Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Too much of a good thing? The danger of water intoxication in endurance sports

INTRODUCTION The deaths of four runners in the 2005 Great North Run alerted the public to the potential dangers of distance running. In the immediate aftermath, the Sports Minister recommended that runners be advised to ‘drink more water’. These comments would appear to be extremely sensible, and it is likely that most people seeking advice prior to participating in such an event would be encouraged to ‘drink plenty of fluid’. It is therefore a seeming paradox that the medical director for the 2005 New York City marathon went to extraordinary lengths to advise participants to limit their fluid intake to no more than 750 ml per hour. The dangers of water intoxication are well known among sports physicians, and are starting to become recognised by ultra-endurance athletes (competing in ultra-marathons or Ironman-distance triathlons), even if there is doubt in some lay minds about the cause. However, the message does not appear to be strong enough to re-educate a public that is given out-dated advice in magazines, and is bombarded with advertising from manufacturers of sports drinks, all stressing the importance of avoiding dehydration. GPs are ideally placed to help educate participants in endurance events about the dangers of hyponatraemia of exercise. The London Marathon is the largest annual fundraising event in the UK. One-third of the available entries are allocated to charities and, as a result, each year a significant number of first-time runners seek medical clearance before they begin training. The slower novice or ‘amateur–enthusiast’ is at greater risk of developing hyponatraemia than the competitive athlete, and this is because they are prone to consuming too much fluid. Prevention of hyponatraemia rests on education about the dangers of excessive fluid intake. However, this is unlikely to be effective on its own without correcting the widely held belief that dehydration is the greatest danger faced by endurance athletes. Endurance athletes are generally advised to consume enough fluids to prevent any degree of dehydration. This stems from the beliefs that dehydration is the greatest risk to health and performance during exercise, that the sensation of thirst is a late indicator of dehydration, and that all of the fluid lost during exercise must be replaced and can be done so without consequence. The scientific evidence does not support this position.
AMNESIAC : Amnesic Automatic Computer Trading Computation for Communication for Energy Efficiency ∗

Due to imbalances in technology scaling, the energy consumption of data storage and communication by far exceeds the energy consumption of actual data production, i.e., computation. As a consequence, recomputing data can become more energy-efficient than storing and retrieving precomputed data. At the same time, recomputation can relax the pressure on the memory hierarchy and the communication bandwidth. This study hence assesses the energy efficiency prospects of trading computation for communication. We introduce an illustrative proof-of-concept design, identify practical limitations, and provide design guidelines.
Influence of Partner's Infection Status on Prevalent Human Papillomavirus Among Persons With a New Sex Partner

Background: We evaluated the influence of the partner's human papillomavirus (HPV) status and sexual practices on prevalent HPV infection among new couples to study HPV transmission. Methods: Women attending university or college in Montreal, Canada, and their male partners (N = 263 couples) were enrolled in 2005–2008. HPV typing was done in self-collected vaginal swabs and clinician-collected penis and scrotum swabs. The outcome measures were overall and type-specific HPV prevalence. Results: HPV was detected in 56% of women and men. Prevalence was higher among persons with infected partners (85%) than in those whose partners were negative (19%). Type-specific detection was substantially higher among women (OR = 55.2, 95% CI: 38.0–80.1) and men (OR = 58.7, 95% CI: 39.8–86.3) if their partner harbored the type under consideration. Prevalence among women and men with 10 or more lifetime partners was 15.4 (95% CI: 5.9–40.2) and 9.5 (95% CI: 4.4–19.8) times higher than among those with 1 partner. Frequent condom use was protective in men, particularly if his partner was HPV-infected (OR = 0.64, 95% CI: 0.50–0.82). This effect was attenuated among women with an infected partner (OR = 0.88, 95% CI: 0.69–1.11). Conclusions: The current partner's status was the most important risk factor for prevalent HPV infection. Condoms exerted a stronger protective effect among men than among women.
Comparing Measurements of Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Thickness Obtained on Scanning Laser Polarimetry with Fixed and Variable Corneal Compensator

