Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Early implementation of continuous venovenous haemodiafiltration improves outcome in patients with heart failure complicated by acute kidney injury.

BACKGROUND Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a serious complication of heart failure (HF). Continuous venovenous haemodiafiltration (CVVHDF) is a widely accepted method for treating this complication. However, the optimal time of its initiation has not been established. AIM To compare the outcome of patients with HF treated with CVVHDF which was implemented late (the first two years of our experience) or early (the next two years of our experience). METHODS Thirty seven patients, mean age 65 years, were hospitalised between April 2006 and January 2010 with the diagnosis of HF complicated by AKI. The primary cardiovascular diseases were: valvular heart disease (30%), acute coronary syndrome (27%), dilated cardiomyopathy (16%), exacerbation of chronic HF (11%), and others (16%). The inclusion criteria for CVVHDF therapy were: symptoms of HF including cardiogenic shock with high levels of creatinine (≥ 300 μmol/L) and/or oliguria and/or symptoms of septic shock. The exclusion criteria were: serious coagulation disturbances or inability of placing a catheter in a central vein. Group A consisted of 12 patients treated from April 2006 to the end of 2007. In group B, there were 25 patients treated from the beginning of 2008 to January 2010. Before treatment, mean ejection fraction, left ventricular diastolic diameter and mean blood pressure in both groups were comparable. Renal replacement therapy in group B was started earlier than in group A (mean 2.0 ± 2.0 days vs 4.0 ± 4.3 days from the onset of symptoms of AKI; NS). RESULTS The day after the beginning of CVVHDF, renal failure parameters improved in both groups, but the improvement was much more significant in group B. In group A, 11 (92%) patients died. The mean CVVHDF duration was six days and all patients required mechanical ventilation. In group B, 17 (68%) patients died (NS). The mean CVVHDF duration was shortened to four days. Seventeen (68%) patients were ventilated mechanically and this parameter was significantly different between the groups (p = 0.03) CONCLUSIONS An early introduction of CVVHDF significantly diminished the need to use mechanical ventilation and indicated a positive trend in the reduction of in-hospital mortality in patients with HF complicated by AKI.
Pupillary Dynamics Reveal Computational Cost in Sentence Planning

This study investigated the computational cost associated with grammatical planning in sentence production. We measured people's pupillary responses as they produced spoken descriptions of depicted events. We manipulated the syntactic structure of the target by training subjects to use different types of sentences following a colour cue. The results showed higher increase in pupil size for the production of passive and object dislocated sentences than for active canonical subject–verb–object sentences, indicating that more cognitive effort is associated with more complex noncanonical thematic order. We also manipulated the time at which the cue that triggered structure-building processes was presented. Differential increase in pupil diameter for more complex sentences was shown to rise earlier as the colour cue was presented earlier, suggesting that the observed pupillary changes are due to differential demands in relatively independent structure-building processes during grammatical planning. Task-evoked pupillary responses provide a reliable measure to study the cognitive processes involved in sentence production.
Extremely low frequency weak magnetic fields enhance resistance of NN tobacco plants to tobacco mosaic virus and elicit stress‐related biochemical activities

Increasing evidence has accumulated concerning the biological effects of extremely low frequency magnetic fields (ELF‐MFs) in different plant models. In the present study, effects of ELF‐MFs in tobacco plants reacting to tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) with a hypersensitive response (HR) were evaluated. Plants were exposed for 8 or 24 h (either before or after TMV inoculation) to a static MF, at either −17 or 13 µT, combined with a 10 Hz sinusoidal MF with different intensities (25.6 or 28.9 µT). The working variables were the area and number of hypersensitive lesions in leaves. Following ELF‐MFs exposure, an increased resistance was detected, particularly after an 8‐h treatment, as shown by the decrease in lesion area and number. Moreover, two enzyme activities involved in resistance mechanisms were analyzed: ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) and phenylalanine ammonia‐lyase (PAL). Uninoculated leaves previously exposed to ELF‐MFs in general showed a significant increase relative to controls in ODC and PAL activities, in particular for 13 µT static MF plus 28.9 µT, 10 Hz sinusoidal MF (24 h) treatment. In conclusion, ELF‐MFs seem to influence the HR of tobacco to TMV, as shown by the increased resistance and changes in ODC and PAL activities, indicating the reliability of the present plant model in the study of bioelectromagnetic interactions. Bioelectromagnetics 28:214–223, 2007. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Cerebral neurogenesis is induced by intranasal administration of growth factors

