isogenic corn hybrid (normal) (.25% total P, .20% phytate P). Additionally, we conducted an in vitro assay involving a peptic and pancreatin digestion to estimate P availability. The first study used 50 individually penned pigs (initial body weight 9 kg) and 10 treatments in a randomized complete block design. A cornstarch-soybean meal basal diet (.6% Ca, .2% P) was used. Treatments consisted of the basal diet and the basal diet plus . 05, . 10, or . 15% P from monosodium phosphate (MSP), low-phytate corn, or normal corn. After a 35-d feeding period, pigs were killed to collect the fourth metacarpal for measurements of ash and breaking load. Breaking load was regressed on added P intake, and the bioavailability of P was determined by the slope ratio method. The bioavailabilities of P (relative to MSP) for low-phytate and normal corn were 62 and 9%, respectively. These were similar to the determined in vitro values of 57 and 11% for low-phytate and normal corn, respectively. In the second study, 20 pigs (initial BW 20 kg) were used in a randomized complete block design with a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement of treatments. Two corn lines (low-phytate and normal) and two levels of supplemental P (0 and .2%) from dicalcium phosphate were used. Diets with no added P were formulated to contain . 9% lysine, . 6% Ca, and . 34% P. Apparent nutrient digestibilities were calculated from total collection of urine and feces for 5 d. There were no differences among treatments for energy and nitrogen digestibility. Pigs fed low-phytate corn with no added P had increased digestibility and retention of P and reduced total P excretion (P < .05). We conclude that low-phytate corn contains at least five times as much available P as normal corn. The use oflow-phytate corn greatly reduced the amount of P excreted by the pig and increased the N:P ratio in the manure.
[Do general practitioners diagnose and treat patients with alcohol use problems?].

AIM To determine the primary health care working general practitioners' knowledge, attitude and behavior towards alcohol use disorders. METHOD In this descriptive and cross-sectional study 135 general practitioners (GPs) completed the questionnaire. RESULTS Pre and post graduate education on alcohol use disorders is low (25.4 % and 11.7% respectively). Most of the GPs do not know the levels of risky alcohol use, screening tests, and biochemical markers. The mean knowledge score is 6.67+/-1.70. Most GPs think that alcohol use disorders are not an important issue in primary health care (57%), they do not have time to deal with patients' alcohol problems (74.1%), it is difficult to diagnose risky alcohol users without clear symptoms (91.1%), patients do not follow advice on alcohol use (85.2%), and physicians themselves are tolerant towards alcohol (71.1%). Half of the GPs reported that they find it difficult to talk about alcohol use with patients and think that patients may be angered by alcohol consumption questions. Mean attitude score is 4.44+/-2.15. Most of the GPs reported that they would ask questions about alcohol use to their patients (91.7%) and declare that the patients' problems were related to alcohol (90.2%). More than half of them reported that they would refer the patient to a specialist or an alcohol treatment center (58.5%). The mean behavior score is 5.96+/-1.46. CONCLUSION In our country it is clear that more education and support for GPs is needed due to their important role in intervention for alcohol use problems.
Mental Health Problems of Army Personnel Seen in Medical Outpatient Clinics in Greece

Objective: The problem of the underdiagnosis and inadequate treatment of mental disorders in people who visit health services has been studied in Greece as well as in other countries. There is not, however, enough research data for military personnel. The purpose of the present study is to assess the psychiatric morbidity of military personnel referred to outpatient clinics for physical problems. Method: Two hundred twenty-two (222) males serving in the Army, aged 21.9 + 2.8 years, were examined when they visited the outpatient clinics of a General Military Hospital of a border area of Greece. They gave information concerning demographic data, completed the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28), and were assessed by the psychiatric interview M.I. N.I. (Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview). Results: Eighty-two out of 222 individuals (36.9%) were classified as GHQ cases. Enlisted men and personnel with chronic physical disabilities were classified more often as cases than were professionals and physically able military men. Those referred for fractures had fewer psychiatric problems than those referred for other reasons. The most common diagnoses were anxiety disorders, major depressive episode, and alcohol abuse. Conclusions: A large number of military personnel present undiagnosed psychological problems despite attempts in the last few years by army services to develop mechanisms of timely diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric cases. Measures for the improvement of this situation are discussed.
Evidence for neural stem cells in the medaka optic tectum proliferation zones

Few adult neural stem cells have been characterized in vertebrates. Although teleosts continually generate new neurons in many regions of the brain after embryogenesis, only two types of neural stem cells (NSCs) have been reported in zebrafish: glial cells in the forebrain resembling mammalian NSCs, and neuroepithelial cells in the cerebellum. Here, following our previous studies on dividing progenitors (Nguyen et al. [ 1999 ]: J Comp Neurol 413:385–404.), we further evidenced NSCs in the optic tectum (OT) of juvenile and adult in the medaka, Oryzias latipes. To detect very slowly cycling progenitors, we did not use the commonly used BrdU/PCNA protocol, in which PCNA may not be present during a transiently quiescent state. Instead, we report the optimizations of several protocols involving long subsequent incubations with two thymidine analogs (IdU and CldU) interspaced with long chase times between incubations. These protocols allowed us to discriminate and localize fast and slow cycling cells in OT of juvenile and adult in the medaka. Furthermore, we showed that adult OT progenitors are not glia, as they express neither brain lipid‐binding protein (BLBP) nor glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). We also showed that expression of pluripotency‐associated markers (Sox2, Musashi1 and Bmi1) colocalized with OT progenitors. Finally, we described the spatio‐temporally ordered population of NSCs and progenitors in the medaka OT. Hence, the medaka appears as an invaluable model for studying neural progenitors that will open the way to further exciting comparative studies of neural stem cells in vertebrates. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol 70: 693–713, 2010
Osteopathic physicians and international medical graduates in the rural primary care physician workforce.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Primary care physician (PCP) shortages are a longstanding problem in the rural United States. This study describes the 2005 supply of two important components of the rural PCP workforce: rural osteopathic (DO) and international medical graduate (IMG) PCPs. METHODS American Medical Association (AMA) and American Osteopathic Association (AOA) 2005 Masterfiles were combined to identify clinically active, non-resident, non-federal physicians aged 70 or younger. Rural-Urban Commuting Area codes were used to categorize practice locations as urban, large rural, small rural, or isolated small rural. National- and state-level analyses were performed. PCPs included family physicians, general internists, and general pediatricians. RESULTS DOs comprised 4.9% and IMGs 22.2% of the total clinically active workforce. However, they contributed 10.4% and 19.3%, respectively, to the rural PCP workforce, although their relative representation varied geographically. DO PCPs were more likely than allopathic PCPs to practice in rural places (20.5% versus 14.9%, respectively). IMG PCPs were more likely than other PCPs to practice in rural persistent poverty locations (12.4% versus 9.1%). The proportion of rural PCP workforce represented by DOs increased with increasing rurality and that of IMGs decreased. CONCLUSIONS DO and IMG PCPs constitute a vital portion of the rural health care workforce. Their ongoing participation is necessary in addressing existing rural PCP shortages and handling the influx of newly insured residents as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) comes into effect. The impact on rural DO and IMG PCP supply of ACA measures intended to increase their numbers remains to be seen.