Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
THE HEMODYNAMIC EFFECTS OF DOBUTAMINE DURING REOXYGENATION AFTER HYPOXIA: A DOSE-RESPONSE STUDY IN NEWBORN PIGS

Asphyxiated neonates usually have myocardial stunning and hypotension and require inotropic support. A randomized controlled study was designed to examine the dose-response effect of dobutamine (5-20 &mgr;g·kg−1·min−1) on systemic and regional circulations and oxygen metabolism in a neonatal swine model of hypoxia/reoxygenation. Thirty-eight anesthetized newborn piglets were acutely instrumented for continuous monitoring of heart rate, systemic and pulmonary arterial pressures, and pulmonary (surrogate for cardiac index), right common carotid, and superior mesenteric and left renal arterial flows. After stabilization, they were exposed to normocapnic alveolar hypoxia (10%-15% oxygen) for 2 h followed by reoxygenation with 100% oxygen for 1 h, then 21% for 3 h. Piglets were block randomized to receive dobutamine infusion (5, 10, or 20 &mgr;g·kg−1·min−1) or saline (control) at 2 to 4 h of reoxygenation (n = 8 each). A nonasphyxiated, sham-operated group was included (n = 6). Blood samples were collected for blood gas analysis, arterial and venous co-oximetry, and plasma lactate concentration determination. At 2-h reoxygenation after hypoxia, there was hypotension (systemic arterial pressure, 27 to 36 mmHg) and myocardial dysfunction (cardiac index from 178-209 to 134-156 mL·kg−1·min−1). Cardiac index improved significantly with 20 &mgr;g·kg−1·min−1 of dobutamine (P < 0.05) and modestly in the treatment groups of 5 and 10 &mgr;g·kg−1·min−1 (P < 0.1) (at 120 min, 172 ± 35, 160 ± 30, and 158 ± 56 mL·kg−1·min−1 vs. 119 ± 33 mL·kg−1·min−1 of controls, respectively), with corresponding increases in stroke volume. Pulmonary vascular resistance was lower in all dobutamine-treated groups (vs. controls, P < 0.05) There were no differences in heart rate, systemic and pulmonary arterial pressures, systemic vascular resistance, and regional flows between groups. The group of 20 &mgr;g·kg−1·min−1 of dobutamine also had higher systemic oxygen delivery (at 120 min, 18 ± 5 vs. 11 ± 3 O2 mL·kg−1·min−1 of controls, P < 0.05) with no significant differences in systemic oxygen consumption and regional oxygen delivery between groups. After the reoxygenation of newborn piglets with severe hypoxia, high dose of dobutamine is effective to treat myocardial stunning and low cardiac output with no significant effect on blood pressure or regional circulation. Further clinical studies are needed to confirm these findings in the human neonate.
Posterior alveolar ridge resorption in bar-retained mandibular overdentures: 10-year results of a prospective clinical trial.

OBJECTIVES Data on posterior alveolar ridge resorption (PARR) in patients with two implant supported mandibular overdentures is very heterogeneous. The aim of this prospective study was to observe the PARR after ten years for a study population treated with a titanium bar retained overdenture on two IMZ-implants. MATERIAL AND METHODS The data pool consisted of digital and digitized conventional panoramic radiographs taken prior to implant placement and at follow up appointments. Digital measurements were carried out following an established procedure ("Tuebingen method" by Gomez-Roman). For each patient a linear regression was calculated resulting in a relative area related PARR-value per year. A simplified geometrical scenario was used for the estimation of absolute bone height losses. RESULTS Data of 23 patients was available. The mean observation period was 9.4 years (±2.4 years). An average area related PARR-rate of 1.02% per year was observed with high individual differences ranging from 0.15% and 2.63% per year. The estimated average ten year vertical bone loss in the chewing center was 1.5 mm. CONCLUSIONS Posterior bone resorption was found to be in the range previously reported for different implant restorations and therefore does not represent a particular problem of two implant bar retained overdentures. The results strengthen the two implant concept.
Philosophy and pedagogy of childhood, adolescence and youth

