Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of melatonin and oxytetracycline in autologous intraperitoneal ovary transplantation in rats.

OBJECTIVES To comparatively investigate the effects melatonin and oxytetracycline as antioxidants on autologous intraperitoneal ovary transplantation in rats. SETTING AND DESIGN 28 adult female Wistar rats with regular estrous cycles were randomly divided into four groups. Group 1 (n=7) was the control group; Group 2 (n=7) bilateral oophorectomy and intraperitoneal transplantation group; and Groups 3 (n=7) and 4 (n=7) firstly received 20 mg/kg/IP melatonin and 10 mg/kg/IP oxytetracycline. , respectively and fifteen minutes after that, they had bilateral oophorectomy and intraperitoneal transplantation. Ovarian tissue and blood malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx) levels were determined. Vaginal cytology and ovarian necrosis were histopathologically investigated. Kruskall Wallis analysis of variance was used in the statistical analysis of data. RESULTS Ovarian necrosis, tissue MDA and plasma MDA levels were significantly higher in Group 2 compared to the Groups 1, 3 and 4 (p<0.03). SOD and GSHPx levels were significantly lower in group 2 compared to the groups 1, 3 and 4 (p<0.03). Melatonin was found to be more effective on ovarian necrosis and tissue MDA level than the use of oxytetracycline following autologous intraperitoneal ovary transplantation (p<0.03). There was a significant positive correlation between tissue MDA level and ovarian necrosis and a very strong negative correlation between tissue MDA and SOD level (rs = +/-0.9, n=28, p=0.000). CONCLUSION Although both melatonin and oxytetracycline were found to be effective in autologous intraperitoneal pelvic ovary transplantation, melatonin is more effective against both the ovarian necrosis and tissue MDA level in rats.
The Implementation of Large-Scale Information Systems in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises--A Case Study of Work-and Health-Related Consequences

Using a case study of a financial service provider, this research provides a next step toward an answer to the question about the importance of an employee's attitude toward a newly introduced information system in light of a mandatory usage setting. Based on the Commitment to Change Model, the paper argues theoretically and provides case study evidence that negative attitudes toward new information systems influence work-related and health-related outcomes. The observed case indicates that a negative evaluation of a new financial information system leads to negative consequences such as decreased organizational commitment and overall job satisfaction as well as an increased turnover intention and a higher number of sick days. The results implicate that work- and health-related consequences are potential dependent variables for technology adoption research and that practitioners have to address these issues during the implementation of information systems in organizations.
Volatility and Long Memory Modeling of Exchange Rate Case of Algerian Interbank Market

In this paper we will try to identify and modeling the phenomenon of dependence of short and long term exchange rate volatility through a well-founded approach on the long memory process. The reform of the interbank market is part of the economic recovery program launched by the authorities in 1988. The reorganization of the money market which served to supplement the liquidity needs of banks after exhaustion of refinancing possibilities "counter rediscount ", has undergone significant changes since its reorganization from 1989 to date, in particular, with new players. This note identifies its organization and prospects, as well as the new methods of intervention by the Bank of Algeria. Besides the interbank market, a market for negotiable debt securities will be set up and will thus form a new money market, in the broad sense. , the market for negotiable debt securities presents itself as a hinge between the short and long term capital markets where a range of short and medium term securities are offered to agents with financing capacity, such as treasury bills, cash and certificates of deposit. Our empirical study concerns a sample covering average prices GBP, USD and EUR during the overall period of market functioning Algerian interbank exchange rates (March 2008- March 2018). the results obtained testify the presence of a certain phenomenon of long-term persistence in the volatility of exchange rate. FIGARCH-type processes seem to surround this phenomenon.
The number of parameters for all stabilizing controllers without coprime factorizability

This paper presents a parameterization method of stabilizing controllers. The result of this paper does not assume the existence of the coprime factorizability of plants. Under this condition, the number of parameters of the method is less than or equal to that of the previous one. This paper employs neither the localization nor the local-global principle which need the knowledge of abstract algebras
Impact of stepwise introduction of esophagojejunostomy during laparoscopic total gastrectomy: a single-center experience in Japan