Neurogenesis persists in the adult brain, where it may contribute to repair and recovery after injury, but the lack of methods for noninvasive stimulation of cerebral neurogenesis limits its potential for clinical application. We report that intranasal administration of either fibroblast growth factor–2 or heparin‐binding epidermal growth factor–like growth factor increases neurogenesis, measured by the incorporation of bromodeoxyuridine into cells that express the early neuronal marker protein doublecortin in the subventricular zone of mouse brain. These findings indicate that intranasal growth factors may have potential as neurogenesis‐promoting therapeutic agents. Ann Neurol 2003;53:405–409
In Vitro Evidence for Increased Facilitation of Striatal Acetylcholine Release via Pre‐ and Postsynaptic NMDA Receptotors in Hemiparkinsonian Rats

Abstract : The NMDA‐evoked acetylcholine release from striatal slices and synaptosomes was investigated in rats subjected to unilateral injection of 6‐hydroxydopamine into the substantia nigra. In slices prepared from the striatum contralateral to the lesion, the NMDA‐evoked endogenous acetylcholine release was not significant at 10 μM NMDA and maximal at 100 μM NMDA (124 ± 19%). Conversely, in slices taken from the dopamine‐depleted striatum, NMDA was effective even at 10 μM (41 ± 4%), and at 100 μM (196 ± 24%) efficacy was nearly doubled. In synaptosomes prepared from the contralateral striatum, NMDA maximally stimulated 20 mM KCl‐induced endogenous acetylcholine release at 1 μM (66 ± 5.1%), with lower concentrations (0.01‐0.1 μM) being ineffective. Conversely, in synaptosomes prepared from the dopamine‐depleted striatum, NMDA maximally enhanced the K+‐evoked acetylcholine release at 0.1 μM (118 ± 12.4%). Concentration‐response curves of NMDA‐evoked acetylcholine release in sham‐operated rats could be superimposed on those observed in the contralateral striatum of the 6‐hydroxydopamine‐lesioned animals. The present data support the view of an increased glutamatergic regulation of striatal acetylcholine release via pre‐ and postsynaptic NMDA receptors during Parkinson's disease.
Comparison of the basal ganglia in rats, marmosets, macaques, baboons, and humans: Volume and neuronal number for the output, internal relay, and striatal modulating nuclei

This study compares the basal ganglia of rats, marmosets, macaques, baboons, and humans. It uses established protocols to estimate the volume and number of neurons within the output nuclei (internal globus pallidus, IGP; and nondopaminergic substantia nigra, SNND), two internal relay and modulating nuclei (subthalamic nucleus, STh; and external globus pallidus, EGP), and a modulator of the striatum (dopaminergic substantia nigra, SND). Nuclear boundaries were defined by using immunohistochemistry for striatal afferents. Total numbers of Nissl‐stained and parvalbumin‐immunoreactive neurons were calculated by using the fractionator technique. Comparisons between species were standardized relative to brain mass (rats < marmosets < macaques < baboons < humans). The EGP consistently had more neurons relative to the IGP, STh, and SND, which had similar neuronal numbers within each species. The SNND had proportionally more neurons in rats than in primates (especially humans). The distribution of SND neurons varied substantially between rats and primates (very few ventrally located neurons in rats) with humans containing fewer SND neurons than other primates. The reduction in SND neurons in humans suggests less dopaminergic regulation of the basal ganglia system compared with other species. The consistency in the number of IGP neurons across all species, combined with the reduction in SNND neurons in humans, suggests a greater emphasis on output pathways through the IGP and that there are proportionally more STh and EGP neurons in humans. J. Comp. Neurol. 445:238–255, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A traffic-oriented approach for channel assignment in WLAN

