Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Changes in the protein-polysaccharides of pig articular cartilage during prenatal life, development and old age.

Analysis of the knee-joint cartilage of pigs at five ages (namely foetuses from the second half of pregnancy and animals 10 weeks, 25 weeks, 3 years and 5 years old) showed that the composition approached that of adult cartilage by 25 weeks of age, the most marked differences being between foetal and 10 week-old cartilage. Protein-polysaccharides were extracted sequentially, first by brief low-speed homogenization with iso-osmotic sodium acetate, then by two extractions with 2m-CaCl(2) for 24h with gentle agitation interspersed with brief low-speed homogenization and agitation for another 24h. About half of the protein-polysaccharides were removed from foetal cartilage by the first extraction and the remainder by the second. The proportion in the first extract declined sharply with the age of the animal, but that in the first CaCl(2) extract was similar at all ages other than 10 weeks. The amount left in the residue increased approximately with the collagen content from about one-fifth at 10 weeks of age to one-third in adult and old cartilage. The proportion of medium-sized protein-polysaccharides in the extracts changed little with age after birth, but the glucosamine content increased about fivefold and the protein content almost doubled between 10 weeks and 5 years of age. Other analytical values changed little. These results cannot be explained solely by changes in the proportion of ;link-glycoprotein' in the protein-polysaccharides. Since major changes in most parameters had taken place by 25 weeks of age, the first weeks after birth may be a critical period for cartilage development in the pig.
A Survey of Fractional-Order Circuit Models for Biology and Biomedicine

In this survey, we present many of the fractional- order circuit models used in biomedicine and biology to fit experimentally collected impedance data. An overview of the different methods used to extract the impedance parameters from collected datasets are also presented. Applications of fractional order circuit models for modelling human tissue, plant physiology, respiratory systems, and tissue-electrode interfaces are presented to highlight the significance of these models and their potential for further research. This survey is of a tutorial nature intended as an introduction to fractional-order circuit models and to consolidate the many models reported across literature.
Women with nausea and vomiting in pregnancy demonstrate worse health and are adversely affected by odours

Summary The objectives of this study were (1) to determine aversive stimuli that are related to nausea and vomiting in pregnancy (NVP); (2) to determine food and fluid intake in early pregnancy; and (3) to explore relationships between aversive stimuli and health measures. A total of 273 women in an antenatal setting completed a questionnaire survey, incorporating the Nausea and Vomiting in Pregnancy Instrument (NVPI); the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ); measures of perceived mood and illness; food and fluid intake; and open-ended questions relating to perceived aversive and helpful stimuli. Data was subjected to quantitative and qualitative analysis. A total of 57% of women reported aversive stimuli. Of these, the primary sense implicated was olfaction, with 72% reporting food smells. A number of women were affected by the odours of drinks (26%) and other products (31%). Women who were adversely affected by odours had higher severities of NVP, perceived illness and psychopathology scores on the GHQ. In conclusion, odour appears to be an important stimulus related to NVP, with perceived aversive smells related to the severity of nausea. Women severely affected by NVP demonstrated worse health. The role of olfaction in pregnancy and specifically in sufferers of severe NVP should be evaluated further.
Body image, teasing, and mood alterations: an experimental study of exposure to negative verbal commentary.

OBJECTIVE In the current study, we sought to experimentally examine the influence of teasing on an individual's mood and body satisfaction by using a vicarious exposure strategy-written appearance-based scenarios in which another female is the target of teasing comments. METHOD Female college students read vignettes that involved either a female receiving a comment from another person regarding some aspect of her appearance or abilities. Two of the eight vignettes in both conditions involved some type of positive comment regarding appearance or abilities. Three visual analogue scales (depression, anger, anxiety), one Subjective Units of Discomfort rating, and one Likert-scaled appearance satisfaction rating were used to assess mood and body image levels consequent to exposure to the written scenarios. Dispositional measures of personal teasing history, appearance evaluation, and level of eating disturbance were regressed onto mood, SUDS, and satisfaction ratings. RESULTS The results revealed that negative appearance and abilities scenes elicited moderate levels of mood disturbance when compared to positive vignettes. Regression analyses indicated that level of eating disturbance was the only consistent significant predictor for both appearance and abilities' scenarios, even after variance accounted for by empathy and self-esteem had been removed. DISCUSSION Potential limitations of these findings are discussed along with indications for future experimental examinations of negative verbal commentary.
Linear and nonlinear Granger-causality between short-term and long-term interest rates during business cycles

