Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Basal Thyrotropin and Major Depression: Relation to Clinical Variables and Treatment Outcome

Objective: There is a current argument in thyroidology about whether the normal range for basal thyrotropin (TSH) is too broad. Some groups suggest that a TSH of less than 2.5 mIU/L is a better cut-off for euthyroidism. Because major depression is associated with changes in thyroid hormone status and thyroid hormones may be an effective treatment for major depression, we examined whether TSH levels above or below 2.5 mIU/L were related to clinical variables or treatment outcome in euthyroid patients with major depression. Methods: Outpatients with major depression (n =166) were assigned to high–normal and low–normal TSH groups based on their basal TSH levels. The 2 groups were compared along clinical variables and treatment outcome. Results: The low–normal TSH group was significantly more depressed, as measured by Hamilton Depression Rating Scale scores, and had more anxiety symptoms and suicidal tendencies than the high–normal group. There was no difference in treatment response between the groups. Conclusions: A comparison of low–normal and high–normal basal TSH groups with major depression revealed significant differences in severity and symptoms of depression but no difference in treatment outcome. These data are preliminary and require replication in a larger sample.
2 Why is Economics not an Evolutionary Science ? !

Evolutionary economics provides a self-organizing stabilizing mechanism without relying on mechanic equilibria. However, there are substantial differences between the genetic evolutionary biology, and the evolution of institutions, firms, routines or strategies in economics. Most importantly, there is no genetic codification and no sexual reproduction in economic evolution, and the involved agents can interfere consciously and purposefully. This entails a general lack of fixation and perhaps the quick loss of information through a Muller’s ratchet like mechanism. The present contribution discusses the analogy of evolution in biology and economics and considers potential problems resulting in evolutionary models in economics.
A comparison of sennosides-based bowel protocols with and without docusate in hospitalized patients with cancer.

BACKGROUND Constipation is a common and distressing condition in patients with cancer, especially those taking opioid analgesics. Many institutions prevent and treat constipation with titrated laxatives, which is known as a bowel protocol. An effective and well-tolerated bowel protocol is a very important component of cancer care, and there is little evidence on which to base selection of the most appropriate agents. This study compares a protocol of the stimulant laxative sennosides alone with a protocol of sennosides plus the stool softener docusate, in hospitalized patients at an oncology center. The docusate-containing protocol had an initial docusate-only step for patients not taking opioids, and four to six 100-mg capsules of docusate sodium in addition to the sennosides for the rest of the protocol. METHODS Thirty patients received the sennosides-only (S) protocol and 30 the sennosides plus docusate (DS) protocol. The efficacy and adverse effects of the protocols were monitored for 5-12 days. The two protocols were used sequentially, creating two cohorts, one on each protocol. Eighty percent of patients were taking oral opioids and 72% were admitted for symptom control/supportive care. RESULTS Over a total of 488 days of observation it was found that the S protocol produced more bowel movements than the DS protocol, and in the symptom control/supportive care patients this difference was statistically significant (p < 0.05). In the S group admitted for symptom control/supportive care 62.5% had a bowel movement more than 50% of days, as compared with 32% in those receiving the DS protocol. Fifty-seven percent of the DS group required additional interventions (lactulose, suppositories or enemas) compared to 40% in the S group. Cramps were reported equally by 3 (10%) patients in each group. Eight patients (27%) experienced diarrhea in the S group compared to 4 (13%) in the DS group. CONCLUSIONS The addition of the initial docusate-only step and adding docusate 400-600 mg/d to the sennosides did not reduce bowel cramps, and was less effective in inducing laxation than the sennosides-only protocol. Further research into the appropriate use of docusate and into the details of bowel protocol design are required.
Automating Visual Privacy Protection Using a Smart LED

