Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Inhibition of Balloon Injury–Induced Neointimal Formation by Olmesartan and Pravastatin in Rats with Insulin Resistance

The combined effect of an angiotensin II type 1 receptor blocker and a 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitor on vascular lesion formation in the insulin-resistant state has not been examined. We tested whether or not combined treatment is superior to single-drug treatment for inhibiting vascular lesion formation in insulin-resistant rats. The rats were maintained on a fructose-rich diet for 4 weeks and then treated with olmesartan (1 mg/kg/day) and/or pravastatin (10 mg/kg/day) for 3 weeks. After 1 week of drug treatment, balloon injury of the carotid arteries was performed. Two weeks later, the injured arteries were harvested for morphometry and immunostaining. Olmesartan and pravastatin each modestly attenuated neointimal formation without significant changes in blood pressure or serum lipid levels. The combination of olmesartan and pravastatin significantly suppressed the neointimal formation compared with either monotherapy. The number of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase–mediated dUTP nick end-labeling (TUNEL)−positive cells was increased by olmesartan but not by pravastatin. Olmesartan and pravastatin each decreased the number of Ki-67−positive cells, which indicates cell proliferation, to the same extent. The combined treatment increased the number of TUNEL-positive cells but did not affect the number of Ki-67−positive cells. The combined treatment decreased the insulin level and increased the number of circulating endothelial progenitor cells. These results suggest that the combination of olmesartan and pravastatin is beneficial for the treatment of vascular diseases in the insulin-resistant state independently of blood pressure or cholesterol levels.
Survey of Sexual Education Among Residents From Different Specialties

ObjectiveThis study aims to determine how residents are being educated regarding sexual health, and it assesses attitudes toward sexual education and barriers to evaluating patients’ sexuality.MethodsAn anonymous Internet survey was sent to 195 residents in family practice, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, and psychiatry at a single site.ResultsOne hundred seventeen surveys were completed, for a response rate of 60%. Participants reported a lack of formal education on sexual health. Although participants perceived their patients’ sexuality as important and appeared to have the appropriate knowledge to evaluate sexual issues, they failed to inquire about sexual health regularly, especially for patients from non-Western cultures. Lack of comfort or confidence did not appear to impose major barriers to the evaluation of sexual health; instead, most respondents reported lack of time.ConclusionImplementation of a formal curriculum will signal to residents that patients’ sexuality is an important topic to address.
Learning from Complementary Labels

Collecting labeled data is costly and thus a critical bottleneck in real-world classification tasks. To mitigate this problem, we propose a novel setting, namely learning from complementary labels for multi-class classification. A complementary label specifies a class that a pattern does not belong to. Collecting complementary labels would be less laborious than collecting ordinary labels, since users do not have to carefully choose the correct class from a long list of candidate classes. However, complementary labels are less informative than ordinary labels and thus a suitable approach is needed to better learn from them. In this paper, we show that an unbiased estimator to the classification risk can be obtained only from complementarily labeled data, if a loss function satisfies a particular symmetric condition. We derive estimation error bounds for the proposed method and prove that the optimal parametric convergence rate is achieved. We further show that learning from complementary labels can be easily combined with learning from ordinary labels (i.e., ordinary supervised learning), providing a highly practical implementation of the proposed method. Finally, we experimentally demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed methods.
Epidemiology of distal symmetrical neuropathies in the Italian elderly

