Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Relation of circulating markers of fibrosis and progression of left and right ventricular dysfunction in hypertensive patients with heart failure

Objective To study the association of circulating markers of fibrosis: procollagen type III amino-terminal propeptide (PIIINP), procollagen type I carboxy-terminal propeptide (PIP) and collagen type I carboxy-terminal telopeptide (CITP): with left (LV) and right ventricular (RV) longitudinal and LV radial systolic function in patients with heart failure in the course of essential hypertension. Methods The study population consisted of 81 patients with hypertension divided into four groups according to NYHA classification and 20 healthy controls. Cardiac function was estimated by myocardial deformation indices assessed by tissue Doppler imaging. Serum PIIINP, PIP and CITP levels were quantified by radioimmunoassay. Results Progressive LV longitudinal function impairment was demonstrated in all hypertension groups as indicated by reduced peak systolic strain and strain rate and increased postsystolic strain index. The respective indicators of LV radial function were deteriorated only in NYHA classes III-IV. Concurrently, RV longitudinal function was found abnormal in NYHA classes II-IV. PIIINP concentration was higher in NYHA class III and IV, whereas CITP level was increased and PIP/CITP ratio was decreased in the NYHA IV individuals. PIIINP was an independent correlate of LV and RV longitudinal strain (R2 = 0.52, β = −0.34, P < 0.001; R2 = 0.25, β = −0.27, P < 0.01, respectively). PIP/CITP ratio independently determined LV radial strain in patients with LV ejection fraction less than 50% (R2 = 0.44, β = 0.52, P < 0.008). Conclusion In hypertensive patients, the progressive decline in cardiac longitudinal function is related to increased collagen III synthesis, whereas the changes in collagen I turnover favoring its increased degradation might contribute to LV radial and global systolic dysfunction seen in the advanced hypertensive heart disease.
α- and β-[Bmim][BiCl4 (2,2'-bpy)]: Two Polymorphic Bismuth-Containing Ionic Liquids with Crystallization-Induced Phosphorescence.

This work reports the syntheses, structures, and luminescence properties of two supramolecular polymorphic compounds composed of a hybrid bismuth(III) chloride anion and an imidazolium cation, namely α- (1) and β- (2) [Bmim][BiCl4 (2,2'-bpy)] (Bmim=1-butyl-3-methyl imidazolium; 2,2'-bpy=2,2'-bipyridine). They are the first two examples of Bi3+ -containing ionic liquids (ILs). Their different packing modes may be ascribed to the rotational flexibility of the butyl group on the [Bmim]+ cation. A comparative study of the weak intermolecular interactions present in the two polymorphs has been performed by Hirshfeld surface and two-dimensional fingerprint analyses. Investigations of the luminescence properties revealed that crystallization induced greenish-yellow phosphorescence with quantum yields of 26.07 % for 1 and 36.59 % for 2, which are among the highest hitherto reported for hybrid halobismuthate compounds. The difference in phosphorescence may be attributed to the different weak interactions in 1 and 2, especially π-π contacts. This work opens the way to further research on new types of polymorphism-dependent luminescent materials based on a combination of rotationally isomeric IL cations with organic decorated bismuth(III) chloride anions.
The Effect of Water-Based Pulmonary Rehabilitation on Anxiety and Quality of Life in Chronic Pulmonary Obstructive Disease Patients

