Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Diabetes Mellitus, Independent of Body Mass Index, Is Associated With a "Higher Success" Rate for Supraclavicular Brachial Plexus Blocks

Background and Objectives: The prevalence of obesity and diabetes mellitus continues to rise in industrialized countries. The impact of diabetes on the practice of peripheral nerve block anesthesia, however, has not been fully elucidated. The authors retrospectively evaluated the influence of diabetes, body mass index (BMI), age, and sex on the success of supraclavicular block (SCB) placed with a landmark-based paresthesia technique. Methods: The anesthetic records of 1858 consecutive patients who received an SCB were analyzed. Block success was documented solely on the day of surgery, without additional follow-up. Patients were categorized as diabetic (group D, n = 262) or nondiabetic (group ND, n = 1596). Block "success rate" (ie, general anesthesia not required to produce surgical conditions) was analyzed using multiple regression (multivariable linear and logistic) to assess the associations of diabetes and/or body mass index on successful surgical anesthesia. Results: Patients in group D were more likely (odds ratio, 3.3) to have a "successful" SCB for surgical anesthesia than were patients in group ND (P < 0.0001). Body mass index, age, and sex were not associated predictors of SCB "success. " Conclusions: We speculate that the "higher success" of SCB in patients with diabetes may be explained by: (i) higher sensitivity of diabetic nerve fibers to local anesthetics, (ii) possible unknown intraneural penetration before injection, and/or (iii) preexisting neuropathy with accompanying decreased sensation. In the absence of additional follow-up on these patients, these data should generate outcomes research addressing dose-response curves for patients with diabetes or at risk for diabetes.
Platelet Factor 4: Production, Structure, and Physiologic and Immunologic Action

Platelet factor 4 (PF4) is a protein found in megakaryocytes and platelet α-granules (1, 2). Immunocytochemical studies show that it is present as well in mast cell granules (3) and on the endothelium of human umbilical veins, but not arteries (4). Early work on PF4 has been reviewed elsewhere (5–7). Human platelets contain about 18 ± 4 μg of PF4/109 (8). Thrombospondin, platelet-derived growth factor, and compounds derived from platelet basic protein such as β-thromboglobulin (β-TG) are found in platelet α-granules in addition to PF4. All are secreted when platelets are appropriately stimulated; for example, since thrombin is a strong stimulus, these compounds are present in much higher concentrations in serum than in plasma (e.g., 5334 vs 1.8 ng/ml for PF4 [9]). They are also secreted after contact of platelets with collagen in damaged blood vessels, for example. Production and Structure PF4 is synthesized by megakaryocytes (10), an ability that correlates with cytoplasmic maturity (2, 11). The PF4 is first packaged into vesicles and from there it is transferred to α-granules (2). Megakaryocytes express mRNA transcripts for PF4, but not for fibrinogen or albumin, which are taken up by megakaryocytes from plasma (12). Even blood platelets, which contain little mRNA, contain mRNA for PF4, whereas none is evident in human lymphocytes, cultured fibroblasts, and four types of malignant cells (13). Human PF4 is a 7.8-kDa protein that contains 70 amino acids, with two disulfide bonds, no tryptophan or methionine, two histidines, and a single tyrosine (Fig. 1). The position of its two disulfide bridges has been inferred by homology with the related compound β-TG (14). Its isoelectric point is 7.6 (15) and its extinction coefficient (1%, 280 μm) is reported to be 2.9 (3) or 5.4 (9).
Aortic stenosis: a general overview of clinical, pathophysiological and therapeutic aspects

Aortic stenosis is the most prevalent valve pathology and calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD) is its most frequent etiology in developed countries. There is extensive evidence that CAVD represents an active disease process similar to that of atherosclerosis with similar classical cardiovascular risk factors and pathological mechanisms. Given that in the vast majority of situations the only treatment available is valve replacement there is a need to develop pharmacological therapies that retard the disease progression. Lipid-lowering therapies have been the focus of research, however, so far with negative results. Future studies, including animal models, shall provide an opportunity to further evaluate the disease mechanisms of CAVD and to discover potential disease biomarkers and pharmacological interventions that can reduce the need for valve replacement.
A comparison of nested polymerase chain reaction and immunofluorescence for the diagnosis of respiratory infections in children with bronchiolitis, and the implications for a cohorting strategy.