Objectives: To estimate prevalence and incidence of distal symmetric neuropathies (DSN) in the Italian elderly, and to evaluate the accuracy of our procedure to screen for DSN. Methods: In eight Italian municipalities, a population-based sample was directly evaluated both at baseline (1992) and after a 3-year follow-up. Cohort members who had died were studied. DSN diagnosis and subtyping were made according to specified diagnostic criteria. Results: Our screening procedure proved accurate (sensitivity 94.7%, specificity 70%, positive predictive value 18.9%), and provided an adjusted prevalence of 7.0 (95% CI, 6.9 to 7.0). Women outnumber men both in the oldest age groups and as a whole. Rates increase with increasing age in both genders. Among the 2,845 individuals re-screened at the follow-up and the 221 deceased subjects with reliable information, we identified 100 incident cases of DSN. Adjusted annual incidence rate (per 1,000 person-years) in the population 65 to 84 years of age is 7.9 (95% CI, 6.3 to 9.5), and for the nondiabetic DSN is 5.76 (95% CI, 4.3 to 7.3). Age significantly predicted the onset of DSN both in diabetic individuals (for every increasing year of age RR = 1.07; 95% CI, 1.01 to 1.14) and in the entire study population (RR = 1.05; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.09). Conclusions: We provide the first population-based distal symmetric neuropathies incidence data, as well as prevalence rates from an unselected sample of Italian elderly. Distal symmetric neuropathies are an age-associated condition, but the frequency of diabetic distal symmetric neuropathies declines with age, coincident with an increase in nondiabetic cases.
[The expression of transcription factors Snail and Slug in epithelial-mesenchymal transition of human lens epithelial cells induced by transforming growth factor-β2].

OBJECTIVE To investigate the expression of transcription factors snail and slug in epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) of human lens epithelial cells (HLEC) induced by transforming growth factor-β2 (TGF-β2). METHODS Experimental research. HLEC were treated with different concentrations of TGF-β2 (1.0 and 10.0 μg/L) for different time. The morphological changes were observed under inverted microscope. The expression and cellular localization of snail and slug were evaluated by immunofluorescence. Expressions of snail, slug, E-Cadherin and α-SMA were further determined by Western blot analysis. Single factor analysis of variance, rank sum test and Pearson correlation were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS Cultured HLEC were polygonal monolayer cells with tight intercellular adhesion closely and patchy distribution. After treatment of different doses of TGF-β2 for 24 h, HLEC became isolated, exhibited long spindle-like shape as fibroblastic phenotype. The immunofluorescence staining indicated that snail and slug were localized in the nuclei. The expressions of snail and slug appeared to be positive correlative to TGF-β2 dose (snail protein expression: 0.74±0.16, 1.13±0.03, 1.54±0.18 and slug protein expression: 1.96±0.02, 3.12±0.09, 4.07±0.12 in HLEC treated with 0.1, 1.0 and 10 μg/L TGF-β2 respectively) (χ(2)=9.62,P=0.022;F=241.10,P<0.01). In addition, the expression of α-SMA and E-Cadherin showed the similar form (α-SMA protein expression: 0.87±0.04, 1.42±0.11, 2.17±0.36 and E-Cadherin protein expression: 2.50±0.36, 1.65±0.32, 0.41±0.14 in HLEC treated with 0.1, 1.0 and 10.0 μg/L TGF-β2 respectively) (χ(2)=9.97,P=0.019;F=19.99,P<0.01). All Pearson correlation coefficient were close to 1. The expression of snail and slug in HLEC were also increased with extending duration of TGF-β2 (1.0 μg/L). The expression levels of both proteins were modestly up-regulated at 8 hours, robustly increased at 24 h, reached peak at 48h and began to decline at 72 h (snail protein expression: 0.90±0.13, 1.43±0.14, 1.96±0.27, 1.57±0.16 and slug protein expression: 0.91±0.36, 1.24±0.16, 2.44±0.26, 1.43±0.16 in HLEC treated with 1.0 μg/L TGF-β2 for 8 h, 24 h, 48 h and 72 h respectively) (F=12.49,P=0.001;F=14.03,P<0.01). CONCLUSION Transcription factors snail and slug might be time and dose-dependently involved in in-vitro TGF-β2-induced EMT of HLEC. (Chin J Ophthalmol, 2016, 52: 285-290).
External-environmental and internal-health early life predictors of adolescent development