The ubiquity of mobile camera devices has been triggering an outcry of privacy concerns, whereas privacy protection still relies on the cooperation of the photographer or camera hardware, which can hardly be guaranteed in practice. In this paper, we introduce LiShield, which automatically protects a physical scene against photographing, by illuminating it with smart LEDs flickering in specialized waveforms. We use a model-driven approach to optimize the waveform, so as to ensure protection against the (uncontrollable) cameras and potential image-processing based attacks. We have also designed mechanisms to unblock authorized cameras and enable graceful degradation under strong ambient light interference. Our prototype implementation and experiments show that LiShield can effectively destroy unauthorized capturing while maintaining robustness against potential attacks.
Subtalar Arthrodesis for Adult Traumatic Arthritis

In this study the effectiveness of the modified Grice extra articular subtalar fusion in the treament of painful suntalar arthritis postintra-articular os calcis fractures was evaluted. Twenty-one patients with 23 Grice fusions returned for questioning, clinical assessment and roent genography. There were 16 males and 5 females. The ages ranged from 20 to 69 years (average 43.3 years). The follow-up period ranged from 2 to 9 years (average 4.3 years). The back-to-work time ranged from 2 weeks to 2 years (average 6.2 months). The patients were questioned and examined according to a described rating system. The back-to-work time ranged from 2 weeks to 2 years (average 6.2 months). The patients were questioned and examined according to a described rating system. The patients and surgeons rated 10 of 23 (43.5%) fusions good, 12 of 23 (52.2%) Satisfactory, and 1 of 23 (4.4%) fusions unsatisfactory. Eighteen patients (85.7%) were fully active, and 3 patients (13.3%) changed to lighter work or activities. All fusions were solid clinically and radiologically. Complications were few and included three mildly painful iliac crest fraft donor site scars, one superficial wound infection which resolved quickly, and one foot neuroma. In summary, the modified Grice extra articular subtalar fusion is simple, reliable, and effective in the treatment of painful traumatic subtalar arthritis.
TLR-independent neutrophil-derived IFN-γ is important for host resistance to intracellular pathogens

IFN-γ is a major cytokine that is critical for host resistance to a broad range of intracellular pathogens. Production of IFN-γ by natural killer and T cells is initiated by the recognition of pathogens by Toll-like receptors (TLRs). In an experimental model of toxoplasmosis, we have identified the presence of a nonlymphoid source of IFN-γ that was particularly evident in the absence of TLR-mediated recognition of Toxoplasma gondii. Genetically altered mice lacking all lymphoid cells due to deficiencies in Recombination Activating Gene 2 and IL-2Rγc genes also produced IFN-γ in response to the protozoan parasite. Flow-cytometry and morphological examinations of non-NK/non-T IFN-γ+ cells identified neutrophils as the cell type capable of producing IFN-γ. Selective elimination of neutrophils in TLR11−/− mice infected with the parasite resulted in acute susceptibility similar to that observed in IFN-γ–deficient mice. Similarly, Salmonella typhimurium infection of TLR-deficient mice induces the appearance of IFN-γ+ neutrophils. Thus, neutrophils are a crucial source for IFN-γ that is required for TLR-independent host protection against intracellular pathogens.
Five-year cohort study: emphysematous progression of indium-exposed workers.

BACKGROUND Dose-dependent adverse lung effects due to indium exposure have been reported in a cross-sectional study. This is a 5-year longitudinal cohort study of indium-exposed and unexposed workers, assessing indium exposure levels and its clinical lung effects. METHODS From 2008 to 2011, a 5-year follow-up study was conducted on 40 unexposed and 240 workers formerly or currently exposed to indium at 11 factories. Indium exposure was assessed by serum indium (In-S) (μg/L). Lung effects were assessed by subjective symptoms, serum biomarkers, spirometry, and chest high-resolution CT scan. Effect biomarkers used were Krebs von den Lungen and surfactant protein D. RESULTS Mean values of In-S, Krebs von den Lungen, and surfactant protein D among the workers exposed to indium at baseline declined during the 5-year follow-up by 29.8%, 27.2%, and 27.5%, respectively. Of the exposed subjects with In-S levels > 20 μg/L, 26.3% experienced emphysematous progression on high-resolution CT scan. Ninety percent (18 of 20) of workers with emphysematous progression during follow-up were current smokers at baseline, and a trend of increasing incidence of emphysematous progression at higher In-S levels was observed among the smokers (P = .005). Emphysematous changes among subjects with In-S levels > 20 μg/L were likely to progress, after adjusting for age, mean duration since initial indium exposure, and smoking history (OR = 10.49, 95% CI = 1.54-71.36). CONCLUSIONS Long-term adverse effects on emphysematous changes were observed. The results suggest workers exposed to indium with In-S levels > 20 μg/L should be immediately removed from exposure.
Decoupled Farm Payments and the Role of Base Updating Under Uncertainty