Purpose To compare retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness measurements obtained on scanning laser polarimetry (SLP) with commercially available instruments coupled with fixed (FCC) and variable corneal compensator (VCC). Methods Forty-two eyes of 42 patients underwent a complete ophthalmologic evaluation and achromatic automated perimetry (24-2 program, SITA standard strategy). Nineteen eyes were healthy (average mean deviation: -0.12 dB ± 2.26) and 23 glaucomatous (average mean deviation: -4.92 dB ± 6.49). All patients underwent SLP with both FCC and VCC. Adequate compensation of corneal birefringence on FCC-SLP was checked acquiring macular retardation map (MRM). RNFL thickness was evaluated considering superior and inferior maximum (SM, IM), average thickness and ellipse average (AT, EA), and superior and inferior average (SA, IA). Mean values (±SD) for each parameter measured by the two polarimeters were compared and linear regression calculated. The ability of each parameter to discriminate between normal and glaucomatous eyes was evaluated on both polarimeters calculating area under ROC curve. Results A significant linear correlation for all parameters was noted (r range: 0.65–0.78). VCC produced slightly higher thickness values than FCC, both in normal and glaucomatous eyes. On both polarimeters, area under ROC curve for all parameters discriminated adequately healthy from glaucomatous eyes (range: 0.68–0.81). Conclusions In a highly comparable and selected group of normal and glaucomatous eyes, FCC-SLP and VCC-SLP showed considerable concordance in measuring peripapillary RNFL thickness, both for sectorial and global parameters. Proper corneal birefringence compensation provided separation of normal from glaucomatous eyes on both polarimeters.
A Comparison of Clinical and Ultrasonic Estimation of Fetal Weight

The accuracy of clinical and ultrasound estimation of fetal weight was compared by an analytical cross sectional study. 266 pregnant women who were admitted to the labour room, Siriraj Hospital during the period from February 1, 1999 to March 1, 1999 were included in this study. Fetal weight was estimated in all pregnant women clinically by 2nd year resident physicians and 6th year medical students, followed by ultrasound estimation within 24 hours before delivery. Every estimation was blinded from each other. From the study, clinical estimation by 2nd year resident physicians was comparable with ultrasound estimation and both were significantly more accurate than estimation by 6th year medical students. The proportions of accuracy were 66.7 per cent, 63.3 per cent and 55.3 per cent respectively. Clinical estimation by 2nd year resident physicians tended to have equally over- and underestimation. On the contrary, ultrasound estimation tended to underestimate when the method was inaccurate. Among infants with a birth weight less than 2,500 grams, ultrasound estimation performed slightly better than clinical estimation. However, every method underestimated the fetal weight when an infant weighed more than 4,000 grams. In conclusion, accuracy of clinical estimation of fetal weight by 2nd year resident physicians was comparable to that of ultrasound estimation and may be used as an alternative to ultrasound estimation for pregnant women. However, when the clinical estimate of fetal weight is less than 2,500 grams, ultrasound estimation should be performed for more accurate results and also for assessment of other abnormalities. Careful attention should be paid to infants with a birth weight of more than 4,000 grams since no method can correctly estimate the fetal weight and physicians should be aware of birth trauma.
Epstein-Barr Virus-Encoded MicroRNA BART15-3p Promotes Cell Apoptosis Partially by Targeting BRUCE

ABSTRACT Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) generates a variety of viral microRNAs (miRNAs) by processing the BHRF1 and BamHI A rightward (BART) transcripts. BART miRNAs are expressed in all cells latently infected with EBV, but the functions of most BART miRNAs remain unknown. The results of a cell proliferation assay revealed that miR-BART15-3p inhibited cell proliferation. Fluorescence-activated cell sorting following staining with annexin V or propidium iodide showed that miR-BART15-3p promoted apoptosis. Furthermore, the inhibitor for miR-BART15-3p increased cell growth and reduced apoptosis in EBV-infected cells. Using bioinformatic analyses, we predicted that miR-BART15-3p may target the antiapoptotic B-cell lymphoma 2 (BCL2), BCL2L2, DEAD (Asp-Glu-Ala-Asp) box polypeptide 42 (DDX42), and baculovirus inhibitor of apoptosis repeat-containing ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme (BRUCE) mRNAs. The luciferase reporter assay showed that only the 3′ untranslated region (UTR) of BRUCE was affected by miR-BART15-3p. Two putative seed-matched sites for miR-BART15-3p were evident on the BRUCE 3′ UTR. The results of a mutation study indicated that miR-BART15-3p hybridized only with the first seed-matched site on the BRUCE 3′ UTR. miR-BART15-3p downregulated the BRUCE protein in EBV-negative cells, while the inhibitor for miR-BART15-3p upregulated the BRUCE protein in EBV-infected cells without affecting the BRUCE mRNA level. miR-BART15-3p was secreted from EBV-infected gastric carcinoma cells, and the level of miR-BART15-3p was 2- to 16-fold higher in exosomes than in the corresponding cells. Our data suggest that miR-BART15-3p can induce apoptosis partially by inhibiting the translation of the apoptosis inhibitor BRUCE. Further study is warranted to understand the role of miR-BART15-3p in the EBV life cycle.
Scoring systems predict the prognosis of acute-on-chronic hepatitis B liver failure: an evidence-based review