Abstract A wealth of evidence documents associations between various aspects of the rearing environment and later development. Two evolutionary-inspired models advance explanations for why and how such early experiences shape later functioning: (a) the external-prediction model, which highlights the role of the early environment (e.g., parenting) in regulating children's development, and (b) the internal-prediction model, which emphasizes internal state (i.e., health) as the critical regulator. Thus, by using data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, the current project draws from both models by investigating whether the effect of the early environment on later adolescent functioning is subject to an indirect effect by internal-health variables. Results showed a significant indirect effect of internal health on the relation between the early environment and adolescent behavior. Specifically, early environmental adversity during the first 5 years of life predicted lower quality health during childhood, which then led to problematic adolescent functioning and earlier age of menarche for girls. In addition, for girls, early adversity predicted lower quality health that forecasted earlier age of menarche leading to increased adolescent risk taking. The discussion highlights the importance of integrating both internal and external models to further understand the developmental processes that effect adolescent behavior.
The turn to employees in the measurement of human resource practices: A critical review and proposed way forward

Although initially studies examining human resource management (HRM)–outcome relationships only used management‐based ratings of HR practices, arguments have been advanced in favour of using employee‐based ratings. To examine this, a systematic analysis of HRM–outcome studies published between 2000 and 2017 is performed, which shows that over time studies have indeed increasingly made use of employees as respondents to measures of human resource (HR) practices. An in‐depth analysis of these measures of perceived HR practices revealed that various problems and issues can be identified when critically reviewing these measures. It is observed that considerable idiosyncrasy exists in measures of perceived HR practices, coupled with a lack of transparency in how these measures are often reported in existing studies. Also, a mixture of evaluative and descriptive items creates concerns about jingle fallacies in extant research and in turn about the validity of HRM–outcome results. Recommendations are provided to further advance the measurement and conceptualisation of this core construct.
Polio eradication-lessons from the past and future perspective.

BACKGROUND India has recently achieved the "Polio free status" by WHO with stringent efforts of the Health Ministry to control its spread. However, we should not forget the lessons learnt from the failure of National malaria eradication Programme and National Tuberculosis control Programme which creates a need to assess the probable barriers for the various National Health Programmes. The present article presents an overview of the Polio Eradication programme in India highlighting the lessons learnt from the past. Also, it evaluates the reality behind full participation of Pulse Polio Programme. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study results of a cross-sectional survey conducted with an aim to assess the probable reasons and barriers behind non compliance of Pulse Polio Programme among parents of children (1-5 yr of age) of Modinagar area have also been discussed. The survey instrument was a structured, 10 item, closed ended questionnaire. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED Chi-square test was used to analyze the difference between proportions of individual responses for each question and multiple logistic regression was used to assess relation between socio demographic parameter and absence from Polio Ravivaar. RESULTS The study reveals a surprising 68% attendance of Pulse Polio programme which is far behind the desired goal. Most of the parents who did not attend polio ravivaar considered that there was no need for the repetition of Polio vaccine (76.9%) followed by their fear that the vaccine might get contaminated during transportation (74.5%). A significant positive association was found between older age group of the eligible children (4-5 yr, O.R.1.52), female gender, illiterate parents, distance of more than one km from residence to vaccination and lack of source of information (O.R. 1.47). CONCLUSION Efforts should be done to investigate the probable reasons behind non compliance for various immunization programmes to analyse the current situation in detail and formulate appropriate programs for coming years so that the efforts so far don't go in vain and we secure a healthy Polio free nation for our future generations.
Explaining Support for Stealth Democracy

ABSTRACT The pioneering work of Hibbing and Theiss-Morse [2002. Stealth Democracy: Americans’ Beliefs about How Government Should Work. New York: Cambridge University Press] on citizens’ process preferences, and particularly support for “stealth democracy” as an alternative to both direct and representative democracy, has recently garnered increased attention from scholars. This paper examines the influence of perceptions of public consensus about controversial issues and of fellow citizens’ competence in making policy determinations on support for stealth democracy. Those who believe there is consensus in the public, and who believe the typical citizen is not competent to make policy decisions, should be more likely to support stealth democracy than direct or representative democracy. To test this, I use data from a statewide survey in Pennsylvania. The results suggest that attitudes on public consensus, but not on citizen competence, explain support for stealth democracy. However, a belief in public consensus also explains support for direct democracy. The factor that distinguishes support for stealth and direct democracy is ideology.
Association of Inflammatory Bowel Disease With Familial Mediterranean Fever in Turkish Children

