Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A comparison of the maintenance and recovery charcateristic of sevoflurane-nitrous oxide against isoflurane-nitrous oxide anaesthesia.

BACKGROUND To compare the maintenance and recovery characteristics of sevoflurane and isoflurane anaesthesia in Malaysian patients. METHOD This is a prospective, open labelled, randomized, controlled study. Sixty unpremedicated ASA I or II patients (aged 18-50 years), scheduled for elective breast lump excision were randomly allocated to receive either isoflurane or sevoflurane for the maintenance of anaesthesia following fentanyl and propofol intravenous induction. The systolic, diastolic, mean arterial blood pressure and heart rate were measured. The speed of recovery was measured by time to eye opening, time to following simple command, and time to correctly giving own names and address. The incidence of postoperative complication was also recorded. RESULTS The trend of systolic blood pressure was significantly higher in the isoflurane group as compared to the sevoflurane group for the duration of anaesthesia (p < 0.001, by ANOVA for repeated measurement) but the trend of heart rate was similar for both groups. The recovery time was faster in the isoflurane group. [mean time of eye opening (SD) = 6.8 (2.2) vs 10.7 (4.4) min, p < 0.001; mean time of sticking tongue out (SD) = 7.9 (2.9) vs 11.5 (4.7) min, p < 0.01; mean time of giving own name (SD) = 7.8 (2.7) vs 11.8 (4.8) min, p < 0.001, mean time of giving own address (SD) = 8.4 (2.9) vs 12.0 (4.7) min, p < 0.01]. No major adverse effects were encountered postoperatively and the incidences of minor adverse effects were low in both groups. CONCLUSION We concluded that sevoflurane is a safe alternative to isoflurane but in these short procedures, awakening time was surprisingly slower than after isoflurane.
Analytical Techniques and Method Validation for the Measurement of Selected Semivolatile and Nonvolatile Organofluorochemicals in Air

The widespread use of semi- and nonvolatile organofluorochemicals in industrial facilities, concern about their persistence, and relatively recent advancements in liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) technology have led to the development of new analytical methods to assess potential worker exposure to airborne organofluorochemicals. Techniques were evaluated for the determination of 19 organofluorochemicals and for total fluorine in ambient air samples. Due to the potential biphasic nature of most of these fluorochemicals when airborne, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) versatile sampler (OVS) tubes were used to simultaneously trap fluorochemical particulates and vapors from workplace air. Analytical methods were developed for OVS air samples to quantitatively analyze for total fluorine using oxygen bomb combustion/ion selective electrode and for 17 organofluorochemicals using LC/MS and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The experimental design for this validation was based on the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Guidelines for Air Sampling and Analytical Method Development and Evaluation, with some revisions of the experimental design. The study design incorporated experiments to determine analytical recovery and stability, sampler capacity, the effect of some environmental parameters on recoveries, storage stability, limits of detection, precision, and accuracy. Fluorochemical mixtures were spiked onto each OVS tube over a range of 0.06–6 μg for each of 12 compounds analyzed by LC/MS and 0.3–30 μg for 5 compounds analyzed by GC/MS. These ranges allowed reliable quantitation at 0.001–0.1 mg/m3 in general for LC/MS analytes and 0.005–0.5 mg/m3 for GC/MS analytes when 60 L of air are sampled. The organofluorochemical exposure guideline (EG) is currently 0.1 mg/m3 for many analytes, with one exception being ammonium perfluorooctanoate (EG is 0.01 mg/m3). Total fluorine results may be used to determine if the individual compounds quantified provide a suitable mass balance of total airborne organofluorochemicals based on known fluorine content. Improvements in precision and/or recovery as well as some additional testing would be needed to meet all NIOSH validation criteria. This study provided valuable information about the accuracy of this method for organofluorochemical exposure assessment.
War's Visual Discourse: A Content Analysis of Iraq War Imagery

