Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Divergent effects of intravenous GSH and cysteine on renal and hepatic GSH.

There is a growing interest in the therapeutic use of sulfhydryls. To assess the effect of glutathione (GSH) and cysteine on the cellular thiol status, thiols were administered intravenously to rats in doses ranging from 1.67 to 8.35 mmol/kg with and without pretreatment with 4 mmol/kg buthionine-[S,R]-sulfoximine (BSO), an inhibitor of GSH synthesis. One hour after administration of 1.67 mmol/kg GSH, the concentration of GSH rose from 5.2 +/- 1.0 to 8.4 +/- 0.9 mumol/g and from 2.5 +/- 0.5 to 3.7 +/- 0.7 mumol/g in liver and kidneys, respectively. After 8.35 mmol/kg, hepatic GSH did not increase further, but renal GSH rose to 6.7 +/- 1.8 mumol/g. Infusion of cysteine increased hepatic GSH to the same extent as intravenous GSH, but renal GSH did not increase after 1.67 mmol/kg and even significantly decreased to 0.6 +/- 0.2 mumol/g after 8.35 mmol/kg. In the presence of BSO, GSH resulted in a significant increase in renal but not hepatic GSH, suggesting that the kidneys take up intact GSH and indicating that the increment in hepatic GSH was due to de novo synthesis. The present data show that hepatic GSH can be markedly increased in vivo by increasing the supply of cysteine. Measurements of hepatic cysteine indicate that up to a concentration of approximately 0.5 mumol/g cysteine is a key determinant of hepatic GSH, such that the physiological steady-state concentration of GSH in the liver appears to be mainly determined by the availability of cysteine. At higher concentrations GSH does not increase further, possibly due to feedback inhibition of GSH synthesis or increased efflux. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Robust Bayesian Compressive Sensing for Signals in Structural Health Monitoring

In structural health monitoring (SHM) systems for civil structures, massive amounts of data are often generated that need data compression techniques to reduce the cost of signal transfer and storage, meanwhile offering a simple sensing system. Compressive sensing (CS) is a novel data acquisition method whereby the compression is done in a sensor simultaneously with the sampling. If the original sensed signal is sufficiently sparse in terms of some orthogonal basis (e.g., a sufficient number of wavelet coefficients are zero or negligibly small), the decompression can be done essentially perfectly up to some critical compression ratio; otherwise there is a trade‐off between the reconstruction error and how much compression occurs. In this article, a Bayesian compressive sensing (BCS) method is investigated that uses sparse Bayesian learning to reconstruct signals from a compressive sensor. By explicitly quantifying the uncertainty in the reconstructed signal from compressed data, the BCS technique exhibits an obvious benefit over existing regularized norm‐minimization CS methods that provide a single signal estimate. However, current BCS algorithms suffer from a robustness problem: sometimes the reconstruction errors are very large when the number of measurements K are a lot less than the number of signal degrees of freedom N that are needed to capture the signal accurately in a directly sampled form. In this article, we present improvements to the BCS reconstruction method to enhance its robustness so that even higher compression ratios N/K can be used and we examine the trade‐off between efficiently compressing data and accurately decompressing it. Synthetic data and actual acceleration data collected from a bridge SHM system are used as examples. Compared with the state‐of‐the‐art BCS reconstruction algorithms, the improved BCS algorithm demonstrates superior performance. With the same acceptable error rate based on a specified threshold of reconstruction error, the proposed BCS algorithm works with relatively large compression ratios and it can achieve perfect lossless compression performance with quite high compression ratios. Furthermore, the error bars for the signal reconstruction are also quantified effectively.
Endometriosis in women at interval sterilization

The prevalence of endometriosis was investigated in 108 Norwegian women admitted for interval tubal sterilization. The mean age of the patients was 37 years. Endometriosis was detected in 19 (18%) of the women. About one‐half of these had no symptoms from the disease. A positive correlation was found between a retroversion of the uterus and endo‐metriosis. The women with endometriosis showed a longer period of uninterrupted menstrual cycles prior to the time of sterilization, when compared with the controls (89 unaffected women). Sisters and mothers of patients with endometriosis displayed a higher frequency of benign gynecological disorders than the corresponding relatives of the control group. The prevalence of endometriosis appeared to be independent of the following clinical parameters: onset of menarche, age at first pregnancy, number of pregnancies, previous use of hormonal contraceptives or IUD, and actual age at the time of sterilization.
Association between specific enfuvirtide resistance mutations and CD4 cell response during enfuvirtide-based therapy