In the context of the U.S farm policy, this paper analyzes the effect that expectations about base updating in future policies have on a farmer’s acreage decision in the presence of price, yield and policy uncertainty. We consider a risk neutral farmer producing a single crop whose income consists of market revenue and government payments. We consider two policy regimes. Decisions made in the current policy regime are linked to government payments in the future policy regime through the possibility of a base update in the future regime. There is policy uncertainty about the possibility of a base update being allowed in the future. We combine stochastic dynamic programming with present value calculations to link current acreage decisions to future program payments. The average optimal planted acreage is weakly increasing in the subjective probability of the future base update. The maximum percentage increase in the average optimal planted acreage is 6%.
Comparative costs between myocardial revascularization with or without extracorporeal circulation.

BACKGROUND Surgical techniques of myocardial revascularization without the use of extracorporeal circulation (ECC) have raised hopes of attaining operative results with less systemic damage, lower occurrence of clinical complications and shorter hospital stay duration, generating expectations of lower hospital costs. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the hospital costs in patients submitted to myocardial revascularization with and without ECC and in those with stable multiarterial coronary disease with preserved ventricular function. METHODS The hospital costs were based on the existing governmental reimbursement. The costs included that of ortheses and prostheses and clinical complications. The time and costs of ICU stay and hospital stay duration were considered. RESULTS Between January 2002 and August 2006, 131 patients were randomized to surgery with ECC (SECC), whereas 128 were randomized to surgery without ECC (WECC). The basal characteristics were similar for both groups. The costs of surgical complications were significantly lower (p < 0.001) in patients from the WECC when compared to the SECC group (606.00 +/- 525.00 vs. 945.90 +/- 440.00), as well as ICU costs: 432.20 +/- 391.70 vs. 717.70 +/- 257.70, respectively. The duration of the operating room stay were 4.9 +/- 1.1 h vs. 3.9 +/- 1.0 h, p < 0.001; at the ICU it was 48.2 +/- 17.2 h vs. 29.2 +/- 26.1h) (p < 0.001), with intubation time of 9.2 +/- 4.5 h vs. 6.4 +/- 5.1h, p < 0.001 for patients from the group with and without ECC, respectively. CONCLUSION The present study allowed us to conclude that the myocardial revascularization surgery without extracorporeal circulation results in the decrease of operational costs and duration of the stay in each section related to the surgical treatment.
Resolving the contributions of anaesthesia, surgery, and nerve injury on brain derived neurotrophic factor expression in the medial prefrontal cortex of male rats in the CCI model of neuropathic pain

The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is critical for selecting and shaping complex behavioral responses. In rodent models of neuropathic pain there is evidence for both structural and functional changes in the mPFC. Brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plays a critical role in the normal functioning of the mPFC. It has been suggested that the disruption of complex behaviors and mood seen in some neuropathic pain patients is mediated in part by alterations of BDNF in this cortical region. In Sprague‐Dawley rats, mPFC levels of BDNF and TrkB mRNA and protein, were quantified and compared to controls (n = 24) 6 days after either: (a) halothane (1.5%) anaesthesia (n = 12), (b) sham surgery under halothane (n = 12), (c) sciatic nerve chronic constriction injury under halothane (n = 48). The social behaviors of the rats were quantified daily during the experimental period. Halothane anaesthesia increased BDNF and TrkB mRNA bilaterally. These increases were reversed in rats that underwent sham surgical and nerve injury procedures. Further, halothane anaesthesia, surgical procedures, and nerve injury each decreased BDNF protein levels. These results reveal a marked and distinct BDNF expression profile in the mPFC of rats that have undergone each stage of the procedure to produce neuropathic pain by chronic constriction injury of the sciatic nerve. The highly sensitive nature of neurotrophic signalling to general anaesthesia in the mature neuronal circuit of the adult rat brain highlights the importance of careful evaluation and interpretation of data evaluating the effects of experimental procedures on neural substrates.
A note from history: The discovery of blood cells.

