Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Review: Therapeutic applications of hypothermia in cerebral ischaemia

There is considerable experimental evidence that hypothermia is neuroprotective and can reduce the severity of brain damage after global or focal cerebral ischaemia. However, despite successful clinical trials for cardiac arrest and perinatal hypoxia-ischaemia and a number of trials demonstrating the safety of moderate and mild hypothermia in stroke, there are still no established guidelines for its use clinically. Based upon a review of the experimental studies we discuss the clinical implications for the use of hypothermia as an adjunctive therapy in global cerebral ischaemia and stroke and make some suggestions for its use in these situations.
Olanzapine in the treatment of dopaminomimetic psychosis in patients with Parkinson's disease

To the Editor: After reading the article by Wolters et al.1 on the use of olanzapine in dopamimetic psychosis in Parkinson's disease (PD), I began to use it. I have summarized my experience with the use of olanzapine for drug-induced psychosis in akinetic rigid syndromes, including PD. The only patients excluded were those who were prospectively switched from clozapine to olanzapine (submitted for publication). Some patients were started on the drug by other physicians. Some discontinued the drug before an office visit, so before and after evaluations were not always available. As a result, patients were not evaluated in a uniform manner. Information was obtained by telephone if the patient was not seen in the office for follow-up. No attempt was made to keep anti-PD medications unchanged. Any patient who remained on olanzapine was considered a treatment success. Of 19 patients reviewed, 5 women and 14 men were included. Their mean age was …
Increased plasma levels of asymmetric dimethylarginine in patients with carotid stenosis: no evidence for the role of the common FABP2 A54T gene polymorphism

Objective – Both asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), which is an inhibitor of endothelial nitric oxide synthase and the fatty acid‐binding protein 2 (FABP2) A54T gene polymorphism have been associated with cerebrovascular disease. The objective of the present study was to investigate the role of ADMA and the FABP2 A54T polymorphism in carotid atherosclerosis.
Association of coping style, pain, age and depression with fatigue in women with primary breast cancer

The purpose of this study was to explore the relative contributions of coping, depression, pain and age, in the experience of cancer related fatigue. A total of 353 women treated for primary breast cancer were assessed within one year of diagnosis using the Profile of Mood States, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the mini‐Mental Adjustment to Cancer Scale. Fatigue was positively associated with depression and pain, but inversely related to age. In contrast to our expectations, fighting spirit was not associated with less fatigue. A relationship between coping style and cancer‐related fatigue was found exclusively for ‘positive reappraisal’, a combination of fighting spirit and fatalism. Detectable only in multivariate analysis together with depression, the results suggest a weak association between coping and fatigue. The relationship between cancer related fatigue, age and coping styles requires further exploration within longitudinal studies. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Leptin levels in breast‐fed infants

1 Perros, P., Simpson, J., Innes, J.A. , Teale, D.T. & McKnight, J.A. (1996) Non-islet cell tumor hypoglycaemia: 11-octreotide imaging and efficacy of octreotide, growth hormone and glucocorticosteroids. Clinical Endocrinology , 44 , 727–731. 2 Baxter, R.C. , Holman, S.R. , Corbould, A. , Stranks, S. , Ho, P.J. & Braund, W. (1995) Regulation of the insulin-like growth factors and their binding proteins by glucocorticoid and growth hormone in nonislet cell tumor hypoglycaemia. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism , 80 , 2700–2708. 3 Teale, J.D. & Wark, G. (2004) The effectiveness of different treatment options for non-islet cell tumor hypoglycaemia. Clinical Endocrinology , 60 , 457–460. 4 Frystyk, J., Skjaerbaek, C. , Zapf, J. & Orskov, H. (1998) Increased levels of circulating free insulin-like growth factors in patients with non-islet cell tumour hypoglycaemia. Diabetologia , 41 , 589–594. 5 Baxter, R.C. & Doughaday, W.H. (1991) Impaired formation of the ternary insulin-like growth factor binding protein complex in patients with hypoglycaemia due to non-islet tumours. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism , 73 , 696–702.
DO QOL INSTRUMENTS AGREE?

