Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Depression and cardiovascular sequelae in postmenopausal women. The Women's Health Initiative (WHI).

BACKGROUND Subclinical depression, often clinically unrecognized, may pose increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Few studies have prospectively investigated cardiovascular events related to depression in older women. We describe prevalence, cardiovascular correlates, and relationship to subsequent cardiovascular events of depressive symptoms among generally healthy postmenopausal women. METHODS The Women's Health Initiative Observational Study followed up 93 676 women for an average of 4.1 years. Depression was measured at baseline with a short form of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. Risks of cardiovascular disease (CVD) events were estimated from Cox proportional hazards models adjusting for multiple demographic, clinical, and risk factor covariates. RESULTS Current depressive symptoms above the screening cutoff point were reported by 15.8% of women. Depression was significantly related to CVD risk and comorbidity (odds ratios ranging from 1.12 for hypertension to 1.60 for history of stroke or angina). Among women with no history of CVD, depression was an independent predictor of CVD death (relative risk, 1.50) and all-cause mortality (relative risk, 1.32) after adjustment for age, race, education, income, diabetes, hypertension, smoking, high cholesterol level requiring medication, body mass index, and physical activity. Taking antidepressant medications did not alter the depression-associated risks associated. CONCLUSIONS A large proportion of older women report levels of depressive symptoms that are significantly related to increased risk of CVD death and all-cause mortality, even after controlling for established CVD risk factors. Whether early recognition and treatment of subclinical depression will lower CVD risk remains to be determined in clinical trials.
Child Labour and Child Schooling in South Asia: A Cross Country Study of their Determinants

This study uses Nepalese data to estimate the impact of individual, household and cluster/community level variables on child labour and child schooling. The principal estimates are, then, compared with those from Bangladesh and Pakistan. The exercise is designed to identify effective policy instruments that could influence child labour and child schooling in South Asia. The results show that the impact of a variable on a child’s education/employment is, often, highly sensitive to the specification in the estimation and to the country considered. There are, however some results that are fairly robust. For example, in both Nepal and Pakistan, inequality has a strong U shaped impact on both child labour participation rates and child labour hours, thus, pointing to high inequality as a significant cause of child labour. In contrast, household poverty has only a weak link with child labour, though it seems to be more important in the context of child schooling. The current school attendance by a child has a large, negative impact on her labour hours, thus, pointing to compulsory schooling as an effective instrument in reducing child labour. Other potentially useful instruments include adult education levels, improvements in the schooling infrastructure, and the provision of amenities such as water and electricity in the villages.
Comparison of costs and referral rates of 3 universal newborn hearing screening protocols.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the costs and referral rates of 3 universal newborn hearing screening programs: transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAE), automated auditory brainstem response (AABR), and a combination, two-step protocol in which TEOAE and AABR are used. STUDY DESIGN Clinical outcomes (referral rates) from 12,081 newborns at 5 sites were obtained by retrospective analysis. Prospective activity-based costing techniques (n = 1056) in conjunction with cost assumptions were used to analyze the costs based on an assumed annual birth rate of 1500 births. RESULTS Referral rates differed significantly among the 3 screening protocols (AABR, 3.21%; two-step, 4.67%; TEOAE, 6.49%; P <.01), with AABR achieving the best referral rate at discharge. Although AABR had the lowest referral rate at discharge and the highest pre-discharge costs, the total pre- and post-discharge costs per infant screened (AABR, $32.81; two-step, $33.05; TEOAE, $28.69) and costs per identified child (AABR, $16,405; two-step, $16,527; TEOAE, $14,347) were similar among programs. CONCLUSION Although AABR incurs higher costs during pre-discharge screening, it has lower referral rates than either the TEOAE or two-step program. As a result, the total costs of newborn hearing screening and diagnosis are similar among the 3 methods studied.
Impact of photovoltaic power fluctuations by moving clouds on network voltage: A case study of an urban network