Background The number of laparoscopic gastrectomies performed in Japan is increasing with the development of laparoscopic and surgical instruments. However, laparoscopic total gastrectomy is developing relatively slowly because of technical difficulties, particularly in esophagojejunostomy. Methods We retrospectively reviewed 83 patients with early gastric cancer in the upper portion of the stomach who underwent laparoscopic total gastrectomy between April 2007 and March 2016. We classified the patients into three periods, mainly on the basis of the esophagojejunostomy procedures performed: first period, various conventional procedures based on the physicians’ choice (n=14); second period, transoral method (n=51); and third period, fully intracorporeal technique (n=18). We evaluated the clinical impact of a stepwise introduction of unfamiliar new methods during laparoscopic total gastrectomy. Results Between the first and second periods, there were significant differences in the blood loss volume, number of harvested lymph nodes, frequency of conversion to open surgery, and postoperative hospital stay. The number of harvested lymph nodes was significantly higher in the third than in the second period, with no detriment to other intraoperative or postoperative factors. Conclusion The use of a unified surgical method for esophagojejunostomy seems to be the key to a successful and advantageous laparoscopic total gastrectomy. Stepwise introduction of a well-established technique of esophagojejunostomy during laparoscopic total gastrectomy will benefit patients, as shown, for example, by the higher number of dissected lymph nodes in the present study. However, a protracted learning curve is required.
Occupational rhinitis caused by tolyltriazole in metalworking fluids.

OBJECTIVES Exposure to metalworking fluids is known to cause mucous membrane inflammation of the airways. In this case report, the authors attempted to identify responsible components in the metalworking fluids for the rhinitis of an exposed patient. METHODS The patient underwent two provocation tests. The first provocation was performed with the different metalworking fluids used in the factory, and the second was done double blind for some of the components in the metalworking fluids. The patient was asked to quantify her symptoms before, immediately after, 24 hours after, and finally 96 hours after the exposure. RESULTS The patient reacted to tolyltriazole with rhinitis and headache. These symptoms started about 8 hours after the exposure and persisted for 24 hours. CONCLUSION The double-blind provocation exposure to the components of the metalworking fluids showed that the patient reacted to the corrosion inhibitor tolyltriazole. To the authors' knowledge, no such reaction to tolyltriazole in the airways has previously been reported.
Interpersonal psychotherapy for elderly patients in primary care.

OBJECTIVE Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) is recommended in most depression treatment guidelines, but little is known about its effectiveness in real-life practice. This study investigates whether IPT, delivered by mental health workers to elderly patients with major depressive disorder, is more effective than usual general practitioners' care (CAU). METHODS A pragmatic randomized, controlled trial was conducted in which 143 patients were allocated to IPT (10 sessions) or to CAU. PRIMary care Evaluation of Mental Disorders (PRIME-MD) and Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) assessments were used as primary outcomes. RESULTS IPT was significantly more effective in reducing the percentage of patients with a diagnosis of depression (PRIME-MD), but not in inducing remission (MADRS <10). Among treatment completers, IPT was superior in improving social and overall mental functioning. A post hoc analysis revealed that IPT was superior to CAU in moderately to severely depressed patients, but not significantly so in mildly depressed patients. CONCLUSIONS IPT was more effective than CAU for elderly patients with moderate to severe major depressive disorder in general practice. Future research should focus on determinants of treatment outcome.
Ptf1a Binds to and Activates Area III, a Highly Conserved Region of the Pdx1 Promoter That Mediates Early Pancreas-Wide Pdx1 Expression

