Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dipsogenic factors operating in chronic uremics on maintenance hemodialysis.

Thirst and hyperdipsia of anuric chronic uremics on maintenance hemodialysis and the possible dipsogenic factors were studied. Exaggerated thirst was present in 213 (86%) of the 247 studied patients. It usually started 4-6 h after the end of the dialysis session, persisted during the whole interdialytic period and often disappeared during the subsequent dialysis. Hyperdipsia, as indicated by the high body weight gain (> 4%) in the interdialytic periods, was present in 33.6% of patients. The highest rate of increase of body weight occurred in the first hours following the end of dialysis sessions. Hypernatremia, potassium depletion, increasing plasma urea levels and elevated plasma angiotensin II levels were considered as the possible dipsogenic factors of a nonpsychic nature. Sodium is certainly of paramount importance for its obliged extracellular position, and when sodium intake is elevated, hypernatremia is very likely the cause of exaggerated thirst and weight gain in patients on hemodialysis. Potassium depletion may cause thirst in animals, but this condition is extremely rare in patients on maintenance hemodialysis, who often accumulate it. In these patients it is, therefore, unlikely that potassium depletion is a dipsogenic factor. Increasing serum urea levels exert an evident dipsogenic effect in anephric rats and urea, when infused into normal volunteers, stimulates thirst. The extracellular urea levels in the interdialytic period are certainly higher than the intracellular ones, as a consequence of its continuous accumulation, and this creates an osmotic gradient with a dipsogenic effect. When this gradient is reversed, following hemodialysis (which removes first the extracellular urea), the dipsogenic effect disappears. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Silicon ameliorates chromium toxicity through phytochelatin-mediated vacuolar sequestration in the roots of Oryza sativa (L.)

ABSTRACT High chromium (Cr) in rice causes reduced yield and health hazards. This work investigates how Si alleviates Cr toxicity in rice. Addition of Si under Cr stress restored the growth parameters, total protein content, and membrane stability along with reduced Cr content in shoots, confirming that Si plays critical roles in Cr detoxification in rice. However, Si supplementation under Cr stress caused no significant changes in root Cr content but decreased shoot Cr concentrations compared with Cr-stressed plants, indicating that alleviation of Cr toxicity might be associated with Cr sequestration in roots. Further, concentration of Fe and expression of Fe transporter (OsIRT1) showed no significant changes due to Si supplementation under Cr stress, implying that Fe regulation is not involved with Si-mediated mitigation of Cr toxicity in rice. Further, phytochelatin accumulation and OsPCS1 (phytochelatin synthase) transcripts strongly induced due to the dual treatment of Si and Cr compared with Cr-stressed plants, suggesting that phytochelatin might bind to Cr, which leads to vacuolar sequestration in roots. Furthermore, increased glutathione reductase activity in roots implies that active involvement of ROS scavenging partially ameliorates Cr toxicity in rice plants. The study illustrates first evidences on the effect of Si alleviating Cr toxicity in rice plants.
Increased interhemispheric resting-state functional connectivity in healthy participants with insomnia symptoms

Background: Abnormalities within the insular cortex of the salience and thalamus of the hyperarousal network have been increasingly reported in healthy participants with insomnia symptoms by recent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) studies. However, little is known about the changes in functional interaction between the bilateral cerebral hemispheres in healthy participants with insomnia symptoms. Methods: In a randomized trial, 27 healthy participants with insomnia symptoms and 27 age-, gender-, and educational level-matched healthy participants without insomnia symptoms underwent rsfMRI. Voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC) was used to measure functional connectivity between any pair of symmetrical interhemispheric voxels (i.e., functional homotopy). Results: The healthy participants with insomnia symptoms displayed significantly increased VMHC compared to healthy participants without insomnia symptoms in the bilateral thalamus/posterior insula (including anterior insula), fusiform, middle cingulate gyrus, inferior parietal lobe, and postcentral gyrus. No regions of decreased VMHC were detected in healthy participants with insomnia symptoms. There were significantly positive correlations between the VMHC values in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and sleep disturbance scores in all healthy participants. Conclusions: Insomnia is associated with substantial impairment of interhemispheric coordination within the default mode (ACC), salience (insula), hyperarousal (thalamus/posterior insula), and visual (fusiform) networks.
Endoscopic submucosal dissection for duodenal tumors: a single-center experience