The introduction of renewable energy is becoming more popular within modern society. Large companies and institutions have started to take actions to reduce their carbon footprints. In this paper, an organization is going to place 720kWp photovoltaic (PV) panels into an urban network. The PV system will be installed on the top of two buildings which are in a close proximity. If this area is affected by clouds, there will be considerable PV power fluctuations within a short period of time. These power fluctuations will not be related to system frequency as it is insignificant compared with bulk power delivered in the whole power system, but they may have a noticeable effect on grid voltage in a distribution network with a high R/X ratio. Therefore, a study needs to be conducted before PV installation. The real-life network for the PV integration has been constructed, and its metering records are used to examine the impacts on voltage rise and drop caused by PV power swing.
Localization of Aldosterone-Producing Adrenocortical Adenomas: Significance of Adrenal Venous Sampling

Accurate localization of aldosterone-producing adenoma (APA) is essential for the treatment of primary aldosteronism (PA). In order to confirm the clinical usefulness of adrenal venous sampling (AVS), we retrospectively studied 87 cases of PA in whom AVS was conducted. We collected right and left adrenal venous effluents simultaneously before and after adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) stimulation for measurements of aldosterone concentration (A) and cortisol concentration (C). Based on AVS results, we judged 66 cases as having unilateral aldosterone hypersecretion and the remaining 21 cases as having no apparent laterality. Of the above 66 subjects, 61 underwent laparoscopic removal of the adrenal gland through a retroperitoneal approach. The presence of APA was histopathologically confirmed, and blood pressure decreased significantly with normalization of plasma aldosterone concentration (PAC) in all cases. The receiver operator characteristics (ROC) curve analysis between the operated and no–apparent-laterality groups revealed that the ratio of A/C on the higher side to A/C on the lower side (A/C ratio) after ACTH stimulation is a useful index, with a cutoff value of 2.6, a sensitivity of 0.98 and a specificity of 1.0. The ROC curve analysis between the APA side and contralateral side within the operated patients revealed that the cutoff value of A was 1,340 ng/dL, with a sensitivity of 0.92 and a specificity of 1.00. Our results indicate the usefulness of simultaneous AVS and ACTH stimulation for localizing APA.
Evaluating warfarin management by pharmacists in a community teaching hospital.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to evaluate warfarin management by pharmacists compared with physicians through an inpatient anticoagulation management service (AMS). DESIGN Retrospective cohort study. SETTING Community teaching hospital. PATIENTS, PARTICIPANTS Patients were randomly selected from the Inpatient AMS from January 1, 2009 to January 1, 2011. Patients were included if they were 18 of age years or older and received warfarin for at least three days and excluded for indefinite warfarin discontinuation or an indication following orthopedic surgery. A total of 179 patients were included in each group. INTERVENTIONS The electronic medical record was reviewed for demographics, warfarin indication and goal range, international normalized ratios (INRs), albumin, drug-drug interactions, bleeding, and thrombotic rates. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Primary endpoints included mean time to therapeutic INR, mean time within goal, frequency of supratherapeutic INRs, bleeding, thrombotic rates, and mean INR on discharge. RESULTS There was no statistically significant difference in the time required to reach a therapeutic INR; 3.17 vs. 2.65 days (95% confidence interval -0.09-1.13; P = 0.093). However, the pharmacist group resulted in a lower frequency of supratherapeutic INRs and significantly more time within goal range. CONCLUSION Similar results were observed for pharmacist-managed and physician-managed patients for INR monitoring and outcome rates. However, the pharmacist-managed patients demonstrated a lower incidence of supratherapeutic INRs and significantly more time within goal.
Magnetic Field Amplification and Flat Spectrum Radio Quasars

Helmholtz Alliance for Astroparticle Physics. Initiative and Networking Fund of the Helmholtz Association. NASA through Fermi Guest Investigator Grant no. NNX12AP20G, and by the LANL/LDRD programme and by DoE/Office of Fusion Energy Science through CMSO. NASA grant NNX12AE43G. South African Research Chair Initiative of the National Research Foundation and the Department of Science and Technology of South Africa
Listeria monocytogenes peritonitis: presentation, clinical features, treatment, and outcome