ABSTRACT The critical pancreatic transcription factor Pdx1 is expressed throughout the pancreas early but enriched in insulin-producing β cells postnatally. Previous studies showed that the 5′ conserved promoter regions areas I and II (Pdx1PB) direct endocrine cell expression, while an adjacent region (Pdx1XB) containing conserved area III directs transient β-cell expression. In this study, we used Cre-mediated lineage tracing to track cells that activated these regions. Pdx1PBCre mediated only endocrine cell recombination, while Pdx1XBCre directed broad and early recombination in the developing pancreas. Also, a reporter transgene containing areas I, II, and III was expressed throughout the embryonic day 10.5 (E10.5) pancreas and gradually became β cell enriched, similar to endogenous Pdx1. These data suggested that sequences within area III mediate early pancreas-wide Pdx1 expression. Area III contains a binding site for PTF1, a transcription factor complex essential for pancreas development. This site contributed to area III-dependent reporter gene expression in the acinar AR42J cell line, while PTF1 specifically trans-activated area III-containing reporter expression in a nonpancreatic cell line. Importantly, Ptf1a occupied sequences spanning the endogenous PTF1 site in area III of E11.5 pancreatic buds. These data strongly suggest that PTF1 is an important early activator of Pdx1 in acinar and endocrine progenitor cells during pancreas development.
Effects of Bevacizumab on Autocrine VEGF Stimulation in Bladder Cancer Cell Lines

Introduction: A functional vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A) autocrine loop is crucial for bladder cancer cell survival. We reasoned that treatment with the anti-VEGF antibody bevacizumab may result either in cell growth prevention or in the cell adaptation to compensate VEGF deprivation. Methods: The cytotoxicity of different levels of bevacizumab and its effect on the gene expression was analyzed in human bladder cancer cell lines. Results: Inhibition of bladder cancer cell proliferation was observed at >2.5 mg/ml of bevacizumab. Non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer cells expressed high concentrations of VEGF-A, and were less susceptible to bevacizumab inhibition. At 0.5 mg/ml (FDA approved concentration) of bevacizumab, cells increase their expression of VEGF-A, VEGF-A receptors and related growth factors. Conclusions: Bevacizumab cytotoxicity is only observed at high concentration, and it is inversely correlated with the basal VEGF-A expression of the bladder cancer cells. This is the first report showing that, at clinical bevacizumab concentrations, cancer cells compensate the VEGF-A blockade, by improving the expression of VEGF-A and related genes, highlighting the need to follow the patient’s adaptation response to bevacizumab treatment.
Prenatal Genetic Testing Kits Sold at Your Local Pharmacy: Promoting Autonomy or Promoting Confusion?

Research groups around the world are developing non-invasive methods of prenatal genetic diagnosis, in which foetal cells are obtained by maternal blood test. Meanwhile, an increasing number of genetic tests are sold directly to the public. I extrapolate from these developments to consider a scenario in which PNGD self-testing kits are sold directly to the public. Given the opposition to over-the-counter genetic tests and the continuing controversy surrounding PNGD, it is reasonable to expect objections to PNGD self-testing kits. I focus on one potential objection, that PNGD self-testing kits would undermine the autonomy of potential test subjects. More specifically, that 'direct to the public' PNGD would fail to ensure that consumers exercise authority in the following PNGD-related choices: Should I use PNGD? Based on the results of the PNGD test, should I continue or terminate my pregnancy? Under the current system, PNGD is provided by health care practitioners, who are required to counsel women both before and after the test. In contrast, 'direct to the public' PNGD would allow women to make their PNGD-related decisions outside the context of the health care system. I compare these two decision-making contexts, arguing that the health care system is not unequivocally better at promoting the autonomy of potential test subjects. Therefore the promotion of autonomy does not constitute a strong argument against such test kits. Other objections may be more persuasive, so I do not offer an overall assessment of the acceptability of 'direct to the public' PNGD.
Solvothermal synthesis, multi-temperature crystal structures and physical properties of isostructural coordination polymers, 2C4H12N+[M3(C8H4O4)4]2-.3C5H11NO, M = Co, Zn.

