Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A comparative analysis of risk factors for stroke in blacks and whites: the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study

Objective. Previous studies have speculated that the higher stroke incidence rate (IR) in blacks compared with whites may be due, in part, to stroke risk factors exerting a more adverse effect among blacks than whites. To determine whether such racial differences exist we compared the prospective associations between novel, traditional, and emerging stroke risk factors in blacks and whites. Design. Baseline characteristics on risk factor levels were obtained on 15,407 participants from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study. Stroke incidence was ascertained from 1987 to 2008. Adjusted Cox proportional hazard models were used to compute hazard ratios (HRs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for stroke in relation to stroke risk factor levels stratified by race. Results. During follow-up, 988 stroke events occurred: blacks had higher stroke incident rates compared with whites with the greatest difference in those aged <60 years: 4.34, 3.24, 1.20, and 0.84 per 1000 person-years, in black men, black women, white men, and white women, respectively. Associations between risk factors with incident stroke were similar in blacks and whites excluding diabetes which was more strongly associated with the risk of stroke in blacks than in whites: HR 2.54 (95% CI: 2.03–3.18) versus 1.74 (1.37–2.21), respectively; p for race interaction = 0.02. Conclusions. At all ages, blacks are at a considerably higher risk of incident stroke compared with whites, although the effect is most marked in younger age groups. This is most likely due to blacks having a greater burden of stroke risk factors rather than there being any substantial race differences in the associations between risk factors and stroke outcomes.
Enterobacteriaceae Bloodstream Infections: Presence of Integrons, Risk Factors, and Outcome

ABSTRACT A prospective observational study was conducted to identify factors associated with bloodstream infections (BSIs) caused by integron-carrying Enterobacteriaceae and to evaluate the clinical significance of integron carriage. Consecutive patients with Enterobacteriaceae BSIs were identified and followed up until discharge or death. Identification of blood isolates and susceptibility testing were performed by the Wider I automated system. int-1-specific PCR, conserved-segment PCR, and DNA sequencing were used to determine the presence, length, and content of integrons. The relatedness among the isolates was examined by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Two hundred fifty episodes of Enterobacteriaceae BSI occurred in 233 patients; 109 (43.6%) were nosocomial, 82 (32.8%) were community acquired, and 59 (23.6%) were health care associated. Integrons were detected in 11 (13.4%) community-acquired, 24 (40.7%) health care-associated, and 46 (42.2%) nosocomial isolates. Integron-carrying organisms were more likely to exhibit resistance to three or more classes of antimicrobials (odds ratio [OR], 9.84; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 5.31 to 18.23; P < 0.001) or to produce extended-spectrum β-lactamases (OR, 5.75; 95% CI, 2.38 to 13.89; P < 0.001) or a VIM-type metallo-β-lactamase (P, 0.003). Inter- or intraspecies integron transfer and cross-transmission of integron-carrying clones were observed. Use of cotrimoxazole (OR, 4.77; 95% CI, 1.81 to 12.54; P < 0.001) and a nosocomial or other health care setting (OR, 3.07; 95% CI, 1.30 to 7.22; P, 0.01) were independently associated with BSIs caused by integron-carrying Enterobacteriaceae. Patients with a nonurinary source of bacteremia (OR, 9.46; 95% CI, 2.77 to 32.32; P < 0.001) and a Pitt bacteremia score of ≥4 (OR, 23.36; 95% CI, 7.97 to 68.44; P < 0.001) had a significantly higher 14-day mortality rate, whereas integron carriage did not affect clinical outcomes. These findings may have implications affecting antibiotic policies and infection control measures.
Transcriptional regulation of hemoglobin switching in chicken embryos

We used recombinant chicken deoxyribonucleic acid clones containing embryonic and adult beta-globin genes and "runoff" endogenous nuclear transcription to investigate the expression of embryonic and adult beta-globin genes during hematopoiesis in the developing chicken embryo. Purified, cloned deoxyribonucleic acids were digested with various restriction enzymes, separated on agarose gels, blotted to nitrocellulose, and annealed with purified nuclear [32P]ribonucleic acid synthesized in vitro from embryonic or adult red cell nuclei. Transcription of the respective globin genes was assayed by hybridization of nuclear [32P]ribonucleic acid to specific restriction fragments containing adult or embryonic coding sequences. Our results indicate that little, if any, transcription from the adult or embryonic beta-globin genes is detectable in the heterologous red cell nuclei, even under conditions in which ribonucleic acid processing probably does not occur.
Blood pressure and clinical outcome among patients with acute stroke in Inner Mongolia, China

