Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Methylprednisolone infusion for life-threatening H1N1-virus infection

Background: During winter 2009 we treated with prolonged corticosteroid infusion eight consecutive patients affected by H1N1-virus infection and severe pneumonia. The most severe patient was a previously healthy 30-year-old man admitted to hospital because of bilateral pneumonia and severe acute respiratory failure. Method: H1N1-virus infection was detected by broncho-alveolar lavage performed on day 1. After some days following admission the patient was still in a life-threatening state, not responding to oseltamivir, protective mechanical ventilation and veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Results: The addition of methylprednisolone infusion at a stress dose (1 mg/kg/24 h) as rescue therapy significantly and rapidly improved the clinical condition. Weaning from ECMO and invasive mechanical ventilation was possible within a relatively few days. Conclusion: According to the literature reports more than 34% of H1N1-virus severe infections were treated with corticosteroids. This report and our experience may suggest a possible life-saving use of corticosteroids at a stress dose in severely ill patients with an H1N1-virus infection that is not responding to the most advanced treatments.
Retrospective Study of the Treatment of Infantile Hemangiomas Using a Combination of Propranolol and Pulsed Dye Laser

BACKGROUND Infantile hemangioma (IH) clearance may be slow or incomplete in response to pulsed dye laser (PDL) or propranolol alone. OBJECTIVES To evaluate whether IH treated with PDL and propranolol displayed more rapid and complete clearance than IH treated with propranolol alone. MATERIALS AND METHODS Retrospective review of facial‐segmental IH treated with propranolol and PDL and controls treated with propranolol was conducted. Blinded physicians used patient photographs to select clearance level and the earliest date of near‐complete clearance. Days of propranolol, PDL sessions, and propranolol dose, each until date of near‐complete clearance; total days of propranolol; and total propranolol dose were recorded. RESULTS Infantile hemangiomas treated concurrently with propranolol and PDL achieved complete clearance (6/12) more often than IH treated with propranolol followed by PDL (2/5) or IH treated with propranolol alone (1/8; difference in clearance scores p = .01) and achieved near‐complete clearance after fewer days of propranolol (mean 92 days for concurrent propranolol and PDL vs 288 days for propranolol; p < .001). Cumulative propranolol dose until near‐complete clearance was lowest in the concurrent propranolol and PDL group (149.16 vs 401.25 mg/kg for propranolol; p < .001). CONCLUSION Facial‐segmental IH treated with propranolol and PDL displayed morerapid and complete clearance and required a lower cumulative propranolol dose to achieve near‐complete clearance.
Global spatial distributions of nitrogen and carbon stable isotope ratios of modern human hair.

RATIONALE Natural stable carbon (δ(13)C) and nitrogen isotope ratios (δ(15)N) of humans are related to individual dietary habits and environmental and physiological factors. In forensic science the stable isotope ratios of human remains such as hair and nail are used for geographical allocation. Thus, knowledge of the global spatial distribution of human δ(13)C and δ(15)N values is an essential component in the interpretation of stable isotope analytical results. METHODS No substantial global datasets of human stable isotope ratios are currently available, although the amount of available (published) data has increased within recent years. We have herein summarised the published data on human global δ(13)C andδ(15)N values (around 3600 samples) and added experimental values of more than 400 additional worldwide human hair and nail samples. In order to summarise isotope ratios for hair and nail samples correction factors were determined. RESULTS The current available dataset of human stable isotope ratios is biased towards Europe and North America with only limited data for countries in Africa, Central and South America and Southeast Asia. The global spatial distribution of carbon isotopes is related to latitude and supports the fact that human δ(13)C values are dominated by the amount of C4 plants in the diet, either due to direct ingestion as plant food, or by its use as animal feed. In contrast, the global spatial distribution of human δ(15)N values is apparently not exclusively related to the amount of fish or meat ingested, but also to environmental factors that influence agricultural production. CONCLUSIONS There are still a large proportion of countries, especially in Africa, where there are no available data for human carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios. Although the interpretation of modern human carbon isotope ratios at the global scale is quite possible, and correlates with the latitude, the potential influences of extrinsic and/or intrinsic factors on human nitrogen isotope ratios have to be taken into consideration.
The Effects of the Bond Investor Base Stability on the Leverage of the Firm