Abstract This paper is about the causal relationship between short-term and long-term interest rates in the US and Canada. To that end, we apply a linear Granger causality test introduced by Toda and Yamamoto (1995) and the nonlinear Granger causality test of Diks and Panchenko (2006). By combining linear causality effects with the nonlinear ones, it is seen that the most common Granger causality direction between short-term and long-term interest rates is a bidirectional one. We also find that nonlinear Granger causality can be found where no linear causality had been uncovered. Moreover, our findings show that during recent business cycles, the federal funds rate (in the US) and the overnight rate (in Canada) still Granger-cause long-term interest rates significantly.
Total recovery of heart grafts of non–heart-beating donors after 3 hours of hypothermic coronary oxygen persufflation preservation in an orthotopic pig transplantation model12

Background. The coronary oxygen persufflation (COP) technique has been previously shown to allow prolonged heart preservation of 14 hr with optimal recovery in a pig model of orthotopic transplantation. This technique may be applicable to hearts grafted from non–heart-beating donors (NHBD). Methods. Experiments were performed on pigs to test the effectiveness of oxygenated preservation, using COP for preservation of NHBD hearts. After 16 min of in situ normothermic ischemia, the hearts were flushed with histidine-tryptophan-ketoglutarate (HTK) solution or modified HTK solution (mBHTK) including 30 mmol/L 2,3-butanedione monoxime, 40 mg/L hyaluronidase,15 &mgr;mol/L adenosine, and 50 &mgr;mol/L calcium. Hearts were stored in the flush solutions for 3.3 hr or additionally persufflated with gaseous oxygen through the coronary arteries (COP) and transplanted orthotopically. Results. Simple storage in HTK did not allow recovery of these hearts, whereas mBHTK storage resulted in improved function with 1.1 L/min cardiac output. The cardiac output reached 2.8 L/min (68% of normal values) with a left ventricular developed pressure of 101 mm Hg only after mBHTK+COP. Then the hearts were able to guarantee the circulation of the recipient for the test period after weaning from the heart-lung machine. Conclusions. Even in an NHBD with more than 15 min of in situ ischemia, the use of COP in combination with mBHTK solution for 3.3-hr storage of the heart allows excellent recovery of transplanted hearts and normal weaning from the heart-lung machine. This indicates that COP combined with mBHTK may be an optimal preservation technique for use with NHBD hearts.
Evaluation of decellularized human umbilical vein (HUV) for vascular tissue engineering – comparison with endothelium‐denuded HUV

Human umbilical vessels have been recognized as a valuable and widely available resource for vascular tissue engineering. Whereas endothelium‐denuded human umbilical veins (HUVs) have been successfully seeded with a patient‐derived neoendothelium, decellularized vessels may have additional advantages, due to their lower antigenicity. The present study investigated the effects of three different decellularization procedures on the histological, mechanical and seeding properties of HUVs. Vessels were decellularized by detergent treatment (Triton X‐100, sodium deoxycholate, IGEPAL‐CA630), osmotic lysis (3 m NaCl, distilled water) and peroxyacetic acid treatment. In all cases, nuclease treatments were required to remove residual nucleic acids. Decellularization resulted in a partial loss of fibronectin and laminin staining in the subendothelial layer and affected the appearance of elastic fibres. In addition to removing residual nucleic acids, nuclease treatment weakened all stainings and substantially altered surface properties, as seen in scanning electron micrographs, indicating additional non‐specific effects. Detergent treatment and osmotic lysis caused failure stresses to decrease significantly. Although conditioned medium prepared from decellularized HUV did not severely affect endothelial cell growth, cells seeded on decellularized HUV did not remain viable. This may be attributed to the partial removal of essential extracellular matrix components as well as to changes of surface properties. Therefore, decellularized HUVs appear to require additional modifications in order to support successful cell seeding. Replacing the vessels' endothelium may thus be a superior alternative to decellularization when creating tissue‐engineered blood vessels with non‐immunogenic luminal interfaces. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A functional overlap of plasminogen and MMPs regulates vascularization during placental development