Acute-on-chronic hepatitis B liver failure is a devastating condition that is associated with mortality rates of over 50% and is consequent to acute exacerbation of chronic hepatitis B in patients with previously diagnosed or undiagnosed chronic liver disease. Liver transplantation is the definitive treatment to lower mortality rate, but there is a great imbalance between donation and potential recipients. An early and accurate prognostic system based on the integration of laboratory indicators, clinical events and some mathematic logistic equations is needed to optimize treatment for patients. As parts of the scoring systems, the MELD was the most common and the donor-MELD was the most innovative for patients on the waiting list for liver transplantation. This review aims to highlight the various features and prognostic capabilities of these scoring systems.
In Vitro Activity of Fosfomycin against blaKPC-Containing Klebsiella pneumoniae Isolates, Including Those Nonsusceptible to Tigecycline and/or Colistin

ABSTRACT In vitro activity of fosfomycin was evaluated against 68 blaKPC-possessing Klebsiella pneumoniae (KpKPC) isolates, including 23 tigecycline- and/or colistin-nonsusceptible strains. By agar dilution, 93% of the overall KpKPC were susceptible (MIC50/90 of 16/64 μg/ml, respectively). The subgroup of 23 tigecycline- and/or colistin-nonsusceptible strains showed susceptibility rates of 87% (MIC50/90 of 32/128 μg/ml, respectively). Notably, 5 out of 6 extremely drug-resistant (tigecycline and colistin nonsusceptible) KpKPC were susceptible to fosfomycin. Compared to agar dilution, disk diffusion was more accurate than Etest.
Bacterial translocation after non-lethal hemorrhage in the rat.

Translocation of enteric bacteria has been suggested to compromise patients in severe catabolic stress. Mechanisms for this route of infection are not known. In this study, rats were subjected to hemorrhage without reinfusion during 60 min, total blood loss was 3.28 +/- 0.14 ml/100 g BW. Control groups consisted of sham-operated animals without bleeding, and rats not operated at all. The mean number of viable bacteria found in mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN) of bled animals was 168 +/- 45 colony forming units (c.f.u./MLN), significantly higher compared to sham operated (5 +/- 3 c.f.u./MLN) and not operated (0 +/- 0 c.f.u./MLN) controls (P < 0.01). Cultures from MLN were positive in 7/9 rats after bleeding, in 3/9 of sham operated, and in 0/6 of non-instrumented control animals. No positive blood cultures were isolated. Escherichia coli was the dominant species found in MLN. A biochemical fingerprinting method (the PhP system) was used to identify translocating strains of E. coli among strains found in cecum. The method was also used to compare translocating strains between different animals. Our findings reveal that bacteria translocate to MLN after hemorrhage. Some phenotypes of E. coli strains translocate more frequently than others, suggesting that they have properties facilitating translocation.
Autoantibody profiling in patients with very early rheumatoid arthritis: a follow-up study