ABS TRACT Ob jec ti ve: To in ves ti ga te the ef fects of wa ter-ba sed pul mo nary re ha bi li ta ti on prog ram on pul mo nary func ti ons, exer ci se ca pa city, an xi ety and dep res si on le vel and qu a lity of li fe (QoL) in pa ti ents with chro nic obs truc ti ve pul mo nary di se a se (COPD). Ma te ri al and Met hods: Fifty mo de ra te or se ve re COPD pa ti ents wit ho ut res pi ra tory fa i lu re we re inc lu ded. They we re ran do mi zed eit her to wa ter-ba sed exer ci se (WE) gro up (n= 25) or to con trol gro up (n= 25). Spi ro metry and 6mi nu te walk test (6-MWT) we re per for med. QoL was as ses sed by the Chro nic Res pi ra tory Di se a se Qu es ti on na i re (CRDQ). Le vel of an xi ety and dep res si on was as ses sed using the Hos pi tal An xi ety and Dep res si on (HAD) Sca le. WE gro up re ce i ved 4-we ek wa ter-ba sed pul mo nary re ha bi li ta ti on prog ram inc lu ding sho ul der gird le and up per ex tre mity streng the ning exer ci ses for 35 mi nu tes, thre e ti mes a we ek (to tally 12 ses si ons) in ad di ti on to me di cal the rapy. Con trol gro up re ce i ved only me di cal the rapy. All the as sess ments we re re pe a ted one month af ter in ter ven ti on in both gro ups. Re sults: The me an ages of the pa ti ents in WE and con trol gro ups we re sta tis ti cally not dif fe rent (res pec ti vely 60.9 ± 8.8, 64.1 ± 8.9, p= 0.207). All the pa ti ents in both gro ups we re ma les. No sig ni fi cant im pro ve ments in pul mo nary func ti ons and 6-MWT dis tan ce we re ob ser ved at one month com pa red to ba se li ne in both gro ups. We ob ser ved sta tis ti cally sig ni fi cant dec re a se in an xi ety sco res and sig ni fi cant in cre a ses in dyspno e a, emo ti o nal func ti on and pa ti ents’ fe e ling of con trol over the di se a se sco res of CRDQ at one month com pa red to ba se li ne in WE gro up. In con trol gro up, no sig ni fi cant dif fe ren ces in an xi ety and CRDQ sco res we re ob ser ved at one month com pa red to ba se li ne. Conc lu si on: Pul mo nary re ha bi li ta ti on is known to be cost-ef fec ti ve in pa ti ents with COPD. Wa ter-ba sed exer ci ses are ef fec ti ve in im pro ving QoL and an xi ety le vel in COPD pa ti ents, thus it can be sup po sed as an al ter na ti ve to land ba sed pul mo nary re ha bi li ta ti on prog rams.
Plasma Factors that Determine Endothelial Cell Lipid Toxicity in Vitro Correctly Identify Women with Preeclampsia in Early and Late Pregnancy

Objective: We proposed that women who develop preeclampsia have a low ratio of “protective” toxicity preventing activity (TxPA) to “toxic” very low density lipoproteins (VLDL) late in pregnancy. Having confirmed this hypothesis, we then tested whether this low ratio would manifest itself early in the pregnancy of women who develop preeclampsia.Methods: Serially collected plasma from women who developed preeclampsia and from matched controls was assayed blind for TxPA, tri-glycerides, cholesterol, high-density lipoproteins, albumin, and nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA). Main Outcome Measures: Plasma concentrations of lipids, NEFA, and proteins which bind NEFA (TxPA and albumin) were measured in normal and preeclamptic women. These parameters were formulated prior to data collection because of the low albumin/triglyceride ratios and the elevated NEFA levels reported to occur in preeclampsia.Results: In late pregnancy, TxPA was lower (1.82 ± 0.63 vs. 2.30 ± 0.40 g/dL, P = 0.008) and VLDL higher (292 ± 130 vs.
Hypoglycaemic Effects of Viscous Preparation of Irvingia gabonensis (Dikanut) Seeds in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Wistar Rats

ABSTRACT Although there has a been report on the antidiabetic effect of the seeds of Irvingia gabonensis in rats, the dose and mode of administration as a supplement of chow did not reflect the manner of consumption in West Africa. We therefore administered a total daily dose of 2 g/kg per os as a viscous form of the ground seeds at 12-h intervals to streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. After three weeks, fasting blood glucose level, liver pyruvate kinase, lactate dehydrogenase and glucose-6-phosphatase activities were determined. Results indicate decreases in blood glucose (P < 0.05), pyruvate kinase and lactate dehydrogenase activities (P < 0.05); and a higher glucose-6-phosphatase activity (P < 0.05) in dikanut-fed diabetic rats compared with others not fed dikanuts. These indices were comparable between dikanut-fed diabetic and normoglycaemic control rats. It is concluded that the ground seeds of dikanuts prepared in stew form and eaten in large amounts may be a useful adjunct in the management of type-2 diabetes mellitus, particularly in cultures in which staple foods are carbohydrate-based.
Study on multi-task oriented services composition and optimisation with the ‘Multi-Composition for Each Task’ pattern in cloud manufacturing systems