Both plasminogen activators and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) have been implicated in a variety of developmental processes in the mouse during embryo implantation and placentation. We show here that pharmacological treatment of plasminogen-deficient mice with the broad spectrum MMP inhibitor galardin leads to a high rate of embryonic lethality. Implantation sites from plasminogen-deficient galardin-treated mice at 7.5 days post coitus (dpc) showed delay in both decidualization and invasion of maternal vessels into the decidua. At 8.5 dpc, half of the embryos were runted and still at the developmental stage of a 7.5 dpc embryo. Most embryos that escaped these initial defects eventually died, probably from defective vascularization and development of the labyrinth layer of the placenta, although a direct role on embryo development cannot be ruled out. These results demonstrate that the combination of MMPs and plasminogen is essential for the proper development of the placenta. Plasminogen deficiency alone and galardin treatment alone had much less effect and there was a pronounced synergism on both placental vascularization and embryonic lethality, indicating a functional overlap between plasminogen and MMPs.
The role of ultraviolet–A reflectance and ultraviolet–A induced fluorescence in the appearance of budgerigar plumage: insights from spectrofluorometry and reflectance spectrophotometry

Fluorescence has so far been found in 52 parrot species when illuminated with ultraviolet–A (UVA) ‘black’ lamps, and two attempts have been made to determine whether such fluorescence plays any role in sexual signalling. However, the contribution of the reflectance versus fluorescence to the total radiance from feathers, even in the most studied species to date (budgerigars), is unclear. Nor has the plumage of this study species been systematically assessed to determine the distribution of fluorescent patches. We therefore used spectrofluorometry to determine which areas of budgerigars fluoresce and the excitation and emission spectra involved; this is the first time that such a technique has been applied to avian plumage. We found that both the yellow crown and (normally hidden) white downy chest feathers exhibit strong UVA–induced fluorescence, with peak emissions at 527 nm and 436 nm, respectively. Conversely, the bright–green chest and dark–blue tail feathers do not fluoresce. When comparing reflectance spectra (400–700 nm) from the yellow crown using illuminants with a proportion of UVA comparable to daylight, and illuminants with all UVA removed, no measurable difference resulting from fluorescence was found. This suggests that under normal daylight the contribution of fluorescence to radiance is probably trivial. Furthermore, these spectra revealed that males had fluorescent crowns with substantially higher reflectance than those of females, in both the UV waveband and at longer wavelengths. Reflectance spectrophotometry was also performed on a number of live wild–type male budgerigars to investigate the chromatic contrast between the different plumage areas. This showed that many plumage regions are highly UV–reflective. Overall our results suggest that rapid surveys using UVA black lamps may overestimate the contribution of fluorescence to plumage coloration, and that any signalling role of fluorescence emissions, at least from the yellow crown of budgerigars, may not be as important as previously thought.
The role of moisture balance in wound healing.

PURPOSE To provide an overview of moisture balance and its importance in wound healing. TARGET AUDIENCE This continuing education activity is intended for physicians and nurses with an interest in wound care. OBJECTIVES After reading this article and taking the test, the reader should be able to: 1. Discuss the wound healing process and wound assessment. 2. Describe the types of dressings available and how they meet the needs of the individual patient.
Non-malignant mortality among Norwegian silicon carbide smelter workers

