Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Physical and genetic map of the chromosome of Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis IL1403

A combined physical and genetic map of the chromosome of Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis IL1403 was determined. We constructed a restriction map for the NotI, ApaI, and SmaI enzymes. The order of the restriction fragments was determined by using the randomly integrative plasmid pRL1 and by performing indirect end-labeling experiments. The strain IL1403 chromosome was found to be circular and 2,420 kb in size. A total of 24 chromosomal markers were mapped on the chromosome by performing hybridization experiments with gene probes for L. lactis and various other bacteria. Integration of pRC1-derived plasmids via homologous recombination allowed more precise location of some lactococcal genes and allowed us to determine the orientation of these genes on the chromosome. Recurrent sequences, such as insertion elements and rRNA gene (rrn) clusters, were also mapped. At least seven copies of IS1076 were present and were located on 50% of the chromosome. In contrast, no copy of ISS1RS was detected. Six ribosomal operons were found on the strain IL1403 chromosome; five were located on 16% of the chromosome and were transcribed in the same direction. A comparison of the physical maps of L. lactis subsp. lactis IL1403 and DL11 showed that these two strains are closely related and that the variable regions are located mainly near the rrn gene clusters. In contrast, despite major restriction pattern dissimilarities between L. lactis IL1403 and MG1363, the overall genetic organization of the genome seems to be conserved between these two strains.
Continuous infusion versus bolus injection of loop diuretics in congestive heart failure.

BACKGROUND Loop diuretics, when given as intermittent bolus injections in acutely decompensated heart failure, may cause fluctuations in intravascular volume, increased toxicity and development of tolerance. Continuous infusion has been proposed to avoid these complications and result in greater diuresis, hopefully leading to faster symptom resolution, decrease in morbidity and possibly, mortality. OBJECTIVES To compare the effects and adverse effects of continuous intravenous infusion of loop diuretics with those of bolus intravenous administration among patients with congestive heart failure Class III-IV. SEARCH STRATEGY We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (The Cochrane Library Issue 2, 2003), MEDLINE (1966 to 2003), EMBASE (1980 to 2003) and the HERDIN database. We also contacted pharmaceutical companies . SELECTION CRITERIA Randomized controlled trials comparing the efficacy of continuous intravenous infusion versus bolus intravenous administration of loop diuretics in congestive heart failure were included DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS Two reviewers independently assessed study eligibility, methodological quality and did data extraction. Included studies were assessed for validity. Authors were contacted when feasible. Adverse effects information was collected from the trials. MAIN RESULTS Eight trials involving 254 patients were included. In seven studies which reported on urine output, the output (as measured in cc/24 hours) was noted to be greater in patients given continuous infusion with a weighted mean difference (WMD) of 271 cc/24 hour (95%CI 93.1 to 449; p<0.01). Electrolyte disturbances (hypokalemia, hypomagnesemia) were not significantly different in the two treatment groups with a relative risk (RR) of 1.47 (95%CI 0.52 to 4.15; p=0.5). Less adverse effects (tinnitus and hearing loss) were noted when continuous infusion was given, RR 0.06 (95%CI 0.01 to 0.44; p=0.005). Based on a single study, the duration of hospital stay was significantly shortened by 3.1days with continuous infusion WMD -3.1 (95%CI -4.06 to -2.20; p<0.0001) while cardiac mortality was significantly different in the two treatment groups, RR 0.47 (95% CI 0.33 to 0.69; p<0.0001). Based on two studies, all cause mortality was significantly different in the two treatment groups, RR 0.52 (95%CI 0.38 to 0.71; p<0.0001). AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS Currently available data are insufficient to confidently assess the merits of the two methods of giving intravenous diuretics. Based on small and relatively heterogenous studies, this review showed greater diuresis and a better safety profile when loop diuretics were given as continuous infusion. The existing data still does not allow definitive recommendations for clinical practice and larger studies should be done to more adequately settle this issue.
Spatial Orienting Controlled without Awareness: A Semantically Based Implicit Learning Effect

Three experiments tested whether spatial attention can be influenced by a predictive relation between incidental information and the location of target events. Subjects performed a simple dot detection task; 600 msec prior to each target a word was presented briefly 5° to the left or right of fixation. There was a predictive relationship between the semantic category (living or non-living) of the words and target location. However, subjects were instructed to ignore the words, and a post-experiment questionnaire confirmed that they remained unaware of the word-target relationship. In all three experiments, given some practice on the task, response times were faster when targets appeared at likely (p = 0.8), compared to unlikely (p = 0.2) locations, in relation to lateral word category. Experiments 2 and 3 confirmed that this effect was driven by semantic encoding of the irrelevant words, and not by repetition of individual stimuli. Theoretical implications of this finding are discussed.
The effects of yoga on stress and psychological health among employees: an 8- and 16-week intervention study

