Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hematologic Adverse Effects of Clopidogrel

Clopidogrel is used as a frontline antiplatelet agent in patients with coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular disease, and peripheral vascular disease. Hematologic complications and bleeding have been the most feared outcome of antithrombotic and antiplatelet agents. Among the thienopyridines, clopidogrel is considered to be a safer alternative to ticlopidine due to its decreased incidence of hematologic adverse effects. Although thrombotic thrombocytopenia purpura is the most reported hematologic adverse effect of clopidogrel; neutropenia, acquired hemophilia, isolated thrombocytopenia or idiopathic immune thrombocytopenia, and thrombotic thrombocytopenia purpura with hemolytic uremic syndrome are other rare yet recognized hematologic adverse effects of clopidogrel. Patients treated with clopidogrel should be carefully monitored for hematologic adverse effects especially in the first 2 to 3 months after initiation of therapy. Early recognition and prompt initiation of treatment can be life saving in patients who have hematologic adverse effects to clopidogrel. We have drafted this review by performing literature search using Medline, Pubmed, and EMBASE search engine with relevant search words for all reported hematologic adverse effects and manifestations of clopidogrel and their management.
Procedural pain in neonatal units in Kenya

Objectives To determine the nature and frequency of painful procedures and procedural pain management practices in neonatal units in Kenya. Design Cross-sectional survey. Setting Level I and level II neonatal units in Kenya. Patients Ninety-five term and preterm neonates from seven neonatal units. Methods Medical records of neonates admitted for at least 24 h were reviewed to determine the nature and frequency of painful procedures performed in the 24 h period preceding data collection (6:00 to 6:00) as well as the pain management interventions (eg, morphine, breastfeeding, skin-to-skin contact, containment, non-nutritive sucking) that accompanied each procedure. Results Neonates experienced a total of 404 painful procedures over a 24 h period (mean=4.3, SD 2.0; range 1–12); 270 tissue-damaging (mean=2.85, SD 1.1; range 1–6) and 134 non-tissue-damaging procedures (mean=1.41, SD 1.2; range 0–6). Peripheral cannula insertion (27%) and intramuscular injections (22%) were the most common painful procedures. Ventilated neonates and neonates admitted in level II neonatal units had a higher number of painful procedures than those admitted in level I units (mean 4.76 vs 2.96). Only one procedure had a pain intensity score documented; and none had been performed with any form of analgesia. Conclusions Neonates in Kenya were exposed to numerous tissue-damaging and non-tissue-damaging procedures without any form of analgesia. Our findings suggest that education is needed on how to assess and manage procedural pain in neonatal units in Kenya.
Maintenance threonine requirement and efficiency of its use for accretion of whole-body threonine and protein in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) fry

Eighteen groups of seventy Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) fry (initial mean body weight 0·8 (sd 0·01) g) were fed on semi-purified diets containing graded levels of l-threonine (Thr) in 15 litres aquaria at a temperature of 14·5±1°C. Doses of Thr represented 1, 31, 41, 51, 62, 72, 83 and 93% of its ideal level for optimumprotein deposition. Indispensable amino acids other than Thr were included in the same proportion (on a g/16g N basis) as in the Atlantic salmon fry whole-body carcass. Following 36d of feeding and a 36h fast, fry were killed for whole-body protein and amino acid analysis. Weight gain (r2 0·98), protein accretion (r2 0·97), and Thr accretion (r2 0·97) were linear (P<0·01) functions of Thr intake. Slope of the Thr accretion regression line showed that the efficiency of Thr utilisation above maintenance was 76%. At zero Thr intake, fry lost 5·4mg Thr/kg body weight0·75 per d. The Thr maintenance requirement was 7·2mg/kg body weight0·75 per d and the Thr requirement for growth was 66mg for 1g protein deposition. Increasing doses of Thr resulted in increased (P<0·05) concentrations of histidine and lysine, and decreased concentrations of isoleucine in whole-body protein. The maintenance need for Thr represented 13·4% of the total need for Thr. The data suggest that efficiency of Thr utilisation above maintenance is constant at all levels of Thr intake between 1 and 93% of the level required for optimum protein deposition.
The relationship between periodontal disease and blood glucose level among type II diabetic patients.