Objectives: To investigate associations between exposures in the silicon carbide (SiC) industry and mortality from non-malignant diseases. Methods: Mortality among 2562 men, working in one of three silicon carbide smelters was investigated, giving 52 618 person-years of follow up from 1962 to 1996. Dose-response relations were investigated by internal comparisons using Poisson regression and by stratified standardised mortality ratio (SMR) analyses. Results: Mortality from all causes was significantly raised compared with the Norwegian mortalities among men, SMR=1.12, (95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.05 to1.20). An excess mortality from asthma, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis combined was found, SMR=2.21 (95% CI 1.61 to 2.95), increasing from 1.05 in the unexposed category to 2.64 (95% CI 1.44 to 4.43) in the upper category of exposure to total dust. The Poisson regression analysis confirmed the results from the stratified SMR analyses, and suggested that smoking did not act as a confounder. No association was found for circulatory mortality. Conclusions: There was an increased mortality from asthma, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis combined among SiC workers exposed to dust .
Review: Relation Between Quality-of-Care Indicators for Diabetes and Patient Outcomes: A Systematic Literature Review

The authors conducted a systematic literature review to assess whether quality indicators for diabetes care are related to patient outcomes. Twenty-four studies were included that formally tested this relationship. Quality indicators focusing on structure or processes of care were included. Descriptive analyses were conducted on the associations found, differentiating for study quality and level of analysis. Structure indicators were mostly tested in studies with weak designs, showing no associations with surrogate outcomes or mixed results. Process indicators focusing on intensification of drug treatment were significantly associated with better surrogate outcomes in three high-quality studies. Process indicators measuring numbers of tests or visits conducted showed mostly negative results in four high-quality studies on surrogate and hard outcomes. Studies performed on different levels of analysis and studies of lower quality gave similar results. For many widely used quality indicators, there is insufficient evidence that they are predictive of better patient outcomes.
Superficial arteriovenous hemangioma of the oral cavity.

OBJECTIVE Superficial arteriovenous hemangioma (AH) is a benign vascular lesion that often affects the head and neck, but only 3 histologically proven intraoral lesions have been previously reported. The aim of this study was to analyze the clinical and histologic features of 36 oral AHs from 35 patients. STUDY DESIGN All vascular lesions, other than pyogenic granulomas, accessioned between 1952 and 2000 were retrieved, and clinical details were gleaned from the request forms or, when available, from the case notes. Histologic sections stained with hematoxylin-eosin were reviewed, and all selected cases were stained for smooth muscle actin and elastin. RESULTS The age range was 12 to 90 (mean, 53 years; median, 59). Of all patients, 54% were female. All the lesions were solitary. The labial mucosa or vermilion was affected in 17 (49%) patients, the tongue in 5, the hard palate and cheek mucosa in 4 each, the gingiva or alveolar mucosa in 3, and the floor of the mouth in 1. Clinical presentation was most often a raised lesion smaller than 20 mm. Duration ranged from months to many years. Four lesions recurred. The consistent histopathologic feature was an unencapsulated mass of blood vessels located in the lamina propria, the submucosa, or both, but 3 patterns could be discerned. The most common (in 44% of cases) comprised a diffuse mixture of thick-walled and thin-walled vessels in variable proportions. The second pattern (42%) showed a lobular arrangement of smaller vessels of uniform wall thickness, sometimes associated with an arteriole. The remaining 14% showed a tortuous pattern of angular, branching, thick-walled vessels lacking inner elastic laminae; one lesion showed both this pattern and the first pattern, one showed both the lobular morphology and the third pattern. Of the patients with the lobular arrangement, 64% were female. Smooth muscle actin was a major component of the lesional vessel walls regardless of thickness, but although most contained some fibrillary elastin, none had inner elastic laminae as prominent as those seen in adjacent true arteries. All AHs contained plump endothelial cells, and mast cell numbers were increased. CONCLUSIONS The etiology of AH is uncertain; endocrine and inflammatory stimuli may activate an underlying vascular malformation. Some lesions, especially those in younger patients, may be true hamartomas.
Multiplexed tandem polymerase chain reaction identifies strong expression of oestrogen receptor and Her‐2 from single, formalin‐fixed, paraffin‐embedded breast cancer sections