Two isostructural metal organic framework (MOF) structures have been synthesized by solvothermal methods and examined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. A microcrystal of 2C4H12N+[Co3(C8H4O4)4]2-. 3C5H11NO (1) was investigated at T = 120 K using synchrotron radiation. 2C4H12N+[Zn3(C8H4O4)4]2-. 3C5H11NO (2) was investigated at multiple temperatures (T = 30, 100, 200 and 300 K) on a conventional diffractometer. The thermal expansion of the structure of (2) is anisotropic and along the a axis, which corresponds to the metal chain direction. The structures contain anionic frameworks with cations and solvent molecules trapped in the voids. The magnetic susceptibility (chi) and heat capacity (C(p)) have been measured from 1.8 to 350 K. Compound (1) orders ferromagnetically with a broad phase transition observed in C(p) at approximately 6 K. The magnetic moment reaches a value of 3 micro(B) per Co at 2 K in a magnetic field of 9 T, and a Curie-Weiss fit to chi(T) gives an effective moment (mu(eff)) of 4.2 mu(B) and a Weiss temperature (theta) of 23 K. The exchange mechanism for the magnetic coupling is suggested to involve the Co-O-Co bridges in the individual three-metal-atom subchains. The three-dimensional magnetism presumably is due to super-exchange through two out of the three unique C8H4O4 linker molecules, which have the carboxylate and benzene pi systems well aligned.
Increasing genomic instability during premalignant neoplastic progression revealed through high resolution array‐CGH

Chromosomal instability is regarded as an underlying mechanism of neoplastic progression, integral to the clonal selection and evolution that leads to cancer. We evaluated chromosomal instability in premalignant Barrett's esophagus tissue using high resolution Affymetrix mapping 100K SNP arrays as patients progressed through three molecular stages of disease—CDKN2ALOH only, CDKN2ALOH/TP53LOH, and CDKN2ALOH/TP53LOH with aneuploidy. Within individuals over time, we observed increases in both numbers and sizes of regions of LOH or copy number change. In the earliest CDKN2ALOH only samples, we detected few regions with both copy change and LOH, whereas copy loss and LOH were highly correlated in more advanced samples. These data indicate that genomic instability increases in severity and changes character during neoplastic progression. In addition, distinct patterns of clonal evolution could be discerned within a segment of Barrett's esophagus. Overall, this study illustrates that pre‐malignant disease can be associated with extensive instability and clonal dynamics that evolve from an initial stage characterized by small recombination‐based alterations to one with larger copy change events likely associated with mitotic instability. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Interoperability issues in sharing electronic healthcare records-the Synapses approach

This paper describes the approach to information sharing being adopted by Synapses, a pan-European project funded under the EU Health Telematics Programme. The emphasis in Synapses is on developing standards to enable sharing, in whole or in part, of electronic healthcare records between distributed healthcare providers and institutions. The current technological solutions available for data sharing, including federated database systems, gateways, data warehousing, messaging and the web are insufficient on their own to meet the needs of Synapses. Thus in Synapses several different, but complementary technologies are merged in an open, distributed object-oriented environment. Furthermore, in order to safeguard the legal, ethical and clinical integrity of the record, it is essential not only to preserve the meaning of the data being transferred, but also its context and structure. Synapses solves this problem by defining a standard architecture for the federated electronic healthcare record.
Central nervous system excitability in migraine: who is right?

