Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Deleterious Effect of Helicobacter pylori Infection on the Course of Acute Pancreatitis in Rats

Background:Helicobacter pylori(Hp) infection is involved in various gastroduodenal pathologies. Also, the potential role of Hp infection has been proposed in several extragastroduodenal disorders, such as cardiovascular, skin or immunological diseases. The role of Hp infection in acute pancreatitis has not been tested. The aim of this study was to determine the influence of Hp infection on the course of acute ischemia/reperfusion-induced pancreatitis in rats. Methods: Inoculation with CagA- and VacA-positive Hp or administration of vehicle were performed after visceral ischemia. Visceral ischemia was evoked by clamping of the celiac artery for 30 min. Four weeks later, after full recovery from primary ischemia-induced damage, acute pancreatitis was evoked by limitation of pancreatic blood flow (PBF) in the splenic artery for 30 min using microvascular clips. Rats were sacrificed 1 h or 1, 3, 5, 10, and 21 days after removal of the vascular clips. Hp infection was assessed by the urease test and gastric histology. Results: In Hp-negative rats ischemia followed by reperfusion caused acute pancreatitis as manifested by a reduction in PBF and pancreatic DNA synthesis, as well as by increases in plasma amylase, lipase, interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and interleukin-10 (IL-10). The morphological features of pancreatic tissue showed necrosis, strongly pronounced edema, hemorrhages and leukocyte infiltration. The maximal intensity of pancreatic damage was observed between the 1st and 3rd day of reperfusion, then pancreatic tissue underwent regeneration. Hp infection resulted in a significant reduction in PBF and an aggravation of pancreatic ischemia 1 h and 3 and 5 days after reperfusion. Plasma amylase in Hp-infected rats was significantly higher than in Hp-negative animals 1 h and 1 and 3 days after ischemia, whereas in lipase this significant difference was observed between the 1st and 3rd day. DNA synthesis in Hp-positive rats was additionally reduced 1 h and 3 and 5 days after ischemia. Also ischemia evoked an increase in serum IL-1β and IL-10, and morphological manifestations of pancreatitis were additionally enhanced by Hp infection. Conclusions: (1) Hp infection increases the severity of ischemia-induced pancreatitis; (2) Hp infection increases production of pro-inflammatory IL-1β, and (3) Hp infection aggravates disturbances in pancreatic microcirculation in acute pancreatitis.
Maternal and Neonatal Lead Exposure in Southern Italy

We evaluated the blood lead levels in 159 pregnant women and in their healthy newborns at birth. The blood lead levels were higher in mothers as compared with neonates, with a linear correlation between maternal and neonatal levels. The blood lead levels were also higher in neonates as compared with infants aged 6–12 months, and, besides, 2.5% of the newborns had blood lead levels >10 µg/dl, the actual level of concern according to the Center for Disease Control. The study of blood and urinary lead levels during the 1st week of life showed a steady decrease of blood lead levels, together with increasing levels of urinary lead. The mechanism of renal elimination is important to avoid persistently high free blood lead levels, with possible deposition in tissues with high lead affinity, such as bone. In newborns, the possibility of a functional renal insufficiency during the first days of life suggests that newborns with high cord blood lead levels and impaired renal function could be at high risk of lead toxicity, so that it could be advisable to perform a careful and prolonged follow-up.
Association of Obesity in Children with Pancreatitis in a Predominantly Hispanic Population at the US-Mexican Border: A Single Center Outpatient Study