This study reports the findings of a systematic vi sual content analysis of 356 randomly sampled images published about the Iraq Wa r in Time, Newsweek , and U.S. News and World Report from 2003-2009 . In comparison to a 1995 Gulf War study, published images in all three newsmagazines continu ed to be U.S.-centric, with the highest content frequencies reflected in the catego ri s U.S. troops on combat patrol, Iraqi civilians, and U.S. political leaders respectively. These content categories do not resemble the results of the Gulf War study in which armaments garnered the largest share of the images with 23%. This study concludes that embedding photojournalis ts, n addition to media economics, governance, and the media-organizational culture, restricted an accurate representation of the Iraq War and its consequences . Embedding allowed more access to both troops and civilians than the journalistic poo l system of the Gulf War, which stationed the majority of journalists in Saudi Arab ia and allowed only a few journalists into Iraq with the understanding they would share i nformation. However, the perceived opportunity by journalists to more thoroughly cover the war through the policy of embedding was not realized to the extent they had h oped for. The embed protocols acted more as an indirect form of censorship. War’s Visual Discourse: A Content Analysis of Iraq War Imagery ii Dedication This project is dedicated to my parents Tom and Joy Major, who instilled in me an intense curiosity about the world and without wh ose support my education would have been much more difficult—and long. It is also dedic ated to my brother, Dr. Peter F. Major, who thankfully returned from Vietnam, and wh ose help and guidance in understanding the complexities of serving in the mi litary were very much appreciated. War’s Visual Discourse: A Content Analysis of Iraq War Imagery iii Acknowledgements Thank you to my professors in the communication an d philosophy departments of Portland State University for their help during thi s research. Of particular note are Dr. L. David Ritchie and Dr. Cynthia Coleman of the Commun ication Department who helped with theoretical and methodological questions and f rom whom I have had the fortune to take a majority of my coursework at Portland State University. I would also like to thank Dr. Tom Seppalainen of the Portland State Universit y Philosophy Department whose discussion of my philosophical treatment of photogr aphy and objectivity ultimately led to the selection of this topic for my thesis. I appreciate the time commitment from Valrie Dyhou se, M.S., and Molly Swisher who both offered to code my data, a process that wa s interesting to them, but also more time consuming than any of us anticipated. Thank yo u also to my nephew, Dr. Ken Major, and my friend, Gary Rogowski, for proof-read ing sections of the final draft despite their own very busy schedules. War’s Visual Discourse: A Content Analysis of Iraq War Imagery iv Table of
Linkage Analysis and Molecular Scanning of Glucokinase Gene in NIDDM Families

Mutations in the glucokinase gene are a major cause of maturity-onset diabetes of the young. To evaluate the contribution of this gene to the development of late-onset NIDDM, linkage analyses between DNA polymorphisms at the glucokinase locus and NIDDM were performed in 79 multigenerational French families. In addition, all exons and the islet promoter region of glucokinase gene from 1 affected member from each family as well as from 17 unrelated women with previous gestational diabetes were amplified by polymerase chain reaction and screened for mutations by single-strand conformational polymorphism and DNA sequencing. Linkage of glucokinase and NIDDM was significantly rejected under all models tested. However, in 1 family, the lod score was 2.30, and we found a nucleotide substitution at the position –30 in the islet promoter region that cosegregated with diabetes. The proband of this family was a gestational diabetic individual. No other mutation in glucokinase was found in the 79 NIDDM families. We identified a missense mutation (TGG257→CGG257) in exon 7 of glucokinase gene from 1 of 17 women with gestational diabetes, which was present in all diabetic members of her family. This family is likely to be a cryptic maturity-onset diabetes of the young, as 4 younger members, carrying this mutation, were subsequently found to be hyperglycemic. In conclusion, no evidence was obtained to incriminate glucokinase as a major gene for late age of onset NIDDM. Diabetic families with mutations in glucokinase must be carefully investigated, to differentiate cryptic maturity-onset diabetes of the young from late-onset NIDDM. Furthermore, pregnancy reveals diabetes in women carrying a glucokinase defect.
Myricitrin Protects Cardiomyocytes from Hypoxia/Reoxygenation Injury: Involvement of Heat Shock Protein 90