Analysis of CD4 cell responses during 48 weeks of enfuvirtide therapy after virological failure (analysis of covariance) demonstrated significant associations between V38 mutations (n = 58 subjects) and continued CD4 cell increases and between Q40 mutations (n = 8) and loss of CD4 cell benefit (+34 versus −95 cells/μl, P < 0.001). Subjects with N43 (n = 20) or other mutations (n = 48) had intermediate CD4 cell responses. These data suggest that key enfuvirtide resistance mutations may be associated with reduced viral pathogenicity in vivo.
ASSOCIATION STUDY OF THE 5’ FLANKING REGIONS OF ENDOTHELIAL‐NITRIC OXIDE SYNTHASE AND ENDOTHELIN‐1 GENES IN FAMILIAL PRIMARY OPEN‐ANGLE GLAUCOMA

1. Endothelium‐derived substances are important regulators of the microcirculation. Endothelium‐derived nitric oxide (NO), which is catalysed by nitric oxide synthase (NOS), is a potent modulator of vascular tone in the human ophthalmic artery, which is normally in a state of constant vasodilation due to the actions of NO. Endothelin‐1 (ET‐1) produces vasoconstriction of the anterior optic nerve vasculature and may be associated with glaucomatous optic neuropathy. The aetiology of primary open‐angle glaucoma (POAG) remains largely unknown. Thus, alterations in the regulatory sequences of the genes coding for endothelium‐derived NOS (eNOS) and ET‐1 may have important effects in the development of POAG and were looked for in the present study.
Growth mindset tempers the effects of poverty on academic achievement

Significance This study is the first, to our knowledge, to show that a growth mindset (the belief that intelligence is not fixed and can be developed) reliably predicts achievement across a national sample of students, including virtually all of the schools and socioeconomic strata in Chile. It also explores the relationship between income and mindset for the first time, to our knowledge, finding that students from lower-income families were less likely to hold a growth mindset than their wealthier peers but that those who did hold a growth mindset were appreciably buffered against the deleterious effects of poverty on achievement. These results suggest that mindsets may be one mechanism through which economic disadvantage can affect achievement. Two largely separate bodies of empirical research have shown that academic achievement is influenced by structural factors, such as socioeconomic background, and psychological factors, such as students’ beliefs about their abilities. In this research, we use a nationwide sample of high school students from Chile to investigate how these factors interact on a systemic level. Confirming prior research, we find that family income is a strong predictor of achievement. Extending prior research, we find that a growth mindset (the belief that intelligence is not fixed and can be developed) is a comparably strong predictor of achievement and that it exhibits a positive relationship with achievement across all of the socioeconomic strata in the country. Furthermore, we find that students from lower-income families were less likely to hold a growth mindset than their wealthier peers, but those who did hold a growth mindset were appreciably buffered against the deleterious effects of poverty on achievement: students in the lowest 10th percentile of family income who exhibited a growth mindset showed academic performance as high as that of fixed mindset students from the 80th income percentile. These results suggest that students’ mindsets may temper or exacerbate the effects of economic disadvantage on a systemic level.
Thiamine, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine, and Vitamin C Status in Premature Infants Receiving Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition

Background There is a paucity of data about water soluble vitamin status in low birthweight infants. Therefore, the authors' objective was to assess current feeding protocols. Methods The authors measured serum concentrations for riboflavin, pyridoxine, and vitamin C and functional assays for thiamine and riboflavin longitudinally in 16 premature infants (birthweight, 1,336 ± 351 g; gestational age, 30 ± 2.5 weeks) before receiving nutrition (time 1, 2 ± 1 days), during supplemental or parenteral nutrition (time 2, 16 ± 10 days) and while receiving full oral feedings (time 3, 32 ± 15 days). In plasma, vitamin C was measured colorimetrically, and riboflavin and pyridoxine were measured using high-performance liquid chromatography. The erythrocyte transketolase test as a functional evaluation of thiamine and the erythrocyte glutathione reductase test for riboflavin were measured colorimetrically. Results At time 1, nutrient intake of vitamins were negligible because infants were receiving intravenous glucose and electrolytes only. Intakes differed between time 2 and time 3 for thiamine (510 ± 280 and 254 ± 115 &mgr;g · kg −1 · d −1 , respectively), riboflavin (624 ± 305 and 371 ± 193 &mgr;g · kg −1 · d −1 , respectively), and pyridoxine (394 ± 243 and 173 ± 85 &mgr;g/100 kcal, respectively), but not for vitamin C (32 ± 17 and 28 ± 12 mg · kg −1 · d −1 , respectively). Blood levels at times 1, 2, and 3 were for thiamine (4.9 ± 2.7%, 3.3 ± 6.6%, and 4.1 ± 9% erythrocyte transketolase test, respectively), riboflavin (0.91 ± 0.31, 0.7 ± 0.3, 0.91 ± 0.18 erythrocyte glutathione reductase test, respectively), riboflavin (19.5 ± 17, 23.3 ± 8.6, 17.6 ± 10 ng/mL, respectively), pyridoxine (32 ± 25, 40 ± 16, 37 ± 26 ng/mL, respectively), and vitamin C (5.2 ± 3, 5 ± 2.2, 10 ± 5 &mgr;g/mL, respectively) and did not differ at those times. Conclusions Current intakes of these vitamins, except for possibly vitamin C, during parenteral and enteral nutrition seem to result in adequate plasma concentrations and normal functional indices.
Diacylglycerol acyltransferase 1 inhibition with AZD7687 alters lipid handling and hormone secretion in the gut with intolerable side effects: a randomized clinical trial

Inhibition of diacylglycerol acyltransferase 1 (DGAT1) is a potential treatment modality for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and obesity, based on preclinical data suggesting it is associated with insulin sensitization and weight loss. This randomized, placebo‐controlled, phase 1 study in 62 overweight or obese men explored the effects and tolerability of AZD7687, a reversible and selective DGAT1 inhibitor.
Acuity of amblyopic children for small field gratings and recognition stimuli.

Tests of grating acuity often underestimate amblyopia and underrefer esotropic infants with a fixation preference. To evaluate the effect of the large grating field used in preferential looking (PL) procedures, an eight-alternative, small field (about 1 degrees) grating acuity test was devised. Gratings contained at least eight cycles. Thirty-seven strabismic and/or anisometropic amblyopes, ages 3-13 yr, were tested. In most amblyopic eyes, grating acuities were better than recognition acuities; the difference was reduced, however, in the small field test compared to the large field (6 degrees test (means, 1 oct vs. 1.6 oct; paired-t = 5.5, P less than .001). Nevertheless, the same relation between grating and recognition acuities occurred for small as for large fields: an increased discrepancy between grating and recognition acuities accompanied poorer acuity. This larger discrepancy is attributed to increased probability summation of amblyopic eyes for low spatial frequencies. For preschool children who can be tested by both procedures, the eight-alternative grating acuity test may be preferable to operant PL because it is more easily administered and materials are simpler.
Aalborg Universitet Joining Forces : Collaboration Patterns and Performance of Renewable Energy

This article explores the pattern and breadth of collaboration activities of innovating firms active in renewable energy (RE), and the impact of collaboration on firm-level innovation performance. We deploy a unique dataset from a special section of the 2014 CIS survey in Denmark, in which we included questions that enable us to unambiguously identify RE innovators. In a quantitative analysis, we contrast collaboration patterns of RE and non-RE innovators, where we find RE innovators to show a higher tendency to collaborate, and with a more diverse set of partners. We complement this analysis with a qualitative single-case study within the offshore wind industry in order to illuminate longitudinal and contextual effects that were only indicative in the quantitative analysis. We focus particularly on changes in the pattern of collaboration as the firm matures and its links with performance. The case shows that because the needs of RE innovators vary through their development, the purpose and types of collaborations change. Further, both from our quantitative and qualitative studies, we find weak relationship between RE firms' collaboration breadth and innovative performance. We ascribe this to the long time-lags between product innovation and market penetration in RE. We thereby highlight the heterogeneity of collaboration rationales, patterns, and impact across sectors and over time. JEL Classification: O31, O32, Q4, L26
A study of the histochemical and staining characteristics of amyloid.