Cohorting bronchiolitis patients infected with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and/or influenza viruses is paramount in preventing cross-infection of these viruses in hospital. Nested polymerase chain reaction (nPCR) was compared with immunofluorescence (IF) for the detection of RSV subtypes A and B in children with suspected bronchiolitis. Co-infection with influenza A(H3N2), Chlamydia spp. and picornavirus/rhinovirus was also investigated using molecular techniques.A total of 50 nasopharyngeal secretions collected from babies admitted with bronchiolitis in the month of January 2000, comprising IF RSV positive (N= 27) and RSV negative (N= 23) specimens, were tested for both RSV subtypes, influenza A(H3N2), Chlamydia spp. and picornavirus/rhinovirus by nPCR. Nested PCR detected 28 specimens positive for RSV (RSV A = 20, RSV B = 8), which was two more than detected by IF. Influenza A(H3N2) was detected in three specimens, Chlamydia trachomatis in one, and picornavirus in 11, of which nine were confirmed to be rhinovirus by nPCR. Dual infection was detected in five cases using nPCR. Nested PCR proved useful in detecting RSV and influenza A(H3N2) infections missed by IF, and also other respiratory tract pathogens not routinely investigated. The clinical implications and risk of cross-infection with potentially virulent viruses due to inaccurate results from insensitive techniques, highlights the need for molecular assays such as nPCR to be employed as a routine method of investigation, provided as part of the laboratory service. Cohorting of patients with clinical bronchiolitis should continue, whilst awaiting laboratory confirmation.
Symbol Spaced Adaptive MIMO Equalization for Ultrahigh Bit Rate Metro Coherent Optical Links

A novel approach to symbol spaced adaptive multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) equalization is proposed. Different functionalities are defined for static versus adaptive equalizers, to minimize noise enhancement. Static equalizers are used for anti-aliasing filtering and bulk CD compensation, and a newly proposed modified-LMS-based adaptive MIMO equalizer is used to compensate for fiber random impairments such as residual CD and PMD. In addition, the proposed technique enables the use of low-cost reduced bandwidth components in both transmit and receive sides, and supports aggressive in-line optical filtering in the existing WDM network. Moreover, the proposed technique perfectly suits coherent metro applications, allowing significant power savings in application specific integrated circuit implementation.
Identification of a cell wall channel of Streptomyces griseus: the channel contains a binding site for streptomycin

Cells of the Gram‐positive actinomycete Streptomyces griseus were disrupted and the cell envelope was subjected to sucrose step‐gradient centrifugation. The different fractions were analysed for NADH‐oxidase activity and the formation of ion‐permeable channels in lipid bilayers. Highest channel‐forming activity and highest NADH‐oxidase activity were found in different fractions. The cell wall fraction contained an ion‐permeable channel with a single‐channel conductance of 850 pS in 1 M KCl. The channel‐forming protein, with an apparent molecular mass of 28 kDa, was purified to homogeneity using fast protein liquid chromatography after the extraction of whole cells with detergent. Single‐channel experiments suggest that the cell wall channel is wide and water‐filled. Titration experiments with streptomycin produced by S. griseus suggested that the cell wall channel binds this antibiotic with a half saturation constant of about 6 mM in 1 M KCl. The binding of streptomycin was found to be ionic strength dependent and the half saturation constant decreased to 60 µM at 0.1 M KCl. The results indicate that the 28 kDa protein represents the hydrophilic pathway through the cell wall of the Gram‐positive bacterium S. griseus.
Spiritual Well-Being, Depression, and Stress Among Hemodialysis Patients in Jordan