Childhood, youth and adolescence are contested notions and constructs. These constructs are tainted with ontological and epistemological histories and ideas about ‘real children’ and childhoods. In this Special Issue, we argue that the categories of childhood, youth and adolescence need to be rethought as concepts, and that philosophy, sociology and anthropology are some of the disciplines that can allow us to do so. There are a number of concerns that need to be considered: what these constructs do and how they perform, what they represent and how these categories and brackets are perceived by all actors, both those that are inside and those who are outside of them. These disciplines allow scholars and thinkers to theorize these troubled categories in unexpected, innovative and cutting edge ways, in relation to the complicated globalized contexts of local experiences and lives. We cannot really consider these terms outside of the realm of the current world of politics and policy. The questions of ‘what do we mean by these terms and how do we employ them’ and ‘how do/did we come to know these categories’ are pertinent in the contemporary conditions where there is a growing pressure to both managerialize and marginalize childhood, youth and adolescence in order to demarcate, govern and police these categories. What we argue is that perhaps philosophy as a discipline can rupture established settings, binaries, categories, terms and brackets, by challenging the boundaries of these established constructs. Philosophy presents a disciplinary possibility for theorizing and disrupting categories of the child/childhood, youth and adolescence at ontological, epistemological and ethical levels. The terms child, childhood, youth and adolescence are not only contested and challenged through philosophy but also undone and unworked, undeveloped and de-demarcated and importantly reified through a philosophical lens. As Matthews (1994) argues, to understand philosophy of childhood is perhaps to understand philosophy itself.
Deletion of liaR Reverses Daptomycin Resistance in Enterococcus faecium Independent of the Genetic Background

ABSTRACT We have shown previously that changes in LiaFSR, a three-component regulatory system predicted to orchestrate the cell membrane stress response, are important mediators of daptomycin (DAP) resistance in enterococci. Indeed, deletion of the gene encoding the response regulator LiaR in a clinical strain of Enterococcus faecalis reversed DAP resistance (DAP-R) and produced a strain hypersusceptible to antimicrobial peptides. Since LiaFSR is conserved in Enterococcus faecium, we investigated the role of LiaR in a variety of clinical E. faecium strains representing the most common DAP-R genetic backgrounds. Deletion of liaR in DAP-R E. faecium R446F (DAP MIC of 16 μg/ml) and R497F (MIC of 24 μg/ml; harboring changes in LiaRS) strains fully reversed resistance (DAP MICs decreasing to 0.25 and 0.094 μg/ml, respectively). Moreover, DAP at concentrations of 13 μg/ml (achieved with human doses of 12 mg/kg body weight) retained bactericidal activity against the mutants. Furthermore, the liaR deletion derivatives of these two DAP-R strains exhibited increased binding of boron-dipyrromethene difluoride (BODIPY)-daptomycin, suggesting that high-level DAP-R mediated by LiaR in E. faecium involves repulsion of the calcium-DAP complex from the cell surface. In DAP-tolerant strains HOU503F and HOU515F (DAP MICs within the susceptible range but bacteria not killed by DAP concentrations of 5× the MIC), deletion of liaR not only markedly decreased the DAP MICs (0.064 and 0.047 μg/ml, respectively) but also restored the bactericidal activity of DAP at concentrations as low as 4 μg/ml (achieved with human doses of 4 mg/kg). Our results suggest that LiaR plays a relevant role in the enterococcal cell membrane adaptive response to antimicrobial peptides independent of the genetic background and emerges as an attractive target to restore the activity of DAP against multidrug-resistant strains.
Effect of a different caeruloplasmin assay method on the relationship between serum copper and caeruloplasmin