We examine the effect of the withdrawal risk of institutional bondholders (e.g., mutual bond funds) on the leverage of the firm using a novel dataset. Our main finding is that the instability of the firm’s bond investor base (as measured by (i) the average portfolio churn rate of investors holding the firm’s bonds, or (ii) the prevalence of mutual funds among the firm’s bondholders as opposed to insurance companies) has a negative and significant effect on the leverage of the firm. The investor base instability also has a negative and significant effect on the firm’s probability of issuing bonds, and a positive and significant effect on the firm’s probability of issuing equity and borrowing from banks. These findings suggest that the instability of the bond investor base arising from institutional investors’ withdrawal risk significantly affects the firm’s capital structure. JEL classification: G1, G2
A role for Gsh 1 in the developing striatum and olfactory bulb of Gsh 2 mutant mice

The mammalian striatum is the major component of the basal ganglia and serves an essential function in processing cortical information concerning cognition and voluntary movement [for review, see Gerfen (Gerfen, 1992)]. The neurons that comprise the striatum have their origin in two prominent elevations called the medial and lateral ganglionic eminences (MGE and LGE, respectively). The GABAergic medium-sized spiny projection neurons, which constitute the vast majority of striatal neurons, are generated from the LGE (Pakzaban et al., 1993; Deacon et al., 1994; Olsson et al., 1995; Olsson et al., 1998). Conversely, the majority of striatal interneurons appear to be generated from the MGE (Olsson et al., 1998; Marin et al., 2000). Patterning of the LGE during early telencephalic development is not, as yet, fully understood. Formation of its ventromedial border with the MGE is dependent upon the expression of Nkx2.1(now known as Titf1) (Sussel et al., 1999). Furthermore, the dorsolateral limit of the LGE is controlled by LGE expression of Gsh2 (Corbin et al., 2000; Toresson et al., 2000; Yun et al., 2001) and cortical expression of Pax6 (Stoykova et al., 2000; Toresson et al., 2000; Yun et al., 2001). Once the domain of LGE progenitors is established, a number of genes, such as Dlx1/2 (Anderson et al., 1997), Mash1(also known as Ascl1) (Casarosa et al., 1999) and Ebf1 (Garel et al., 1999) are known to be required for these cells to give rise to the striatal complex. The LGE, or a domain continuous with the LGE, is also the source of olfactory bulb interneurons (Wichterle et al., 1999) which are generated from late embryonic stages into adulthood (Altman, 1969; Lois and Alvarez-Buylla, 1994; Luskin, 1993). In keeping with this, many mutants with an LGE/striatal phenotype also display defects in the olfactory bulb interneuron populations, e.g. Dlx1/2 mutants (Bulfone et al., 1998) and Mash1 mutants (Casarosa et al., 1999). As mentioned above, the homeobox gene Gsh2is important for establishing the boundary between the LGE and cortical ventricular zones (VZ). Mutations of Gsh2 leads to the generation of a considerably smaller striatum (Corbin et al., 2000; Toresson et al., 2000; Yun et al., 2001), with the olfactory tubercle being particularly affected (Toresson et al., 2000). This defect depends to a large extent on the ectopic expression of Pax6 in early LGE precursor cells, since removal of this gene on the Gsh2 −/− background significantly improves striatal development (Toresson et al., 2000). Gsh2is thus playing an important role in striatal development by maintaining the correct molecular identity of early LGE precursors. At later 4769 Development 128, 4769-4780 (2001) Printed in Great Britain © The Company of Biologists Limited 2001 DEV1709
24-hour pattern of falls in hospitalized and long-term care institutionalized elderly persons: A systematic review of the published literature