HERBERT BRAUNSTEIN, M.D.,t and LEOPOLD BUERGER, M.D. From the Department of Pathology, CoUege of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, and the Cincinnati General Hospital, Cincinnati, Ohio During a study of senile cardiac amyloidosis,1 it was observed that the manifestation of metachromasia with acidified crystal violet2 constituted the most reliable indication that suspicious hyaline deposits were indeed amyloid. However, when the staining characteristics of other varieties of amyloid were investigated, it was noted that orthochromatic reactions were frequently encountered in amyloidosis associated with multiple myeloma. This observation prompted a general survey of the staining and histochemical reactions of several varieties of amyloid, the results of which are herein reported.
Cannabis affects the severity of schizophrenic symptoms: results of a clinical survey

Synopsis Data on the history of cannabis use and a spot urine test for cannabinoids were obtained for 137 schizophrenics in treatment. Subjects who were using cannabis during the 6-month observation period presented with a significantly higher degree of delusional and hallucinatory activity than those who did not. Moreover, the group using cannabis made a higher average number of visits to the hospital during the same period. The status of cannabis use appeared to contribute to such variance more than did other relevant factors (age, stage of the illness, amount of medication prescribed, occasional use of other psychoactive substances).
Evaluation of the ambiguity function for passive radar with OFDM transmissions

The presence of clutter in passive radar returns imposes a minimum floor level on the ambiguity surface, masking weak returns and reducing dynamic range. When the illuminating signal is a form of OFDM, orthogonality between subcarriers can be exploited to produce a zero floor within certain delay bins. In this paper we compare and contrast several such ambiguity processing techniques for general OFDM signals. The methods are applied to simulated and real DVB-T passive radar returns having a wide range of delays. It is shown that an OFDM-specific method can outperform a standard pulse-Doppler processing method under certain conditions. An example is provided using real German DVB-T data from Fraunhofer FHR.
Leukodystrophies: Clinical and Genetic Aspects

The leukodystrophies comprise an ever-expanding group of rare central nervous system disorders with defined clinical, pathological, and genetic characteristics. The broader term, leukoencephalopathy, is applied to all brain white matter diseases, whether their molecular cause is known. Magnetic resonance imaging has helped to elucidate new forms of leukodystrophy as well as to permit longitudinal studies of disease progression. The white matter abnormality may appear similar in different forms of leukodystrophy so that in most cases, further studies such as magnetic resonance spectroscopy, tissue biopsies, enzyme studies, and molecular DNA analyses are needed to pinpoint the specific diagnosis. The primary inherited leukoencephalopathies include dysmyelinating, hypomyelinative, and vacuolating forms. Metabolic and vascular causes account for most of the secondary forms, but other inherited syndromes are recognized that have their onset in childhood or adult life and are characterized by distinctive clinical and neuropathologic features. This review discusses some of the mechanisms that have been proposed to explain deficiencies of myelin and the molecular genetic bases underlying these disorders.
Correlation of serotypes, molecular and biological characteristics of Chlamydia trachomatis and clinical manifestations of Chlamydia infection Związek serotypów oraz cech molekularnych i biologicznych Chlamydia trachomatis z kliniczną manifestacją zakażenia tym drobnoustrojem

Aim: This study aimed to establish the correlation between serotypes, molecular and biological characteristics of and various clinical manifestations of Chlamydia infection. Material and methods: Quantitative evaluation of specific ompA fragments of a Chlamydia trachomatis gene as well as DNA synthesis were performed applying PCR in a real-time mode (Rotor-Gene 3000, Australia) with application of species-specific primers and TaqMan oligonucleotide tests. Standardization of the study was made against the NAGK one-copy human gene. Successions of primers, probes and conditions of amplification for quantitative evaluation of the NAGK human gene were adapted from the work by Gotoh et al. (2005). Serotyping of C. trachomatis was performed by PCR sequencing with application of couples of primers for detection of variable domains (VDI-VDIV) of the omp1 gene. Results: Predominant distribution of serotypes D (54.7%), K (35.7%) and (9.6%) of C. trachomatis has been revealed. In 94-95% of cases there is homology with standard D/B120 (X62918), D/B185 (X62919), K/UW31/Cx (AF063204) cultures. Nineteen isolates, isolated from the biological material and identified as serotype D, had 2 different nucleotides of D/B185 or D/B120 omp1 in positions 574 and 843, while 4 samples tended to have additional nucleotide change in position 1042. Fifteen isolates, identified as serovar K, had two different nucleotides of the K/UW31/Cx omp1 gene in positions 503 and 628, while 4 isolates, identified as serovar C, had 4 different nucleotides of the C/TW-3/OT omp1 gene in positions 569, 571, 972 or 1003. Conclusions: Serotypes D and K of C. trachomatis turned out to be the most frequent cause of pathology of the urogenital tract. An associative correlation has been noted between C and K C. trachomatis serotypes. These two serovariants of C. trachomatis tend to more often possess resistance to antibiotics, which can serve as the main cause of development of arthropathic forms (Reiter’s syndrome) and sterility in women.
IL28B alleles associated with poor hepatitis C virus (HCV) clearance protect against inflammation and fibrosis in patients infected with non‐1 HCV genotypes

