Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prevalence and Causes of Proteinuria in Kidney Transplant Recipients: Data from a Single Center

Abstract Introduction. Proteinuria after renal transplantation increases the risk of graft failure and mortality. The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence and causes of proteinuria in kidney transplant recipients. Methods. All kidney transplant recipients followed up in our clinic were included in the study. As a center protocol 24-hour urine collections were used to quantify protein excretion with 3-month intervals posttransplantation during the first year, and yearly thereafter. The etiology of chronic kidney disease and demographic characteristics of the study group were obtained from outpatient records. Data regarding the immunosuppressive regimens used, 24-hour proteinuria levels and creatinine clearences, new-onset hypertension, new-onset diabetes mellitus, rejection episodes, infections like cytomegalovirus (CMV) and polyoma (BK), and biopsy findings were noted. Results. A total of 260 kidney transplant recipients (97 females, mean age 42.3±12.3 years) were evaluated. Median follow-up period was 36 months; 137 of all transplantations were from living donors. Mean age of donors was 42.7±15 years and 133 were female. Proteinuria with protein excretion ≥300 mg/d was present in 35.4% of patients. The most common cause of biopsy-proven proteinuria was transplant-specific conditions (acute rejection, and borderline changes). Conclusion. The prevalence of proteinuria was 35.4%. The transplant-specific diagnoses were the most likely causes. Even in nonnephrotic ranges it was associated with decreased graft survival.
Effects of the Escherichia coli DNA‐binding protein H‐NS on rRNA synthesis in vivo

The Escherichia coli DNA‐binding protein H‐NS is known to interact specifically with the upstream region of ribosomal RNA transcription units, where it causes transcriptional repression in vitro. Here, we present results demonstrating the effect of H‐NS on rRNA transcription in vivo. rRNA synthesis rates were compared in cells that differ in the expression of functional H‐NS or FIS molecules. We could show that in the absence of H‐NS derepression of rRNA synthesis occurs at low growth rates. During the cell cycle H‐NS is responsible for the rapid shut‐off of rRNA synthesis at the end of the exponential phase. As it is known for FIS‐dependent activation, the inhibitory function of H‐NS is specific for P1, the first of the tandem rRNA promoters. The effect of H‐NS on rRNA synthesis was further assessed under stress conditions. While under osmotic upshift the reduction in rRNA synthesis is clearly H‐NS‐dependent, no such influence could be detected at cold shock. Determination of the cellular ppGpp concentrations revealed that H‐NS does not mediate its function via alterations in the synthesis of the global effector ppGpp.
Differences in the composition of total and whey proteins in goat and ewe milk and their changes throughout the lactation period

This study was conducted to evaluate changes in composition of whey proteins of Czech White Short-haired goat and East Friesian ewe milk and their comparison throughout lactation. Some differences in composition between ewe and goat milk were found. The results showed that the mean total protein (%), whey protein (g/100 g), and β-lactoglobulin (β-Lg, g/100 g) contents of goat milk were 2.75, 0.433, and 0.119 respectively and of ewe milk 6.36, 1.11, and 0.732 respectively. The contents of total protein as well as acid whey proteins in goat milk were nearly constant throughout the lactation period and fluctuated around the mean value while the contents of total protein as well as acid whey proteins in ovine milk were dependent on the period of lactation. The total protein content in ovine milk continuously increased during the lactation period. A higher content of ovine acid whey proteins was noticed at the beginning and in the final period of lactation. The average ratio of whey to total protein was 15.8 ± 2.61% in goat milk and 17.4 ± 2.68% in ewe milk and ranged from 13.0 to 20.4% in goat and from 14.0 to 20.8% in ewe milk . The total contents of two major whey proteins. α-lactalbumin and β-lactoglobulin (α-La + β-Lg = AG), averaged 87% of total whey protein, 92% in ovine milk. The main component of acid whey proteins in goat milk was α-La while in ovine milk the main component of acid whey proteins was β-Lg, however, at the end of the lactation period the content of β-Lg for both kinds of milk increased steeply, and the β-Lg/α-La ratio reached a maximum value of 1.94 in goat milk and of 9.74 in ewe milk. In addition, goat milk contains a similar amino acid profile to ewe milk but the amino acid pattern in whey proteins differs from that in milk. Total essential amino acids were approximately 40% of the total amino acids in goat and ewe milk as well as in goat and ewe whey.
[Potassium channel openers antagonize 4-aminopyridine induced histamine release from rat peritoneal mast cells].