The IEEE 802.11 architecture offers multiple independent frequency channels. Efficient exploitation of the available frequency spectrum is one of the most promising approaches to increase network capacity. In this paper we propose an heuristic evaluation of network capacity that takes account of the dynamic nature of traffic. We use this method to derive static frequency allocations that maximize capacity. Numerical evaluations show our method can provide significant gains compared to the widely adopted received signal strength approach.
Strategic Flexibility in New High‐Technology Ventures

Strategic flexibility is a vital capability for new ventures to update their strategies in a timely manner. However, the role of external knowledge sources in new venturesâ€™ endeavours to develop strategic flexibility are unclear. Drawing on the knowledgeâ€ based and relational views, we explore the effect of two sources of external knowledge: new product development (NPD) alliances, representing tightly coupled sources, and loosely coupled sources such as industry associations. Our field study of 148 highâ€ tech ventures found that the extent to which firms utilize knowledge from NPD alliances has a curvilinear relationship with strategic flexibility, whereas the extent to which firms utilize loosely coupled sources has a positive linear relationship with strategic flexibility. We also found that in new ventures, decentralization of decisionâ€ making and institutional support enhance knowledge integration, positively moderating these relationships.
CYP3A5 Genotype Had no Impact on Intrapatient Variability of Tacrolimus Clearance in Renal Transplant Recipients

Background: The risk of long-term chronic allograft nephropathy and graft loss after kidney transplantation is increased in patients with a high intrapatient variability in the clearance of tacrolimus. CYP3A5 genotype has a significant influence on the oral bioavailability of tacrolimus and is a potential influence on variability of exposure. Methods: The study population consisted of 118 renal transplant recipients with stable renal function 12 months after transplant. The intrapatient variability of tacrolimus concentration was calculated. The patients were divided into low– and high–intraindividual variability groups using the median variability of tacrolimus clearance as the cutoff value. Results: No differences in baseline characteristics were observed between the expressers (n = 37) and nonexpressers (n = 81) except for ethnicity, which is in line with previous observations. Tacrolimus dose requirement was significantly higher in patients expressing CYP3A5, confirming earlier observations (P < 0.0001). However, intraindividual variability of tacrolimus clearance was not related to CYP3A5 genotype (P = 0.3331). Conclusions: The intrapatient variability of tacrolimus clearance was not associated with CYP3A5 genotype in stable renal transplant recipients.
Neuroprotective Effect of Intermittent Hypoxia on Iron-Induced Oxidative Injury in Rat Brain

The neuroprotective effect of intermittent hypoxia on ferrous citrate (iron)-induced oxidative stress was investigated in the nigrostriatal dopaminergic system of rat brain. Female Wistar rats were subjected to 380 mm Hg in an altitude chamber for 15 h/day for 7, 14, or 28 days. Iron was locally infused in the substantia nigra of anesthetized rats. Seven days after infusion, lipid peroxidation was elevated in the infused substantia nigra and dopamine content and tyrosine hydroxylase-positive axons were decreased in the ipsilateral striatum in the normoxic rats. Intermittent hypoxic treatment prevented iron-induced oxidative injuries. Induction of the neuroprotection required 2 weeks. Intracerebroventricular infusion of L-buthionine-[S,R]-sulfoximine (L-BSO), which mimicked a reduced antioxidative condition, aggravated iron-induced oxidative injuries. Intermittent hypoxia ameliorated L-BSO-induced augmentation of iron-induced oxidative injuries. Basal GSH (glutathione) content, GSH/GSSG ratio, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase activities in intact substantia nigra were not altered by intermittent hypoxia. Furthermore, intermittent hypoxia attenuated iron-induced reductions in GSH content, GSH/GSSG ratio, and SOD, iron-induced increase in catalase but had no effect on glutathione peroxidase. Our data suggest that intermittent hypoxia may protect the nigrostriatal dopaminergic system from iron-induced oxidative injuries. Moreover, antioxidative defensive systems may partially contribute to the neuroprotection by intermittent hypoxia.
Comprehensive Sexuality Education in Kentucky