Importance: The incidence of pancreatitis has been increasing over the last decade. Limited data are available for pancreatitis in the Hispanic population. The clinical profile of pancreatitis and its association with obesity in a Mexican American population has not been well studied. Objective: To describe prevalence, the characteristics of pancreatitis cases, and determine its association with obesity. Design and Setting: Retrospective review of children from February 2012 to February 2015, at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center of El Paso (TTUHSC-El Paso) outpatient center. Case/non-case study was used to determine the association of overweight and obesity with pancreatitis. Participants: Children ages 2 - 18 years, only the newly diagnosed pancreatitis cases irrespective of its type excluding patients with traumatic and repeat visit for pancreatitis. Main Outcome and Measures: Pancreatitis and obesity. Results: The prevalence of pancreatitis was estimated as 20 cases in 21,444 patients seen in the outpatient clinic. In multivariable analysis, only obesity and ethnicity were significantly associated with pancreatitis. Obesity was found to be more than 7-fold likely with pancreatitis as compared to non-cases. Overweight was found to be more than 6-fold likely with pancreatitis as compared with non-cases. Our study demonstrates an association between obesity and pancreatitis in the study population. Conclusions and Relevance: Appropriate intervention for managing obesity may reduce the prevalence of pancreatitis and associated co-morbidities. A larger prospective study should be done to determine underlying causes of association between obesity and pancreatitis.
Love of Variety and Immigration

Abstract This paper develops a political-economic analysis of immigration in a host country that operates in a direct democracy regime. It shows that, in a monopolistic competitive environment with differentiated capital intensive goods, labor liberalization is more likely to come about in the societies that have more taste for variety. Moreover, in a host country with a strong preference for variety, workers and capital owners may share the same positive stance toward labor liberalization. It follows that the latter is impossible in a perfect competitive environment. Finally, in a dynamic inter-temporal setting with strategic voters, it demonstrates that the median voter is willing to accept fewer immigrants in the first period, in order to preserve her domestic political influence in the next period because of the naturalization of immigrants. In this way, the median voter maximizes her gains from immigration by accepting more immigrants in total.
Association of Awareness, Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Factors, and Stage of Dietary Change with Fruit and Vegetable Consumption: A National Survey

Purpose. To examine associations of awareness, intrapersonal and interpersonal factors, and stage of change with consumption of fruits and vegetables. Design. Nationally representative, random digit dial survey conducted in 1997 with a response rate of 44.5%. Psychosocial correlates of fruit and vegetable consumption were assessed using regression analyses. Setting. United States. Subjects. A total of 2605 adults who were 18 years and older. Measures. Awareness of the “5 A Day for Better Health” program and its message, along with stage of change; taste preferences; self-efficacy; and perceived benefits, barriers, threats, social support, and norms related to fruit and vegetable consumption. Results. Awareness and intrapersonal and interpersonal factors explained 24% of the variance in fruit and vegetable consumption beyond the 9% explained by demographic characteristics. Knowledge of the 5 A Day message was associated with a 22% increase in fruit and vegetable consumption. Self-efficacy for eating fruits and vegetables and taste preferences (affect) were the factors most consistently and strongly associated with both higher consumption and higher likelihood of being in action or maintenance stages of change. Affect and perceived barriers were more strongly associated with increased vegetables and salad than fruit. Conclusions. Dietary intervention programs to increase fruit and vegetable consumption should emphasize the 5 A Day message, increased self-efficacy, and ways to make vegetables more palatable and easily accessible. Understanding the factors that influence dietary choices should be used when designing dietary interventions.
Mandatory Statewide Medicaid Managed Care in Florida and Hospitalizations for Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions

OBJECTIVE To investigate the impact of implementation of the Statewide Medicaid Managed Care (SMMC) program in Florida on access to and quality of primary care for Medicaid enrollees, measured by hospitalizations for ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSCs). DATA SOURCES We examine inpatient data obtained from the Agency for Health Care Administration for 285 hospitals in Florida from January 2010 to June 2015. The analysis includes 3,645,515 discharges for Florida residents between the ages 18 and 64 with a primary payer of Medicaid or private insurance. STUDY DESIGN We use a difference-in-differences approach, comparing the change in the incidence of ACSC-related inpatient visits among Medicaid patients before and after the implementation of SMMC, relative to the change among the privately insured. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS After implementation of SMMC, Medicaid patients experienced a 0.35 percentage point slower growth in overall ACSC-related inpatient visits, and a 0.21 percentage point slower growth in chronic ACSC-related inpatient visits. The effects were significant in counties with above median Medicaid managed care penetration rates. CONCLUSIONS Implementing mandatory managed care in Medicaid in Florida leads to slower growth in inpatient visits for conditions that can potentially be prevented with improved access to outpatient care.
E-Cigarette Aerosol Exposure Induces Reactive Oxygen Species, DNA Damage, and Cell Death in Vascular Endothelial Cells.