Abstract Backround. Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) is a serious complication in cirrhotic patients. Gram (–) (E. coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae), and Gram (+) (Streptococci, Staphylococci) bacteria are most frequently cultured from patients'ascites. Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) is scarcely reported as a causative agent. Objective. Our objective is to describe Lm peritonitis as a clinical entity, including its presentation, clinical features, treatment, and the potential factors that might affect survival outcome. Material and methods. Data sources: MEDLINE, Scholar.Google, Scopus databases, including English, Spanish, French, and German language papers published between 1966 and June 2011, and reference lists. Data extraction: investigators abstracted details about medical history, disease presentation, laboratory data, treatment and outcome. Data synthesis: One-hundred and twenty-eight cases with known survival outcome – eighty-six cirrhotics, seventeen individuals undergoing continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis and another twenty-five with other or no underline condition were reviewed. An additional number of twenty-five cases with unknown outcome were searched in Listeria studies published from 1990 to 2009 and were only used for calculating worldwide distribution. Conclusion. Cirrhotics, mostly alcoholics, presented with fever and abdominal pain. Those who succumbed had significantly higher peripheral WBC count (15622 vs. 8155 cells/mm3, p = 0.01) and (%) polymorphonuclear cells in differential count (83.3 vs. 71%, p = 0.001). Higher mortality was experienced in those with comorbidities, and those who presented with encephalopathy. Lower mortality was experienced in patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis. Ascites was neutrocytic in 86% of the samples. In the sum of the cases mortality was 27.3%, with significantly highest rates in the elderly, in patients with bacteremia, immunosuppression, hematological malignancies, and lowest rates in those who presented with abdominal pain and in diabetics (type I or II). The latter observation was surprising and could be considered a single fortuitous fact. Initial appropriate treatment was associated with significantly better outcome (p = 0.002) than inappropriate; combination therapy with an aminoglycoside was superior to monotherapy (p = 0.038).
STRESS RESPONSE DYNAMICS IN ACTH AND FORMALIN TREATED CHICKENS

MONEVA, P., S. POPOVA-RALCHEVA, D. GUDEV, V. SREDKOVA and I. YANCHEV, 2008. Stress response dynamics in ACTH and formalin treated chickens. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 14: 598-605 This study was conducted with fifteen chickens (White Plymouth rock - pure initial line from the National Genetic Resource) at the age of seven weeks which were randomly allocated into three groups: I experimental group- injected (i.m.) with 1-24 ACTH (Synacthen Depot). , 8 µg. kg -1 B.W. ; II experimental group- injected with 0.5 ml formalin (15% formaldehyde); III group (control) - injected with 0.5 ml 0.9% NaCl. They were raised in cages (5 chicks per cage). The chickens were injected at 9h a.m after 2 h period of fasting. Blood samples were obtained by venipuncture of wing vein at 1h, 3h, 5h and 24h after the injection. The objective of this study was to establish: 1). Is ACTH the main secretagogue of the adrenal glands in chickens and 2). The effect of formalin on adrenal glands in chickens. Plama corticosterone (CS) level increased 7-fold in ACTH-treated birds (P 0.05) at 5h following the injection. Hematocrit (at 1h) and erythrocyte numbers (at 3h) following the injection were elevated (P 0.05) in ACTH treated birds. ACTH did not cause any significant elevation in Il-1α concentration in both groups. However, Interleukin-1α level in the formalin treated chickens tended to be higher at 1h (P>0.05) and was significantly lower at 24 following the injection. Plasma cholesterol levels increased significantly at 1h and returned to baseline levels at 3h after the injection of ACTH. Formalin treatment caused insignificant decline of cholesterol levels at 3h and 5h after the injection. Urea levels were significantly elevated in ACTH treated chickens at 1h (P<0.01), 3h (P<0.01) and 5h (P<0.05) and in formalin treated chickens at 24h following the injection. Plasma glucose levels were significantly elevated both in ACTH (P<0.001) and formalin (P<0.001) treated chickens throughout the experimental period. In conclusion: Adrenal responsiveness to ACTH and the negative feedback in chickens is similar to that in mammals. Formalin is less potent stimulator of adrenal glands than ACTH and exerts a definite effect on leukocyte numbers and Il1α level.
Swanson versus Apl Arthroplasty in the Treatment of Osteoarthritis of the Trapeziometacarpal Joint: a Prospective and Randomized Study in 26 Patients