The indications for endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) for duodenal tumors have not yet been established. We reviewed our experience of ESD performed for duodenal tumors. We analyzed the data of a total of 13 patients with 14 duodenal lesions (excluding papillary lesions) comprising 2 early cancers, 5 adenomas, and 7 neuroendocrine tumors, who were treated by ESD between 2005 and 2011. The mean tumor diameter was 12.7 ± 14.8 mm. En bloc resection was achieved in 85.7 % of the cases. The procedure time was 89.1 ± 64.6 minutes. Intraoperative perforation occurred in three cases. The mean length of postoperative hospitalization was 8.4 ± 2.4 days. Because ESD for duodenal lesions was associated with a higher incidence of perforation than ESD for lesions in other locations (stomach, esophagus, and colon) reported previously, its use for duodenal lesions should be considered with caution.
Prospective observational study to determine the accuracy of first-trimester serum biomarkers and uterine artery Dopplers in combination with maternal characteristics and arteriography for the prediction of women at risk of preeclampsia and other adverse pregnancy outcomes

Abstract Objectives: To assess the efficacy of biomarkers, arteriography and uterine artery Dopplers for predicting hypertensive disease of pregnancy, small for gestational age (SGA) and stillbirth. Methods: This was a prospective first-trimester study. Ultrasound was used to assess uterine artery Doppler. Maternal arteriography was performed and serum was taken for the measurement of placental growth factor (PlGF), alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), pregnancy-associated plasma protein (PAPP-A) and beta-human chorionic gonadotrophin levels. Logistic regression with stepwise selection was performed to determine multivariate models. Results: One thousand and forty-five women were left for analysis after exclusions. Fourteen developed preeclampsia, 23 pregnancy induced hypertension, 64 SGA <5th centile, 118 SGA <10th centile and three stillbirth. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) in the aorta (SBPAO) (p = .002) was significantly associated with preeclampsia. Detection rate (DR) was 72% for a false-positive rate (FPR) of 15%, an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.81, 95% CI 0.69–0.93. MAP and maternal weight (p = .001) were significantly associated with PIH. DR 48%, AUC 0.76, 95% CI 0.65–0.86. Low PAPP-A and PlGF were significantly associated with SGA <10th centile (p = .007 and .004, respectively), DR 30%, AUC 0.608, 95% CI 0.54–0.68. SGA <5th centile was significantly associated with low PlGF (p = <.001), DR 57%, AUC 0.73, 95% CI 0.65–0.80. Conclusions: No association was found between first-trimester biomarkers and preeclampsia/PIH. There was a significant association between low PlGF and PAPP-A and SGA.
Transperitoneal versus retroperitoneal laparoscopic partial nephrectomy: initial experience.

OBJECTIVE We present the transperitoneal and retroperitoneal approaches to laparoscopic partial nephrectomy and compare the outcomes of each technique. METHODS Between December 2006 and March 2010, retroperitoneal laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (RLPN) was performed in 23 patients and transperitoneal laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (TLPN) in 26 patients. They were compared regarding surgical technique, operative parameters, postoperative recovery and follow-up data. The 2 approaches used similar operative techniques to control parenchymal bleeding. RESULTS The patient demographics were similar in both groups. The mean tumour size was 3.1 cm in the retroperitoneal group and 3.4 cm in the transperitoneal group. The difference was not statistically significant (p: 0.095). The mean operative time was significantly longer in the transperitoneal group (215 vs 185 minutes, p: 0.031). The mean warm ischemia time difference was not statistically significant (25 vs 28 minutes, p: 0.102). The mean estimated blood loss (EBL) was greater in the transperitoneal group (254 vs 204 cc, p: 0.003). Moreover, the mean hospital stay was 4.1 days in the RLPN and 4.3 days in the TLPN group (p: 0.303) The difference was not statistically significant. The median follow-up was 11 months (range: 2 to 35) in the retroperitoneal group and 13 months (range 1 to 36) in the transperitoneal group. CONCLUSIONS Our experience has shown that laparoscopic partial nephrectomy is a safe, feasible technique for patients with small exophytic renal tumours. We believe that the decision regarding the approach should be based on the tumor location on the kidney surface.
“I” at the Centre of Ethics and Ethical Dilemmas in Educational Leadership