ABSTRACT Background: The stresses of modern work life necessitate effective coping strategies that are accessible and affordable to the general public. Yoga has been found to reduce stress in clinical samples, but studies are needed to examine standard gym yoga classes among functional individuals. Objectives: This study investigated the effects of 8- and 16-week gym yoga on stress and psychological health. Design and Method: Ninety individuals reporting moderate-to-high stress were randomly assigned to 16 consecutive weeks of yoga, or to a waitlist crossover group who did not practice yoga for 8 weeks then practiced yoga for 8 weeks. Stress and psychological health variables were assessed at baseline, 8 weeks, and 16 weeks. Results: Significant reductions in stress and all psychological health measures were found within the Yoga group over 16 weeks. When compared to the control group, yoga practitioners showed significant decreases in stress, anxiety, and general psychological health, and significant increases in well-being. The group who did not practice yoga showed significant decreases in stress, anxiety, depression, and insomnia after they crossed over and practiced yoga for 8 weeks. Conclusions: Gym yoga appears to be effective for stress amelioration and promotion of psychological health among workers experiencing stress.
Random Matrix Theory and Wireless Communications

Random matrix theory has found many applications in physics, statistics and engineering since its inception. Although early developments were motivated by practical experimental problems, random matrices are now used in fields as diverse as Riemann hypothesis, stochastic differential equations, condensed matter physics, statistical physics, chaotic systems, numerical linear algebra, neural networks, multivariate statistics, information theory, signal processing and small-world networks. This article provides a tutorial on random matrices which provides an overview of the theory and brings together in one source the most significant results recently obtained. Furthermore, the application of random matrix theory to the fundamental limits of wireless communication channels is described in depth.
Pretransplantation tumor necrosis factor‐α production predicts acute rejection after liver transplantation

Immunosuppressive therapy has many adverse effects in both the short and longer term. Tailoring immunosuppression might be possible if pretransplantation parameters predicted rejection. We investigated production of the proinflammatory cytokine, tumor necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α), and the anti‐inflammatory cytokine, interleukin‐10 (IL‐10), pretransplantation to determine whether there is a relation with acute rejection. Peripheral‐blood mononuclear cells were obtained from patients with chronic liver disease on the waiting list for orthotopic liver transplantation and healthy controls. Cells (0.5 × 106) were stimulated with 200 ng of lipopolysaccharide. Preincubation for 30 minutes with tacrolimus, cyclosporine, and dexamethasone at concentrations of 10 and 100 ng was also performed. TNF‐α and IL‐10 levels were measured by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay. Acute rejection was defined on clinical and histological grounds. Pretransplantation in vitro production of TNF‐α significantly (P < .05) increased in the group of patients with acute rejection (n = 9) compared with those who did not develop rejection (n = 12). Preincubation with dexamethasone significantly (P < .001) reduced TNF‐α and IL‐10 production in both patients and controls (n = 8). IL‐10 production pretransplantation was not different in those who developed acute rejection (n = 9) compared with those who did not (n = 9). Preincubation with tacrolimus augmented (P < .05) the production of IL‐10 in patients (n = 18), but not controls (n = 6). Pretransplantation TNF‐α production is increased in patients who go on to develop acute rejection posttransplantion.
Intra-Aortic Procaine Injection in Aortography

* From the Department of Surgery, Division of Urology, The University of California, School of Medicine, and the Urological Service, Wadsworth Hospital, Veterans Administration Center, Los Angeles. Aortography is an accepted diagnostic procedure (1). Usually general anesthesia has been employed (2a, b) ; however, recently the use of procaine infiltration anesthesia has been advocated because of its simple and effective administration (3a, b, c). In our experience with both the translumbar method (2a) and the percutaneous femoral method (3a), local procaine anesthesia after heavy sedation has been easily administered and satisfactory to both the patient and the surgeon. Commonly, following rapid intra-aortic injection of an organic iodide contrast medium the patient experiences brief cramping pain in the abdomen or extremities. Presumably this is due to transient arterial spasm caused by the irritating effect of the contrast medium. It is possible to alleviate this symptom safely and in many cases to eliminate it by the use of procaine injected into the aortic stream just before the rapid injection of contrast media for aortography. We have employed 3 to 6 cc of 1 per cent procaine solution injected through the aortography needle or tubing immediately before aortography. This technique has been used in approximately 25 patients with no ill effects. Under these conditions there has usually been almost complete prevention of transient cramping pain subsequent to injection. The patients have noted a brief wave of warmth and breathlessness as the iodide
Epilepsy in children with shunted hydrocephalus.

