Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Low rates of preventive practices in patients with peripheral vascular disease.

BACKGROUND Patients with peripheral vascular disease (PVD) have a three-fold increased risk of myocardial infarction, stroke and death. Recently, a number of therapies have been demonstrated to prevent morbidity or mortality in patients with PVD or other arterial disease. Given the scarcity of data on the preventive practice patterns of this high risk patient group, the in-hospital management of patients admitted to hospital for a peripheral vascular intervention was reviewed. PATIENTS AND METHODS Charts of 195 patients with a diagnosis of peripheral arteriosclerotic disease (International Classification of Diseases, 9th revision, code 440.2) who were hospitalized at a tertiary care hospital in Ontario between June 1996 and June 1998 were reviewed. RESULTS The average age of patients admitted was 70.6 years, and 39% of patients were women. The main reason for admission was peripheral artery bypass graft surgery in 88% (172 of 195). Fifty-four per cent (106 of 195) of patients had clinically apparent coronary or cerebrovascular disease, and 92% (180 of 195) of patients had at least one cardiovascular disease risk factor. Fewer than half of all patients (49%) were discharged on any antithrombotic therapy (antiplatelet agent or anticoagulant), and a small proportion of patients were treated with a beta-blocker (20%) and cholesterol-lowering medications (16%). CONCLUSIONS The leading cause of morbidity and mortality in PVD patients is coronary and cerebrovascular disease. Despite this, the use of proven antithrombotic agents and other cardiac medications is suboptimal. Health professionals need to be aware of the high risk nature of the PVD population and to develop strategies to ensure that patient care is optimized.
Defects in gliding motility in mutants of Cytophaga johnsonae lacking a high-molecular-weight cell surface polysaccharide

We previously observed (W. Godchaux, L. Gorski, and E.R. Leadbetter, J. Bacteriol. 172:1250-1255, 1990) that two mutants (strains 21 and NS-1) of the gliding bacterium Cytophaga johnsonae that were totally deficient in motility-dependent colony spreading, movement of rafts (groups) of cells as observed with a microscope, and movement of polystyrene-latex spheres that attached to the cell surface (observed in wet mounts) were also deficient in a high-molecular-weight cell surface polysaccharide (HMPS) and suggested a role for that substance in gliding motility. Antisera have been prepared against the purified HMPS, and these were used to select mutants specifically and highly deficient in the polysaccharide. All five such mutants had rates of colony spreading and raft movement that were much lower than those of the parent strain, but the rate of increase in colony diameter was higher than that found for strains NS-1 and 21 (which do not undergo raft movement at all). Unlike these latter two strains, the HMPS mutants retained the ability to move polystyrene-latex spheres over their surfaces. Hence, HMPS deficiency results in defective motility but not nonmotility, and the HMPS deficiency cannot fully explain the phenotype of mutants 21 and NS-1; in these strains, gliding must be affected by additional biochemical lesions. The HMPS may, nonetheless, be advantageous in that it supports greater gliding speeds.
Comparing adult hippocampal neurogenesis in mammalian species and orders: influence of chronological age and life history stage

Adult hippocampal neurogenesis is a prominent event in rodents. In species with longer life expectancies, newly born cells in the adult dentate gyrus of the hippocampal formation are less abundant or can be completely absent. Several lines of evidence indicate that the regulatory mechanisms of adult neurogenesis differ between short‐ and long‐lived mammals. After a critical appraisal of the factors and problems associated with comparing different species, we provide a quantitative comparison derived from seven laboratory strains of mice (BALB, C57BL/6, CD1, outbred) and rats (F344, Sprague‐Dawley, Wistar), six other rodent species of which four are wild‐derived (wood mouse, vole, spiny mouse and guinea pig), three non‐human primate species (marmoset and two macaque species) and one carnivore (red fox). Normalizing the number of proliferating cells to total granule cell number, we observe an overall exponential decline in proliferation that is chronologically equal between species and orders and independent of early developmental processes and life span. Long‐ and short‐lived mammals differ with regard to major life history stages; at the time points of weaning, age at first reproduction and average life expectancy, long‐lived primates and foxes have significantly fewer proliferating cells than rodents. Although the database for neuronal differentiation is limited, we find indications that the extent of neuronal differentiation is subject to species‐specific selective adaptations. We conclude that absolute age is the critical factor regulating cell genesis in the adult hippocampus of mammals. Ontogenetic and ecological factors primarily influence the regulation of neuronal differentiation rather than the rate of cell proliferation.
"What's in the black box?".