: The notion of ethics has been the focus of attention in educational leadership over time. This happens by no surprise given that values and ethics lie at the heart of leading learning and ethical dilemmas are ‘the bread and butter’ of educational leaders’ lives. However, what is actually ethics? What makes educational leadership ethical? What are the ethical dilemmas in it? And how could educational leaders respond to ethical dilemmas? By reviewing relevant literature and research in educational leadership from the last three decades, this paper seeks to find answers to these questions. It is found that although ethics is highly contested, there appears to be an agreement that it is about relationships. In addition, as both a profession and a moral activity, educational leadership is by itself an essentially ethical activity. The most troublesome ethical tensions emerge when leaders are faced with ‘right versus right’ dilemmas. By critically examining the key elements of various models and approaches to confront ethical dilemmas, it is suggested there is a strong emphasis on the importance of being self-critical for educational leaders to be able to (re)solve ethical dilemmas.
Hybrid PET-optical imaging using targeted probes

Fusion imaging of radionuclide-based molecular (PET) and structural data [x-ray computed tomography (CT)] has been firmly established. Here we show that optical measurements [fluorescence-mediated tomography (FMT)] show exquisite congruence to radionuclide measurements and that information can be seamlessly integrated and visualized. Using biocompatible nanoparticles as a generic platform (containing a 18F isotope and a far red fluorochrome), we show good correlations between FMT and PET in probe concentration (r2 > 0.99) and spatial signal distribution (r2 > 0.85). Using a mouse model of cancer and different imaging probes to measure tumoral proteases, macrophage content and integrin expression simultaneously, we demonstrate the distinct tumoral locations of probes in multiple channels in vivo. The findings also suggest that FMT can serve as a surrogate modality for the screening and development of radionuclide-based imaging agents.
Conflicted financial advice: disclosure revisited

ABSTRACT We examine the impact of disclosing an advisor’s conflict of interest in providing financial advice to a client in an experiment. We find that an advisor’s conflict of interest harms the client and that disclosing the conflict harms the advisor. Unlike earlier literature, we do not find that disclosure of the advisor’s conflict of interest results in moral licensing or strategic exaggeration behaviour by the advisor nor, relatedly, that disclosure disadvantages the client.
Beyond cognition: predicting health risk behaviors from instrumental and affective beliefs.

OBJECTIVE Two studies assessed the relative contribution of affective and instrumental beliefs to the prediction of 2 risk behaviors: driving above the speed limit and smoking. DESIGN Both studies took the form of large-scale questionnaire surveys (Study 1, N=292; Study 2, N=500) measuring instrumental and affective beliefs and self-reported behavior. In both cases, behavior was also measured objectively. OUTCOME MEASURES In Study 1, speeding behavior was measured via infrared camera along sections of road with 30 mph, 40 mph, and 60 mph speed limits. Self-reports of speeding in these same contexts represented a 2nd dependent variable. In Study 2, level of smoking was measured via a carbon monoxide monitor, and participants were asked to indicate the number of cigarettes they smoked in a week. RESULTS In Study 1, positive and negative instrumental and affective beliefs were significant predictors of self-reported speed. The most powerful predictor was negative affective beliefs. Observed speed was predicted by negative affective beliefs only. In Study 2, the significant predictors of self-reported smoking and objective measures of smoking were positive and negative affective beliefs. CONCLUSION The findings indicate the importance of affective beliefs across 2 health risk behaviors. Implications for social cognition models and interventions are discussed.
Age estimation of Malawian adults from dental radiographs.

