Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Myocardial performance and aortic elasticity are impaired in patients with ankylosing spondylitis

Objective: To measure aortic stiffness and global left ventricular (LV) function in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and no clinical evidence of heart disease. Methods: Fifty‐seven consecutive patients with AS (54 males, three females, mean age 41.78±10.02 years) without clinical evidence of cardiac involvement and 78 healthy subjects (73 males, five females, mean age 39.92±9.11 years) underwent complete echocardiographic study. Aortic stiffness was determined non‐invasively by aortic distensibility (AoD) and the global LV function was evaluated by the myocardial performance index (the Tei index). Results: AoD in patients with AS [(2.21±0.24)×10−6 cm2 dyn−1] was decreased compared to controls [(2.58±0.19) )×10−6 cm2 dyn−1, p<0.01], confirming that aortic stiffness is increased in AS. The LV Tei index was significantly increased in the patient group compared to the control group (0.392±0.031 vs. 0.370±0.034, p<0.01). The ejection fraction (EF) did not differ between the two groups (p>0.05). In multivariate linear regression analysis, AoD was significantly associated with the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI) and LV isovolumic relaxation time (IVRT) whereas the LV Tei index was associated with BASDAI and the LV mass index. Conclusions: Patients with AS and no clinical evidence of cardiac disease have increased stiffness of the aorta and decreased global myocardial performance and both of these abnormal measurements correlate with disease activity. The abnormal Tei index may reflect an early manifestation of cardiac dysfunction in these patients.
Diet Deterioration and Food Retail Structure: Why Are Italians Eating Less Fruits and Vegetables

In spite of Italy presenting one of the largest consumption of fruits and vegetables (FV) among EU Countries, the number of adult Italians consuming the recommended daily amounts of FV is declining, especially in the South of the country, were the expansion of the food retail industry has been lagging. In this article we assess whether the food retail structure affects the likelihood of adult Italians consuming five or more daily portions of FV, using 9 years of individual-level data on individuals’ lifestyle, including eating habits and perceived access to supermarkets, matched with detailed regional data on the food retail structure. In our analysis we use a Two-Step Instrumental Variable Probit estimator and variables indicating the political climate of the different regions to correct for the potential endogeneity of geographic disparity in retail structures. Results show that increased access and availability of fruits and vegetables affect positively the probability of consuming the daily-recommended amounts of FV. Food retail structure’s effect appears less marked for individuals declaring hurdles in accessing supermarkets. While individuals’ characteristics play an important role in explaining FV consumption probability among individuals declaring no hurdles in accessing supermarkets, transportation and perceived economic conditions are some of the main determinants for individuals declaring access hurdles.
Interstitial nephritis caused by trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole in renal transplant recipients.

THE COMBINATION drug trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole is widely used in renal transplant recipients to treat urinary tract infections and opportunistic infections with organisms such as Pneumocystis carinii and Nocardia , and has recently been recommended as prophylaxis against Pneumocystis pneumonitis. To our knowledge, deterioration of renal allograft function from interstitial nephritis in association with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole administration has been recorded only once. 1 The following reports suggest that interstitial nephritis caused by trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole may occur more frequently and that the drug should be used with caution in renal transplant recipients. Report of Cases Case 1. — A 50-year-old woman with chronic glomerulonephritis received a renal transplant from a cadaver donor on Sept 28, 1975. Initial renal function was good. In November 1975 she had a rejection episode that responded to intravenous administration of methylprednisolone, 30 mg/kg. On Jan 14, 1976, a staphylococcal septicemia developed and was treated with nafcillin sodium. Ten days later she again
Fibroblast Growth Factor-23: A Novel Biomarker for Cardiovascular Disease in Chronic Kidney Disease Patients