4-Aminopyridine (4-AP) was shown to promote histamine release from isolated rat peritoneal mast cells (PMC) in a dose-dependent manner. Potassium channel openers, minoxidil (Min) 200 mg.kg-1 ig, diazoxide (Dia) 500 mumol.L-1 in vitro and calcium antagonist nifedipine (Nif) 125 mg.kg-1 ig were found to inhibit 4-AP induced histamine release from rat PMC. Electron microscopy revealed that 4-AP caused partial degranulation of PMC and extrusion of granules and Min 200 mg.kg-1 ig retarded this phenomenon. These results provide evidence that potassium channels are present in rat mast cell membrane and indicate that the mechanism of histamine release by 4-AP may be related to its potassium channel blocking effect. As a result of this effect, the calcium channels open and Ca2+ influx to the mast cells increases, thus eliciting histamine release. Potassium channel openers seemed to be a new group of inhibitors of histamine release from mast cells.
Good long‐term results in patients surviving severe acute pancreatitis

Thirty‐seven patients treated for severe acute pancreatitis were investigated a mean of 6·2 years after the attack; 30 were found to be in good condition and 24 were working normally. Two‐thirds of previously heavy drinkers had either reduced their intake considerably or become abstainers. The main complication observed on follow‐up was diabetes mellitus, which affected 20 patients and required insulin treatment in nine. Of the remaining patients, four were taking oral antidiabetic agents and seven were on a strict diabetic diet. Before severe acute pancreatitis none had been diabetic. All patients who underwent resection of the pancreas developed diabetes. In 21 of 24 patients with overt or imminent diabetes, pancreatitis had been primarily alcoholic in origin. Polyneuropathy, as diagnosed by clinical signs and/or neurophysiological tests, was observed in six patients, all of them heavy drinkers. It is concluded that patients with severe acute pancreatitis have a high chance of returning to normal activity and productive work. These results serve to encourage all those involved to persist with the exacting work involved in treating such patients.
Physicians’ Perceptions of Managed Care: A Review of the Literature

In this article, the authors review the health services research literature regarding physician attitudes and opinions relating to managed care and how managed care has affected their clinical practice. This literature suggests that physician perceptions of managed care are largely related to the nature of their ties to managed care plans and to their selection of practice setting. There are substantial limitations in study designs and execution, suggesting that many of the published findings should be viewed with caution; the research basis regarding physicians’ perceptions of managed care is not as strong as the number of articles published on this subject would suggest. The review concludes with suggestions for the conduct of future research on this topic.
Large-Scale Low-Rank Matrix Learning with Nonconvex Regularizers

Low-rank modeling has many important applications in computer vision and machine learning. While the matrix rank is often approximated by the convex nuclear norm, the use of nonconvex low-rank regularizers has demonstrated better empirical performance. However, the resulting optimization problem is much more challenging. Recent state-of-the-art requires an expensive full SVD in each iteration. In this paper, we show that for many commonly-used nonconvex low-rank regularizers, the singular values obtained from the proximal operator can be automatically threshold. This allows the proximal operator to be efficiently approximated by the power method. We then develop a fast proximal algorithm and its accelerated variant with inexact proximal step. It can be guaranteed that the squared distance between consecutive iterates converges at a rate of $O(1/T)$O(1/T), where $T$T is the number of iterations. Furthermore, we show the proposed algorithm can be parallelized, and the resultant algorithm achieves nearly linear speedup w.r. t. the number of threads. Extensive experiments are performed on matrix completion and robust principal component analysis. Significant speedup over the state-of-the-art is observed.
Aminoglycoside binding sites in the inner ears of guinea pigs