Modulation of oxidative stress is therapeutically effective in ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. Myricitrin, a naturally occurring phenolic compound, is a potent antioxidant. However, little is known about its effect on I/R injury to cardiac myocytes. The present study was performed to investigate the potential protective effect of myricitrin against hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R)-induced H9c2 cardiomyocyte injury and its underlying mechanisms. Myricitrin pretreatment improved cardiomyocyte viability, inhibited ROS generation, maintained the mitochondrial membrane potential, reduced apoptotic cardiomyocytes, decreased the caspase-3 activity, upregulated antiapoptotic proteins and downregulated proapoptotic proteins during H/R injury. Moreover, the potential targets of myricitrin was predicted using Discovery Studio software, and heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) was identified as the main disease-related target. Further mechanistic investigation revealed that 17-AAG, a pharmacologic inhibitor of Hsp90, significantly blocked the myricitrin-induced cardioprotective effect demonstrated by increased apoptosis and ROS generation. These results suggested that myricitrin provides protection to H9c2 cardiomyocytes against H/R-induced oxidative stress and apoptosis, most likely via increased expression of Hsp90.
Structural and functional anatomy of the neck musculature of the dog (Canis familiaris)

The morphometric properties and the anatomical relationships of the entire musculature of the canine cervical spine are reported herein. These data were obtained from the dissection of cadavers of six dogs. Total muscle length, muscle weight, fascicle length and angles of pennation were recorded for each muscle comprising the canine cervical spine. Based upon these properties, physiological cross‐section area (PCSA) and architectural index were estimated. When scaled by whole body mass, the values of each of these parameters were found to be similar between all dogs. Muscles that course from the cranial neck to the shoulder girdle or the rib cage (e.g. brachiocephalicus and rhomboideus capitis) were found to have relatively long fascicles and low PCSA values and thus appear to be designed for rapid excursions. By contrast, muscles that primarily support the neck and shoulder against gravitational forces (e.g. serratus ventralis and trapezius) were found to have relatively high PCSA values and short fascicle lengths, and thus have the capacity to generate large forces. Differences of morphometry as well as nomenclature were found between the canine and human neck musculature. Nevertheless, many similarities exist; in particular, both species have similar muscles adapted to force generation or large excursions. We thus conclude that the canine neck may be used as a modelling tool for biomechanical investigations of the human cervical region as long as the differences listed are borne in mind.
A Clinical and EEG Study on Idiopathic Partial Epilepsies with Evolution into ESES Spectrum Disorders

Summary: Purpose: Questioning the presence of any possible prognostic predictors, this study includes a long‐term follow‐up of clinical and EEG characteristics of 16 patients with idiopathic partial epilepsy (IPE) who subsequently developed epilepsy with electrical status epilepticus during slow sleep (ESES) spectrum disorders.
Generation, Annotation, and Analysis of a Large-Scale Expressed Sequence Tag Library from Arabidopsis pumila to Explore Salt-Responsive Genes

Arabidopsis pumila is an ephemeral plant, and a close relative of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, but it possesses higher photosynthetic efficiency, higher propagation rate, and higher salinity tolerance compared to those A. thaliana, thus providing a candidate plant system for gene mining for environmental adaption and salt tolerance. However, A. pumila is an under-explored resource for understanding the genetic mechanisms underlying abiotic stress adaptation. To improve our understanding of the molecular and genetic mechanisms of salt stress adaptation, more than 19,900 clones randomly selected from a cDNA library constructed previously from leaf tissue exposed to high-salinity shock were sequenced. A total of 16,014 high-quality expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were generated, which have been deposited in the dbEST GenBank under accession numbers JZ932319 to JZ948332. Clustering and assembly of these ESTs resulted in the identification of 8,835 unique sequences, consisting of 2,469 contigs and 6,366 singletons. The blastx results revealed 8,011 unigenes with significant similarity to known genes, while only 425 unigenes remained uncharacterized. Functional classification demonstrated an abundance of unigenes involved in binding, catalytic, structural or transporter activities, and in pathways of energy, carbohydrate, amino acid, or lipid metabolism. At least seven main classes of genes were related to salt-tolerance among the 8,835 unigenes. Many previously reported salt tolerance genes were also manifested in this library, for example VP1, H+-ATPase, NHX1, SOS2, SOS3, NAC, MYB, ERF, LEA, P5CS1. In addition, 251 transcription factors were identified from the library, classified into 42 families. Lastly, changes in expression of the 12 most abundant unigenes, 12 transcription factor genes, and 19 stress-related genes in the first 24 h of exposure to high-salinity stress conditions were monitored by qRT-PCR. The large-scale EST library obtained in this study provides first-hand information on gene sequences expressed in young leaves of A. pumila exposed to salt shock. The rapid discovery of known or unknown genes related to salinity stress response in A. pumila will facilitate the understanding of complex adaptive mechanisms for ephemerals.
Twenty-four hour heart period variability in systemic sclerosis.