Twenty-six patients were operated because of osteo-arthritis of the trapeziometacarpal joint. After excision of the trapezium, they were randomized to receive either a Swanson silicone trapezium implant or a tendon interposition arthroplasty using a strip of the abductor pollicis longus tendon (APL). No infection or clinical silicone synovitis occurred and no major radiographic cyst formation was found. Two endoprostheses dislocated early. All 13 patients in the Swanson group and 11 of the 13 in the APL group were subjectively satisfied at 2–5 year (mean, 43 months) follow-up. All patients were free of pain at rest and at light work, but half of the patients in each group still experienced pain with heavy work. Thumb pinch strength and range of motion were not significantly different in the two groups. The trapezial space decreased both with load and length of follow-up in both groups. Five endoprostheses subluxed during stressed pinch. In conclusion, both methods gave good, but not complete, pain relief and neither produced better results than the other in the short term.
Significance of the TMPRSS2:ERG gene fusion in prostate cancer

Until recently, gene rearrangements, e.g. the Philadelphia chromosome, were thought to be most prevalent in haematological cancers, such as leukaemia. However, in 2005, most prostate cancers (up to 70%) were found to have fusion of the androgen-responsive genes transmembrane protease, serine 2 (TMPRSS2) and oestrogen-regulated gene (ERG), both on chromosome 21. Soon thereafter, other members of erythroblast transformation-specific (ETS) variant gene (ETV) family were found to have gene fusions, although at much lower frequencies, including ETV1 (chromosome 7), ETV4 (chromosome 17), ETV5 (chromosome 3), and ETS domain-containing protein gene (ELK4, chromosome 1) [1].
Toward functional analysis of protein interactome using “in vitro virus”: In silico analyses of Fos/Jun interactors

Our high-throughput in vitro virus (IVV) method for selection of protein–protein interactions (PPI) and complexes, based on a simple cell-free co-translation and selection followed by computational sequence data analysis, was previously used to identify 31 Fos and Jun interactors. Here, in silico analyses of biological function, localization and phenotype of these AP-1 (Fos/Jun) interactors were performed. The results suggest that Fos and Jun do not necessarily work together, but also interact separately with novel interactors, including products of disease-related genes. Fos showed transcription-related activities, while Jun interacted with motor-related and structural proteins. The reliability of the IVV selection for the Fos interactors was further confirmed by means of in vitro reciprocal prey and bait protein experiments and co-immunoprecipitation. Further study of these novel interactors may provide clues to new pathways or mechanisms of biological functions and diseases.
High resolution sea clutter and maritime target data: Experimental performance of distributed target coherent detectors

High resolution Ka-band radar data corresponding to small maritime targets and target-free sea-clutter acquisitions are used to evaluate the experimental performance of range distributed target coherent detectors. The statistical analysis of the sub-meter range resolution clutter data shows strong fluctuations of both the spectral shape and power between adjacent range cells. The assessment of the impact of this highly heterogeneous disturbance in the CFAR behavior of distributed target detectors is a key aim of this work. Additionally, the availability of coherent target data at a range resolution of 0.08m, 0.16m and 0.8m has been exploited to analyze the detection performance of both subspace and rank one detection approaches.
Fos expression in hypocretinergic neurons in C57B1/6 male and female mice after long-term consumption of high fat diet.

OBJECTIVE It is generally known that hypocretin (Hcrt) neurons in lateral hypothalamus (LH) are involved in feeding behaviour. The aim of this study was to reveal the activity response of Hcrt neurons, as measured by Fos protein incidence, to prolonged high fat (HF) diet in the LH of both genders of C57B1/6 mice. METHODS Standard (St) and high fat (HF) diets were available to mice for 16 weeks and thereafter the animals were perfused transcardially with fixative. Then the brains were removed, soaked with 15 % sucrose in 0.1 M phosphate buffer (PB), and cryo-sectioned throughout the hypothalamus into 35 microm thick coronal sections. Fos/Hcrt co-localizations were processed by employing avidin-biotin-peroxidase (ABC) complex and diaminobenzidine chromogen for Hcrt labeling. Fos immunoproduct was intensified by nickel chloride as a black color inducer. Evaluation of the incidence of Fos/Hcrt co-labeled perikarya was performed using a computerized Leica light microscopy. RESULTS The effect of of mice gender, applied diet, and gender plus applied diet on the activation of Hcrt neurons was found. Turkey s test revealed significant (p<0.05) rise in Fos labeled Hcrt neurons in male vs. female mice after consumption of both types of diets: St (44.64 +/- 2.28 % vs. 1.47 +/- 0.195 %, resp.) and HF (44.15 +/- 3.77 % vs. 24.32 +/- 0.7 %, resp.). This showed that HF diet significantly elevated the number of activated Hcrt neurons only in female mice (24.32 +/- 0.7 % in HF fed vs. 1.47 +/- 0.195 % in St fed, p<0.05). The body weight and accumulation of body fat in animals (body fat weight expressed as % of body weight) were influenced by gender and applied diet, although the body fat weight was influenced by HF diet (more noticeably in females). CONCLUSION The data indicated a positive correlation between body weight, fat gain, and Hcrt activities in females but not in males, thus accentuating the importance of the gender impact.
I. WACZULÍKOVÁ, A. ZIEGELHÖFFER*, Z. ORSZÁGHOVÁ, J. ÈÁRSKY FLUIDISING EFFECT OF RESORCYLIDENE AMINOGUANIDINE ON SARCOLEMMAL MEMBRANES IN STREPTOZOTOCIN-DIABETIC RATS: BLUNTED ADAPTATION OF DIABETIC MYOCARDIUM TO Ca OVERLOAD