Recently, cloud manufacturing has been generating a great deal of interest among both practical users and researchers. Multi-task oriented manufacturing cloud services composition and optimisation (MTO-MCSCO) is critical to the optimal allocation of manufacturing resources and capabilities in cloud manufacturing systems. However, if users’ QoS requirements on multi-functionality manufacturing tasks (MFMTs) are high enough, no competent composite services can be identified based on the concepts of the single-task oriented services composition and optimisation (STO-SCO) technique, which was previously in use, and the currently existing ‘Each Composition for Each Task’ (ECET) pattern. To circumvent this, a ‘Multi-Composition for Each Task’ (MCET) pattern based global approach is proposed to combine the incompetent composite services into a whole to perform each MFMT collectively, in order to ensure the success rate of QoS requirement fulfilment and the overall QoS outcome. This new issue of MTO-MCSCO with the MCET pattern is a more general problem than are the previous STO-SCO and the current ECET pattern. To formulate the problem, exterior aggregation patterns and formulas are proposed. To tackle the problem, a hybrid-operator based matrix coded genetic algorithm (HO-MCGA) is implemented. The experimental results indicate that the proposed MCET pattern based global approach significantly outperforms the previous approaches, and the proposed HO-MCGA is sound performance-wise.
Incorporating learning effect and deterioration for solving a SDST flexible job-shop scheduling problem with a hybrid meta-heuristic approach

This paper considers flexible job-shop scheduling (FJSP) where set-up times were sequence-dependent, learning effect and deterioration in jobs are concurrently considered too. The optimisation criterion is the minimisation of the maximum completion time. Since the genetic algorithm (GA) and the variable neighbourhood search (VNS) are successfully applied to some NP-hard problems, we have been motivated to employ both of them to solve the considered FJSP. To further enhance and improve the hybrid algorithm, a well-known procedure called affinity function is used in our proposed algorithm genetic variable neighbourhood search with affinity function (GVNSWAF). In order to evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm, some experiments are designed where the proposed method is compared against some new and successful algorithms found in the literature (i.e. GA and VNS). In view of the fact that the performances of meta-heuristic algorithms are considerably influenced by the proper setting of their parameters, we employed Taguchi’s robust design method to define the best parameter values. Related results are analysed by statistical tools. The experimental results and statistical analyses demonstrate that the proposed GVNSWAF is effective for the problem.
Hydatidiform Mole: a Statistical and Clinical Study *

THE present study was undertaken with the idea of ascertaining particularly (I) the frequency of occurrence, (2) the effects of age and parity upon its production, and (3) duration of pregnancy, in Indian subjects. In order to find out whether there existed any racial effect, the results were compared with similar figures collected from world literature. The material for subject matter is derived from two sources, firstly from the published reports of different hospitals both in India and abroad, and, secondly, a detailed analysis of 42 cases of hydatidiform moles from Sir Kedarnath Maternity Hospital and Eden Hospital, two of the largest maternity hospitals in Calcutta.
Theoretical versus practical application of prosthodontic techniques in private dental clinics in India: A survey

Objectives: To know the various prosthodontic techniques followed by the private dental practitioners as compared withthe techniques taught to them in the dental schools. Materials and Methods: A survey was done to determine the prosthodontic techniques by private practitioners in India. A pretested questionnaire performa containing questions on complete denture, removable partial denture, and fixed partial denture fabrication was prepared for the private practitioners to be filled up. A total of 700 subjects were included in the final study (70% response rate). Results: A total of 80.4% of the practitioners used to do the whole prosthetic treatment themselves. A total of 61.7% used to make study casts before the treatment. And, 85% of the practitioners preferred to make complete dentures using double impression technique. Most practitioners faced problems during fabrication of complete dentures, removable partial denture, and fixed partial prosthesis. Conclusion: The findings from this study showed that the respondents did not follow the techniques and procedures which were being taught in the dental schools which had been deemed to be clinically essential for the successful prosthodontic treatment and there was a need for continuing dental education programs for the private practitioners for upgradation of their clinical skills.
Hypertension and migraine comorbidity: prevalence and risk of cerebrovascular events: evidence from a large, multicenter, cross-sectional survey in Italy (MIRACLES study)