The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between periodontal disease and the blood glucose level among type II non-insulin dependent diabetic mellitus (NIDDM) subjects. Forty subjects, 20 in each group, of healthy and diabetic subjects, ages ranged 20-70 years, were examined at King Saud University, College of Dentistry. Clinical examination included frequency of oral hygiene practices, periodontal status by using the Community Periodontal Index of Treatment Needs (CPITN), fasting blood glucose level (FBGL), and random blood glucose level (RBGL). Unstandardized orthopantomograms (OPGs) were taken for radiographic findings. The number of missing teeth (tooth loss) was assessed from the radiographs. The results showed that periodontal disease severity was high among diabetic subjects. Diabetic subjects brushed less frequently, and they had a higher blood glucose level than healthy subjects. The mean CPITN score was compared with mean blood glucose level and the severity of periodontal disease. There was a steady increase in blood glucose level with increase in CPITN scores, i.e., CPITN score 13.5 to 19.12 corresponded with 142 mg/dl and 173.2 mg/dl FBGL, and 184.2 and 199.12 mg/dl RBGL among diabetic subjects. The study indicated that diabetic subjects should improve their oral hygiene practices and control of blood glucose levels should be emphasized. Further studies are needed among diabetics and healthy subjects from the general population with better sampling techniques and a larger sample size.
Temperature dependent channel backscattering coefficients in nanoscale MOSFETs

The ratio of the mean-free-path to the critical length near the low-field source is key to channel backscattering characteristics in nanoFETs. To extract it, we perform temperature experiment from -40/spl deg/C to 75/spl deg/C on 17 /spl Aring/ thick gate oxide MOSFETs with varying mask gate lengths down to 75 nm. In this paper we report that once the saturation drain current is measured against temperature, the mean-free-path /spl lambda/ with respect to the critical length l can readily be assessed at specific temperature. Dependencies on gate length, drain voltage, and gate voltage are then established that further enable nanoFETs scaling projections. The temperature dependent version of existing backscattering model is derived in this work.
Forecasting the implied volatility surface dynamics of equity options

In this paper we examine the predictability of implied volatility surface dynamics of equity options. In particular, we are focused on studying the predictive performances of models that include implied volatility surface dynamics of S&P500 index options and historical VIX Term Structure information. We find that models incorporating these variables in the form of exogenous autoregressive elements are outperformed in terms of prediction error and forecast accuracy measures by more parsimonious models—such as random walk.
Reflective Optical Fiber Refractometer Based on Long-Period Grating Tailored Active Bragg Grating

A reflective optical fiber refractometer based on a long-period grating (LPG) followed by an active fiber Bragg grating (AFBG) is proposed. The AFBG is inscribed in a short section of cobalt-doped optical fiber, which can be heated by pump laser and acts as a sensing signal indicator. The LPG functions as a bridge between the surrounding refractive index (RI) and the AFBG reflection, tailoring the power of pump laser for heating. Experimental results demonstrate that the wavelength response of this fiber grating-based reflective refractometer can be easily adjusted, and a significantly improved sensitivity within the RI range from 1.3403 to 1.4654 has been achieved.
Benzodiazepine use among employees of a private company.

UNLABELLED This study aimed to identify variables associated to the consumption of benzodiazepine among workers of a private company in the VIII Region, Chile. This is a cross-sectional and correlative study. STUDY POPULATION 40 employees of a private company. The instruments included a questionnaire on socio-demographic variables and a benzodiazepine questionnaire. There was no record of benzodiazepine consumption at the moment of the study. Twenty percent (20%) of the interviewees had already used benzodiazepine in the past, whereas, half of them (10%) in the last year. The bivariate analysis of the last year consumption of benzodiazepine with work hours variables showed no significant relation (p=0.073). No association was found between benzodiazepine consumption and socio-demographic variables among the study participants.
Comparison of memory fMRI response among normal, MCI, and Alzheimer’s patients