Visitors work individually or together to pull on the ropes and see some surprising results. Using their observations, creativity and collaboration, visitors can sketch a model of what is happening inside. As they review other models they realize that there is more than one valid explanation of what is happening inside the tube. This is a critical “AHA” moment for learners of all ages as they realize that different models can explain the same phenomena.
The effects of body composition on the pharmacokinetics of subcutaneously injected ivermectin and moxidectin in pigs.

Macrocyclic lactones are characterized by their long persistence in animals because of their extensive distribution into fat. This study examined the influence of body condition on the disposition of ivermectin (IVM) and moxidectin (MXD) in blood and fat following subcutaneous (s.c.) drug administration. 'Fat' and 'thin' lines of pigs were established using two different diets. All animals were then injected with either MXD or IVM at 300 microg/kg and blood samples were taken at regular intervals until slaughter. Two IVM-treated animals from each diet group were slaughtered at either 3 days or 3 weeks posttreatment. Two MXD-treated animals from each diet group were slaughtered at 3 days, 3, 6 or 9 weeks after treatment. Samples of backfat were taken from all animals at slaughter. Fluorescence HPLC was used to determine the concentrations of MXD or IVM in the plasma and fat samples. The plasma IVM concentration peaked more rapidly in the thin IVM treated pigs compared with the fat pigs. The concentration of IVM in backfat was significantly lower in the thin animals slaughtered 3 weeks after treatment. The MXD plasma concentration peaked within the first hour in both the thin and fat groups, but from 12 h posttreatment there was a higher MXD concentration in the plasma of the fat pigs resulting in MXD being detectable in these pigs for 28 days compared with only 17 days in the thin pigs. Despite this difference in plasma persistence no differences were seen in the MXD concentration of backfat between fat and thin animals. Body condition influenced the kinetic disposition of IVM and MXD following s.c. drug administration with both drugs being less persistent in thin compared with fat animals.
Mercury Exposure in Ireland: Results of the DEMOCOPHES Human Biomonitoring Study

Background: Monitoring of human exposure to mercury is important due to its adverse health effects. This study aimed to determine the extent of mercury exposure among mothers and their children in Ireland, and to identify factors associated with elevated levels. It formed part of the Demonstration of a study to Coordinate and Perform Human Biomonitoring on a European Scale (DEMOCOPHES) pilot biomonitoring study. Methods: Hair mercury concentrations were determined from a convenience sample of 120 mother/child pairs. Mothers also completed a questionnaire. Rigorous quality assurance within DEMOCOPHES guaranteed the accuracy and international comparability of results. Results: Mercury was detected in 79.2% of the samples from mothers, and 62.5% of children’s samples. Arithmetic mean levels in mothers (0.262 µg/g hair) and children (0.149 µg /g hair) did not exceed the US EPA guidance value. Levels were significantly higher for those with higher education, and those who consumed more fish. Conclusions: The study demonstrates the benefit of human biomonitoring for assessing and comparing internal exposure levels, both on a population and an individual basis. It enables the potential harmful impact of mercury to be minimised in those highly exposed, and can therefore significantly contribute to population health.
Evaluation of CD4+CD25+/−CD39+ T‐cell populations in peripheral blood of patients following kidney transplantation and during acute allograft rejection