Abstract Fibroblast Growth Factor (FGF)-23 increase is considered one of the earliest biochemical abnormalities in chronic kidney disease-mineral bone disorder (CKD–MBD). Furthermore, accumulating data have provided evidence of a link between increased FGF-23 levels and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in CKD patients as well as in several other populations including cardiology patients and general population. The cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the deleterious effect of FGF-23 on the cardiovascular system are not yet completely defined and are the focus of intense research. However, animal and human studies have demonstrated important actions of FGF-23 in the heart and vessels through which could promote the development of cardiovascular complications in uremia. Moreover, significant interactions have been reported between FGF-23 and other well recognized cardiovascular risk factors such as renin-angiotensin system and inflammation which could account, at least in part, for the observed associations between FGF-23 and adverse clinical outcomes. Further studies are needed to clarify the mechanisms responsible for the pleiotropic actions of FGF-23 and moreover to identify whether it is a modifiable risk factor and a potential target of therapeutic interventions which could probably help to reduce the unacceptably high cardiovascular morbidity and mortality of CKD patients.
Promoting Children's Agency in Early Childhood Education

Using conversation analysis (CA), this study identifies features of teacher-child interactions that enable opportunities for children's active participation in early learning environments, specifically, how teachers promote children's agency in the resolution of their peer disputes. The analysis focuses on two particular episodes of teacher intervention selected from a total of 28 hours of video-recorded observations in two early childhood education settings with three- to five-year-old children. The first demonstrates how a teacher can facilitate the collaborative resolution of a dispute; the second demonstrates how a teacher can respond to a child's report of conflict by positioning herself as a non-participant. While different strategies were utilized in each of these episodes, redirecting responsibility to the children themselves was found to be the key practice in facilitating children's agency in these interventions. Knowledge and insights gained through conversation analysis contribute to our understanding of how teachers and children collaboratively achieve opportunities for agency.
NEUROERGONOMICS

This book is dedicated to Professor Raja Parasuraman who unexpectedly passed on March 22, 2015. Raja Parasuraman’s pioneering work led to the emergence of Neuroergonomics as a new scientific field. He made significant contributions to a number of disciplines from human factors to cognitive neuroscience. His early work included important contributions to topics such as vigilance and human interaction with automated systems. He later consolidated his interests in human factors and cognitive neuroscience to develop a new discipline called Neuroergonomics, which he defined as the study of the brain and behavior at work. His advice to young researchers was to be passionate in order to develop theory and knowledge that can guide the design of technologies and environments for people. His legacy, the field of Neuroergonomics, will live on in countless faculties and students whom he advised and inspired with unmatched humility throughout the span of his distinguished career. Raja Parasuraman was an impressive human being, a very kind person, and an absolutely inspiring individual who will be remembered by everyone who had the chance to meet him.
Influenza: Emergence and Control

The natural reservoirs of influenza A viruses are the aquatic birds of the world (91), in which the viruses appear to be in evolutionary stasis—they are in equilibrium with their natural host and cause no disease. Periodically, the influenza viruses are transmitted to other hosts, including mammals, and cause transitory infections and occasionally deaths. Less frequently, influenza viruses are transmitted to other species and establish continual infections in those hosts. Thus, permanent lineages of influenza A viruses occur in humans, swine, horses, and domestic poultry. What is the difference between transitory infection occasionally causing death and the establishment of permanent lineages in the host? The molecular bases of a virus's ability to spread among a range of hosts and of the pathogenicity of influenza viruses are still unresolved. Since 1997, when H5N1 influenza virus was transmitted to humans and killed 6 of 18 infected persons, there have been multiple transmissions of avian influenza viruses to mammals. Either the whole virus is transmitted directly (12, 81) or gene segments from the avian influenza virus are acquired by mammalian strains (e.g., H3N2 triple reassortants in pigs in the United States) (37, 38, 97, 98). Widespread infections of poultry with H5N1 viruses in Asia have caused increasing concern that this subtype may achieve human-to-human spread and establish interspecies transmission. In this minireview, we consider recent interspecies transmissions of influenza A viruses and examine our limited knowledge of the contributors to the success of these viruses. Finally, we briefly consider control measures.
Sport and Training Influence Bone and Body Composition in Women Collegiate Athletes