Genetic polymorphisms near IL28B are associated with spontaneous and treatment‐induced clearance of hepatitis C virus (HCV), two processes that require the appropriate activation of the host immune responses. Intrahepatic inflammation is believed to mirror such activation, but its relationship with IL28B polymorphisms has yet to be fully appreciated. We analyzed the association of IL28B polymorphisms with histological and follow‐up features in 2335 chronically HCV‐infected Caucasian patients. Assessable phenotypes before any antiviral treatment included necroinflammatory activity (n = 1,098), fibrosis (n = 1,527), fibrosis progression rate (n = 1,312), and hepatocellular carcinoma development (n = 1,915). Associations of alleles with the phenotypes were evaluated by univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression, accounting for all relevant covariates. The rare G allele at IL28B marker rs8099917—previously shown to be at risk of treatment failure—was associated with lower activity (P = 0.04), lower fibrosis (P = 0.02) with a trend toward lower fibrosis progression rate (P = 0.06). When stratified according to HCV genotype, most significant associations were observed in patients infected with non‐1 genotypes (P = 0.003 for activity, P = 0.001 for fibrosis, and P = 0.02 for fibrosis progression rate), where the odds ratio of having necroinflammation or rapid fibrosis progression for patients with IL28B genotypes TG or GG versus TT were 0.48 (95% confidence intervals 0.30‐0.78) and 0.56 (0.35‐0.92), respectively. IL28B polymorphisms were not predictive of the development of hepatocellular carcinoma. Conclusion: In chronic hepatitis C, IL28B variants associated with poor response to interferon therapy may predict slower fibrosis progression, especially in patients infected with non‐1 HCV genotypes. (HEPATOLOGY 2012)
Intra-abdominal hypertension in severe burns: prevalence, incidence and mortality in a sub-Saharan African hospital.

BACKGROUND Severe burns have been shown to be a risk factor for developing intra-abdominal hypertension (IAH). Fluid resuscitation practices used in burns management further predispose patients to intra-abdominal hypertension. The mortality associated with IAH in severe burns is estimated to be more than 74.5% once organ dysfunction occurs. Despite 95% of all burns occurring in Low and Middle income countries (LMIC), there is paucity of published data on this topic in sub-Saharan Africa. OBJECTIVES To determine the prevalence, incidence, organ dysfunction and mortality of intra-abdominal hypertension among severe burns patients. METHODS A prospective cohort study was conducted over a 6 months period in the Burns Unit of Mulago National Referral Hospital. Patients of all age groups with burns ≥25% and 20% in adults and children respectively were recruited and followed up for 7 days or until death occurred. Patients with burns older than 48 hours were excluded. The outcome variables were intra-abdominal pressure, organ dysfunction and seven day mortality. RESULTS Of all the 335 burns patients admitted, 64 patients met the inclusion criteria. The overall prevalence of IAH was 57.8% while the prevalence in the children and adults was 54.5% and 61.3% respectively. The incidence of IAH was 13.1 cases/100 person days with the incidence in adults being twice that of the children. The one week mortality of patients with IAH was 82.6% with the risk of dying being 3.34 (p=0.0035) and seven day survival being less than 50%. CONCLUSION One in two patients with severe burns exceeding 20% or 25% in children or adults respectively developed IAH. Adults had a higher prevalence and incidence of IAH. Mortality associated with IAH exceeded 80%.