Purpose: The spiritual dimension of a patient’s life is an important factor that may mediate detrimental impacts on mental health. The lack of research investigating spiritual well-being, religiosity, and mental health among Jordanian hemodialysis patients encouraged this research. This study explored levels of spiritual well-being and its associations with depression, anxiety, and stress. Design: A quantitative, cross-sectional correlational study. Method: A sample of 218 Jordanian Muslim hemodialysis patients completed a structured, self-administered questionnaire. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and linear multivariate regression models. Findings: The hemodialysis patients had, on average, relatively low levels of spiritual well-being, moderate depression, severe anxiety, and mild to moderate stress. The results of the regression models indicated that aspects of spiritual well-being were negatively associated with depression, anxiety, and stress, but only existential well-being consistently retained significant associations after controlling for religious well-being, religiosity, and sociodemographic variables. Conclusions: Greater spiritual and existential well-being of Jordanian hemodialysis patients were significantly associated with less depression, anxiety, and stress. It appears that these patients use religious and spiritual beliefs and practices as coping mechanisms to overcome their depression, anxiety, and stress. The implications for holistic clinical practice are explored.
Effect of baseline protease genotype and phenotype on HIV response to atazanavir/ritonavir in treatment-experienced patients

Objectives:To assess the virologic response rates of atazanavir/ritonavir and lopinavir/ritonavir based on baseline genotype and phenotype. Methods:Resistance analyses were performed on a Bristol-Myers Squibb-sponsored study comparing the safety and efficacy of atazanavir/ritonavir to lopinavir/ritonavir in treatment-experienced subjects at 48 weeks. Analyses evaluated virologic response based on the presence of baseline primary protease inhibitor mutations and baseline susceptibility. Results:Less than 30% of atazanavir/ritonavir-treated patients were responders if substitutions at positions M46, G73, I84 or L90 were present in their HIV at baseline. In comparison, lopinavir/ritonavir response rates were less than 30% when protease substitutions at M46, I54, or I84 were present at baseline. The response rates were similar between atazanavir/ritonavir and lopinavir/ritonavir-treated subjects with zero to four baseline protease inhibitor mutations, but response rates were reduced if five or more baseline mutations were present: 0% for atazanavir/ritonavir compared with 28% for lopinavir/ritonavir. Baseline phenotype results showed that response rates were similar between atazanavir/ritonavir and lopinavir/ritonavir if shifts in susceptibility were zero to five, but response rates were lower if shifts were greater than five; 11% for atazanavir/ritonavir compared with 27% for lopinavir/ritonavir. Conclusions:Both type and number of baseline protease inhibitor mutations affected virologic response to atazanavir/ritonavir and lopinavir/ritonavir in treatment-experienced subjects. In addition, baseline phenotypic susceptibility could differentiate virologic response rates to the two drugs. These resistance analyses provide information on the likelihood of a virologic response to antiretroviral drugs based on baseline genotypic and phenotypic data, which is valuable to physicians and patients when choosing antiretroviral regimens.
Ischemic heart disease mortality among heavy equipment operators.

BACKGROUND Inhalation of fine particulate is hypothesized to increase risk of heart disease events. METHODS Seven Ontario construction unions participated in a retrospective cohort mortality study. Proportional mortality ratios (PMRs) were computed and a mortality odds ratio (MOR) analysis was performed to compare the risk of ischemic heart disease (IHD) mortality among heavy equipment operators (HEO) to that of members of other unions. Deaths attributed to lung cancer, mesothelioma, and accidental causes were excluded from the comparison. RESULTS Two hundred fifty nine of 1,009 deaths among the HEO were attributed to IHD. The PMR was 1.09 (0.96-1.2). None of the IHD PMRs among the other six unions exceeded 0.89. The MOR for IHD mortality, comparing the HEO to all other workers combined was 1.47 (1.17-1.84) for ages 25-64, was 1.20 (0.96-1.50) for ages 65 or more, and was 1.32 (1.13-1.55) for all ages combined. CONCLUSIONS Increased risk of IHD mortality among HEO is consistent with the hypothesis that exposure to diesel fume has adverse effects upon the heart and circulatory system.
Sensitive enhanced diffusivities for flows with fluctuating mean winds: a two-parameter study