Naked-eye inspection of blood at phlebotomy was practiced far back to ancient times. Invention of the compound microscope in Holland around 1590 by Hans and Zacharias Jannsen made possible the examination of the content of the blood. In 1658, the Dutch naturalist, Jan Swammerdam (1637–1680) was the first person to observe red blood cells under the microscope. Another Dutch microscopist, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek (1632–1723), who was an acquaintance of Swammerdam, described the size and shape of “red corpuscles” and rendered the first illustration of them in 1695 (Fig. 1) [1]. During the next 150 years if anybody looked at blood at all under the microscope, nothing other than the “red corpuscles” were seen. Gabriel Andral (1797–1876), a French professor of medicine, and William Addison (1802–1881), an English country practitioner, reported simultaneously the first descriptions of leukocytes (1843); both concluded that the red as well as the white globules of the blood were altered in disease [2,3]. Addison also deduced that pus cells were blood leukocytes that had passed through the wall of capillary vessels. Physicians in France and England made landmark discoveries in the mid 1800s that established the foundations of a new field in medicine: hematology. Alfred Donne (1801–1878) a French public health physician who in 1837 discovered and illustrated Trichomonas vaginalis in vaginal secretion of Parisien prostitutes, was an avid microscopist [4]. In 1842, he discovered a third element, the platelets, in blood [5]. Despite indifference and often even open hostility by his colleagues, Donne gave evening classes in medical microscopy (the first microscopic workshops in medicine) that attracted French as well as foreign students. One of Donne’s foreign students was John Hughes Bennett (1812–1875), a physician from Edinburgh, Scotland. He studied with Donne for a couple of years and, while in Paris, he helped to found the Medical Society of Paris and became its first president. In 1841, shortly after returning to Edinburgh, Bennett published a book on the use of the microscope for the diagnosis of diseases [6]. In 1845, Bennett in Scotland and Rudolph Virchow (1821–1902) in Germany simultaneously reported detailed descriptions of the blood cells in leukemia [7,8]. Virchow gave the condition its present name, leukemia. At this point in medical history, despite the fact that iodine, suffron, and ammonia carmine were available for staining tissues and cells, practically no advances were made in knowledge about the morphology of blood cells. The state of hematology from the 1850s to the 1870s was delineated by Lionel Beale (1828–1906), a British professor of physiology, pathology, and medicine, in a book [9] that went through several editions. Beale illustrated and described “the various corpuscles met within healthy Fig 1. Illustration of “red corpuscles” of blood by A van Leeuwenhoek (Letter 42 of Arcana Natura, 1695) [1].
Optimization of the single-day praziquantel therapy for neurocysticercosis

In 1996, we described a schedule of single-day therapy with praziquantel for management of neurocysticercosis. This treatment resulted in 90% less total dose and costs and 93% less duration of treatment in comparison with the 2-week regimen, achieving similar clinical efficacy.1 It also showed similar results compared with albendazole.2 Recent reports in healthy volunteers have suggested that plasma levels of praziquantel increase with the administration of cimetidine3 and also with a high-carbohydrate diet,4 apparently due to inhibition of cytochrome p 450. To investigate the potential clinical advantage of this effect, we compared the praziquantel single-day regimen administered either alone or in combination with cimetidine, and administered simultaneously with a high-carbohydrate diet. We studied 18 patients diagnosed with cysticercosis in brain parenchyma or subarachnoid space at the convexity. Age range was 17 to 64 years (mean 29.2); the study included 10 men and eight women. No patients …
Low Density Sugarcane Bagasse Particleboard Bonded with Citric Acid and Sucrose: Effect of board density and additive content