OBJECTIVE In patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc), an autonomic dysfunction has been implicated in the pathogenesis of Raynaud's phenomenon and gastrointestinal symptoms. To evaluate cardiovascular autonomic function we analyzed the heart rate variability (HRV) on 24 h electrocardiogram recordings. METHODS In 50 patients diagnosed with SSc and 24 control subjects HRV was analyzed for both frequency and time domain. RESULTS Frequency domain analysis showed reduction of low frequency and high frequency values in the patients with SSc compared to controls (5.52 +/- 0.74 vs 6.04 +/- 0.78 In(ms2), p = 0.007; and 4.17 +/- 0.97 vs 4.74 +/- 0.97 In(ms2), p = 0.021, respectively). Analysis in time domain showed no significant differences in any variable between groups. There were no significant differences between the diffuse and the limited form of SSc. Number of ventricular ectopic beats, prevalence of frequent ventricular ectopy, and supraventricular tachycardia episodes were increased in the patients with SSc compared to controls. CONCLUSION Spectral analysis of heart period variability suggests cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction in patients with SSc. Better understanding of this complication could help delineate new strategies for the treatment of SSc.
Ubiquilin 1 Modulates Amyloid Precursor Protein Trafficking and Aβ Secretion*

Ubiquilin 1 (UBQLN1) is a ubiquitin-like protein, which has been shown to play a central role in regulating the proteasomal degradation of various proteins, including the presenilins. We recently reported that DNA variants in UBQLN1 increase the risk for Alzheimer disease, by influencing expression of this gene in brain. Here we present the first assessment of the effects of UBQLN1 on the metabolism of the amyloid precursor protein (APP). For this purpose, we employed RNA interference to down-regulate UBQLN1 in a variety of neuronal and non-neuronal cell lines. We demonstrate that down-regulation of UBQLN1 accelerates the maturation and intracellular trafficking of APP, while not interfering with α-, β-, or γ-secretase levels or activity. UBQLN1 knockdown increased the ratio of APP mature/immature, increased levels of full-length APP on the cell surface, and enhanced the secretion of sAPP (α- and β-forms). Moreover, UBQLN1 knockdown increased levels of secreted Aβ40 and Aβ42. Finally, employing a fluorescence resonance energy transfer-based assay, we show that UBQLN1 and APP come into close proximity in intact cells, independently of the presence of the presenilins. Collectively, our findings suggest that UBQLN1 may normally serve as a cytoplasmic “gatekeeper” that may control APP trafficking from intracellular compartments to the cell surface. These findings suggest that changes in UBQLN1 steady-state levels affect APP trafficking and processing, thereby influencing the generation of Aβ.
Arg89Cys substitution results in very low membrane expression of the Duffy antigen/receptor for chemokines in Fy(x) individuals.