OBJECT The incidence of epilepsy among children with hydrocephalus and its relation to shunts and their complications, raised intracranial pressure (ICP), and developmental outcome are explored in a retrospective study. METHODS The authors studied a series of 802 children with hydrocephalus due to varying causes, who were treated by ventriculoperitoneal shunt placement between 1980 and 1990, with a mean follow-up period of 8 years. Patients who had tumoral hydrocephalus and those whose files lacked significant data were excluded. Data extracted from medical records, including history of the hydrocephalus and history of seizures, if any, were analyzed. Thirty-two percent of the children had epilepsy, the onset of which frequently occurred at approximately the same time that the diagnosis of hydrocephalus was made. The majority of the affected children had severe uncontrolled epilepsy. The incidence of epilepsy was significantly affected by the original cause of the hydrocephalus. The presence of radiological abnormalities was also found to be a significant predictor of epilepsy. Similarly, shunt complications predisposed to epilepsy. Episodes of raised ICP related to hydrocephalus or in association with shunt malfunction may also predispose to epileptic seizures. Furthermore, the presence of a shunt by itself seems able to promote an epileptogenic focus. Finally, epilepsy appears to be an important predictor of poor intellectual outcome in hydrocephalic children with shunts. CONCLUSIONS A prospective study is needed to identify clearly and confirm avoidable factors predisposing to seizures in these children so that we can strive to reduce the incidence of these seizures and, subsequently, improve these children's quality of life.
[Relationship between placenta previa and maternal age, parity and prior caesarean deliveries].

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence of placenta previa and to asses the relationship between the incidence of placenta previa and maternal age, parity, prior abortion and cesarean deliveries. MATERIALS AND METHODS The records of all patients with the diagnosis of placenta previa during the period between 1992 and 2002 at Hospital in Chojnice were reviewed. To determine the relationship between the incidence of placenta previa and maternal age, parity, prior abortion and cesarean deliveries the statistical analyses were carried out. The level of significance was set at 0.05. RESULTS From a total 11,091 deliveries 24 (0.2%) women had placenta previa. The occurrence of placenta previa increased with maternal age and was the highest in women aged 35 or older--0.8% of all deliveries and the lowest in women aged <25 years--0.07%. The incidence of placenta previa in women with previous deliveries was significantly higher compared to the group of primiparas and increased as the number of prior deliveries increased. The association between previous abortion and cesarean section and placenta previa was not confirmed. CONCLUSION Advancing maternal age and multiparity appears to increase the occurrence of placenta previa. In this study the relationship between previous abortion and cesarean section was not confirmed.
Tobacco, alcohol and drug use in eight- to sixteen-year-old twins: the Virginia Twin Study of Adolescent Behavioral Development.

OBJECTIVE This study reports prevalences of lifetime and current alcohol, tobacco and drug use in adolescents; examines associations between substance use and a number of putative risk factors; and estimates the contribution of genetic, shared and unique environmental influences on substance use. METHOD Substance use data were collected using the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Assessment on a population sample of 1,412 male and female monozygotic and dizygotic twin pairs, aged 8 through 16, from the Virginia Twin Study of Adolescent Behavioral Development. RESULTS Heritabilities were estimated to be 84% and 82% for liability to lifetime and current tobacco use, respectively. For alcohol use the role of genes and environment varied according to the context of reporting. Liability to lifetime alcohol use was estimated to be under environmental control, with 71% of the variation shared by members of a twin pair and 29% unique to individual twins. Lifetime alcohol use without the permission of a parent or guardian and current use of alcohol were predominantly explained by genetic factors (h2 = 72% and 74%). The role of genetic factors increased and that of unique environmental factors decreased with increasing severity of alcohol use. Lifetime use of any drug showed a heritability of 45%, with the shared environment accounting for 47% of the variation. Shared environmental factors explained most of the variation in marijuana use. CONCLUSIONS Genetic factors explained a significant proportion of the variation in the use of tobacco, alcohol and other drugs. Shared environmental factors contributed significantly to lifetime alcohol use and other drug use.
Steroid hormone receptor gene polymorphisms and osteoporosis: a pharmacogenomic review