Objectives To estimate the prevalence of hypertension–migraine comorbidity; to determine their demographic and clinical characteristics versus patients with hypertension or migraine alone; and to see whether a history of cerebrovascular events was more common in the comorbidity group. Methods The MIRACLES, multicenter, cross-sectional, survey included 2973 patients with a known diagnosis of hypertension or migraine in a general practitioner setting in Italy. Results Five hundred and seventeen patients (17%) suffered from hypertension–migraine comorbidity, whereas 1271 (43%) suffered from hypertension only, and 1185 (40%) from migraine only. In the comorbidity group, the onset of comorbidity occurred at about 45 years of age, with migraine starting significantly later than in the migraine-only group, and hypertension significantly before than in the hypertension-only group; a familial history of both hypertension and migraine had a significantly higher frequency as compared with the hypertension and migraine group. Compared to hypertension (3.1%) and migraine (0.7%), the comorbidity group had a higher prevalence (4.4%) of history of cerebrovascular events, with an odds ratio of a predicted history of stroke/transient ischemic attack (TIA) of 1.76 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.01–3.07] compared to the hypertension group. In patients without other recognized risk factors for stroke, stroke/TIA occurred more frequently in the comorbidity group, compared to the hypertension group. In the age range 40–49 years, prevalence of history of stroke/TIA was five-fold greater (4.8% in comorbidity vs. 0.9% in hypertension group). Conclusion This cross-sectional study indicates that the prevalence of comorbidity hypertension-migraine is substantial and that patients with comorbidity have a higher probability of history of cerebrovascular events, compared to hypertensive patients.
Arterial wave reflection and subclinical left ventricular systolic dysfunction

Objectives Increased arterial wave reflection is a predictor of cardiovascular events and has been hypothesized to be a cofactor in the pathophysiology of heart failure. Whether increased wave reflection is inversely associated with left-ventricular (LV) systolic function in individuals without heart failure is not clear. Methods Arterial wave reflection and LV systolic function were assessed in 301 participants from the Cardiovascular Abnormalities and Brain Lesions (CABL) study using two-dimensional echocardiography and applanation tonometry of the radial artery to derive central arterial waveform by a validated transfer function. Aortic augmentation index (AIx) and wasted energy index (WEi) were used as indices of wave reflection. LV systolic function was measured by LV ejection fraction (LVEF) and tissue Doppler imaging (TDI). Mitral annulus peak systolic velocity (Sm), peak longitudinal strain and strain rate were measured. Participants with history of coronary artery disease, atrial fibrillation, LVEF less than 50% or wall motion abnormalities were excluded. Results Mean age of the study population was 68.3 ± 10.2 years (64.1% women, 65% hypertensive). LV systolic function by TDI was lower with increasing wave reflection, whereas LVEF was not. In multivariate analysis, TDI parameters of LV longitudinal systolic function were significantly and inversely correlated to AIx and WEi (P values from 0.05 to 0.002). Conclusions In a community cohort without heart failure and with normal LVEF, an increased arterial wave reflection was associated with subclinical reduction in LV systolic function assessed by novel TDI techniques. Further studies are needed to investigate the prognostic implications of this relationship.
Better compliance to antihypertensive medications reduces cardiovascular risk

Objective The effect of compliance with antihypertensive medications on the risk of cardiovascular outcomes in a population without a known history of cardiovascular disease has been addressed by a large population-based prospective, cohort study carried out by linking Italian administrative databases. Methods The cohort of 242 594 patients aged 18 years or older, residents in the Italian Lombardy Region, who were newly treated for hypertension during 2000–2001, was followed from index prescription until 2007. During this period patients who experienced a hospitalization for coronary or cerebrovascular disease were identified (outcome). Exposure to antihypertensive drugs from index prescription until the date of hospitalization or censoring was assessed. Proportional hazards models were fitted to assess the association between persistence on and adherence with antihypertensive drug therapy and outcome. Data were adjusted for several covariates. Results During an average follow-up of 6 years, 12 016 members of the cohort experienced the outcome. Compared with patients who experienced at least one episode of treatment discontinuation, those who continued treatment had a 37% reduced risk of cardiovascular outcomes (95% confidence interval 34–40%). Compared with patients who had very low drug coverage (proportion of days covered ≤25%), those at intermediate (from 51 to 75%) and high coverage (>75%) had risk reductions of 20% (16–24%) and 25% (20–29%), respectively. Similar effects were observed when coronary and cerebrovascular events were considered separately. Conclusions In the real life setting, fulfillment compliance with antihypertensive medications is effective in the primary prevention of cardiovascular outcomes.
Rho kinase inhibition activates the homologous angiotensin-converting enzyme-angiotensin-(1–9) axis in experimental hypertension