Enhanced diffusion coefficients arising from the theory of periodic homogenized averaging for a passive scalar diffusing in the presence of a large-scale, fluctuating mean wind superimposed upon a small-scale, steady flow with non-trivial topology are studied. The purpose of the study is to assess how the extreme sensitivity of enhanced diffusion coefficients to small variations in large-scale flow parameters previously exhibited for steady flows in two spatial dimensions is modified by either the presence of temporal fluctuation, or the consideration of fully three-dimensional steady flow. We observe the various mixing parameters (Péclet, Strouhal and periodic Péclet numbers) and related non-dimensionalizations. We document non-monotonic Péclet number dependence in the enhanced diffusivities, and address how this behaviour is camouflaged with certain non-dimensional groups. For asymptotically large Strouhal number at fixed, bounded Péclet number, we establish that rapid wind fluctuations do not modify the steady theory, whereas for asymptotically small Strouhal number the enhanced diffusion coefficients are shown to be represented as an average over the steady geometry. The more difficult case of large Péclet number is considered numerically through the use of a conjugate gradient algorithm. We consider Péclet-number-dependent Strouhal numbers, S = QPe−(1+γ), and present numerical evidence documenting critical values of γ which distinguish the enhanced diffusivities as arising simply from steady theory (γ < −1) for which fluctuation provides no averaging, fully unsteady theory (γ ∈ (−1, 0)) with closure coefficients plagued by non-monotonic Péclet number dependence, and averaged steady theory (γ > 0). The transitional case with γ = 0 is examined in detail. Steady averaging is observed to agree well with the full simulations in this case for Q [les ] 1, but fails for larger Q. For non-sheared flow, with Q [les ] 1, weak temporal fluctuation in a large-scale wind is shown to reduce the sensitivity arising from the steady flow geometry; however, the degree of this reduction is itself strongly dependent upon the details of the imposed fluctuation. For more intense temporal fluctuation, strongly aligned orthogonal to the steady wind, time variation averages the sensitive scaling existing in the steady geometry, and the present study observes a Pe1 scaling behaviour in the enhanced diffusion coefficients at moderately large Péclet number. Finally, we conclude with the numerical documentation of sensitive scaling behaviour (similar to the two-dimensional steady case) in fully three dimensional ABC flow.
Status of the TRMM 2A12 Land Precipitation Algorithm

Abstract This paper describes improvements to the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM) Microwave Imager (TMI) land rainfall algorithm in version 7 (v7) of the TRMM data products. The correlations between rain rates and TMI 85-GHz brightness temperatures (Tb) for convective and stratiform rain are generated using 7 years of collocated TMI and TRMM precipitation radar (PR) data. The TMI algorithm for estimating the convective ratio of rainfall is also modified. This paper highlights both the improvements in the v7 algorithm and the continuing problems with the land rainfall retrievals. It is demonstrated that the proposed changes to the algorithm significantly lower the overestimation by TMI globally and over large sections of central Africa and South America. Also highlighted are the problems with the 2A12 land algorithm that have not been addressed in the version 7 algorithm, such as large regional and seasonal dependence of biases in the TMI rain estimates, and potential changes to the algorithm .
Turkish version of the revised nursing professional values scale: validity and reliability assessment.

AIM The purpose of this study was to assess the reliability and validity of a Turkish version of the Revised Nursing Professional Values Scale (NPVS-R). METHODS The sample of this methodological study consisted of 385 participants, including senior undergraduate nursing students (n = 328) and clinical nurses (n = 57). Data was collected using the NPVS-R. For NPVS validity, content validity and construct validity were analyzed. The content validity index (CVI) was used to determine item validity. RESULTS Item CVI ranged from 0.78 to 1.0, and total CVI was 0.93. Construct validity was examined using factor analysis and the five factors were identified as original NPVS-R. Chronbach's alpha was used to assess the internal consistency reliability. The 26-item NPVS had a standardized alpha coefficient of 0.92. Test-retest reliability scale was r = 0.76 (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION Our analyses showed that the Turkish version of NPVS-R has high validity and reliability.
Update on Nutrient Transporters Plant Nutrition : Root Transporters on the Move 1