Falls are common among the elderly > 65 years of age and can result in both serious trauma and costly medical care. The epidemiology of falls in the elderly typically focuses on identifying contributory exogenous environmental and endogenous age-related physical, cognitive and other health status factors; however, one potentially important variable seldom considered is time of fall. We sought to determine if falls in hospitalized/institutionalized elderly persons exhibit 24 h and other temporal patterns, since knowledge of such could be useful in their prevention. We conducted a systematic review of the published literature to critically appraise and synthesize the methods and findings of previous reports addressing clock-time, day-of-week and month-of-year fall patterns of institutionalized elderly cohorts. Medline, SCOPUS, Ovid SP and Web of Knowledge were systematic assessed, entering search terms of “accidental fall”, “circadian rhythm”, “biological clocks”, “circadian clocks”, “activity cycles”, “periodicity”, and with databases accepting an age limiter, “age of 65+ years”. Methodological quality was assessed by STROBE and CONSORT checklists, respectively, in observational and clinical studies. Publications were reviewed if meeting inclusion criteria of: (i) being an empirical study, (ii) adopting circadian and/or other period rhythmicity as a fall risk, and (iii) focusing on hospitalized/institutionalized falls in those ≥ 65 years of age; plus exclusion criteria of: (i) cohort < 65 years of age and (ii) reports as dissertations or editorials. The search retrieved 170 publications; however, only nine met all inclusion/exclusion criteria. Typically, past studies disregarded the temporal aspects of fall incidents; the few that did varied in quality, institutional setting, and patient type, i.e. medical diagnoses. Overall, findings suggest a single or double-peak 24 h pattern of fall incidence, with time of greatest incidence seemingly associated with circadian rhythm-dependent differences in the symptom intensity of dominating medical diagnoses (e.g. heart failure versus Alzheimer syndrome) among sample cohorts plus location (e.g. bathroom versus hallway) of occurrence. Future research is urgently required to define temporal patterns in falls and their etiology, e.g. relative to circadian and other rhythms in both the manifestation and intensity of medical conditions and adverse effects of medications according to scheduling, plus staff personnel number and work schedules as it affects patient oversight, and cyclic environmental conditions (e.g. light intensity exposure) to best design preventive measures.
Apoptosis of vascular cells by oxidized LDL: involvement of caspases and LOX-1 and its implication in atherosclerotic plaque rupture.

A therosclerotic plaque rupture followed by thrombus formation is a key event in the onset of acute coronary syndrome.1 Apoptotic death of smooth muscle cells in the fibrous cap of the atherosclerotic plaque, in addition to degradation of extracellular matrix proteins by matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), appears to be involved in atherosclerotic plaque rupture.1 Oxidized LDL (Ox-LDL) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and atherosclerotic plaque rupture by promoting lipid accumulation, proinflammatory responses, and apoptotic cell death.2–4 In fact, apoptotic cells are present in atherosclerotic lesions.4,5 These biological effects, including proapoptotic effects, of Ox-LDL appear to be, at least in part, mediated by cell-surface receptors for Ox-LDL.6 Among several different classes of oxidized LDL receptors (also designated scavenger receptors) most of which are expressed mainly by macrophages, lectin-like oxidized LDL receptor-1 (LOX-1) is a type II membrane glycoprotein and expressed by activated vascular endothelial and smooth muscle cells, as well as macrophages.7–10 LOX-1 expression …
Controlling cell–cell interactions using surface acoustic waves

Significance We present a unique acoustic well approach that can precisely control cell-to-cell distance and cell–cell interactions. Our technology can achieve high precision and high throughput simultaneously while preserving the integrity of cells. It is capable of creating cell assemblies with precise spatial control both in suspension and on a substrate. We envision the exploitation of this powerful technology, for example, in the study of cell–cell interactions in fields, such as immunology, developmental biology, neuroscience, and cancer metastasis, and in the studies of cell–cell and cell–matrix adhesion. The interactions between pairs of cells and within multicellular assemblies are critical to many biological processes such as intercellular communication, tissue and organ formation, immunological reactions, and cancer metastasis. The ability to precisely control the position of cells relative to one another and within larger cellular assemblies will enable the investigation and characterization of phenomena not currently accessible by conventional in vitro methods. We present a versatile surface acoustic wave technique that is capable of controlling the intercellular distance and spatial arrangement of cells with micrometer level resolution. This technique is, to our knowledge, among the first of its kind to marry high precision and high throughput into a single extremely versatile and wholly biocompatible technology. We demonstrated the capabilities of the system to precisely control intercellular distance, assemble cells with defined geometries, maintain cellular assemblies in suspension, and translate these suspended assemblies to adherent states, all in a contactless, biocompatible manner. As an example of the power of this system, this technology was used to quantitatively investigate the gap junctional intercellular communication in several homotypic and heterotypic populations by visualizing the transfer of fluorescent dye between cells.
Predictive factors of axillary metastasis in patients with breast cancer and positive sentinel lymph node biopsy.