Objective: To determine whether an fMRI memory encoding task distinguishes among cognitively normal elderly individuals, patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and patients with early Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Methods: Twenty-nine subjects (11 normal, 9 MCI, 9 AD) were studied with an fMRI memory encoding task. A passive sensory task was also performed to assess potential intergroup differences in fMRI responsiveness. Activation in the medial temporal lobe for the memory task and in the anatomic rolandic area for the sensory task was studied. Intergroup comparisons were performed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses. The ROC method provides rigorous control of artifactual false-positive “activation. ” Subjects were tested for recall and recognition of the encoding task stimuli following the fMRI study. Results: Medial temporal lobe activation was greater in subjects than MCI and AD patients (p = 0.03 and p = 0.04). There was no difference between AD and MCI patients in normal fMRI memory performance. There was an association between fMRI memory activation (area under the ROC curve) and post-fMRI performance on recognition and free recall. There was no difference among the three groups on the sensory task. Conclusions: MCI and AD patients had less medial temporal lobe activation on the memory task than the normal subjects but similar activation as normal subjects on the sensory task. These findings suggest decreased medial temporal activation may be a specific marker of limbic dysfunction due to the neurodegenerative changes of AD. In addition, fMRI is sufficiently sensitive to detect changes in the prodromal, MCI, phase of the disease.
Tumor iNOS predicts poor survival for stage III melanoma patients

Inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) produces nitric oxide, which has growth promoting activity in melanoma. A preliminary study of tumors from patients with Stage III melanoma who had received neo‐adjuvant therapy revealed an association of tumor iNOS expression with shortened survival. The objective of the present study was to determine whether iNOS expression in tumors of newly diagnosed, untreated Stage III patients is predictive of survival. iNOS expression was examined by immunohistochemistry in tumors from 132 patients. The staining was evaluated for percentage of positive cells (Number score) and the intensity of staining (Intensity score). The association of iNOS expression with overall and disease‐specific survival was tested in univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression models that included other known prognostic factors. Results of the univariate analysis demonstrated that the presence of iNOS in a patient's tumor, whether graded on the basis of Number or Intensity score, was associated with a significant increase in the hazard ratio of death from melanoma. These findings were corroborated by median survival data estimated from Kaplan Meier analysis. In the multivariate model including iNOS number or intensity, gender, age, number of lymph nodes, macroscopic disease and in‐transit disease, only iNOS expression predicted survival. We conclude that a significant association exists between tumor iNOS expression and shortened survival in untreated Stage III melanoma patients. The ability of iNOS to predict outcomes for these patients may be independent of other known prognostic factors, providing a new molecular marker with significant potential for clinical utility. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Karyotype Analysis of Vicia venosa (Willd. ex Link) Maxim. and V. ramuliflora (Maxim.) Ohwi

In the present paper, karyotypes of Vicia venosa (Willd. ex Link) Maxim. and V. ramuliflora (Maxim.) Ohwi are reported. The karyotype formulae are as follows: V. venosa (Willd. ex Link) Maxim. 2n=12=2M+10sm; V. ramuliflora (Maxim.) Ohwi 2n=12=2M (2SAT)+8sm+2st and 2n=24=8m+16sm (2SAT). The karyotypes of the two species belong to “2A”. According to karyomorphology, tetraploid cytotype of V. ramuliflora distributed at alt. 2000-2400m in Mts. Changbaicould is an autopolyploid.
Occurrence of neurotensinlike immunoreactivity in subpopulations of hypothalamic, mesencephalic, and medullary catecholamine neurons