Background: The assessment of copper status is difficult. When investigating excess and deficient copper states, healthcare professionals usually assume that the locally available caeruloplasmin and copper assay results are comparable to data from the literature. Objective: To investigate the effect of different caeruloplasmin assays on the relationship between copper and caeruloplasmin. Methods: Caeruloplasmin and copper results were obtained retrospectively from the laboratory information system before and after a change in the caeruloplasmin assay method. The central tendencies and population confidence intervals for copper and caeruloplasmin were compared. Linear regression analysis was carried out to determine the exact relationship (slope and intercept) between caeruloplasmin and copper. The graph of copper versus caeruloplasmin was also examined to see if the confidence intervals overlapped or not. Finally, the χ2 test was used to determine if there was a difference with respect to the lower reference intervals for the caeruloplasmin assays. Results: There were 338 and 461 patients in the first and second methods, respectively. None of the patients had Wilson disease. There was no difference between the central tendency copper concentrations or the 95% confidence intervals for the population copper concentrations for the two periods. However, there were differences between the two caeruloplasmin assay methods for both the central tendencies and the population confidence intervals. The data show a statistically significant difference in the relationship between caeruloplasmin and copper associated with the change in the caeruloplasmin assay. There were seven and 100 patients with caeruloplasmin concentrations <200 mg/l with the first and second methods, respectively, which was a significant difference (χ2 test; p<<0.001). Conclusions: This study shows that that the relationship between copper and caeruloplasmin depends on the caeruloplasmin assay used. A caeruloplasmin assay that reads too high may miss cases of Wilson disease (false negatives), and an assay that reads too low (false positives) may result in further investigations to exclude Wilson disease. Assay-based cut-offs are essential for the investigation of copper excess and deficiency states in the absence of proper assay standardisation. Each laboratory should verify their caeruloplasmin assay reference interval to avoid false positives and/or false negative results.
Monoclonal Antibody Analysis of Crescentic Membranous Glomerulonephropathy

Idiopathic membranous glomerulonephropathy (MG) has a rather benign prognosis. Acute renal failure with cellular crescents superimposed on MG is unusual and its pathogenesis is not fully understood. We report 3 patients with crescentic MG who showed strong glomerular and interstitial infiltration of leukocytes (CD45), T lymphocytes (CD3), helper/inducer T cells (CD4), cytotoxic/suppressor T cells (CD8), and monocyte-macrophages (CD14). A similar number of CD4+ and CD8+ cells contributed to T cellularity within the glomerular tuft, whereas CD4+ cells were predominant over CD8+ cells in the crescents. Intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) antigens (CD54) were found on renal vascular endothelium, interstitial cellular aggregates and proximal tubular epithelial cells. The case reports illustrate the contribution of macrophages and T cells bearing predominantly CD4+ phenotype to cellular crescents, and the abnormal expression of ICAM-1 antigens on proximal tubular epithelial cells. Both features suggest that cell-mediated immunity may play a role in the transformation of crescentic MG.
Morphological types of horizontal cell in the retina of the domestic cat

Two morphologically distinct types of horizontal cell are described from Golgi-stained whole mounts of the cat retina. They are referred to as A-type and B-type cells. The two types differ in their dendritic branching pattern, their overall size and the absence or presence of an axon. At every retinal position the dendrites of B-type cells branch more densely and overlap each other more frequently than do the dendrites of A-type cells. At equivalent retinal positions the dendritic field size of A-type cells is greater than that of B-type cells by a factor of about 1.5. Only B-type cells have an axon, which branches at the end into a large axon terminal system. The axons have no preferred direction of orientation. The stainability of horizontal cells by different Golgi methods is discussed.
An environmental assessment in the Strait of Sicily: measurement and analysis techniques for determining bottom and oceanographic properties