OBJECTIVE to evaluate the risk factors for the presence of non-sentinel axillary metastatic disease in patients with breast cancer and positive sentinel node biopsy. Methods: retrospective cross-sectional study of women with breast cancer operated at the Cancer Institute of Ceará between 2002 and 2012 and submitted to sentinel lymph node biopsy. RESULTS Among 946 breast cancer patients, 331 underwent sentinel lymph node biopsy, which was positive in 83. These patients underwent axillary lymphadenectomy and 39 (46%) had metastases in other axillary lymph nodes. The variables that were significant for additional axillary disease included Ki67>14 (p=0.043), angiolymphatic invasion (p=0.01) and tumor size (p=0.027). No association was observed with estrogen, progesterone, tumor grade and Her-2 receptors. DISCUSSION the presence of angiolymphatic invasion and tumor size have also been related to additional axillary metastasis in other studies. In addition to these variables, the same predictive effect was observed when we evaluated Ki67. The validation of these results may allow the customization of breast cancer treatment, which may reduce its morbidity. CONCLUSION angiolymphatic invasion, tumor size (T3/T4) and Ki67>14 were factors predictive of axillary metastasis involvement in addition to the sentinel lymph node.
Plasmid Involvement in Parathion Hydrolysis by Pseudomonas diminuta

An organism identified as Pseudomonas diminuta was found to hydrolyze parathion. Cells grown for 48 h contained 3,400 U of parathion hydrolase activity per liter of broth. Expression of enzymatic activity was lost at a high frequency (9 to 12%) after treatment with mitomycin C. Hydrolase-negative derivatives were missing a plasmid present in the wild-type organism. The molecular mass of this plasmid (pCS1), as determined by electron microscopy, was about 44 × 106 daltons.
TB in llamas caused by Mycobacterium bovis

SIR, — We would like to report the diagnosis of tuberculosis (tb) associated with Mycobacterium bovis (the bovine tubercle bacillus) infection in llamas from a commercial herd in Devon. The herd was established in Devon eight years ago with animals reared outside the county. At the time of
A strong data processing inequality for thinning poisson processes and some applications

This paper derives a simple strong data processing inequality (DPI) for Poisson processes: after a Poisson process is passed through p-thinning — in which every arrival remains in the process with probability p and is erased otherwise, independently of the other points — the mutual information between the Poisson process and any other random variable is reduced to no more than p times its original value. This strong DPI is applied to prove tight converse bounds in several problems: a hypothesis test with communication constraints, a mutual information game, and a CEO problem.
Hydrogen Sulfide–Releasing Aspirin Derivative ACS14 Exerts Strong Antithrombotic Effects In Vitro and In Vivo