By using indirect immunofluorescence histochemistry combined with the elution‐restaining technique, the presence of a neurotensinlike peptide in some catecholamine neurons in the rat brain has been demonstrated. At the level of the medulla oblongata neurotensinlike immunoreactivity was observed in most of the small‐sized catecholamine (adrenaline) cell bodies in the dorsolateral part of the nucleus of the solitary tract and in some catecholamine (noradrenaline) cells in the medial part. Neurotensin‐positive fibers were found throughout the solitary tract nucleus with increasing concentrations in the rostral direction. Very few neurotensin fibers were seen in the vagal dorsal motor nucleus, which contained a dense network of adrenaline fibers. In the ventral mesencephalon, neurotensinlike immunoreactivity was seen mainly in dopamine cell bodies in the ventral tegmental area, including midline structures, with only single examples of coexistence in the substantia nigra. The dopamine cell bodies of both the A9 and A10 cell groups were surrounded by dense to medium‐dense networks of neurotensin fibers. In the hypothalamus numerous dopamine neurons in the arcuate nucleus exhibited neurotensinlike immunoreactivity. Neurotensin‐positive nerve terminals, partially overlapping catecholamine (mainly dopamine) fibers, were seen in the external layer of the median eminence. The present results demonstrate coexistence of neurotensinlike immunoreactivity and catecholamines in populations of neurons in some of the central catecholamine cell groups and provide a morphological basis for interactions between the peptide and amines.
The Yin and Yang of YY1 in tumor growth and suppression

Yin Yang‐1 (YY1) is a zinc finger protein and member of the GLI‐Kruppel family that can activate or inactivate gene expression depending on interacting partners, promoter context and chromatin structure, and may be involved in the transcriptional control of ∼10% of the total mammalian gene set. A growing body of literature indicates that YY1 is overexpressed in multiple cancer types and that increased YY1 levels correlate with poor clinical outcomes in many cancers. However, the role of YY1 in the promotion or suppression of tumor growth remains controversial and its regulatory effects may be tumor cell type dependent at least in experimental systems. The molecular mechanisms responsible for the apparently conflicting roles of YY1 are not yet fully elucidated. This review highlights recent advances in our understanding of regulatory insights involving YY1 function in a range of cancer types. For example, YY1's roles in tumor growth involve stabilization of hypoxia‐inducible factor HIF‐1α in a p53 independent manner, negative regulation of miR‐9 transcription, control of MYCT1 transcription, a novel miR‐193a‐5p‐YY1‐APC axis, intracellular ROS and mitochondrial superoxide generation, p53 reduction and EGFR activation, control of genes associated with mitochondrial energy metabolism and miRNA regulatory networks involving miR‐7, miR‐9, miR‐34a, miR‐186, miR‐381, miR‐584‐3p and miR‐635. On the other hand, tumor suppressor roles of YY1 appear to involve YY1 stimulation of tumor suppressor BRCA1, increased Bax transcription and apoptosis involving cytochrome c release and caspase‐3/‐7 cleavage, induction of heme oxygenase‐1, inhibition of pRb phosphorylation and p21 binding to cyclin D1 and cdk4, reduced expression of long noncoding RNA of SOX2 overlapping transcript, and MUC4/ErbB2/p38/MEF2C‐dependent downregulation of MMP‐10. YY1 expression is associated with that of cancer stem cell markers SOX2, BMI1 and OCT4 across many cancers suggesting multidynamic regulatory control and groups of cancers with distinct molecular signatures. Greater understanding of the mechanistic roles of YY1 will in turn lead to the development of more specific approaches to modulate YY1 expression and activity with therapeutic potential.
Dementia and occupational exposure to magnetic fields.

OBJECTIVES The purpose of the present report was to assess whether occupational magnetic field exposure is a risk factor for dementia, in particular for Alzheimer's disease. METHODS Case-control analyses were applied to 77 dementia cases, 55 of whom had Alzheimer's disease, ascertained from the population-based Swedish twin register. Two reference groups were derived, with 228 and 238 persons, respectively. Occupations were linked to a job-exposure matrix based on magnetic field measurements. Primary occupation, last occupation before reference date, and the occupation with the highest magnetic field exposure during the subject's lifetime were evaluated. RESULTS For primary occupation, all relative risk estimates were close to unity. For last occupation, at the exposure level > or = 0.2 microT, a relative risk was found for dementia estimated at 3.3 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.3-8.6] and 3.8 (95% CI 1.4-10.2) for reference groups 1 and 2, respectively. The relative risk for Alzheimer's disease was estimated at 2.4 (95% CI 0.8-6.9) and 2.7 (95% CI 0.9-7.8), respectively. For the occupation with the highest magnetic field exposure, the relative risk estimates were close to unity for reference group 1 and slightly elevated for reference group 2. The relative risk estimates were greater for the subjects who were younger at onset (< or =75 years). CONCLUSIONS These results only partially support previous findings, but they indicate that occupational magnetic field exposure may possibly influence the development of dementia.
The multiple‐indicator dilution technique for characterization of normal and retrograde flow in once‐through rat liver perfusions