The development of natural adhesives derived from non-fossil resources is very important for the future. In this study, by taking sugarcane bagasse as the raw material, without using any synthetic resin but adding some eco-friendly additives (citric acid and sucrose), low density particleboards were successfully developed. The effects of board density and additive contents on the physical and mechanical properties of the boards were investigated. The bonding mechanism was observed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results showed that the low density bagasse particleboard had good mechanical properties and dimensional stability relative to its low board density. The modulus of rupture (MOR) and the thickness swelling (TS) values increased with increasing board density. The board with a density of higher than 0.40 g/cm³ and manufactured at 15% additive content can meet the requirements of the Chinese national forestry industry standard LY/T 1718-2007 (2007). Based on the results of the FTIR spectra, the additive not only increased the hydrogen bond but also the molecular linkage force (C-O-C). X-ray diffraction showed the relationship between crystallinity of cellulose and the strength of particleboard.
Topical microbicides and HIV prevention in the female genital tract

Worldwide, HIV disproportionately affects women who are often unable to negotiate traditional HIV preventive strategies such as condoms. In the absence of an effective vaccine or cure, chemoprophylaxis may be a valuable self‐initiated alternative. Topical microbicides have been investigated as one such option. The first generation topical microbicides were non‐specific, broad‐spectrum antimicrobial agents, including surfactants, polyanions, and acid buffering gels, that generally exhibited contraceptive properties. After extensive clinical study, none prevented HIV infection, and their development was abandoned. Second generation topical microbicides include agents with selective mechanisms of antiviral activity. Most are currently being used for, or have previously been explored as, drugs for treatment of HIV. The most advanced of these is tenofovir 1% gel: the first topical agent shown to significantly reduce HIV infection by 39% compared to placebo. This review summarizes the evolution of topical microbicides for HIV chemoprophylaxis, highlights important concepts learned, and offers current and future considerations for this area of research.
Excess maternal and postnatal thyroxine alters chondrocyte numbers and the composition of the extracellular matrix of growth cartilage in rats

ABSTRACT Purpose/Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of excess maternal and postnatal thyroxine on chondrocytes and the extracellular matrix (ECM) of growth cartilage. Materials and Methods: We used 16 adult female Wistar rats divided into two groups: thyroxine treatment and control. From weaning to 40 days of age, offspring of the treated group (n = 8) received L-thyroxine. Plasma free T4 was measured. Histomorphometric analysis was performed on thyroids and femurs of all offspring. Alcian blue histochemical staining and real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction measurements of gene expression levels of Sox9, Runx2, Aggrecan, Col I, Col II, Alkaline phosphatase, Mmp2, Mmp9, and Bmp2 were performed. Data were analyzed for statistical significance by student’s t-test. Results: Excess maternal and postnatal thyroxine reduced the intensity of Alcian blue staining, altered the number of chondrocytes in proliferative and hypertrophic zones in growth cartilage, and reduced the gene expression of Sox9, Mmp2, Mmp9, Col II, and Bmp2 in the growth cartilage of all offspring. Additionally, excess thyroxine altered the gene expression of Runx2, Aggrecan and Col I, and this effect was dependent on age. Conclusions: Excess thyroxine in neonates suppresses chondrocyte proliferation, stimulates chondrocyte hypertrophy and changes the ECM composition by reducing the amount of proteoglycans and glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). Prolonged exposure to excess thyroxine suppresses chondrocyte activity in general, with a severe reduction in the proteoglycan content of cartilage and the expression of gene transcripts essential for endochondral growth and characteristics of the chondrocyte phenotype.
A parallel spatial join framework using PMR-quadtrees

Spatial join is the most important and complex operation in spatial databases. Therefore, there is a lot of ongoing research presenting algorithms and data structures to efficiently process spatial joins. In this work we present a parallel solution for spatial join processing with a dynamic load balance strategy. We have implemented PMR-quadtrees (Samet, 1990) on top of persistent object structures using an object oriented database server.