Objective—Hydrogen sulfide (H2S)–releasing NSAIDs exert potent anti-inflammatory effects beyond classical cyclooxygenase inhibition. Here, we compared the platelet inhibitory effects of the H2S-releasing aspirin derivative ACS14 with its mother compound aspirin to analyze additional effects on platelets. Methods and Results—In platelets of mice fed with ACS14 for 6 days (50 mg/kg per day), not only arachidonic acid–induced platelet aggregation but also ADP-dependent aggregation was decreased, an effect that was not observed with an equimolar dose of aspirin (23 mg/kg per day). ACS14 led to a significantly longer arterial occlusion time after light-dye–induced endothelial injury as well as decreased thrombus formation after ferric chloride-induced injury in the carotid artery. Bleeding time was not prolonged compared with animals treated with equimolar doses of aspirin. In vitro, in human whole blood, ACS14 (25–500 µmol/L) inhibited arachidonic acid–induced platelet aggregation, but compared with aspirin additionally reduced thrombin receptor–activating peptide–, ADP-, and collagen-dependent aggregation. In washed human platelets, ACS14 (500 µmol/L) attenuated &agr;IIb&bgr;3 integrin activation and fibrinogen binding and increased intracellular cAMP levels and cAMP-dependent vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein (VASP) phosphorylation. Conclusion—The H2S-releasing aspirin derivative ACS14 exerts strong antiaggregatory effects by impairing the activation of the fibrinogen receptor by mechanisms involving increased intracellular cyclic nucleotides. These additional antithrombotic properties result in a more efficient inhibition of thrombus formation in vivo as achieved with aspirin alone.
Distinction in Coherent Neural Network Between Resting and Working Brain States

The resting brain is not silent; rather, it is characterized by organized resting-state networks showing spontaneous and coherent neuronal activities, which can be mapped using the spatiotemporal correlation of blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) signal fluctuations measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). However, it remains elusive whether the similar fMRI approach is able to image the coherent network in a working brain, and if yes, whether there is a distinction between the resting- and working-state coherent networks. This study aimed to address these questions in the human visual cortex with a desired activation paradigm using continuous, sustained visual stimuli. It was found that the resting-state coherent network covering the human visual cortex was spatially reorganized during the stimulation into two coherent networks with distinct temporal characteristics of BOLD fluctuations: one covering the activated visual cortical region and the other covering the remaining (nonactivated) visual cortex. The stimulus-specific reorganization of the coherent network observed in the present fMRI study in human is consistent with previous electrophysiological findings from animal studies, and may suggest an essential mechanism for brain functioning. Finally, a similar fMRI experiment was also conducted under brief, short stimulation to examine how the stimulation paradigm can affect the observations.
Long-term respiratory symptoms in World Trade Center responders.

BACKGROUND New York State (NYS) employees who responded to the World Trade Center (WTC) disaster on or after 11 September 2001 potentially experienced exposures that might have caused persistent respiratory effects. NYS responders represent a more moderately exposed population than typical first responders. AIMS To assess whether NYS employees who were WTC responders were more likely than controls to report lower respiratory symptoms (LRS) or a diagnosis of asthma 5 years post-9/11. Persistence and severity of symptoms were also evaluated. METHODS Participants were initially mailed self-administered questionnaires (initial, Year 1, Year 2) and then completed a telephone interview in Year 3. Data were analysed using Poisson's regression models. RESULTS WTC exposure was associated with LRS, including cough symptoms suggestive of chronic bronchitis, 5 years post-9/11. When exposure was characterized using an exposure assessment method, the magnitude of effect was greater in those with exposure scores above the mean. WTC exposure was associated with persistence of LRS over the 3 year study period. Results also suggest that participants with the highest exposures were more likely to experience increased severity of their asthma condition and/or LRS. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that even in a moderately exposed responder population, lower respiratory effects were a persistent problem 5 years post-9/11, indicating that some WTC responders require ongoing monitoring.
The effects of water and dairy drinks on dietary patterns in overweight adolescents

Abstract The aim was to investigate the effects of increased water or dairy intake on total intake of energy, nutrients, foods and dietary patterns in overweight adolescents in the Milk Components and Metabolic Syndrome (MoMS) study (n= 173). Participants were randomly assigned to consume 1l/d of skim milk, whey, casein or water for 12 weeks. A decrease in the dietary pattern called Convenience Food, identified by principal component analysis, was observed during the intervention both in the water and dairy groups. Total energy intake decreased by 990.9 kJ/d (236.8 kcal/d) in the water group but was unchanged in the dairy group during intervention. To conclude, an extra intake of fluid seems to favourably affect the rest of the diet by decreasing the intake of convenience foods, including sugar-sweetened beverages. A low energy drink, such as water, seems advantageous considering the total energy intake in these overweight adolescents. This study is registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT00785499).