With [125I]gentamicin as radioligand, the presence of aminoglycoside binding sites and kinetics of gentamicin binding to homogenates of organs of Corti, vestibular maculae, livers, spleens, and hearts of guinea pigs were investigated. The effects of temperature, osmolarity, 2,4-dinitrophenol, and digitonin on gentamicin binding were assessed. The affinities of several aminoglycosides for binding sites were tested. Gentamicin bound to cochlear and vestibular structures in a rapid and saturable fashion at a single class of noninteracting binding sites with Kds of 1.2. 10(-6) and 3.10(-7) M and maximal binding capacities of 1.3 nmol and 43 pmol/mg of protein, respectively. In the liver, spleen, and heart, binding remained low and appeared to be nonspecific. In the organ of Corti, gentamicin uptake was unaffected by alterations in temperature or medium osmolarity or by 2,4-dinitrophenol, indicating that the uptake represented binding and not active transport. Digitonin at 10 nM increased markedly the uptake at 37 and 4 degrees C, suggesting the presence of internal binding sites. Various aminoglycosides compete for a common binding site.
Effect of sympathetic reinnervation on cardiac performance after heart transplantation.

BACKGROUND Late after cardiac transplantation, limited reinnervation of the transplanted heart may occur, but little is known about the effect of reinnervation on cardiac function and exercise performance. METHODS We quantified the extent of myocardial reinnervation noninvasively in 29 cardiac-transplant recipients, using positron-emission tomography and the catecholamine analogue [11C]hydroxyephedrine. Global and regional ventricular function at rest and during standardized exercise testing were measured with the use of radionuclide angiography, and the results were compared with those in 10 healthy controls. RESULTS Sympathetic reinnervation, mainly in the anteroseptal wall, was present in 16 of the 29 transplant recipients. At rest, hemodynamic differences were not observed between the patients with reinnervation and those with denervation. However, the latter group had a shorter mean (+/-SD) exercise time (6.1+/-1.5, minutes vs. 8.2+/-1.2 in the group with reinnervation; P<0.01) and a lower peak heart rate (121+/-13 vs. 143+/-15 beats per minute, P<0.01). The contractile response to exercise was significantly enchanced in transplant recipients with reinnervation and similar to that of normal controls. In a multivariate analysis, hydroxyephedrine retention was the only independent determinant of the exercise-induced increase in the ejection fraction. CONCLUSIONS In heart-transplant recipients, the restoration of sympathetic innervation is associated with improved responses of the heart rate and contractile function to exercise. These results support the functional importance of reinnervation in transplanted hearts.
Tree species diversity and abundance in coffee farms adjacent to areas of different disturbance histories in Mabira forest system, central Uganda

Coffee production in Uganda is done on small-scale farms containing a very significant tree component. However, there is little information on how tree species abundance, richness and diversity change in coffee farms as distance from forest changes. The main objectives of this study, therefore, were to assess (a) abundance and (b) diversity of tree species in the coffee production systems in proximity to disturbed and undisturbed forest around Mabira forest, one of Uganda’s Robusta coffee-growing areas. Seventy-nine 0.1 ha plots were established in nine villages close to undisturbed and disturbed forest, and over 5 km from the forest. A total of 875 trees belonging to 63 species were recorded. There was significant similarity in species composition among the three study sites (analysis of similarity R = 0.09, p < 0.01; analysis of variance: F3,12 = 0.353, p = 0.79). Non-metric dimensional scaling supported these findings (stress value = 0.224 at k = 2) and showed that tree species composition in the three proximity categories was very similar. These results demonstrate that tree species composition and diversity is similar in coffee farms regardless of their distance from the nearest natural forest and forest exploitation history.
Neuroendocrine differentiated small cell carcinoma presenting as recurrent prostate cancer after androgen deprivation therapy