Background Angiotensin II (Ang II) levels depend on renin, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), and on the homologous angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE2). Increased ACE and Ang II levels are associated with higher Rho kinase activity. However, the relationship between Rho kinase activation and ACE2 in hypertension is unknown. Objective The role of the Rho kinase signaling pathway in both enzymatic activity and aortic gene expression of ACE2 in deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA) hypertensive rats was assessed in the present study. Methods and results Compared with sham animals, Rho kinase activity was higher by 400% (P < 0.05) in the aortic wall of the DOCA hypertensive rats. In addition to blood pressure reduction, the specific Rho kinase inhibitor fasudil reduced aortic Rho kinase activity to levels observed in the sham control group and increased ACE2 enzymatic activity (by 83% in plasma and by 52% in the aortic wall, P < 0.05), ACE2, and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) aortic mRNA levels (by 340 and 40%, respectively, P < 0.05) with respect to the untreated hypertensive DOCA rats. Fasudil also increased significantly plasma levels of Ang-(1–9) in normotensive and in the hypertensive rats. Aortic mRNA and protein levels of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-1), and monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1) were significantly (P < 0.05) higher in the untreated DOCA rats and were normalized by fasudil administration. Conclusion In experimental hypertension, Rho-associated, coiled-coil containing protein kinase (ROCK) inhibition reduces blood pressure and increases ACE2 levels and activity. At the same time, ROCK inhibition reduces angiotensin II and increases Ang-(1–9) plasma levels. Fasudil also increases vascular eNOS mRNA levels and reduces aortic overexpression of the remodeling promotion proteins TGF-β1, PAI-1, and MCP-1. This effect might additionally contribute to the antihypertensive and antiremodeling effects of ROCK inhibition in hypertension.
An evaluation of night confinement in a high secure hospital

Purpose – Night confinement (NC) has been proposed as an appropriate and safe way to make cost improvements in a high secure NHS hospital. Given potential controversy, evaluating the impact of this change is vital. This paper aims to focus on the issue.Design/methodology/approach – The study used a mixed methods design to assess the impact of a three month night confinement pilot on four high secure admission wards. In total, 158 staff and 42 patients were approached to complete questionnaires and interview prior to and following the pilot. Questionnaires were analysed using T tests, ANOVA and Mann Whitney‐U to asses perceived changes in ward climate, working environment and quality of life. Thematic and saliency analysis was used to explore themes arising from semi structured interviews. Hospital data were collected to identify behavioural changes.Findings – The study found that NC had no adverse effects and incidents of self harm, other incidents and seclusion hours dropped by a third during this period.
Resource service sharing in cloud manufacturing based on the Gale–Shapley algorithm: advantages and challenge

Cloud manufacturing (CMfg) is emerging as a novel manufacturing paradigm which enables large-scale resource service (RS) sharing by providing manufacturing resources as consumable services. However, the impacts of CMfg RS sharing on individual enterprise as well as the manufacturing industry in aspects such as resource utilisation, needs satisfaction and profit creation, paradigm adoption are not very clear, especially compared with that in existing networked manufacturing. To address this issue, a model of CMfg RS sharing based on the Gale-Shapley algorithm is constructed and analysed in the context of fluctuating RS supply and demand. A model of resource and service sharing in traditional networked manufacturing is also analysed in parallel. Detailed theoretical and simulation analysis with regard to RS utilisation rate, needs satisfaction rate, total utilities of demanders and providers as well as their performance is conducted. The obtained results reveal the advantages of CMfg RS sharing, as well as the challenge that needs to be addressed in order for the successful development and implementation of CMfg.
Evaluation Methodology Basics: The Nuts and Bolts of Sound Evaluation

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