Cigarette smoking remains one of the leading causes of preventable death worldwide. Vascular cell death and dysfunction is a central or exacerbating component in the majority of cigarette smoking related pathologies. The recent development of the electronic nicotine delivery systems known as e-cigarettes provides an alternative to conventional cigarette smoking; however, the potential vascular health risks of e-cigarette use remain unclear. This study evaluates the effects of e-cigarette aerosol extract (EAE) and conventional cigarette smoke extract (CSE) on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). A laboratory apparatus was designed to produce extracts from e-cigarettes and conventional cigarettes according to established protocols for cigarette smoking. EAE or conventional CSE was applied to human vascular endothelial cells for 4-72 h, dependent on the assay. Treated cells were assayed for reactive oxygen species, DNA damage, cell viability, and markers of programmed cell death pathways. Additionally, the anti-oxidants α-tocopherol and n-acetyl-l-cysteine were used to attempt to rescue e-cigarette induced cell death. Our results indicate that e-cigarette aerosol is capable of inducing reactive oxygen species, causing DNA damage, and significantly reducing cell viability in a concentration dependent fashion. Immunofluorescent and flow cytometry analysis indicate that both the apoptosis and programmed necrosis pathways are triggered by e-cigarette aerosol treatment. Additionally, anti-oxidant treatment provides a partial rescue of the induced cell death, indicating that reactive oxygen species play a causal role in e-cigarette induced cytotoxicity.
An effective and potentially safe blood disinfection protocol using tetrapyrrolic photosensitizers.

AIM Conventional disinfection techniques, considered safe for plasma, are usually associated with collateral damages on concentrated platelets and erythrocytes. Alternative methods are required and antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) seems promising. In this study the effectiveness of two photosensitizers (PS), a porphyrin and a phthalocyanine, to disinfect blood products was evaluated. RESULTS The cationic porphyrin was more effective in the photoinactivation of bacteria. Also, no significant osmotic stress was found for samples treated with PS at 5.0 µM in isotonic conditions after antimicrobial photodynamic therapy. CONCLUSION Effective reduction of Gram-positive bacteria at 5.0 µM of PS provided promising indications toward its safe use to disinfect blood samples. For Gram-negative bacteria, lower PS concentrations, between 5.0 and 10 µM, must be tested.
A PWM LLC Type Resonant Converter Adapted to Wide Output Range in PEV Charging Applications

In conventional LLC-based plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) onboard chargers, the battery pack voltage varies in a wide range with the change of state of charge. This makes it difficult to optimally design the pulse frequency modulated LLC resonant converter. Besides, the voltage regulation of the LLC converter is highly dependent on the load conditions. In this paper, a modified pulse width modulated (PWM) LLC type resonant topology (PWM-LLC) is proposed and investigated in PEV charging applications. The switching frequency of the primary LLC network is constant and equal to the resonant frequency. The voltage regulation is achieved by modulating the duty cycle of the secondary side auxiliary mosfet. Compared with the conventional LLC topology, the proposed topology shrinks the magnetic component size and achieves a wide and fixed voltage gain range independent of load conditions. Meanwhile, zero-voltage-switching and zero-current-switching are realized among all MOSFETs and diodes, respectively. A 100-kHz, 1-kW converter prototype, generating 250–420 V output from the 390-V dc link, is designed and tested to verify the proof of concept. The prototype demonstrates 96.7% peak efficiency and robust performance over wide voltage and load ranges.
Review article: dose optimisation of infliximab for acute severe ulcerative colitis