Objective: To investigate time courses of autoantibody profiles in patients with early arthritis. Patients and methods: A total of 200 patients with very early arthritis (<3 months duration), among them 102 patients with a final diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and 98 with other rheumatic diseases, were followed up for several years. First follow-up testing was performed in all patients (mean 5 months from baseline), and 82 patients with RA and 35 patients without RA were available for last follow-up testing (mean 32 months from baseline). IgM-rheumatoid factor (RF) was measured by nephelometry, IgA-RF, IgG-RF and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies (ACPA) by ELISA, and anti-RA33 antibodies were determined by immunoblotting. Results: At baseline, IgA-RF was detectable in 29% and IgG-RF in 14% of patients with RA while IgM-RF>50 IU/ml (RF50) was positive in 45% of the patients; specificities were 97%, 99% and 96%, respectively. However, the vast majority of patients positive for IgA-RF or IgG-RF were also positive for RF50 or ACPA. During follow-up, the prevalence of ACPA slightly increased while prevalence of all RF subtypes and anti-RA33 decreased. Remarkably, the number of patients positive for RF50 and/or ACPA remained constant, and these patients had a highly increased risk for developing erosive disease in contrast to patients solely positive for anti-RA33. Conclusions: Testing for RF subtypes did not provide additional diagnostic information. Patients positive for RF50 and/or ACPA had an unfavourable prognosis, irrespectively of changes in the antibody profile during follow-up, whereas anti-RA33 positivity was inversely associated with erosiveness at baseline and at later time points.
MODERATE HYPERHOMOCYSTEINEMIA AND EARLY-ONSET CENTRAL RETINAL VEIN OCCLUSION

Purpose: To evaluate the prevalence of moderate fasting hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) and postmethionine load (PML) HHcy among patients with early-onset central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO). Methods: The prevalence of fasting HHcy and that of PML HHcy were evaluated in a consecutive series of 58 patients with CRVO who were younger than 56 years of age (mean age, 40.3 years) and in 103 controls (mean age, 39.6 years). Plasma folate, vitamin B12, and pyridoxal-5′-phosphate (PLP) levels were measured in 42 patients and 67 controls. Results: Mantel–Haenszel odds ratios for CRVO patients were 3.00 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.83–10.8) for fasting HHcy, 3.50 (95% CI, 1.07–11.4) for PML HHcy, and 3.00 (1.18–7.6) for fasting HHcy and PML HHcy in subjects with normal fasting total homocysteine (tHcy) levels. Moderate HHcy was associated with reduced plasma levels of folate and PLP (P ≤ 0.04). There was no significant dependence of fasting and PML tHcy levels on any traditional risk factor evaluated. Conclusions: Moderate HHcy is an independent risk factor for early-onset CRVO.
[Mutation analysis of PINK1 gene in Chinese patients with autosomal recessive early-onset parkinsonism type 6].

OBJECTIVE To detect PINK1 gene mutations and study the clinical features in Chinese patients with autosomal recessive early-onset parkinsonism (AREP) type 6. METHODS PINK1 gene mutations were detected using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), DNA sequence analysis, and restriction enzyme digestion analysis in 11 index probands of 11 AREP families. RESULTS Two novel point mutations in PINK1 gene, C938T in exon four, leading to substitution of a threonine for methionine codon at amino acid 313 (T313M) and C1474T in exon seven introducing a stop codon at amino acid 492 (R492Stop), were found in two families. In another family, a synonymous mutation (Y454Y) was detected. The clinical features in patients with PINK1 mutations included early onset, slow disease progression, hyperreflexia, diurnal fluctuations with sleep benefit, and good response to levodopa. However, dyskinesias related to levodopa treatment were absent. CONCLUSION PINK1 gene mutations are a common cause of AREP. PARK6 pedigrees have been firstly identified in Chinese Mainland. Clinical heterogeneity exists in PARK6.
Investigation of Epstein–Barr Virus as a Potential Cause of B-Cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma in a Prospective Cohort