Objectives The association between blood pressure and short-term clinical outcome of acute stroke is inconclusive. We studied the association between admission blood pressure and in-hospital death or disability among acute stroke patients in Inner Mongolia, China. Methods A total of 2178 acute ischemic stroke and 1760 hemorrhagic stroke patients confirmed by a computed tomography scan or magnetic resonance imaging were included in the present study. Blood pressure and other study variables were collected within the first 24 h of hospital admission. Clinical outcomes were evaluated by trained neurologists during hospitalization. Results The in-hospital case-fatality rate was higher for acute hemorrhagic stroke (5.9%) than it was for acute ischemic stroke (1.8%), whereas the disability rate was higher for those with acute ischemic stroke (41.3%) than those with acute hemorrhagic stroke (34.4%) at discharge. Blood pressure at admission was not significantly associated with clinical outcome in acute ischemic stroke. On the contrary, systolic and diastolic blood pressures were significantly and positively associated with odds of death or disability in acute hemorrhagic stroke. For example, compared to those with a systolic blood pressure less than 140 mmHg, multiple-adjusted odds ratio (95% confidence interval) of death/disability was 1.38 (0.96, 1.99), 1.42 (1.00, 2.03), 1.84 (1.28, 2.64), and 1.91 (1.35, 2.70) among participants with systolic blood pressure 140–159, 160–179, 180–199, and at least 200 mmHg, respectively (P < 0.0001 for linear trend). Conclusion Increased systolic and diastolic blood pressure were significantly and positively associated with death and disability among patients with acute hemorrhagic stroke, but not acute ischemic stroke, in Inner Mongolia, China.
Secrecy capacity of Nakagami-m fading wireless channels in the presence of multiple eavesdroppers

This paper is concerned with the transmission of confidential message through Nakagami-m fading wireless channel in the presence of multiple eavesdroppers. The eavesdroppers are mutually independent and the information is secure if it cannot be eavesdropped by any eavesdropper. Considering the problem of secret communications between two nodes over Nakagami-m fading channel where a number of eavesdroppers observes their transmissions through other Nakagami-m fading channels, we characterize the probability of non-zero secrecy capacity and secure outage probability to investigate the secrecy capacity in terms of secure outage probability. We also present a formulation of the ergodic secrecy capacity in the presence of multiple eavesdroppers.
Prevention of Pediatric Drug Calculation Errors by Prehospital Care Providers

Objective. Calculating weight-based drug doses for pediatric patients is difficult, with significant error potential. In the prehospital setting, few safeguards currently avert pediatric drug administration errors. We sought to determine whether use of a protocol-specific pediatric code card enables prehospital care providers to calculate more consistently accurate weight-based drug doses, volumes of administration, andage-appropriate endotracheal tube sizes. Methods. Questionnaires requiring calculations of medication doses, volumes, andendotracheal tube sizes were administered to prehospital care providers between June andNovember 2006 in fire department continuing education classes in the State of Maryland andthe District of Columbia. Half of the participants performed the calculations with the pediatric code card as an aid, andhalf without. Calculations done by the two groups were compared for rate andextent of errors. We evaluated the error frequency in calculations of pediatric medication doses andendotracheal tube sizes. Results. Of the 523 advanced life support prehospital care providers questioned, 246 answered questions using the pediatric code card, and277 answered questions without using the card. The mean individual percentages of correct responses were 94% for the group aided by the code card and65% for the group unaided by the card (percentage difference, 29%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 25–31%; p < 0.001). Ninety-eight percent of the aided group and23% of the unaided group calculated the correct endotracheal tube size (percentage difference, 75%; 95% CI, 70–81%; p < 0.001). Conclusions. The use of the pediatric code card enabled prehospital care providers to determine weight-based drug doses, volumes of administration, andendotracheal tube sizes more accurately than peers without access to the code card.
Comparative Pharmacodynamic Modeling Using Bispectral and Narcotrend-Index With and Without a Pharmacodynamic Plateau During Sevoflurane Anesthesia

BACKGROUND: We compared two pharmacodynamic models, one with and one without a plateau effect. Bispectral indices (BIS, Aspect Medical Systems, Natick, MA, version XP) and Narcotrend (NCT, MonitorTechnik, Bad Bramstedt, Germany, version 4.0) were used as an electroencephalographic measure of sevoflurane drug effect. In addition, we tried to analyze the origin of the plateau. METHODS: We investigated 26 adult patients scheduled for radical prostatectomy. At least 45 min after induction of general anesthesia, end-tidal sevoflurane concentrations were varied between 1 vol% and 4 vol%. To evaluate the relationship between concentrations and electroencephalographic indices, two different pharmacodynamic models were applied: a conventional model based on a single sigmoidal curve, and a novel model based on two sigmoidal curves for BIS and NCT values with and without burst suppression. The parameters of the models were estimated by NONMEM V (GloboMax, Hanover) by minimizing log likelihood. Statistical significance between the two models was calculated by the likelihood ratio test. RESULTS: The end-tidal sevoflurane concentration ranged from 1.04 ± 0.17 vol% to 4.43 ± 0.43 vol%. The difference between the log likelihood values of the new pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic model with two connected sigmoidal curves and the classical Emax model with one sigmoidal curve is 396 (P < 0.001) for the BIS monitor and 1121 (P < 0.001) for the NCT. The plateau is positioned at the change between the maximum &dgr; power and the increase of burst suppression ratio. CONCLUSION: A pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic model consisting of two sigmoid curves with an intervening plateau describes the effect of sevoflurane on BIS and NCT indices better than a model with a single sigmoid curve.
DQDB networks with and without bandwidth balancing