Objectives: Several instruments for measuring health-related quality of life (HRQOL) have been developed, and others are under construction. The problem is whether the different HRQOL measures show comparable results. We first compared the functional relationship of the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP) and the 15-dimensional measure of HRQOL (15D) in hip and knee replacement patients. The hypothesis was that condition or intervention does not affect the functional relationship between NHP and 15D changes. Methods: We assessed the agreement of the instruments by comparing observed changes in the 15D and its fitted values derived by regressing the 15D by the NHP dimensions. Patients (n = 452) were recruited consecutively from seven Finnish orthopedic departments during April 1991–May 1992. HRQOL was measured prior to surgery and 6, 12, and 24 months postoperatively. Results: There was a different functional relationship between the HRQOL instruments in hip and knee patients; they agreed upon the direction of changes in HRQOL in 84% and showed opposite signs in 12%. The NHP showed significantly more improvement in quality of life than the 15D. Conclusions: The two instruments were in slight but significant disagreement. Estimates of effectiveness can vary according to the instrument used. Comparisons of effectiveness in healthcare programs measured by differing instruments need information on the functional discrepancies between the instruments in the conditions and interventions in which they are applied.
Effect of Job Autonomy Upon Organizational Commitment of Employees at Different Hierarchical Level

The main aim of the present study was to examine the effect of job autonomy upon organizational commitment of employees at different hierarchical level. A study was made on randomly selected 100 male employees who work in different organizations in Agra, who were administered Organizational Commitment Scale (by Allen & Meyer, 1990) and Job Autonomy Scale (by Das, Arora, & Singhal, 2000). On the basis of median of the job autonomy scores, the sample was divided into two groups (1) high job autonomy group and (2) low job autonomy group and on the basis of hierarchical level, the employees were divided into two groups (1) 50 high hierarchical level employees’ including managers, etc. and (2) 50 low hierarchical level employees, e.g. clerical staff, etc. The 2x2 factorial design was formed for this purpose and four groups of employees were formed (1) high hierarchy, high autonomy group (2) high hierarchy, low autonomy group(3) low hierarchy, high autonomy group and (4) low hierarchy, low autonomy group. A two-way analysis of variance was employed to compare the level of organizational commitment of each of the four groups. There is a significant difference found between job commitment of employees with high and low job autonomy ( F = 4.670, p < .05). There is a significant difference found between job commitment of employees of high hierarchical group and those of low hierarchical group ( F = 40.691, p < .01) and significant interaction effect found between job autonomy and hierarchical level upon organizational commitment of employees ( F = 6.114, p < .05).
Innovation training and product innovation performance: the moderating role of external cooperation

Training has traditionally been considered as an effective mechanism to leverage human capital and as a consequence improve firms' innovation performance. However, studies specifically analysing the effect of training on innovation performance are scarce and the results inconclusive. This paper examines the influence of specific innovation training on product innovation performance and analyses how external cooperation can moderate this relationship. The empirical analysis used here is based on a representative panel of 176 Spanish firms in high-tech industries. The findings suggest that the positive impact of innovation training on product innovation performance occurs when firms are cooperating with external agents. Thus, our results suggest that through external cooperation firms can overcome the problems that a focus-oriented training can have regarding product innovation performance.
Effect of butyric acid supplementation and whole wheat inclusion on the performance and carcass traits of broilers