OF THESIS COMPREHENSIVE SEXUALITY EDUCATION IN KENTUCKY Discussions of sex education of any kind can be controversial in a given setting. Traditional approaches to sex education prompt debate regarding effectiveness. Key indicators central to the effectiveness of sex education continue to be rates of teen pregnancy and transmission of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). With discontentment surrounding the effectiveness of “traditional approaches,” a more wide-ranging method is worthy of being explored. The curriculum approach of Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) includes six key concepts, and subsequent sub-concepts, intended to provide a broad and even all-inclusive range of topics for a similarly broad and even all-inclusive range of ages of youth. When considering utilizing CSE in a community one must consider the influence community leaders have in success of implementation. This qualitative study seeks to explore how community leaders in one Kentucky community respond to six key concepts of CSE and its possible delivery. Utilizing snowball sampling in one Kentucky County with low teen birth rates, ten community leaders were interviewed. Results of this study show openness to the topics included in CSE but reveal a need for parent education as it relates to communication within the family as well as the topics of each key concept of CSE.
South Asians and coronary disease: is there discordance between effects on incidence and prognosis?

Objective To determine whether the effect of South Asian ethnicity differs between studies of incidence and prognosis of coronary disease. Design Systematic literature review and meta-analysis, and cohort analysis from a national acute coronary syndrome (ACS) registry linked to mortality (National Institute of Cardiovascular Outcomes Research/Myocardial Infarction National Audit Project). Setting International for the review, and England and Wales for the cohort analysis. Patients The numbers of South Asians included in the meta-analysis were 111 555 (incidence) and 14 531 (prognosis) of whom 8251 were from the ACS cohort. Main outcome measures Incidence studies: non-fatal myocardial infarction or fatal coronary heart disease; prognostic studies: mortality; HRs for 1-year all-cause death in ACS cohort. Results South Asians had higher incidence of coronary disease compared with white subjects (HR 1.35 95% CI 1.30 to 1.40) based on meta-analysis of nine studies. Among 10 studies on prognosis, South Asians had better prognosis compared with white subjects (HR 0.78 95% CI 0.74 to 0.82). In the ACS cohort, the impact of diabetes (42.4% of South Asians, 16.9% of white subjects) on 1-year mortality was stronger in South Asians than white subjects (age-adjusted HR 1.83 95% CI 1.59 to 2.11 vs 1.53 95% CI 1.49 to 1.57). However, prognosis was better in South Asians even among diabetics, older people and those living in areas of the highest social deprivation. Conclusions South Asian ethnicity is associated with higher incidence of coronary disease, but lower mortality once coronary disease is manifest. The dissociation between effects on incidence and prognosis suggests that public health initiatives to reduce inequalities in mortality between South Asian and white populations should focus on primary prevention. This is a CALIBER study with ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01163513.
Multi-criteria decision-making methods for project portfolio management: a literature review

Project portfolio management (PPM) has become a key element of large organisations' service delivery due to the close attention inherently paid to numerous issues in the discipline of project management. Its success is closely associated with the degree of understanding of its issues and the quality of decisions made at the portfolio level which can be addressed using multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods. Although several of these MCDM methods have been introduced to support decision-making functions as part of PPM, there has been little assessment of their performances, particularly when combining some of them. This paper identifies the key challenges of PPM, proposes a new framework for classifying PPM MCDM related methods and presents a literature review of applications of MCDM methods to PPM.
Effects of dietary supplementation with Clostridium butyricum on the growth performance and humoral immune response in Miichthys miiuy