It is explained why long distributed queue dual bus (DQDB) networks without bandwidth balancing can have fairness problems when several nodes are performing large file transfers. The problems arise because the network control information is subject to propagation delays that are much longer than the transmission time of a data segment. Bandwidth balancing is then presented as a simple solution. By constraining each node to take only a certain fraction of the transmission opportunities offered to it by the basic DQDB protocol, bandwidth balancing gradually achieves a fair allocation of bandwidth among simultaneous file transfers. Two ways to extend this procedure effectively to multipriority traffic are proposed. >
The impact of different types of expert scientific testimony on mock jurors’ liability verdicts

Participants in two experiments acted as jurors for a personal-injury case containing different types of expert testimony. In both experiments, the defendant was more likely to obtain a verdict in his favor when his expert presented anecdotal case histories than when the expert presented experimental data. Participants’ liability judgments were correlated with their perceptions of the experts’ credibility (experiments 1 and 2) and were moderated somewhat by their need for cognition and preference for numerical information (experiment 2). The results are discussed in terms of reasoning heuristics such as the base-rate fallacy.
Television Advertising and Online Word-of-Mouth: An Empirical Investigation of Social TV Activity

In this research, we investigate the relationship between television advertising and online word-of-mouth (WOM) by examining the joint consumption of television programming and production of social media by television viewers, termed social TV. We explore how television advertising impacts the volume of online WOM about advertised brands and about the programs in which the advertisements air. We also examine what encourages or discourages viewers to engage in this particular social TV activity. Using data containing television advertising instances and the volume of minute-by-minute social media mentions, our analyses reveal that television advertising impacts the volume of online WOM for both the brand advertised and the program in which the advertisement airs. We additionally find that the programs that receive the most online WOM are not necessarily the best programs for advertisers interested in online engagement for their brands. Finally, our results highlight the brand, advertisement, and program characteristics that can encourage or discourage social TV activity. We discuss the implications of our findings for media planning strategies and advertisement design strategies.Data, as supplemental material, are available at http://dx.doi. org/10.1287/mksc.2016. 1002 .
Noneffect of Oral Urinary Copper Ascorbic Acid on Reduction Glucose Test

References and texts in the fields of diabetes and clinical chemistry commonly report that ascorbic acid when given orally or parenterally gives a false-positive reaction to the copper reduction glucose test (Clinitest). This impression is based on a study in which ascorbic acid (250 mg./dl.) was added to urine in vitro, with a resultant positive-test reading in the absence of glucose. Ascorbic acid is a reducing agent, and theoretically it could interfere with the copper reduction method of glucose detection. In the current study 10 nondiabetic men were ingesting 4 and 6 gm. ascorbic acid per day. A total of 360 glucose detection tests with the copper reduction method were undertaken. In no instance was there a positive reaction to the glucose test.
Method to Detect the Cellular Source of Over‐Activated NADPH Oxidases Using NAD(P)H Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging

Fluorescence‐lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) is a technique to generate images, in which the contrast is obtained by the excited‐state lifetime of fluorescent molecules instead of their intensity and emission spectrum. The ubiquitous coenzymes NADH and NADPH, hereafter NAD(P)H, in cells show a short fluorescence lifetime ≈︀400 psec in the free‐state and a longer fluorescence lifetime when bound to enzymes. The fluorescence lifetime of NAD(P)H in this state depends on the binding‐site on the specific enzyme. In the case of NADPH bound to members of the NADPH oxidases family we measured a fluorescence lifetime of 3650 psec as compared to enzymes typically active in cells, in which case fluorescence lifetimes of ∼2000 psec are measured. Here we present a robust protocol based on NAD(P)H fluorescence lifetime imaging in isolated cells to distinguish between normally active enzymes and NADPH oxidases, mainly responsible for oxidative stress. © 2017 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
The effect of metoprolol upon blood pressure, cerebral blood flow and oxygen consumption in patients subjected to craniotomy for cerebral tumours