Carbuhn, AF, Fernandez, TE, Bragg, AF, Green, JS, and Crouse, SF. Sport and training influence bone and body composition in women collegiate athletes. J Strength Cond Res 24(7): 1710-1717, 2010-This is a novel descriptive study to characterize off-season, preseason, and postseason bone and body composition measures in women collegiate athletes. From 2006 through 2008, 67 women collegiate athletes from 5 sports, softball (n = 17), basketball (n = 10), volleyball (n = 7), swimming (n = 16), and track jumpers and sprinters (n = 17) were scanned using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) at 3 seasonal periods: (a) off-season = before preseason training, (b) preseason = after preseason training, and (c) postseason = after competitive season. Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry scans were analyzed for total body mass, lean mass (LM), fat mass (FM), percent body fat (%BF), bone mineral content, bone mineral density (BMD), arm BMD, leg BMD, pelvis BMD, and spine BMD. Data were analyzed between sports using analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Tukey post hoc follow-ups, and within each sport using repeated-measures ANOVA and LSD; α < 0.05. Significant off-season to preseason or postseason changes in %BF, LM, and BMD within each sport were as follows, respectively: softball, −7, +4, +1%; basketball, −11, +4, +1%; volleyball, unchanged, unchanged, +2%; swimming, unchanged, +2.5%, unchanged; track jumpers and sprinters, −7, +3.5, +1%. Comparisons among athletes in each sport showed bone measurements of swimmers averaged 4-19% lower than that of athletes in any other sport, whereas for track jumpers and sprinters, %BF and FM averaged 36 and 43% lower compared with other sports at all seasonal periods. Values for athletes playing basketball and volleyball were most similar, whereas softball athletes' values fell between all other athletes. These data serve as sport-specific reference values for comparisons at in-season and off-season training periods among women collegiate athletes in various sports.
The correlation between effective renal plasma flow ( ERPF ) and glomerular filtration rate ( GFR ) with renal scintigraphy 99 mTc-DTPA study

The prevalence of chronic renal diseases in Indonesia has an increasing annual trend, because it is frequently unrecognized and often co-exists with other disease. GFR and ERPF are parameters currently utilized to estimate renal function at routine renal scintigraphy Tc DTPA study. This study used Tc DTPA to measure GFR and ERPF. The purpose of this study was to find the correlation between ERPF and GFR, for ERPF analysis with Schlegel’s method, and GFR analysis with Gate’s method, as well as to find correction factor between both variables. Analysis of renal scintigraphy has been performed at Department of Nuclear Medicine Pertamina Center Hospital to thirty patient images acquired from 2014 to 2015 which were analyzed retrospectively data, using gamma camera dual head with counting method from renal scintigraphy Tc DTPA study. The calculation was executed by means of both display and manual calculation. Pearson’s statistical analysis resulted on Positive Correlation for all data, with ERPF and GFR (display) showing Strongly Positive Correlation (r = 0.82; pvalue < 0.05). Standard deviation was found to be 27.58 and 107.64 for GFR and ERPF (display), respectively. Our result indicated that the use of Tc-DTPA measure ERPF was not recommended.
High-molecular-weight antigenic protein complex in the outer membrane of Neisseria gonorrhoeae

The outer membrane of Neisseria gonorrhoeae contains approximately 15 proteins, with 2 or 3 accounting for over 75% of the total protein mass. Samples of outer membrane from strain 2686 T4 analyzed by electrophoresis in 2% polyacrylamide gels revealed a band with an apparent molecular weight of 800,000. The band was protein material, as indicated by trypsin and pronase sensitivity and by L-[3H]proline incorporation. Peptidoglycan, nucleic acids, and carbohydrate were not detected in the band. Dye binding, L-[3H]proline incorporation, and labeling of solubilized outer-membrane proteins with 125I-labeled Bolton-Hunter reagent indicated that the band made up 10 to 13% of the total protein mass of isolated outer membranes. The material in the band was purified by gel filtration and, after reduction and alkylation, quantitatively recovered as subunits with an apparent molecular weight of 76,000. The protein in complex form was exposed at the cell surface, as evidenced by labeling whole cells with 125I by using a lactoperoxidase-catalyzed reaction and with CNBr-activated dextran. Rabbit serum raised against whole 2686 T4 gonococci contained antibody which reacted with the protein complex. The protein complex was detected in all gonococcal strains tested, but its presence could not be demonstrated in several other gram-negative species.
The State of Food Mapping