The technique of normal and retrograde rat liver perfusion has been widely used to probe zonal differences in drug‐metabolizing activities. The validity of this approach mandates the same tissue spaces being accessed by substrates during both normal and retrograde perfusions. Using the multiple‐indicator dilution technique, we presently examine the extent to which retrograde perfusion alters the spaces accessible to noneliminated references. A bolus does of 51Cr‐labeled red blood cells, 125I‐albumin, 14C‐sucrose and 3H2O was injected into the portal (normal) or hepatic (retrograde) vein of rat livers perfused at 10 ml per min per liver. The outflow perfusate was serially collected over 220 sec to characterize the transit times and the distribution spaces of the labels. During retrograde perfusion, red blood cells, albumin and sucrose profiles peaked later and lower than during normal perfusion, whereas the water curves were similar. The transit times of red blood cells, albumin and sucrose were longer (p<0.005), whereas those for water did not change. Consequently, retrograde flow resulted in significantly larger sinusoidal blood volumes (45%), albumin Disse space (42%) and sucrose Disse space (25%) than during normal flow, whereas the distribution spaces for total and intracellular water remained unaltered. The distension of the vascular tree was confirmed by electron microscopy, by which occasional isolated foci of widened intercellular recesses and spaces of Disse were observed. Cellular ultrastructure was otherwise unchanged, and there was no difference found between normal and retrograde perfusion for bile flow rates, AST release, perfusion pressure, oxygen consumption and metabolic removal of ethanol, a substrate with flow‐limited distribution, which equilibrates rapidly with cell water (hepatic extraction ratios were virtually identical: normal vs. retrograde, 0.50 vs. 0.48 at 6 to 7.4 mM input concentration). These findings suggest that the functional and metabolic capacities of the liver remain unperturbed during retrograde perfusion, rendering the technique suitable for the investigation of zonal differences in drug‐metabolizing enzymes.
Relationship Between Speech-Sound Disorders and Early Literacy Skills in Preschool-Age Children: Impact of Comorbid Language Impairment

Objective: Disorders of articulation or speech-sound disorders (SSD) are common in early childhood. Children with these disorders may be at risk for reading difficulties because they may have poor auditory, phonologic, and verbal memory skills. Methods: We sought to characterize the reading and writing readiness of preschool children with SSD and identify factors associated with preliteracy skills. Subjects were 125 children aged 3 to 6 years with moderate to severe SSD; 53% had comorbid language impairment (LI). Reading readiness was measured with the Test of Early Reading Ability-2 (TERA) and writing skills with the Test of Early Written Language-2 (TEWL), which assessed print concept knowledge. Linear regression was used to examine the association between SSD severity and TERA and TEWL scores and analysis of variance to examine the effect of comorbid LI. Performance on a battery of speech and language tests was reduced by way of factor analysis to composites for articulation, narrative, grammar, and word knowledge skills. Results: Early reading and writing scores were significantly lower for children with comorbid LI but were not related to SSD severity once language status was taken into account. Composites for grammar and word knowledge were related to performance on the TERA and TEWL, even after adjusting for Performance IQ. Below average language skills in preschool place a child at risk for deficits in preliteracy skills, which may have implications for the later development of reading disability. Conclusion: Preschool children with SSD and LI may benefit from instruction in preliteracy skills in addition to language therapy.