To evaluate the effects of butyric acid (BA) levels and wheat form (WF) on the performance of broiler chickens, 320 day-old Ross 308 broiler chicks were randomly distributed among 32 floor pens. A 4 × 2 factorial arrangement with four levels of BA (B1: 0 g BA/kg in both starter and grower feed; B2: 2.5 g BA/kg in both starter and grower feed; B3: 2.5 g BA/kg in starter and 1 g BA/kg in grower feed; and B4: 2.5 g BA/kg in starter and 0 g BA/kg in grower feed) and two forms of wheat (whole (WW) vs. ground (GW)) were used. Dietary supplementation with BA had no effect on average weight gain (AWG) or feed conversion ratio (FCR) in the starter, grower/finisher and over whole (0 - 42 d) trial periods. However, birds consumed more when the diet was supplemented with butyrate (B2) relative to the control and other experimental diets during 0 - 42 d, but this increase was not associated with improved AWG or FCR as compared with that of the control. The BA had no significant effect on relative fat pad, gizzard or breast meat, but increased liver weight. The length of the entire gut was augmented by BA and WW feeding. Feeding WW increased the relative weight of the gizzard and liver, but decreased the relative weight of abdominal fat. Two-way interactions were not significant for any of the carcass traits or organ-size parameters except for breast meat, in which a significant interaction was observed between BA and WF.
Ps-Aeruginosa Proteus Staphylococci Clostridia Veillonellae Production of carcinogens Intestinal putrefaction Enterococci E . coli Lactobacilli Streptococci Eubacteria Bffidobacteria Bacteroides

Because the human gut microbiota can play a major role in host health, there is currently some interest in the manipulation of the composition of the gut flora towards a potentially more remedial community. Attempts have been made to increase bacterial groups such as Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus that are per ceived as exerting health-promoting properties. Probiotics, defined as microbial food supplements that benefi cially affect the host by improving its intestinal microbial balance, have been used to change the composition of colonie microbiota. However, such changes may be tran sient, and the implantation of exogenous bacteria therefore becomes limited. In contrast, prebiotics are nondigestible food ingredients that beneficially affect the host by selectively stimulating the growth and/or activity of one or a limited number of bacterial species already resident in the colon, and thus attempt to improve host health. Intake of prebiotics can significantly modulate the colonie microbiota by increasing the number of specific bacteria and thus changing the composition of the microbiota. Nondigestible oligosaccharides in general, and fructooligosaccharides in particular, are prebiotics. They have been shown to stimulate the growth of endogenous bifidobacteria, which, after a short feeding period, become predominant in human feces. Moreover, these prebiotics modulate lipid metab olism, most likely via fermentation products. By com bining the rationale of proand prebiotics, the concept of synbiotics is proposed to characterize some colonie foods with interesting nutritional properties that make these compounds candidates for classification as health-enhancing functional food ingredients. J. Nutr. 125: 1401-1412, 1995.
One-Week Quadruple Therapy Is an Effective Salvage Regimen for Helicobacter pylori Infection in Patients After Failure of Standard Triple Therapy

Standard triple therapy remains an important option for eradicating Helicobacter pylori (Hp) in developing countries because of its relatively low cost. However, salvage therapies after failure of this regimen remain undefined. The authors therefore investigate the efficacy of 1-week quadruple therapy as a second-line treatment of Hp infection after failure of standard triple therapy. Seventy-eight patients who failed Hp eradication using a 2-week bismuth-based triple therapy were enrolled and received a course of 1-week quadruple therapy (lansoprazole, 30 mg twice daily; bismuth subcitrate, 120 mg four times daily; clarithromycin, 500 mg twice daily; and amoxicillin, 1,000 mg twice daily) as a salvage regimen. The Hp status was reassessed 7 weeks after cessation of therapy. Among the 78 patients, Hp eradication was achieved in 65 (83%, 95% confidence interval = 75–91%) by intention-to-treat analysis. Only five (6%) patients had side effects, and all (100%) showed good drug compliance. Multivariate analysis disclosed that coffee drinking was an independent factor for treatment failure (odds ratio = 5.3, 95% confidence interval = 1.2–23.6, p = 0.028). The authors therefore conclude that their 1-week quadruple therapy is an effective salvage regimen for Hp infection after failure of standard triple therapy in the population examined. The benefits of this regimen include the high eradication rate, the short duration of treatment, fewer side effects, and good drug compliance. Coffee consumption possibly is an important factor in failure of the rescue regimen. The mechanisms underlying the association between coffee drinking and eradication failure require further research.
NEGATIVE MATERNAL OR PATERNAL EFFECTS ON TACTIC INHERITANCE UNDER A CONDITIONAL STRATEGY