A 59-year-old man presented with poorly differentiated prostatic adenocarcinoma, stage D1 (T2N1M0 with intrapelvic lymph node involvement) in November 1994. His serum PSA level (Tandem R, Hybritech, San Diego, CA) was 140.5 ng/mL (normal <4.0) and neurone-speci®c enolase (NSE, measured by RIA with a commercial NSE assay kit, Eiken, Tokyo, Japan) was 3.6 ng/mL (normal <10). The patient was treated with chlormadinone acetate (CMA, which 6 months later was changed to ̄utamide) and leuprorelin. In November 1995, MRI showed prostatic tumour regression and in May 1996 showed enlargement of the prostate, although his serum PSA level was 0.5 ng/mL. Histopathological examination of the prostate biopsy revealed small cell carcinoma (Fig. 1). A neuroendocrine marker, NSE and chromogranin A staining were positive (Fig. 2) and PSA staining was negative. Before antiandrogen therapy, NSE and chromogranin A staining were negative and PSA staining positive. His serum NSE level was 59.3 ng/mL. The patient died in September 1996.
A Capstone Experience for Preservice Teachers: Building a Web-Based Portfolio

This study presents the results of the examination of the use of technology to enhance the capstone portfolio process for teacher candidates completing a master’s degree at a small regional campus in Northwest Ohio, United States. Students at this institution complete a fifth year program that results in a master’s degree and a recommendation for an Early or Middle Childhood license. The study focuses on determining the effectiveness of using a web-based portfolio. Teacher candidates’ perceived knowledge, skills and dispositions about technology literacy and usage in developing an e-portfolio are measured by comparing a pre and post survey. Results indicate a stronger knowledge and skill base concerning technology use and state standards, as well as a better disposition towards utilizing technology for creating and maintaining portfolios.
Efficacy of Popliteal Block in Postoperative Pain Control After Ankle Fracture Fixation: A Prospective Randomized Study

Objectives: To compare postoperative pain control in patients treated surgically for ankle fractures who receive popliteal blocks with those who received general anesthesia alone. Design: Institutional Review Board approved prospective randomized study. Setting: Metropolitan tertiary-care referral center. Patients: All patients being treated with open reduction internal fixation for ankle fractures who met inclusion criteria and consented to participate were enrolled. Interventions: Patients were randomized to receive either general anesthesia (GETA) or intravenous sedation and popliteal block. Main Outcome Measures: Patients were assessed for duration of procedure, total time in the operating room, and postoperative pain at 2, 4, 8, 12, 24, and 48 hours after surgery using a visual analog scale. Results: Fifty-one patients agreed to participate in the study. Twenty-five patients received popliteal block, while 26 patients received GETA. There were no anesthesia-related complications. At 2, 4, and 8 hours postoperatively, patients who underwent GETA demonstrated significantly higher pain. At 12 hours, there was no significant difference between the 2 groups with regard to pain control. However, by 24 hours, those who had received popliteal blocks had significantly higher pain with no difference by 48 hours. Conclusions: Popliteal block provides equivalent postoperative pain control to general anesthesia alone in patients undergoing operative fixation of ankle fractures. However, patients who receive popliteal blocks do experience a significant increase in pain between 12 and 24 hours. Recognition of this “rebound pain” with early narcotic administration may allow patients to have more effective postoperative pain control. Level of Evidence: Therapeutic Level II. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
The Thinking machine: a psychological view of Mawxwell's demon mind