Background and Aims: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) share common clinical and biological features. The prevalence of other inflammatory diseases, including IBD, is increased in FMF. We investigated the presence of IBD accompanying FMF in patients who were being followed up with a diagnosis of FMF and the relation of IBD with the MEFV gene mutation. Methods: A total of 78 children with FMF were enrolled in the study. The patients were included in the study independent of the presence of complaints. Colonoscopy for IBD was performed if any of the following was present: blood mixed with mucus in the stool; chronic diarrhea (loose and frequent stools lasting >4 weeks); abdominal pain incompatible with FMF (localized in a certain part of the abdomen, not occurring during attacks, >3 days); and positive IgA and IgG anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibodies and perinuclear antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies. MEFV gene mutations were analyzed in patients diagnosed as having IBD and FMF. Results: Of the 78 patients with a diagnosis of FMF, colonoscopy was performed and biopsy samples were taken in 20 patients (25.6%) who had abdominal pain incompatible with FMF, chronic diarrhea, bloody stools, and/or positive perinuclear anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody or anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibody. Histopathological examination resulted in a diagnosis of IBD in 12 of the 78 patients (15.4%). MEFV gene mutations were present in all 12 patients diagnosed as having IBD. We observed M694 V mutations in 5 of 12 patients (41.7%), M680I mutations in 3 (25%), K695R mutations in 3 (25%), and E148Q mutations in 1 (8.3%). Conclusions: We found that the number of patients with FMF was higher than the number with IBD in the general population. When IBD accompanied FMF, the most common mutation was M694 V; however, the high rate (25%) of K695R mutation in our patients with FMF and IBD was not observed in previous studies.
Protein Kinase C&dgr; Differentially Regulates Platelet Functional Responses

Objective—Protein Kinase C delta (PKC&dgr;) is expressed in platelets and activated downstream of protease-activated receptors (PAR)s and glycoprotein VI (GPVI) receptors. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of PKC&dgr; in platelets. Methods and Results—We evaluated the role of PKC&dgr; in platelets using two approaches—pharmacological and molecular genetic approach. In human platelets pretreated with isoform selective antagonistic RACK peptide (&dgr; V1-1)TAT, and in the murine platelets lacking PKC&dgr;, PAR4-mediated dense granule secretion was inhibited, whereas GPVI-mediated dense granule secretion was potentiated. These effects were statistically significant in the absence and presence of thromboxane A2 (TXA2). Furthermore, TXA2 generation was differentially regulated by PKC&dgr;. However, PKC&dgr; had a small effect on platelet P-selectin expression. Calcium- and PKC-dependent pathways independently activate fibrinogen receptor in platelets. When calcium pathways are blocked by dimethyl-BAPTA, AYPGKF-induced aggregation in PKC&dgr; null mouse platelets and in human platelets pretreated with (&dgr; V1-1)TAT, was inhibited. In a FeCl3-induced injury in vivo thrombosis model, PKC&dgr;−/− mice occluded similar to their wild-type littermates. Conclusions—Hence, we conclude that PKC&dgr; differentially regulates platelet functional responses such as dense granule secretion and TXA2 generation downstream of PARs and GPVI receptors, but PKC&dgr; deficiency does not affect the thrombus formation in vivo.
Involvement of OCTN2 and B0,+ in the transport of carnitine through an in vitro model of the blood–brain barrier