Although optimal medical management of acute severe ulcerative colitis (UC) is ill‐defined, infliximab has become a standard of care. Accumulating evidence suggests an increased rate of infliximab clearance in patients with acute severe UC and a reduced colectomy rate with an intensified infliximab induction regimen.
Changes in Cartilage Biomarker Levels During a Transcontinental Multistage Footrace Over 4486 km

Background: Cartilage turnover and load-induced tissue changes are frequently assessed by quantifying concentrations of cartilage biomarkers in serum. To date, information on the effects of ultramarathon running on articular cartilage is scarce. Hypothesis: Serum concentrations of cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP), matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)–1, MMP-3, MMP-9, COL2-3/4C long mono (C2C), procollagen type II C-terminal propeptide (CPII), and C2C:CPII will increase throughout a multistage ultramarathon. Study Design: Descriptive laboratory study. Methods: Blood samples were collected from 36 runners (4 female; mean age, 49.0 ± 10.7 years; mean body mass index, 23.1 ± 2.3 kg/m2 [start] and 21.4 ± 1.9 kg/m2 [finish]) before (t0) and during (t1: 1002 km; t2: 2132 km; t3: 3234 km; t4: 4039 km) a 4486-km multistage ultramarathon. Serum COMP, MMP-1, MMP-3, MMP-9, C2C, and CPII levels were assessed using commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Linear mixed models were used to detect significant changes in serum biomarker levels over time with the time-varying covariates of body weight, running speed, and daily running time. Results: Serum concentrations of COMP, MMP-9, and MMP-3 changed significantly throughout the multistage ultramarathon. On average, concentrations increased during the first measurement interval (MI1: t1-t0) by 22.5% for COMP (95% CI, 0.29-0.71 ng/mL), 22.3% for MMP-3 (95% CI, 0.24-15.37 ng/mL), and 95.6% for MMP-9 (95% CI, 81.7-414.5 ng/mL) and remained stable throughout MI2, MI3, and MI4. Serum concentrations of MMP-1, C2C, CPII, and C2C:CPII did not change significantly throughout the multistage ultramarathon. Changes in MMP-3 were statistically associated with changes in COMP throughout the ultramarathon race (MMP-3: Wald Z = 3.476, P = .001). Conclusion: Elevated COMP levels indicate increased COMP turnover in response to extreme running, and the association between load-induced changes in MMP-3 and changes in COMP suggests the possibility that MMP-3 may be involved in the degradation of COMP. Clinical Relevance: These results suggest that articular cartilage is able to adapt even to extreme physical activity, possibly explaining why the risk of degenerative joint disease is not elevated in the running population.
A Survey of Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access for 5G

Compared to the traditional orthogonal multiple access (MA), non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) technology can achieve higher capacity gain and higher spectrum efficiency, support larger massive connectivity. In this article, according to signal transmission characteristic, the NOMA schemes are classified into four categories: scrambling based NOMA, interleaving based NOMA, spreading based NOMA and coding based NOMA. Furthermore, the process and characteristics of different schemes are summarized. The performance of the NOMA schemes is evaluated. According to the evaluation results, the scheme with superior performance is given. By analyzing and comparing features of these technologies, a research guiding is given for future 5G multiple access.
How infants perceive the toy robot Pleo. An exploratory case study on infant-robot-interaction

In order to develop robot systems that can interact with untrained, naive human users, it is important to understand how people - from different age groups - perceive a given robot system and which features might be relevant for this. While existing studies generally use questionnaires/interviews and/or coding schemes rendering either abstract categories or single features of individual behaviour towards a robot, we suggest to use a different methodological approach: to use the concepts and methodological tools from Ethnomethodological Conversation Analysis (EM/CA). Investigating video data from a study in which users - here: infants 3 to 8 years old - play with the toy robot Pleo, we show that and how (1) a user's perception, categorization and re-interpretation of a robot system emerges step by step during and from the interaction with the system, and (2) how the user's attempts to establish coordinated 'sequences of action' play a central role in this. The results of our initial exploratory case analysis are discussed in the light of studies which suggest that, in infants, robotic pets seem to blur foundational ontological categories, such as animate vs. inanimate. 12
Assembly of highly repetitive genomes using short reads: the genome of discrete typing unit III Trypanosoma cruzi strain 231