The Duffy (FY) blood group antigens are carried by the DARC glycoprotein, a widely expressed chemokine receptor. The molecular basis of the Fya/Fyb and Fy(a-b-) polymorphisms has been clarified, but little is known about the Fyx antigen and the FY*X allele associated with weak expression of Fyb, Fy3, Fy5, and Fy6 antigens. We analyzed here the structure and expression of the FY gene in 4 Fy(a-bweak) individuals. As compared with Fy(a-b+) controls, the Fy(a-bweak) red blood cell membranes contained residual amount of DARC polypeptide and these cells were poorly bound by anti-Fy antibodies and chemokines. The FY gene from Fy(a-b+) and Fy(a-bweak) individuals differed by one substitution, C286T. The resulting Arg89Cys amino acid change reduced the binding of anti-Fy antibodies and chemokines to DARC transfectants. We concluded that the Fybweak donors carried the FY*X allele at the FY locus and that the Fyx antigen corresponds to highly reduced expression of a grossly normal Fyb polypeptide caused by the Arg89Cys substitution. Because FY is a single copy gene, this defect should also affect DARC expression in nonerythroid cells. Because the Fyx phenotype is not associated with apparent clinical consequences, we discussed these findings in the light of the putative roles of DARC in various tissues. Finally, we developed a Fyx DNA typing assay that should be useful for genetic studies and clinical transfusion medicine.
A Longitudinal Study of Changes in the Cochlear Nucleus in the CBA Mouse

The cochleas and brain stems of normal-hearing CBA/CaJ and CaH mice ranging in age from 1 to 18 months were examined by light microscopy to document normal age-related changes. At all ages examined, the cochlear morphologic structure appeared normal with no obvious loss of hair cells or spiral ganglion cells. In the cochlear nucleus, qualitative and quantitative changes were observed in the total nuclear volume, in globular cell size, and in neuronal packing density.
Access to chronic disease care in general practice: the acceptability of implementing systematic waiting-room screening using computer-based patient-reported risk status.

BACKGROUND Routine screening and advice regarding risky lifestyle behaviours is appropriate in the primary care setting, but often not implemented. Routine electronic collection of patients' self-reported data may streamline the collection of such information. AIM To explore the perceptions of GPs and their attending patients regarding the acceptability of waiting-room touchscreen computers for the collection of health behaviour information. Uptake, ease of operation, and the perceived likelihood of future implementation were studied. DESIGN AND SETTING Cross-sectional health-risk survey. General practices in metropolitan areas in Australia. METHOD Practices were randomly selected by postcode. Consecutive patients who were eligible to take part in the study were approached in the waiting room and invited to do so. Participants completed the touchscreen health survey. A subsample of patients and GPs completed additional items regarding acceptability. RESULTS Twelve general practices participated in the study, with 4058 patients (86%) and 51 of 68 (75%) GPs consenting to complete the health-risk survey, 596 patients and 30 GPs were selected to complete the acceptability survey. A majority of the 30 GPs indicated that the operation of the survey was not disruptive to practice and more than 90% of patients responded positively to all items regarding its operation. More than three-quarters of the patient sample were willing to consider allowing their responses to be kept on file and complete such surveys in the future. CONCLUSION As waiting-room-based collection of this information appears to be both feasible and acceptable, practitioners should consider collecting and incorporating routine patient-reported health behaviours for inclusion in the medical record.
Antibiotic Resistance in Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium Associates with CRISPR Sequence Type

ABSTRACT Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhimurium is a leading cause of food-borne salmonellosis in the United States. The number of antibiotic-resistant isolates identified in humans is steadily increasing, suggesting that the spread of antibiotic-resistant strains is a major threat to public health. S. Typhimurium is commonly identified in a wide range of animal hosts, food sources, and environments, but little is known about the factors mediating the spread of antibiotic resistance in this ecologically complex serovar. Previously, we developed a subtyping method, CRISPR–multi-virulence-locus sequence typing (MVLST), which discriminates among strains of several common S. enterica serovars. Here, CRISPR-MVLST identified 22 sequence types within a collection of 76 S. Typhimurium isolates from a variety of animal sources throughout central Pennsylvania. Six of the sequence types were identified in more than one isolate, and we observed statistically significant differences in resistance among these sequence types to 7 antibiotics commonly used in veterinary and human medicine, such as ceftiofur and ampicillin (P < 0.05). Importantly, five of these sequence types were subsequently identified in human clinical isolates, and a subset of these isolates had identical antibiotic resistance patterns, suggesting that these subpopulations are being transmitted through the food system. Therefore, CRISPR-MVLST is a promising subtyping method for monitoring the farm-to-fork spread of antibiotic resistance in S. Typhimurium.