Abstract Alternative behavioral and life-history tactics are common in animal populations. The conditional strategy model provides a powerful explanation for the evolution and persistence of such tactics, as it allows alternative tactics to be perpetuated even if there is tactic inheritance and tactics yield unequal mean fitness. In many biological systems negative maternal or paternal effects complicate the inheritance of condition and, hence, the inheritance of alternative tactics. Indeed, the inheritance of condition may result in the alternation of tactics across generations. In this paper, we show that the conditional strategy is robust to these effects on progeny condition. There is a unique and stable proportion of tactics under standard inheritance and unequal tactic fitness, and these two important properties of the conditional strategy hold even if negative maternal or paternal effects on progeny condition cause tactics to alternate across generations. However, the dynamics of tactic proportions pursuant to a perturbation of the equilibrium tactic proportions depend on the form of tactic inheritance. An application of our theoretical results to data from a population of smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) in which negative paternal effects dictate progeny condition reveals that age at first reproduction in males alternates regularly across generations. Furthermore, the model indicates that the population would return rapidly to equilibrium if the proportions of males that mature early or late in life were perturbed from the equilibrium within the system. This example shows how the model of the conditional strategy can be used to gain insight into tactic dynamics in situations where some of the model parameters are difficult or impossible to measure empirically.
Software Design for Real-Time Systems on Parallel Computers: Formal Specifications.

Abstract : This research investigated the important issues related to the analysis and design of real-time systems targeted to parallel architectures. In particular, the software specification models for real-time systems on parallel architectures were evaluated. A survey of current formal methods for uniprocessor real-time systems specifications was conducted to determine their extensibility in specifying real-time systems on parallel architectures. In this research, a specification model called Parallel REal Time specification Language (PRETsEL) was defined. It leverages off of existing models while adding the necessary syntax and semantics lacking in existing models in supporting specification of real-time systems for parallel architectures. Examples of utilizing the PRETSEL language are presented.
Norton Equivalent Modeling of Current Source MMC and Its Use for Dynamic Studies of Back-to-Back Converter System

The current-source modular multilevel converter (CSMMC) is a good alternative for high-power applications with medium-voltage and high-current requirements. In such applications, to obtain the multilevel current output and for current scaling, a large number of submodules are required in CSMMC. The detailed representation of such systems in electromagnetic transient-type simulation programs brings computational complexity with a large computing burden. This paper presents a computationally efficient equivalent model of CSMMC based on the Norton equivalents. Each arm of the converter is represented by a two-node Norton equivalent in this model, which eliminates the internal intermediate nodes and, hence, significantly reduces computing time. The proposed model is implemented in PSCAD/EMTDC by using the module component coded in FORTRAN and results are validated with the full-size traditional model in PSCAD/EMTDC. Moreover, hybrid models are presented and validated for the submodule level studies such as fail-safe functionality with redundant submodules. This paper also focuses on the control method and dynamic studies of the CSMMC-based back-to-back system. The results of these studies are compared with the proposed equivalent model, and accurate matching of the results confirms the usefulness of the proposed model in such studies.
Transient nuclear Prospero induces neural progenitor quiescence

Stem cells can self-renew, differentiate, or enter quiescence. Understanding how stem cells switch between these states is highly relevant for stem cell-based therapeutics. Drosophila neural progenitors (neuroblasts) have been an excellent model for studying self-renewal and differentiation, but quiescence remains poorly understood. In this study, we show that when neuroblasts enter quiescence, the differentiation factor Prospero is transiently detected in the neuroblast nucleus, followed by the establishment of a unique molecular profile lacking most progenitor and differentiation markers. The pulse of low level nuclear Prospero precedes entry into neuroblast quiescence even when the timing of quiescence is advanced or delayed by changing temporal identity factors. Furthermore, loss of Prospero prevents entry into quiescence, whereas a pulse of low level nuclear Prospero can drive proliferating larval neuroblasts into quiescence. We propose that Prospero levels distinguish three progenitor fates: absent for self-renewal, low for quiescence, and high for differentiation. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.7554/eLife.03363. 001
Myocardial perfusion imaging using gated SPECT in heart failure patients undergoing cardiac resynchronization therapy.