The effects of dietary supplementation with Clostridium butyricum on growth performance and humoral immune response in Miichthys miiuy were evaluated. One hundred and fifty Miichthys miiuy weighing approximately 200∼260 g were divided into five groups and reared in 15 tanks with closed circuiting culture system. The animals were fed 5 diets: basal diet only (control) or supplemented of the basal diet with C. butyricum at doses of 103 (CB1), 105 (CB2), 107 (CB3) or 109 (CB4) CFU/g. Compared with the control, the serum phenoloxidase activity was significantly increased by the supplementation (P<0.05), acid phosphatases activity was increased significantly (P<0.05) at the doses of 109 CFU/g. Serum lysozyme activity peaked at dose of 107 CFU/g and in the skin mucus at dose of 109 CFU/g. Immunoglobulin M level in the serum and skin mucus was increased except at dose of 103 CFU/g (P<0.05). The growth at the dose of 109 CFU/g was higher than that of the control (P<0.05). It is concluded that supplementation of C. butyricum can mediate the humoral immune responses and improve the growth performance in Miichthys miiuy.
Patient reported outcomes measures in neurogenic bladder and bowel: A systematic review of the current literature

To describe existing bladder and bowel specific quality of life (QoL) measurement tools, QoL in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), spinal cord injury (SCI), Parkinson's Disease (PD), stroke, or spina bifida (SB) affected by bladder or bowel dysfunction, and the impact of specific bladder and bowel management on QoL.
Learning Feature Nonlinearities with Non-Convex Regularized Binned Regression

For various applications, the relations between the dependent and independent variables are highly nonlinear. Consequently, for large scale complex problems, neural networks and regression trees are commonly preferred over linear models such as Lasso. This work proposes learning the feature nonlinearities by binning feature values and finding the best fit in each quantile using non-convex regularized linear regression. The algorithm first captures the dependence between neighboring quantiles by enforcing smoothness via piecewise-constant/linear approximation and then selects a sparse subset of good features. We prove that the proposed algorithm is statistically and computationally efficient. In particular, it achieves linear rate of convergence while requiring near-minimal number of samples. Evaluations on synthetic and real datasets demonstrate that algorithm is competitive with current state-of-the-art and accurately learns feature nonlinearities. Finally, we explore an interesting connection between the binning stage of our algorithm and sparse Johnson-Lindenstrauss matrices.
[The reduction in maternal mortality in Chile, 1990-2000].

OBJECTIVE To determine if Chile achieved the objective of reducing maternal mortality by 50% between 1990 and 2000, in line with the provisions of the Regional Plan of Action for the Reduction of Maternal Mortality in the Americas, which the governments of the Americas approved in 1990 at the 23rd Pan American Sanitary Conference. METHODS A descriptive, observational study was designed, making it possible to analyze the trend in maternal mortality in Chile from 1990 through 2000. The variables that were evaluated were the maternal mortality ratio, the causes of death, and the age of the mothers who died. The causes of death were classified according to the ninth revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-9), and the raw data were obtained from the yearbooks of the National Institute of Statistics of Chile. The changes in the variables were estimated according to the percentage of cumulative change, and trends were analyzed with the Pearson correlation coefficient. RESULTS The study found a 60.3% reduction in maternal mortality from 1990 to 2000. The lowest maternal mortality ratio, 18.7 per 100 000 live births, occurred in the year 2000. The five leading causes of maternal mortality were hypertension, miscarriage, other current conditions in the mother, puerperal sepsis, and postpartum hemorrhage. There was a significant downward trend in maternal mortality due to hypertension (r = -0.712; P = 0.014), abortion (r = -0.810; P = 0.003), and puerperal sepsis (r = -0.718; P = 0.013), but there were no statistically significant changes in mortality from other current conditions in the mother or from postpartum hemorrhage. The highest level of maternal mortality was found in women who were 40 years of age or older (100.2/100 000 live births), and the lowest level was in adolescents 15 to 19 years old (18.7/100 000 live births). CONCLUSIONS Chile achieved the objective of the Regional Plan of Action for the Reduction of Maternal Mortality in the Americas, with a decrease of more than 50% in maternal mortality in the 1990-2000 period. That reduction is due mainly to the decline in maternal mortality from hypertension, abortion, and puerperal sepsis.