Recently, in a letter to Nature, del Rio et al.8 exploited the quantum viewpoint of the old but well-known thought experiment of Maxwell's demon, a tiny "man-machine" that processes only a single unit of information. In their work, they showed that the thermodynamic cost for Maxwell's demon to erase quantum information decreases as the amount it "knows" increases. Indeed, as the authors themselves concluded, that finding has the ability to strengthen the link between information theory and statistical physics. However, the factual link between information theory and psychology remains unknown. There may be no better way to investigate to this issue than to subject this dual natured creature to psychological treatment! In this work, we propose an Ausubel-inspired ansatz to map the thermodynamic mind of Maxwell's demon, addressing information processing from a cognitive perspective9-12. The main calculation presented in this short report shows that the Ausubelian assimilation theory13-15 leads to a Shannon-Hartley-like model1,2 that, in turn, converges exactly to the Landauer limit16-18 when one single information is discarded from the demon's memory. This result indicates that both a thermodynamic device and an intelligent being "think" in the same way when one bit of information is processed. Consequently, this finding links information theory to the "psychological features" of the thermodynamic engine through the Landauer limit, which opens a new path towards the conception of a multi-bit reasoning machine.
Approaches to Learning and Academic Achievement of Filipino Students

Abstract Research has shown that a critical variable in determining academic achievement in different cultures and educational systems is approaches to learning. In this study, the author sought to determine whether this variable influences academic achievement among Filipino college students. The Learning Process Questionnaire (LPQ; J. B. Biggs, 1987) was used to assess approaches to learning. The results indicated that (a) the LPQ was a valid instrument to assess the learning approaches of non-low-achieving Filipino college students; (b) the Deep and Achieving subscale scores of the LPQ were positively related to academic achievement even when the effects of school ability and prior academic achievement were controlled; and (c) with some slight exceptions, the relationship between the LPQ scale scores and academic achievement were génerally similar between male and female Filipino students. Implications for the study of student approaches to learning in different cultures and educational systems are discussed.
Survey of oncologists' perceptions of barriers to accrual of older patients with breast carcinoma to clinical trials

Prior research has documented the under‐representation in clinical trials of older patients with cancer. In part of a larger study to test the magnitude of these barriers to entering eligible older patients with carcinoma of the breast into clinical trials (Cancer and Leukemia Group B [CALGB] trial 9670), barriers to accruing eligible older patients to clinical trials were obtained from the physician's perspective.
The relationship between positive affect and negative affect during treatment for major depressive disorder

Abstract Objective: The present study examined the relationship between positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) along the course of combined cognitive behavior therapy and pharmacological treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD). Method: Participants were 165 individuals who sought treatment for MDD in a partial hospital setting. Participants’ PA, NA, and depressive symptoms were measured at pre- and post-treatment and PA and NA were measured at up to 10 additional measurements along the course of treatment. Results: Results indicated that PA at pre-treatment predicted depressive symptoms at post-treatment above and beyond NA and the PA*NA interaction. However, an analysis of patterns of change during treatment using lower level mediational modeling in a multilevel framework indicated that NA predicted subsequent PA to a greater extent than vice versa. Conclusion: Though many treatments for MDD predominantly focus on reducing NA, our findings suggest that PA may be an important predictor of outcome in treatment for MDD, and that the inclusion of interventions to increase the experience of PA may help improve the efficacy of treatment.
Boosting performance of weak MT engines automatically: using MT output to align segments & build statistical post-editors

This paper addresses the practical challenge of improving existing, op- erational translation systems with relatively weak, black-box MT engines when higher quality MT engines are not available and only a limited quantity of online re- sources is available. Recent research results show impressive performance gains in translating between Indo-European languages when chaining mature, existing rule- based MT engines and post-MT editors built automatically with limited amounts of parallel data. We show that this hybrid approach of serially composing or "chaining" an MT engine and automated post-MT editor---when applied to much weaker lexi- con-based and rule-based MT engines, translating across the more widely divergent languages of Urdu and English, and given limited amounts of document-parallel only training data---will yield statistically significant boosts in translation quality up to the 50K of parallel segments in training the post-editor, but not necessarily be- yond that.