In October 1997, the EnVerse 97 shallow-water acoustic experiments were jointly conducted by SACLANT Centre, TNO-FEL, and DERA off the coast of Sicily, Italy. The primary goal of the experiments was to determine the sea-bed properties through inversion of acoustic data. Using a towed source, the inversion method is tested at different source/receiver separations in an area with a range-dependent bottom. The sources transmitted over a broadband of frequencies (90-600 Hz) and the signals were measured on a vertical array of hydrophones. The acoustic data were continuously collected as the range between the source and receiving array varied from 0.5 to 6 km. An extensive seismic survey was conducted along the track providing supporting information about the layered structure of the bottom as well as layer compressional sound speeds. The oceanic conditions were assessed using current meters, satellite remote sensing, wave height measurements, and casts for determining conductivity and temperature as a function of water depth. Geoacoustic inversion results taken at different source/receiver ranges show sea-bed properties consistent with the range-dependent features observed in the seismic survey data. These results indicate that shallow-water bottom properties may be estimated over large areas using a towed source fixed receiver configuration.
Nerve growth factor‐mediated collateral sprouting of central sensory axons into deafferentated regions of the dorsal horn is enhanced in the absence of the p75 neurotrophin receptor

This study examined the growth capacity of nerve growth factor (NGF)‐responsive dorsal root ganglion (DRG) central processes using mice of the following genotypes: wildtype, p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR) exon III null mutant, NGF transgenic, and NGF transgenic with p75NTR exon III null mutation (NGF/p75‐/‐). In wildtype and p75NTR exon III null mutant mice calcitonin gene‐related peptide (CGRP) immunoreactivity in the dorsal horn is dramatically reduced at both 3 and 28 days after rhizotomy. NGF transgenic and NGF/p75‐/‐ mice also display reduced CGRP immunoreactivity 3 days after rhizotomy, but by postsurgical day 28 significant increases in the density of CGRP‐positive axons are observed in the injured dorsal horns of these mice. Interestingly, NGF/p75‐/‐ mice displayed significantly more new axonal growth when compared to NGF transgenic mice expressing full‐length p75NTR. Immunohistochemical and ultrastructural analyses revealed that this axonal growth is not the result of regeneration but rather injury‐induced sprouting by intact DRG central processes into the lesion site. This collateral growth is restricted to deafferentated areas of the dorsal horn, and we therefore propose that this is an example of compensatory sprouting by NGF‐sensitive axons in the spinal cord, a response that is enhanced in the absence of NGF binding to p75NTR. J. Comp. Neurol. 486:331–343, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
In vitro T‐cell activation of monocyte‐derived macrophages by soluble messengers or cell‐to‐cell contact in bovine tuberculosis

The macrophage plays a dual role in tuberculosis, promoting not only protection against mycobacteria, but also survival of the pathogen. Macrophages inhibit multiplication of mycobacteria but also act in concert with lymphocytes through presentation of antigens to T cells. Studies in animal and human infections have suggested a correlation of in vitro growth rates of mycobacteria with in vivo virulence, using uracil uptake to assess mycobacterial metabolism. This study found that blood-derived, non-activated bovine macrophages were capable of controlling Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Gurin growth for up to 96 hr, but were permissive to intracellular growth of virulent M. bovis. The present investigation compared the in vitro modulation of these macrophage activities by cytokine-rich T-cell supernatants or cell-to-cell contact. On the one hand, treatment of cultured monocytes with mitogen-produced T-cell supernatants promoted morphological changes suggestive of an activation status, enhanced the antigen presentation capabilities of monocytes and up-regulated major histocompatibility complex class II expression. However, this activation was not associated with enhanced anti-M. bovis activity. On the other hand, incubation of infected monocytes with T-cell populations resulted in proportionally increased inhibition of M. bovis uracil uptake. This inhibition was also seen using cells from uninfected animals and indicated the necessity for cell-to-cell contact to promote antimycobacterial capability.
A Direct Hippocampo‐Cerebellar Projection in Chicken