Carnitine is known to accumulate in brain, therefore transport of carnitine through the blood–brain barrier was studied in an in vitro system using bovine brain capillary endothelial cells (BBCEC) grown on filter inserts in a co‐culture system with glial cells. Long‐term exposure of BBCEC to carnitine resulted in a high accumulation of long‐chain acyl carnitines, which decreased dramatically upon removal of carnitine. Kinetic analysis of carnitine accumulation indicated a possibility of functioning of more than one transporter. BBCEC were incubated in the presence of substrates and inhibitors of known carnitine transporters added from either apical or basolateral side. Inhibition by replacement of sodium and expression of OCTN2 (RT‐PCR) were in agreement with earlier reports on the functioning of OCTN2 in apical membrane. For the first time, functioning of OCTN2 was demonstrated in the basolateral membrane, as well as functioning in both membranes of a low affinity carnitine transporter B0,+. Expression of B0,+ in BBCEC was confirmed by RT‐PCR. These results suggest that OCTN2 and B0,+ could be involved in carnitine transport in both the apical and basolateral membrane.
Molecular characterization of group A rotaviruses detected in children with gastroenteritis in Ireland in 2006–2009

SUMMARY Community and hospital-acquired cases of human rotavirus are responsible for millions of gastroenteritis cases in children worldwide, chiefly in developing countries, and vaccines are now available. During surveillance activity for human rotavirus infections in Ireland, between 2006 and 2009, a total of 420 rotavirus strains were collected and analysed. Upon either PCR genotyping and sequence analysis, a variety of VP7 (G1–G4 and G9) and VP4 (P[4], P[6], P[8] and P[9]) genotypes were detected. Strains G1P[8] were found to be predominant throughout the period 2006–2008, with slight fluctuations seen in the very limited samples available in 2008–2009. Upon either PCR genotyping and sequence analysis of selected strains, the G1, G3 and G9 viruses were found to contain E1 (Wa-like) NSP4 and I1 VP6 genotypes, while the analysed G2 strains possessed E2 NSP4 and I2 VP6 genotypes, a genetic make-up which is highly conserved in the major human rotavirus genogroups Wa- and Kun-like, respectively. Upon sequence analysis of the most common VP4 genotype, P[8], at least two distinct lineages were identified, both unrelated to P[8] Irish rotaviruses circulating in previous years, and more closely related to recent European humans rotaviruses. Moreover, sequence analysis of the VP7 of G1 rotaviruses revealed the onset of a G1 variant, previously unseen in the Irish population.
Incidence and prevalence of psoriatic arthritis in Denmark: a nationwide register linkage study

Objectives To examine the incidence and temporal trends of psoriatic arthritis (PsA) in the general population in Denmark. Methods Using nationwide registry data, we estimated the number of patients with incident PsA within each 1-year period between 1997 and 2011 and calculated the rate of PsA cases within gender and age subgroups. Incidence rates were presented per 100 000 person-years. Results There was a female predominance ranging from 50.3% (1998) to 59.2% (2010), and the mean age at time of diagnosis was 47–50 years. We identified a total of 12 719 patients with PsA (prevalence=0.22%), including 9034 patients where the PsA diagnosis was made by a rheumatologist (prevalence=0.16%). Incidence rates of PsA (per 100 000 person-years) increased from 7.3 in 1997 to a peak incidence of 27.3 in 2010. Incidence rates were highest for women and patients aged 50–59 years, respectively. The use of systemic non-biologic agents, that is, methotrexate, leflunomide, ciclosporin or sulfasalazine increased over the 15-year study course and were used in 66.3% of all patients. Biologic agents (etanercept, infliximab, adalimumab, certolizumab pegol, golimumab or ustekinumab) were used in 17.7% of patients with PsA. Conclusions We found a clear trend of rising PsA incidence on a national level. While the cause remains unclear, our findings might be explained by increased attention by patients and physicians.
Causality analysis between exports, imports and economic growth of Pakistan

The objective of study is to identify causal relationships among the variables such as exports, imports and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in case of Pakistan. The study uses time series data for the period from 1981-2016. Stationarity is checked with the Augmented Dickey Fullers' (ADF) test, and the Engle Grange approach is utilized to determine the long run relationship among variables of the study. Moreover, causality among the selected variables is tested by using the Vector Error Correction Model (VECM). We found that the causality runs from GDP to imports and exports. Furthermore, no causal relation is found from exports to GDP and from imports to GDP, but the causality goes from GDP to these two variables. The causality from GDP to exports and imports are positive and significant. Finally, the results indicate that the causal relationship between GDP and imports is stronger than the GDP and exports.