Various mapping methodologies have been used to explore complex social, economic, and environmental components of the food system. Planning scholars, geographers, public health officials, and community organizations have created maps to better understand disparities in the food environment. This review provides an analysis of the nature of geographic information systems mapping in scholarly research and web-based food mapping since 2008. Our review of thirty-four journal articles and seventy web-mapping projects covers the purpose, study area, topics, methods, and application of food mapping research and initiatives. Scholars and community stakeholders will benefit from this review of methodologies to inform their research and policy initiatives.
FReLU: Flexible Rectified Linear Units for Improving Convolutional Neural Networks

Rectified linear unit (ReLU) is a widely used activation function for deep convolutional neural networks. However, because of the zero-hard rectification, ReLU networks lose the benefits from negative values. In this paper, we propose a novel activation function called flexible rectified linear unit (FReLU) to further explore the effects of negative values. By redesigning the rectified point of ReLU as a learnable parameter, FReLU expands the states of the activation output. When a network is successfully trained, FReLU tends to converge to a negative value, which improves the expressiveness and thus the performance. Furthermore, FReLU is designed to be simple and effective without exponential functions to maintain low-cost computation. For being able to easily used in various network architectures, FReLU does not rely on strict assumptions by self-adaption. We evaluate FReLU on three standard image classification datasets, including CIFAR-10, CIFAR-100, and ImageNet. Experimental results show that FReLU achieves fast convergence and competitive performance on both plain and residual networks.
Evaluating the efficiency of CHEF and CMV promoter with IRES and Furin/2A linker sequences for monoclonal antibody expression in CHO cells

In recent years, monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have been developed as powerful therapeutic and diagnostic agents and Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells have emerged as the dominant host for the recombinant expression of these proteins. A critical step in recombinant expression is the utilization of strong promoters, such as the Chinese Hamster Elongation Factor-1α (CHEF-1) promoter. To compare the strengths of CHEF with cytomegalovirus (CMV) promoter for mAb expression in CHO cells, four bicistronic vectors bearing either internal ribosome entry site (IRES) or Furin/2A (F2A) sequences were designed. The efficiency of these promoters was evaluated by measuring level of expressed antibody in stable cell pools. Our results indicated that CHEF promoter-based expression of mAbs was 2.5 fold higher than CMV-based expression in F2A-mediated vectors. However, this difference was less significant in IRES-mediated mAb expressing cells. Studying the stability of the F2A expression system in the course of 18 weeks, we observed that the cells having CHEF promoter maintained their antibody expression at higher level than those transfected with CMV promoter. Further analyses showed that both IRES-mediated vectors, expressed mAbs with correct size, whereas in antibodies expressed via F2A system heterogeneity of light chains were detected due to incomplete furin cleavage. Our findings indicated that the CHEF promoter is a viable alternative to CMV promoter-based expression in F2A-mediated vectors by providing both higher expression and level of stability.
Pharmacologic suppression of MITF expression via HDAC inhibitors in the melanocyte lineage

Melanoma incidence continues to rise at an alarming rate while effective systemic therapies remain very limited. Microphthalmia‐associated transcription factor (MITF) is required for development of melanocytes and is an amplified oncogene in a fraction of human melanomas. Microphthalmia‐associated transcription factor also plays an oncogenic role in human clear cell sarcomas, which typically exhibit melanoma‐like features. Although pharmacologic suppression of MITF is of potential interest in a variety of clinical settings, it is not known to contain intrinsic catalytic activity capable of direct small molecule inhibition. An alternative drug‐targeting strategy is to identify and interfere with lineage‐restricted mechanisms required for its expression. Here, we report that multiple histone deacetylase (HDAC)‐inhibitor drugs potently suppress MITF expression in melanocytes, melanoma and clear cell sarcoma cells. Although HDAC inhibitors may affect numerous cellular targets, we observed suppression of skin pigmentation by topical drug application as well as evidence of anti‐melanoma efficacy in vitro and in mouse xenografts. Consequently, HDAC inhibitor drugs are candidates to play therapeutic roles in targeting conditions affecting the melanocyte lineage.
Chemical composition, antioxidant activity and larvicidal effects of essential oil from leaves of Apium graveolens