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) methods are low-cost high-throughput technologies that produce thousands to millions of sequence reads. Despite the high number of raw sequence reads, their short length, relative to Sanger, PacBio or Nanopore reads, complicates the assembly of genomic repeats. Many genome tools are available, but the assembly of highly repetitive genome sequences using only NGS short reads remains challenging. Genome assembly of organisms responsible for important neglected diseases such as Trypanosoma cruzi, the aetiological agent of Chagas disease, is known to be challenging because of their repetitive nature. Only three of six recognized discrete typing units (DTUs) of the parasite have their draft genomes published and therefore genome evolution analyses in the taxon are limited. In this study, we developed a computational workflow to assemble highly repetitive genomes via a combination of de novo and reference-based assembly strategies to better overcome the intrinsic limitations of each, based on Illumina reads. The highly repetitive genome of the human-infecting parasite T. cruzi 231 strain was used as a test subject. The combined-assembly approach shown in this study benefits from the reference-based assembly ability to resolve highly repetitive sequences and from the de novo capacity to assemble genome-specific regions, improving the quality of the assembly. The acceptable confidence obtained by analyzing our results showed that our combined approach is an attractive option to assemble highly repetitive genomes with NGS short reads. Phylogenomic analysis including the 231 strain, the first representative of DTU III whose genome was sequenced, was also performed and provides new insights into T. cruzi genome evolution.
Evolution of the Cerebellum in Primates: Differences in Relative Volume among Monkeys, Apes and Humans

According to the ‘developmental constraint hypothesis’ of comparative mammalian neuroanatomy, brain structures enlarge predictably as the entire brain grows both ontogenetically and phylogenetically. In this study, brain and cerebellum volumes are measured from in vivo magnetic resonance scans of 44 primates from 11 haplorhine species. After controlling for overall brain volume, the cerebellum in both pongid and hylobatid apes is, on average, 45% larger than in monkeys. These results demonstrate that all primate brains are not similarly organized and that developmental constraints are not tight enough to preclude selection for increased cerebellar volume independent of selection on overall brain size.
Parents’ Perceptions of Their Children as Overweight and Children’s Weight Concerns and Weight Gain

The global prevalence of childhood obesity is alarmingly high. Parents’ identification of their children as overweight is thought to be an important prerequisite to tackling childhood obesity, but recent findings suggest that such parental identification is counterintuitively associated with increased weight gain during childhood. One possibility is that parental identification of their child as being overweight results in that child viewing his or her body size negatively and attempting to lose weight, which eventually results in weight gain. We used data from two longitudinal cohort studies to examine the relation between children’s weight gain and their parents’ identification of them as being overweight. Across both studies, children whose parents perceive them to be overweight are more likely to view their body size negatively and are more likely than their peers to be actively trying to lose weight. These child-reported outcomes explained part of the counterintuitive association between parents’ perceptions of their children as being overweight and the children’s subsequent weight. We propose that the stigma attached to being recognized and labeled as “overweight” may partly explain these findings.
Changes in serum chitinase 3‐like 1 levels correlate with changes in liver fibrosis measured by two established quantitative methods in chronic hepatitis B patients following antiviral therapy

Non‐invasive assessment of changes in liver fibrosis is still an unmet medical need in the era of antiviral therapy. Therefore, we explore whether chitinase 3‐like 1 (CHI3L1), a serum marker of liver fibrosis, can be used as a non‐invasive surrogate marker of fibrosis change during treatment.