Our previous studies suggested that a direct hippocampo‐cerebellar projection might exist in the chicken. To confirm such a presumption of hippocampo‐cerebellar interactions, horseradish peroxidase (HRP) was used as a retrograde tracer to be injected into the white matter of the folia VI–VIII of the cerebellum in young and adult chickens. In another set of experiments, young chickens were subjected to electrolytic lesions of the hippocampal formation (HF), especially the ventromedial portion, and the cerebellum was observed with the electron microscope to find neuronal degeneration in the HF. Following injections of HRP into the cerebellum, a large number of labeled neurons were found in the area APHm‐APHim of the HF in the young and adult chickens. As a result of the electrolytic lesions of the APHm‐APHim in the HF, many large degenerated nerve fibers were found in the white matter in the vicinity of the lateral nucleus of the cerebellum, and some small degenerated fibers were found in the white matter of the folia VI–VIII. In the cerebellar cortex of folia VI–VIII, degenerated axonal terminals occurred in both the molecular and Purkinje layers, but not in the granular layer. In the lateral nucleus, some dark degenerating axonal terminals were recognized to connect with the perikarya of neurons of this nucleus. The present experiments demonstrate that the APHm‐APHim of the HF directly projected to the cortex of folia VI–VIII and the lateral nucleus of the cerebellum in young chickens. Anat Rec, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The New International Financial System:Analyzing the Cumulative Impact of Regulatory Reform

Ever since the Great Recession, the global financial regulatory system has undergone significant changes. But have these changes been sufficient? Have they created a new problem of over-regulation? Is the system currently in a better position than in the pre-Recession years, or have we not adequately addressed the basic causes of the financial crisis and resulting Great Recession? These were the questions and issues addressed in the seventeenth annual international banking conference held at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago in November 2014. In collaboration with the Bank of England, the theme of the conference was to examine the state of the new global financial system as it has evolved in response to significant market changes and regulatory reforms triggered by the global financial crisis. The papers from that conference are collected in this volume, with contributions from an international array of government officials, regulators, industry practitioners and academics.
The influence of childhood asthma on puberty and height in Swedish adolescents

Evidence relating to the effect of asthma on puberty or height is inconclusive. We aimed to examine whether the exposure of childhood asthma, including timing and phenotypes, and inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) use is either cross‐sectionally or longitudinally associated with the outcomes of pubertal staging or height.
Safety validation of decision trees for hepatocellular carcinoma.

AIM To evaluate a different decision tree for safe liver resection and verify its efficiency. METHODS A total of 2457 patients underwent hepatic resection between January 2004 and December 2010 at the Chinese PLA General Hospital, and 634 hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients were eligible for the final analyses. Post-hepatectomy liver failure (PHLF) was identified by the association of prothrombin time < 50% and serum bilirubin > 50 μmol/L (the "50-50" criteria), which were assessed at day 5 postoperatively or later. The Swiss-Clavien decision tree, Tokyo University-Makuuchi decision tree, and Chinese consensus decision tree were adopted to divide patients into two groups based on those decision trees in sequence, and the PHLF rates were recorded. RESULTS The overall mortality and PHLF rate were 0.16% and 3.0%. A total of 19 patients experienced PHLF. The numbers of patients to whom the Swiss-Clavien, Tokyo University-Makuuchi, and Chinese consensus decision trees were applied were 581, 573, and 622, and the PHLF rates were 2.75%, 2.62%, and 2.73%, respectively. Significantly more cases satisfied the Chinese consensus decision tree than the Swiss-Clavien decision tree and Tokyo University-Makuuchi decision tree (P < 0.01，P < 0.01); nevertheless, the latter two shared no difference (P = 0.147). The PHLF rate exhibited no significant difference with respect to the three decision trees. CONCLUSION The Chinese consensus decision tree expands the indications for hepatic resection for HCC patients and does not increase the PHLF rate compared to the Swiss-Clavien and Tokyo University-Makuuchi decision trees. It would be a safe and effective algorithm for hepatectomy in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.