The leaves of Apium graveolens were extracted and the essential oil composition, immunotoxicity effects, and antioxidant activity were studied. The analyses were conducted by gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy (GC-MS), which revealed the essential oils of A. graveolens leaves. Twenty-eight components, representing 73.72% of the total oil were identified from the leaves. The major components are 4-chloro-4,4-dimethyl-3-(1-imidazolyl)-valerophenone (19.90%), 1-dodecanol (16.55%), 9-octadecen-12-ynoic acid, methyl ester (4.93%), ethyl 4,4-D2-N-hexyl ether (4.11%), 3-(hydroxymethyl)-1-phenyl-1-heptadecyn-3-ol (3.28%), 1,4-methano-1H-indene, octahydro-4-methyl-8-methylene-7-(1-methylethyl)-, [1S-(1α,3αα,4α,7α,7αα)]- (2.99%), 3,4-dihydro-2H-1,5-(3″-t-butyl)benzodioxepine (2.56%), Z-10-tetradecen-1-ol acetate (2.53%), 9H-pyrrolo[3′,4′:3,4]pyrrolo[2,1-α]phthalazine-9, 11(10H)-dione, 10-ethyl-8-phenyl (2.07%). The leaf oil had significant toxic effects against the larvae of A. aegypti with an LC50 value of 59.32 ppm and an LC90 value of 127.69 ppm. The essential oil from the A. graveolens leaves was investigated for scavenging of the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical activity and the results demonstrate that the essential oil from the A. graveolens has potential as a natural antioxidant and thus inhibit unwanted oxidation process. The above data indicate that the major compounds may play an important role in the toxicity of essential oils and also as natural antioxidant.
Changes in sublingual microcirculatory flow index and vessel density on ascent to altitude

We hypothesized that ascent to altitude would result in reduced sublingual microcirculatory flow index (MFI) and increased vessel density. Twenty‐four subjects were studied using sidestream dark‐field imaging, as they ascended to 5300 m; one cohort remained at this altitude (n= 10), while another ascended higher (maximum 8848 m; n= 14). The MFI, vessel density and grid crossings (GX; an alternative density measure) were calculated. Total study length was 71 days; images were recorded at sea level (SL), Namche Bazaar (3500 m), Everest base camp (5300 m), the Western Cwm (6400 m), South Col (7950 m) and departure from Everest base camp (5300 m; 5300 m‐b). Peripheral oxygen saturation , heart rate and blood pressure were also recorded. Compared with SL, altitude resulted in reduced sublingual MFI in small (<25 μm; P < 0.0001) and medium vessels (26–50 μm; P= 0.006). The greatest reduction in MFI from SL was seen at 5300 m‐b; from 2.8 to 2.5 in small vessels and from 2.9 to 2.4 in medium‐sized vessels. The density of vessels <25 μm did not change during ascent, but those >25 μm rose from 1.68 (± 0.43) mm mm−2 at SL to 2.27 (± 0.57) mm mm−2 at 5300 m‐b (P= 0.005); GX increased at all altitudes (P < 0.001). The reduction in MFI was greater in climbers than in those who remained at 5300 m in small and medium‐sized vessels (P= 0.017 and P= 0.002, respectively). At 7950 m, administration of supplemental oxygen resulted in a further reduction of MFI and increase in vessel density. Thus, MFI was reduced whilst GX increased in the sublingual mucosa with prolonged exposure to hypoxia and was exaggerated in those exposed to extreme altitude.