The remodelling of cardiac sarcolemma in diabetes is believed to underlie the reduced sensitivity of diabetic hearts due to their overload with extracellular calcium. Along with a non-enzymatic glycosylation and the free radical-derived glycoxidation of sarcolemmal proteins there is ongoing reduction in cardiomyocyte membrane fluidity, the modulator of cardiac sarcolemmal functioning. Aminoguanidine derivatives, that inhibit glycation and glycoxidation, might suppress myocardium remodelling occurring in diabetic heart. To verify this hypothesis, we studied physical parameters of cardiac sarcolemma from the streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats (45 mg.kg i.m.) treated with resorcylidene aminoguanidine (RAG, 4 or 8 mg.kg i.m.). The treatment with RAG not only completely abolished protein glycation and a generation of free oxygen species (p<0.001) in treated diabetic animals, but also considerably attenuated the decrease in sarcolemmal membrane fluidity (p<0.001). In diabetic animals the normalization of the sarcolemmal membrane fluidity was accompanied by the vastly increased susceptibility of diabetic hearts to be overload with external calcium. We concluded that the decreased fluidity of the sarcolemmal membrane, apparently linked to the excessive glycation of sarcolemmal membrane proteins, might be intimately connected with the adaptation mechanism(s) that are likely to develop in diabetic heart to protect it against the overload with external calcium.
Determinants of the stability of transcription elongation complexes: interactions of the nascent RNA with the DNA template and the RNA polymerase.

We use a synthetic "primed bubble-duplex" model elongation complex developed previously to examine certain structural and thermodynamic features of the transcription elongation complex of Escherichia coli. The nucleic acid framework of this model complex consists of a linear base-paired DNA molecule with a central "bubble" of non-complementary nucleotide residues, together with a single-stranded RNA molecule that is complementary (at its 3'-end) to three to 12 nucleotide residues of one of the DNA strands within the bubble. RNA polymerase is added to this framework in trans, and on addition of rNTPs the resulting complex can elongate the 3'-end of the RNA primer in a template-dependent manner with functional properties that are indistinguishable from those of a "natural" promoter-initiated transcription elongation complex operating under the same conditions. In this study we use this model system to show that the formation of a stable elongation complex at any particular template position can be treated as an equilibrium process, and that semi-quantitative dissociation constants can be estimated for the complex by using a gel band-shift assay to monitor the binding of the RNA oligomer to the complex. We then show that the formation of a stable complex depends on the presence of a complementary RNA-DNA hybrid that is at least 9 bp in length, and in addition that several nucleotide residues of non-complementary RNA located upstream of the RNA-DNA hybrid bind strongly to the putative single-stranded RNA binding site of the polymerase and significantly enhance the stability of the resulting elongation complex. Finally, we demonstrate that the measured stabilities of the model constructs in which the length of the RNA-DNA hybrid is varied correlate well with the transcriptional processivity of the functioning complex that results when rNTPs are added. These findings are discussed in the context of related studies of both model systems and natural elongation complexes. The general concepts that emerge are used to define some central structural and functional features of the transcription complex.