The study by Valeriani et al. (2005) points out the properties of the somatosensory system in childhood migraine: it deals with the question of increased or decreased neuronal excitability, which were the phenomena in turn suggested by various authors to explain the neurophysiological abnormalities in migraine. It is not a secondary problem, considering some therapeutic implications, e.g. those of the antiepileptics drugs, which may increase the inhibition or reduce the excitability in the brain. Valeriani et al. performed a simple technique to test the excitability of the somatosensory system, consisting of the recovery cycle of the somatosensory evoked potentials (SEP) after paired stimulation, in a cohort of migraine children. Childhood migraine is the best model for the study of the pathophysiologic basis of the disease, because many factors may occur during the course of life, such as concomitant diseases, effects of drugs and environmental influences, changing the phenotypic expression of migraine. The authors hypothesized that there is a generalized dysfunction of the inhibitory systems for an impaired ionic channels mechanism. To this author, it seems unlikely that the complexity of migraine is generated by a single abnormality. Rather a failure of the inhibitory system may have at its basis different genetically predisposed mechanisms. Up until now, habituation to repetitive sensory and sensitive stimulation was used to test the pathophysiological basis of migraine. A loss of habituation to visual, acoustic (Ambrosini et al., 2003), and painful stimuli (Valeriani et al., 2003) was found as a feature of migraine, but the neurophysiological basis of this phenomenon, if it takes origin from a basal hyper or hypo-excitability of the afferent systems, is far from explained. The effects of TMS on visual evoked potentials in migraine (Bohotin et al., 2002) supported the hypothesis that the visual cortex is hypo-excitable in migraine. The degree of VEP habituation was negatively correlated with amplitude in the first block of averaged responses (Afra et al., 2000), which suggests that the lack of habituation in migraine may be due to a decreased cortical preactivation level. In this sense, the lack of habituation can be explained by the ‘ceiling
Characteristics of Aluminum and Magnesium Based Nanocomposites Processed Using Hybrid Microwave Sintering

Abstract Powder metallurgy is one of the highly established methods to synthesize metals, alloys and composites. Sintering is one of the important steps in powder metallurgy methodology and is usually realized through conventional resistance furnaces. The sintering usually takes a few hours to realize density in excess of 90%. The present study highlights the use of energy efficient and environment friendly microwave sintering route to synthesize pure aluminum, magnesium and magnesium based nanocomposites. Three reinforcements were targeted: a) silicon carbide, a microwave susceptor, b) alumina, a microwave transparent material and c) copper, a conducting material. Composites were prepared using blend-compact-microwave sintering-extrusion methodology. Process evaluation revealed that microwave assisted sintering can lead to a reduction of 86% in sintering time and energy savings of 96% when compared to conventional sintering. Moreover, microwave assisted sintering of metal compacts in this study was carried out in air, in the absence of any protective atmosphere, without compromising the mechanical properties of the materials. Results revealed that properties of magnesium can be convincingly enhanced using the said processing methodology and the materials formulations selected. Most importantly, the study established the viability of microwave sintering approach used in place of conventional sintering for magnesium based formulations.
Serious bacterial infections in hospitalized febrile infants aged 90 days or younger: The traditional combination of ampicillin and gentamicin is still appropriate

Abstract Background: A change in the bacterial epidemiology of infantile serious bacterial infection (SBI) has raised concerns regarding the appropriate empirical antibiotic therapy. Objective: To describe the epidemiological features of SBI in febrile infants in order to elucidate the appropriate empirical regimens. Methods: From 2005 to 2009, clinical and laboratory data were prospectively collected for all infants aged ≤90 days who were hospitalized for fever. Results: Of the 1584 febrile infants who met the study criteria, 149 (9.4%) had a culture-proven SBI: urinary tract infection in 128 (86%), urinary tract infection with bacteraemia in 11 (7%), bacteraemia in 7 (5%), enteritis with bacteraemia in 2 (1.3%), and meningitis in 1 (0.7%). Ninety-one percent of cases were caused by Gram-negative bacteria, mostly Escherichia coli (72%). Among the causative Gram-positive bacteria were Enterococcus spp. (4%) and group B Streptococcus (0.7%); no cases of Listeria monocytogenes infection were identified. Sixty-one percent of the causative bacteria were resistant to ampicillin. According to in vitro susceptibility testing, the combination of ampicillin and gentamicin provided appropriate antibiotic coverage. Conclusions: Despite changes in the epidemiology of infantile SBI, the traditional combination of ampicillin and gentamicin is still appropriate for empirical treatment of febrile infants aged ≤90 days.