Hypertension and cerebral hyperperfusion are often seen in the immediate postoperative period after craniotomy for supratentorial tumours. Metoprolol is known to attenuate the postoperative hypertensive response after hypotensive anaesthesia and this study was carried out to evaluate the effect of metoprolol on cerebral blood flow (CBF) and cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen (CMRo2) before extubation and cerebral arteriovenous oxygen content difference (AVDo2), mean arterial blood pressure (MABP), Pao2 and Paco2 in a 180–min period after extubation. Twenty patients anaesthetized with thiopentone, fentanyl, nitrous oxide 67%, and halothane 0.5% were randomized to receive intravenous metoprolol or placebo at the end of the peroperative period. There were no significant differences in CBF– and CMRo2 values between the two groups. In the period between closure of the dura and 5 min after extubation, an increase in MABP was observed in the control group (P < 0.05), but not in the metoprolol group. During the same period a decrease in AVDo2 was observed in both groups (P < 0.05); during the next 10 min an increase was observed, but with no difference in AVDo2 values between the groups. A higher level of Pao2 in the metoprolol group was observed in the postoperative period. These findings suggest that peroperative treatment with metoprolol reduces postoperative MABP but does not influence the cerebral blood flow and metabolism.
The self in autism: An emerging view from neuroimaging

One of the defining characteristics of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is difficulty with social interaction and communication with others, or interpersonal interaction. Accordingly, the majority of research efforts to date have focused on understanding the brain mechanisms underlying the deficits in social cognition and language associated with ASD. However, recent empirical and theoretical work has begun to reveal increasing evidence for altered self-representation, or intrapersonal cognition in ASD. Here we review recent studies of the self in ASD, focusing on paradigms examining ‘physical’ aspects of the self, including self-recognition, agency and perspective taking, and ‘psychological’ aspects of the self, including self-knowledge and autobiographical memory. A review of the existing literature suggests that psychological, but not physical, aspects of self-representation are altered in ASD. One key brain region that has emerged as a potential locus of self-related deficits in ASD is the medial prefrontal cortex, part of a larger ‘default mode network’. Collectively, the findings from these studies provide a more comprehensive framework for understanding the complex social, cognitive, and affective symptomatology of ASD.
Human listeriosis and paté: a possible association.

OBJECTIVES--To study trends in human listeriosis and determine possible sources of infection. DESIGN--Descriptive analysis of laboratory reports of human listeriosis together with a survey of subtypes of Listeria monocytogenes isolated from patients and foodstuffs and an interview survey of patients to obtain food histories. SETTING--United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland 1985 to 1990. RESULTS--There was a near doubling in the incidence of human listeriosis in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland between 1985 and mid-1989 followed by a sharp decline. The upsurge in cases was caused largely by two strains of L monocytogenes, which accounted for 30-54% of the annual totals. These strains were less common before 1987 and after July 1989. A survey of paté in England and Wales in July 1989 showed that it frequently contained L monocytogenes. A similar survey in July 1990 showed a reduction in the proportions of samples contaminated. In 1989 patés from a single plant (manufacturer Y) were more likely to be contaminated by L monocytogenes and at higher levels than those from other producers. Most strains of L monocytogenes recovered from manufacturer Y's paté in 1989 were indistinguishable from those responsible for the 1987-9 upsurge in human listeriosis and were uncommon among isolates from patés from other manufacturers and from a wide range of other foodstuffs. Patients infected with the types of L monocytogenes found in paté were significantly more likely to have recently eaten paté than those affected by other strains. The start of the decline in numbers of cases of listeriosis coincided with government health warnings on paté consumption and the suspension of supplies from manufacturer Y. CONCLUSIONS--Contamination of paté was a likely contributory cause of the increase in the incidence of listeriosis between 1987 and 1989.
Cardiovascular risk: associated factors, assessment andagreement between WHO/ISH risk prediction chart andFramingham Scoring System among Primary Care Patientsin Kelantan, Malaysia

Background: Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) burden in Malaysia has strikingly increased and it is critically important to overcome the problem at primary care level. There is also very few studies in Malaysia that described the population 10-year CVD risk. Objectives: To identify the associated factors of high 10-year cardiovascular disease risk based on WHO/ISH risk prediction chart and its agreement with Framingham Scoring System. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between between December 2012 till Mac 2013 among patients attending Outpatient Clinic, USM Hospital, Kelantan. Cardiovascular risk assessments were based on WHO/ISH risk prediction chart and Framingham Coronary Disease Risk Prediction Score. Results: A total of 196 patients responded. The proportion of high 10-year cardiovascular disease risk (≥ 20%) based on WHO/ISH risk prediction chart was 7.7%. Secondary school educational level and income more than RM 2000 were significantly associated with high 10- year cardiovascular disease risk. The agreement between WHO/ISH risk prediction chart and Framingham Scoring System was 0.11 (P value 0.001). Conclusion: Socio-economic status should be considered in primary prevention of cardiovascular disease. The agreement in 10-year cardiovascular disease risk between WHO/ISH risk prediction chart and Framingham Scoring System was marginally convincing.