UNLABELLED Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) by biventricular pacing is indicated in patients with severe heart failure and left bundle branch block who remain symptomatic despite optimal medical therapy. The relationship between baseline resting perfusion pattern and hemodynamic response to CRT has not been fully investigated. We tested the usefulness of perfusion gated SPECT for baseline evaluation and follow-up of these patients. METHODS In 20 patients, we performed gated SPECT before CRT and at the 3-mo follow up. Left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction (EF), end-diastolic (ED) and end-systolic (ES) volume indexes (VI), and wall motion score index (WMSI) were measured and compared with clinical outcome. RESULTS One patient died before follow-up. The 19 remaining patients were classified into 1 of 2 groups according to the presence (group A) or absence (group B) of a significant severe perfusion defect at baseline before CRT. At the 3-mo follow-up, 6 of 10 group A and 8 of 9 group B patients had an improvement in New York Heart Association class. In both groups, quality of life, 6-min walking distance, and WMSI significantly improved. In group A, no significant change was registered in LVEF, LVEDVI, or LVESVI. In group B, LVEF increased from 23.1% +/- 8% to 27.1% +/- 11% (P < 0.03) and LVEDVI and LVESVI decreased from 159 +/- 70 mL to 135 +/- 68 mL (P < 0.02) and from 127 +/- 67 mL to 104 +/- 65 mL (P < 0.01), respectively. CONCLUSION Perfusion gated SPECT appears useful to characterize and follow up candidates for CRT. Despite clinical improvement, patients with severe resting perfusion defects do not show significant improvement in LVEF or reduction in LV volumes.
Molecular characterization of mouse-virulent poliovirus type 1 Mahoney mutants: involvement of residues of polypeptides VP1 and VP2 located on the inner surface of the capsid protein shell

Most poliovirus (PV) strains, including PV PV-1/Mahoney, are unable to cause paralysis in mice. Determinants for restriction of PV-1/Mahoney in mice have been identified by manipulating PV-1 cDNA and located on the viral capsid protein VP1. These determinants consist of a highly exposed amino acid sequence on the capsid surface corresponding to the B-C loop (M. Murray, J. Bradley, X. Yang, E. Wimmer, E. Moss, and V. Racaniello, Science 241:213-215, 1988; A. Martin, C. Wychowski, T. Couderc, R. Crainic, J. Hogle, and M. Girard, EMBO J. 7:2839-2847, 1988) and of residues belonging to the N-terminal sequence located on the inner surface of the protein shell (E. Moss and V. Racaniello, EMBO J. 10:1067-1074, 1991). Using an in vivo approach, we isolated two mouse-neurovirulent PV-1 mutants in the mouse central nervous system after a single passage of PV-1/Mahoney inoculated by the intracerebral route. Both mutants were subjected to two additional passages in mice, plaque purified, and subsequently characterized. The two cloned mutants, Mah-NK13 and Mah-NL32, retained phenotypic characteristics of the parental PV-1/Mahoney, including epitope map, heat lability, and temperature sensitivity. Mah-NK13 exhibited slightly smaller plaques than did the parental virus. The nucleotide sequences of the mutant genomes were determined, and mutations were identified. Mutations were independently introduced into the parental PV-1/Mahoney genome by single-site mutagenesis. Mutated PV-1/Mahoney viruses were then tested for their neurovirulence in mice. A single amino acid substitution in the capsid proteins VP1 (Thr-22-->Ile) and VP2 (Ser-31-->Thr) identified in the Mah-NK13 and Mah-NL32 genomes, respectively, conferred the mouse-virulent phenotype to the mouse-avirulent PV-1/Mahoney. Ile-22 in VP1 was responsible for the small-plaque phenotype of Mah-NK13. Both mutations arose during the first passage in the mouse central nervous system. We thus identified a new mouse adaptation determinant on capsid protein VP1, and we showed that at least one other capsid protein, VP2, could also express a mouse adaptation determinant. Both determinants are located in the inside of the three-dimensional structure of the viral capsid. They may be involved in the early steps of mouse nerve cell infection subsequent to receptor attachment.