Background: We hypothesized that poor control of Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) infection, leading to reactivation of the virus, increases the risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in the general population of primarily immunocompetent persons. Methods: We conducted a case–control study nested within the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study cohort in which we measured antibodies to EBV antigens [immunoglobulin G (IgG) to viral capsid antigen (VCA), nuclear antigen (EBNA1), and early antigen-diffuse (EA-D)] and EBV DNA load in prediagnostic samples of 491 B-cell NHL cases and 491 controls. Results: We found no association with established EBV infection, based on seropositivity for VCA. Seropositivity for EBNA1 was associated with decreased risk of B-cell NHL, overall [OR = 0.5; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.3–0.8] and for each of the histologic subtypes examined. Increased risk of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and related subtypes was observed with higher levels of EBV DNA and antibody to EA-D, both markers reflective of reactivation. These associations were strongest for cases with the shortest time interval between blood draw and diagnosis. Conclusions: In balance, these results do not provide strong evidence of EBV playing a causal role in B-cell NHL in general population women. The associations we observed may reflect increased risk of NHL with underlying immune impairment or could be due to reverse causation. Impact: Further characterization of the subtype-specific association with CLL is warranted. Exclusion of cases with preclinical disease markers (such as monoclonal B-lymphocytosis for CLL) may help rule out reverse causation in future studies. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 22(10); 1747–55. ©2013 AACR.
Presence of Endocrine Cells in Pancreatic Ducts

Pancreatic endocrine cells were found in close contact with epithelial cells (either the centro-acinar or those lining the ducts). Junctional specializations were present between both cell types, demonstrating that they are structurally associated. In some instances, the endocrine cells present in the wall of the ducts reached the luminal space having direct contact with the pancreatic juice. These cells may well be responsible for the secretion of islet hormones directly in the duct lumen. The islet hormones present in the pancreatic juice as reported previously, seems to play a significant role in the interactions between the gut and the pancreas for optimal regulation of digestive activity.
Exploring Session Variability and Template Aging in Speaker Verification for Fixed Phrase Short Utterances

This work highlights the impact of session variability and template aging on speaker verification (SV) using fixed phrase short utterances from the RedDots database. These have been collected over a period of one year and contain a large number of sessions per speaker. Session variation has been found to have a direct influence on SV performance and its significance is even greater for the case of fixed phrase short utterances as a very small amount of speech data is involved for speaker modeling as well as testing. Similarly for a practical deployable SV system when there is large session variation involved over a period of time, the template aging of the speakers may effect the SV performance. This work attempts to address some issues related to session variability and template aging of speakers which are found for data having large session variability, that if considered can be utilized for improving the performance of an SV system.
Spiking input-output relation for general biophysical neuron models

Cortical neurons include many sub-cellular processes, operating at multiple timescales, which may affect their response to stimulation through non-linear and stochastic interaction with ion channels and ionic concentrations. Since new processes are constantly being discovered, biophysical neuron models increasingly become "too complex to be useful" yet "too simple to be realistic". A fundamental open question in theoretical neuroscience pertains to how this deadlock may be resolved. In order to tackle this problem, we first define the notion of a "excitable neuron model". Then we analytically derive the input-output relation of such neuronal models, relating input spike trains to output spikes based on known biophysical properties. Thus we obtain closed-form expressions for the mean firing rates, all second order statistics (input-state-output correlation and spectra) and construct optimal linear estimators for the neuronal response and internal state. These results are guaranteed to hold, given a few generic assumptions, for any stochastic biophysical neuron model (with an arbitrary number of slow kinetic processes) under general sparse stimulation. This solution suggests that the common simplifying approach that ignores much of the complexity of the neuron might actually be unnecessary and even deleterious in some cases. Specifically, the stochasticity of ion channels and the temporal sparseness of inputs is exactly what rendered our analysis tractable, allowing us to incorporate slow kinetics.
Efficient Routes to Pyrazolo[3,4-e][1,2,4]triazines and a New Ring System: [1,2,4]Triazino[5,6-d][1,2,3]triazines

Arylhydrazonomalononitriles 1a,b react with phenylhydrazine to yield amidrazones 2a,b that cyclize to give 2-aryl-5-phenylhydrazono-2,5-dihydro-[1,2,4]-triazine-6-carbonitriles 5a,b upon reaction with dimethylformamide dimethylacetal (DMFDMA). Refluxing 5a,b in glacial acetic acid resulted in the formation of the pyrazolo-1,2,4-triazines 6a,b. Compounds 6a,b were also formed upon treatment of 3-amino-4-phenylhydrazono-1-phenyl-2-pyrazolin-5-ones 7a,b with DMFDMA. Reacting these triazinyl arylhydrazononitriles 5a,b with hydroxylamine hydrochloride in ethanolic sodium acetate afforded amidrazones 8a,b that are readily cyclized in refluxing dimethylformamide into [1,2,4]triazino[1,2,3]triazines 10a,b.