Aim: To establish the suitability of multiplex tandem polymerase chain reaction (MT‐PCR) for rapid identification of oestrogen receptor (ER) and Her‐2 status using a single, formalin‐fixed, paraffin‐embedded (FFPE) breast tumour section. Methods: Tissue sections from 29 breast tumours were analysed by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH). RNA extracted from 10 μm FFPE breast tumour sections from 24 of 29 tumours (14 ER positive and 5 Her‐2 positive) was analysed by MT‐PCR. After establishing a correlation between IHC and/or FISH and MT‐PCR results, the ER/Her‐2 status of a further 32 randomly selected, archival breast tumour specimens was established by MT‐PCR in a blinded fashion, and compared to IHC/FISH results. Results: MT‐PCR levels of ER and Her‐2 showed good concordance with IHC and FISH results. Furthermore, among the ER positive tumours, MT‐PCR provided a quantitative score with a high dynamic range. Threshold values obtained from this data set applied to 32 archival tumour specimens showed that tumours strongly positive for ER and/or Her‐2 expression were easily identified by MT‐PCR. Conclusion: MT‐PCR can provide rapid, sensitive and cost‐effective analysis of FFPE material and may prove useful as triage to identify patients suited to endocrine or trastuzumab (Herceptin) treatment.
The size and mix of government spending on illicit drug policy in Australia.

AIM To estimate how much governments in Australia spend on reducing and dealing with illicit drug problems. METHODS Government documents and supplementary information sources were used to estimate drug-related expenditure for the financial year 2002-03, in Australian dollars. Public sector expenditure on reducing drug problems ('proactive expenditure') was classified into four policy functions: prevention, treatment, harm reduction and enforcement. Expenditure related to the consequences of drug use ('reactive expenditure') was included as a separate category. RESULTS Spending by Australian governments in financial year 2002-03 on all drug-related activities was estimated to be $3.2 billion. Proactive expenditure was estimated to be $1.3 billion, comprising 55% on enforcement, 23% on prevention, 17% on treatment, 3% on harm reduction and 1% on activities that span several of these functions. Expenditure on dealing with the consequences of drug use was estimated to be $1.9 billion, with the majority the result of crime-related consequences. CONCLUSION Several insights result from estimating these expenditures. First, law enforcement is the largest drug policy component, with Australian governments also spending significant amounts on treatment and prevention programmes. Secondly, apart from the prevention component, Australia's drug policy mix is strikingly similar to recent international estimates. Finally, expenditures associated with dealing with the consequences of illicit drugs are large and important for assessing drug-related public sector expenditure.
Patient-reported outcomes in subjects with neuroendocrine tumors of the pancreas.

AIM To assess the patient-reported outcomes (PROs) of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (PNET) patients. METHODS Fifty-one consecutive patients (21 male, 30 female, 61.0 +/- 10.3 years) with proven PNETs were studied. An SF-12 questionnaire capable of exploring the physical (PCS) and mental (MCS) aspects of daily life was used. Four questionnaires were also used [12 items General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) for non-psychotic psychiatric disorders, State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) Y-1 and Y-2 for anxiety and BDI-II for depressive symptoms] to explore the psychological aspects of the disease. Forty-four sex- and age-matched Italian normative subjects were included and evaluated using the SF-12, STAI Y-1 and Y-2 questionnaires. RESULTS Seven patients refused to participate to the study; they were clinically similar to the 44 participants who agreed to complete the questionnaires. PNET patients had a PCS score (44.7 +/- 11.0) were not significantly different from the norms (46.1 +/- 9.9, P = 0.610), whereas the MCS score was significantly lower in patients (42.4 +/- 13.0) as compared to the norms (48.2 +/- 9.8, P = 0.036). GHQ-12 identified 11 patients (25.0%) as having non-psychotic psychiatric disorders. The STAI scores were similar in the patients and in the normative population. Finally, BDI-II identified eight patients (18.2%) with moderate depression and 9 (20.5%) with mild depression whereas 27 patients (61.4%) had no depression. CONCLUSION The PNET patients had a good physical but an impaired mental component of their quality of life; in addition, mild or moderate depressive symptoms are present in about 40% of PNET patients.