Osteoporosis is a common skeletal disorder with a strong genetic component. In recent years, significant progress has been made in understanding the genetic basis of osteoporosis. Given the biological significance of signalling through steroid hormone receptors, bone biology and calcium homeostasis, alleles of steroid hormone receptor genes have been postulated to contribute to the well-documented genetic predisposition to osteoporosis; and in different studies, these alleles have been associated with variation in bone mass and fracture risk. Even though results are still conflicting and the molecular mechanisms by which these polymorphisms influence receptor activity remain, in part, to be investigated, an additional important issue is represented by potential pharmacogenomic (the investigation of variations of DNA or RNA characteristics as related to drug response) or pharmacogenetic (the influence of variations of DNA sequence on drug response) implications. In fact, steroid hormone receptors actually mediate the action of several compounds known to positively or negatively affect bone homeostasis, such as vitamin D, estrogen and glucocorticoids. This review analyses major pharmacogenetic studies of polymorphisms in steroid hormone receptor genes.
Abnormal Spinal Anatomy in 27 Cases of Surgically Corrected Spondyloptosis: Proximal Sacral Endplate Damage as a Possible Cause of Spondyloptosis

Study Design. Retrospective review. Objectives. To review the findings in the cases of spondyloptosis we have treated and to postulate on the possible cause of spondyloptosis. Summary of Background Data. Spondyloptosis (Grade V spondylolisthesis) is rare, even though spondylolisthesis is a relatively common condition. While it is known that progression to spondyloptosis occurs in patients with developmental spondylolisthesis in their childhood and/or adolescent years, the precise factors leading to progression are not known. Methods. Between 1979 and 2002, 27 patients with spondyloptosis were treated surgically with L5 resection and reduction of L4 onto S1. During the treatment process, detailed observations of the surgical findings were made through clinical and radiologic means. Six anatomic parameters (pars interarticularis defects, spina bifida of the L5 or sacral segments, dysplasia of the L5–S1 facet joints, L5–S1 disc degeneration, trapezoidal shape of L5, and rounding of the proximal end of the sacrum) were specifically studied. Results. Pars interarticularis defects were present in 24 patients (88.9%), facet dysplasia in 16 patients (59.2%), spina bifida in 24 patients (88.9%), disc degeneration in 25 (92.6%), trapezoidal L5 in 20 patients (74.1%), and rounding of the proximal end of S1 in all 27 patients (100%). Conclusions. Rounding of the proximal sacral endplate was the only constant abnormal anatomic feature in the patients. Damage to the proximal sacrum and sacral growth plate during late childhood and early adolescence, similar to the epiphyseal injury that produces Blount’s disease, and slipped capital femoral epiphysis seem to be key factors permitting the progression of developmental spondylolisthesis to spondyloptosis.
Pharmacotherapies and Nonpharmacotherapies for Orbital Inflammatory Diseases

Orbital inflammatory disease encompasses a wide spectrum of disorders often encountered by the ophthalmologist. Along this spectrum lies intraocular diseases such as uveitis, periocular conditions such as orbital vasculitis or optic neuritis, and primarily orbital disorders such as idiopathic orbital inflammation (orbital pseudotumor) and thyroid-associated orbitopathy (TAO). Both ophthalmologists and orbital surgeons must make treatment decisions for patients afflicted with orbital pseudotumor and TAO, but this is often difficult given the vast and sometimes conflicting data regarding treatment options. We therefore have attempted to assemble and interpret some of the available literature on pharmacotherapy and nonpharmacotherapy for orbital pseudotumor and TAO and have tried to simplify the mechanisms of action of these modalities. Our motivation for compiling this review of therapies for orbital inflammatory disease stems from a recent publication from our department that emphasizes an unacceptably high percentage of patients (37%) with orbital pseudotumor still fail the current standards of treatment. It seems obvious that we must broaden our repertoire of therapies if we hope to benefit this large group of patients. As research in immunology continues to expand, we as orbital specialists and ophthalmologists may borrow insight from rheumatology, oncology, and transplant science and apply immunomodulatory treatments to orbital inflammatory disease. This review includes information on the most commonly used treatment modalities, including corticosteroids, immunosuppressive agents, radiotherapy, and experimental drugs (see Table 1 for a summary comparison table of treatment modalities and their efficacy in orbital pseudomotor and TAO). It is our hope that this will help elucidate treatment options, facilitate therapy, and prompt further investigation into this field.
Lipopolysaccharide: a tool and target in enterobacterial vaccine development

Abstract Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is an essential component of Gram-negative bacteria. While mutants exhibiting truncated LPS molecules are usually over-attenuated, alternative approaches that affect the extent or timing of LPS expression, as well as its modification may establish the optimal balance for a live vaccine strain of sufficient attenuation and retained immunogenicity. On the other hand, a specific immune response to LPS molecules in itself is capable of conferring protective immunity to certain enterobacterial pathogens. Therefore, purified LPS derivatives could be used as parenteral vaccines. This review summarizes various LPS-based vaccination strategies, as well as approaches that utilize LPS mutants as whole-cell vaccines.