BACKGROUND Previous studies have shown that with advancing age the size of the dental pulp cavity is reduced as a result of secondary dentine deposit, so that measurements of this reduction can be used as an indicator of age. Age estimation is one of the indicators used in forensic identification and teeth are biological markers for human age estimation. METHODOLOGY We measured the height (mm) of the crown (CH = Coronal Height) and the height (mm) of the coronal pulp cavity (CPCH = Coronal pulp cavity height) of premolars and molars of 134 adult Malawians (77 males, 57 females) aged 20 - 80 years from dental radiographs. The Tooth-Coronal Index (TCI) was computed for each tooth and regressed on real age. RESULT The correlation coefficients ranged from r -0.650 to -0.799 and were significant in both gender, in premolars and molars (P < 0.01). The equations obtained allowed estimation of age with an error of +/- 5 years in our studied population, the molar equation estimated age better for males while the premolar equation was for female and combined samples. The percentage accuracy levels of our sample population were higher than Caucasians previously reported using similar methods. CONCLUSION Our study demonstrates the potential value of this method of age estimation which is precise, simple, non invasive and applicable to both living individuals and skeletal materials of unknown age.
[Relationship between thoracic cross-sectional area measured on CT and pulmonary function or dyspnea in patients with COPD].

We examined the relationship between the thoracic cross-sectional area (TCSA) and pulmonary function data or dyspnea grade in 24 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The TCSA, i.e., the area surrounded by the rib cage, was measured on computed tomography (CT) images made 1 cm below the top of the aortic arch. Analysis of our data showed a good correlation between TCSA and total lung capacity (r = 0.65, p < 0.001), as well as functional residual capacity (r = 0.67, p < 0.0005) and residual volume (r = 0.62, p < 0.005). The patients were grouped according to their grade of dyspnea (Fletcher's five-degree scale), and the ratio of TCSA over square of height (TCSA/Ht2) was calculated for each patient. In the group with grade IV dyspnea, the TCSA/Ht2 ratios were significantly greater than those in the groups with grade II and III dyspnea, combined. In summary, in the patients with COPD, pulmonary function data indicative of lung hyperinflation correlated with the TCSA, and both parameters were increased in patients with severe dyspnea.
Asymmetric impact of oil prices, exchange rate, and inflation on tourism demand in Pakistan: new evidence from nonlinear ARDL

ABSTRACT This study scrutinized the asymmetric impact of oil prices, exchange rate, and inflation on tourism demand in Pakistan using [Shin, Y. , Yu, B. , & Greenwood-Nimmo, M. (2014) Modelling asymmetric cointegration and dynamic multipliers in a nonlinear ARDL framework. In Festschrift in honor of peter schmidt (pp. 281–314). New York, NY: Springer] nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) model. The NARDL bounds test examined the existence of cointegration in study variables, including CO2 emissions, institutional quality, oil prices, exchange rate, inflation, and tourism demand. The evidence proposes that disregarding the intrinsic nonlinearities may misinform inference. The estimated NARDL model affirmed long-run negative and significant effect of CO2 emissions on tourism demand, while institutional quality was positively associated with tourism demand. Furthermore, the findings of the study also suggested long-run asymmetric relationship between oil prices, exchange rate, inflation, and tourism demand.
Negative emotion differentiation: Its personality and well-being correlates and a comparison of different assessment methods

Previous research has shown that individual differences in negative emotion differentiation may play a prominent role in well-being. Yet, many basic questions about negative emotion differentiation remain unanswered, including how it relates and overlaps with related and known dimensions of individual differences and what its possible underlying processes are. To answer these questions, in the current article we present three correlational studies that chart the nomological network of individual differences in negative emotion differentiation in terms of personality, difficulties in identifying and describing feelings, and several indicators of well-being, propose a novel paradigm to assess it in the lab, and explore relationships with a possible underlying mechanism in terms of the motivation to approach or avoid emotions. The results affirm consistent relations between negative emotion differentiation and indicators of adjustment like negative affect, self-esteem, neuroticism, depression and meta-knowledge about one's emotions, and show how it is related to the motivation to experience affective states.
DNA repair of UV photoproducts and mutagenesis in human mitochondrial DNA.