Nutrient and water uptake from the soil is essential for plant growth and development. In the root, absorption and radial transport of nutrients and water toward the vascular tissues is achieved by a battery of specialized transporters and channels. Modulating the amount and the localization of these membrane transport proteins appears as a way to drive their activity and is essential to maintain nutrient homeostasis in plants. This control first involves the delivery of newly synthesized proteins to the plasma membrane by establishing check points along the secretory pathway, especially during the export from the endoplasmic reticulum. Plasma membrane-localized transport proteins are internalized through endocytosis followed by recycling to the cell surface or targeting to the vacuole for degradation, hence constituting another layer of control. These intricate mechanisms are often regulated by nutrient availability, stresses, and endogenous cues, allowing plants to rapidly adjust to their environment and adapt their development.
The F3 Neuronal Glycosylphosphatidylinositol‐Linked Molecule Is Localized to Glycolipid‐Enriched Membrane Subdomains and Interacts with L1 and Fyn Kinase in Cerebellum

Abstract: The F3 molecule is a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily anchored to plasma membranes by a glycosylphosphatidylinositol group. In adult mouse cerebellum, F3 is predominantly expressed on a subset of axons, the parallel fibers, and at their synapses. In vitro studies established that it is a plurifunctional molecule that, depending on the cellular context and the ligand with which it interacts, either mediates repulsive interactions or promotes neurite outgrowth. In the present study, we report the isolation of two fractions of F3‐containing microdomains from adult cerebellum on the basis of their resistance to solubilization by Triton X‐100 at 4°C. Both fractions were composed of vesicles, ranging from 100 to 200 nm in diameter. Lipid composition analysis indicated that the lighter fraction was enriched in cerebrosides and sulfatides. F3 sensitivity to phosphatidylinositol phospholipase C differed between the two fractions, possibly reflecting structural differences in the lipid anchor of the F3 molecule. Both fractions were highly enriched in other glycosylphosphatidylinositol‐anchored proteins such as NCAM 120 and Thy‐1. It is interesting that these vesicles were devoid of the transmembrane forms (NCAM 180 and NCAM 140), which were recovered in Triton X‐100‐soluble fractions, but contained the L1 transmembrane adhesion molecule that is coexpressed with F3 on parallel fibers and the fyn tyrosine kinase. Immunoprecipitation experiments indicated that F3, but not NCAM 120 or Thy‐1, was physically associated in a complex with both L1 and fyn tyrosine kinase. This strongly suggests that the interaction between L1 and F3, already described to occur with isolated molecules, is present in neural tissue. More important is that our study provides information on the molecular machinery likely to be involved in F3 signaling.
Chronic orchialgia: evaluation and discussion of treatment options

Virtually all practicing urologists will encounter patients with a complaint of chronic testicular pain. This can be a frustrating process for both patient and physician, as there is no clearly established effective treatment regimen, nor is there a recognized and accepted standard protocol for evaluation. Many of these patients will see multiple physicians during the course of their evaluation, further increasing their frustration and potentially straining the physician/patient relationship. The etiology of testicular pain is varied and is frequently idiopathic. Easily recognized and reversible causes include spermatocele, tumor, infection, varicocele, and torsion. Chronic orchialgia has been defined as at least 3 months of chronic or intermittent pain. Although the diagnosis of chronic orchialgia is frequently given to these patients, it should be recognized that fairly frequently the patient will not have just testicular pain, but may have pain involving the epididymis, vas deferens, or adjacent paratesticular structures. Therefore a more appropriate term would be chronic scrotal content pain. This article reviews the current understanding of chronic scrotal content pain, reviewing the etiology, evaluation, and then a systematic review of the published literature on treatment. It should be recognized that the majority of the published literature are cohort studies with limited numbers of patients, rarely placebo-controlled, and without a uniform standard evaluation. Microdenervation of the spermatic cord is emerging as a reasonable and effective outpatient surgical technique to resolve chronic scrotal content pain, and successful results appear to be predicted by a temporary but complete response to a spermatic cord block.