The induction and repair of DNA photolesions and mutations in the mitochondrial (mt) DNA of human cells in culture were analysed after cell exposure to UV-C light. The level of induction of cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPD) in mitochondrial and nuclear DNA was comparable, while a higher frequency of pyrimidine (6-4) pyrimidone photoproducts (6-4 PP) was detected in mitochondrial than in nuclear DNA. Besides the known defect in CPD removal, mitochondria were shown to be deficient also in the excision of 6-4 PP. The effects of repair-defective conditions for the two major UV photolesions on mutagenesis was assessed by analysing the frequency and spectrum of spontaneous and UV-induced mutations by restriction site mutation (RSM) method in a restriction endonuclease site, NciI (5'CCCGG3') located within the coding sequence of the mitochondrial gene for tRNALeu. The spontaneous mutation frequency and spectrum at the NciI site of mitochondrial DNA was very similar to the RSM background mutation frequency (approximately 10(-5)) and type (predominantly GC>AT transitions at G1 of the NciI site). Conversely, an approximately tenfold increase over background mutation frequency was recorded after cell exposure to 20 J/m2. In this case, the majority of mutations were C>T transitions preferentially located on the non-transcribed DNA strand at C1 and C2 of the NciI site. This mutation spectrum is expected by UV mutagenesis. This is the first evidence of induction of mutations in mitochondrial DNA by treatment of human cells with a carcinogen.
Running with or against the treadmill? Labor unions, institutional contexts, and greenhouse gas emissions in a comparative perspective

ABSTRACT In this paper, we examine one institution that has received less attention in scholarly debates about greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, despite its inherent connection to economic activity and political activism: labor unions. For some, unions represent particularistic interest groups that pursue the economic interests of their members at the expense of the environment. For others, they represent the organized political voice of a working class demanding safe and healthy work environments and communities. We also consider how the effect of unions is conditioned by institutional context, including the presence of employment protection laws and the degree of corporatist governance. We use error correction models (ECMs) to examine the relationship between union density and GHG emissions among 18 affluent countries between the years of 1990 and 2010. We find union density to be associated with reduced GHG emissions, net of controls. We also find that unions have a greater reducing capacity when they are able to participate in policy formation, but that capacity is reduced with the presence of strong employment protection laws. We conclude that further research is needed before policy decisions are made and hope that this study opens up new discussions about the role of labor in addressing climate change.
Physiologically based pharmacokinetic modelling and in vivo [I]/Ki accurately predict P‐glycoprotein‐mediated drug‐drug interactions with dabigatran etexilate

In vitro inhibitory potency (Ki)‐based predictions of P‐glycoprotein (P‐gp)‐mediated drug‐drug interactions (DDIs) are hampered by the substantial variability in inhibitory potency. In this study, in vivo‐based [I]/Ki values were used to predict the DDI risks of a P‐gp substrate dabigatran etexilate (DABE) using physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modelling.
Electronic properties of site-controlled (111)-oriented zinc-blende InGaAs/GaAs quantum dots calculated using a symmetry-adapted k⋅p Hamiltonian

In this work, we present and evaluate a (111)-rotated eight-band k ⋅p Hamiltonian for the zinc-blende crystal lattice to investigate the electronic properties of site-controlled InGaAs/GaAs quantum dots grown along the [111] direction. We derive the rotated Hamiltonian including strain and piezoelectric potentials. In combination with our previously formulated (111)-oriented continuum elasticity model, we employ this approach to investigate the electronic properties of a realistic site-controlled (111)-grown InGaAs quantum dot. We combine these studies with an evaluation of single-band effective mass and eight-band k ⋅p models, to investigate the capabilities of these models for the description of electronic properties of (111)-grown zinc-blende quantum dots. Moreover, the influence of second-order piezoelectric contributions on the polarization potential in such systems is studied. The description of the electronic structure of nanostructures grown on (111)-oriented surfaces can now be achieved with significantly reduced computational costs in comparison to calculations performed using the conventional (001)-oriented models.