Regulatory T cells (Treg) are important in mediating immune tolerance and outcomes of allotransplantation. CD4+CD25+CD39+ co‐expression identifies memory Treg; CD4+CD25−CD39+ memory T effectors. We sought to determine CD4+CD25+/−CD39+ expression from the peripheral blood of patients with end stage renal failure, following transplantation and during episodes of acute cellular rejection.
Automatic classification of medical X-ray images: hybrid generative-discriminative approach

A new approach is presented to improve the classification performance of medical X-ray images based on the combination of generative and discriminative classification approach. A set of labelled X-ray images were given from 116 categories of different parts of body and the aim is to construct a classification model. This model was then used to classify any new X-ray images into one of the predefined categories. The classification task started with extracting local invariant features from all images. A generative model such as probabilistic latent semantic analysis (PLSA) was applied on extracted features in order to provide more stable representation of the images. Subsequently, this representation was used as input to a discriminative support vector machine classifier to construct a classification model. The experimental results were based on ImageCLEF 2007 medical database. The classification performance was evaluated on the entire dataset as well as the class specific level. It was also compared with other classification techniques with various image representations on the same database. The comparison results showed that superior performance has been achieved especially for classes with less number of training images. Thus, only 7 out of 116 classes were left with accuracy rate below 60% as it differs from the results obtained using other classification approaches. This was attained by exploiting the ability of PLSA to generate a better image representation, discriminative for accurate classification and more robust when less training data are available. The total classification rate obtained on the entire dataset is 92.5%.
Involvement of the cysteine-rich head domain in activation and desensitization of the P2X1 receptor

P2X receptors (P2XRs) are ligand-gated ion channels activated by extracellular ATP. Although the crystal structure of the zebrafish P2X4R has been solved, the exact mode of ATP binding and the conformational changes governing channel opening and desensitization remain unknown. Here, we used voltage clamp fluorometry to investigate movements in the cysteine-rich head domain of the rat P2X1R (A118-I125) that projects over the proposed ATP binding site. On substitution with cysteine residues, six of these residues (N120–I125) were specifically labeled by tetramethyl-rhodamine-maleimide and showed significant changes in the emission of the fluorescence probe on application of the agonists ATP and benzoyl-benzoyl-ATP. Mutants N120C and G123C showed fast fluorescence decreases with similar kinetics as the current increases. In contrast, mutants P121C and I125C showed slow fluorescence increases that seemed to correlate with the current decline during desensitization. Mutant E122C showed a slow fluorescence increase and fast decrease with ATP and benzoyl-benzoyl-ATP, respectively. Application of the competitive antagonist 2′,3′-O-(2,4,6-trinitrophenyl)-ATP (TNP-ATP) resulted in large fluorescence changes with the N120C, E122C, and G123C mutants and minor or no changes with the other mutants. Likewise, TNP-ATP–induced changes in control mutants distant from the proposed ATP binding site were comparably small or absent. Combined with molecular modeling studies, our data confirm the proposed ATP binding site and provide evidence that ATP orients in its binding site with the ribose moiety facing the solution. We also conclude that P2XR activation and desensitization involve movements of the cysteine-rich head domain.
Sparse models for gender classification

A class of sparse regularization functions is considered for the developing sparse classifiers for determining facial gender. The sparse classification method aims to both select the most important features and maximize the classification margin, in a manner similar to support vector machines. An efficient process for directly calculating the complete set of optimal, sparse classifiers is developed. A single classification hyper-plane, which maximizes posterior probability of describing training data, is then efficiently selected. The classifier is tested on a Japanese gender-divided ensemble, described via a collection of appearance models. Performance is comparable with a linear SVM, and allows effective manipulation of apparent gender.
Lack of Recurrence of Hyperlactatemia in HIV-Infected Patients Switched From Stavudine to Abacavir or Zidovudine

Summary:Stavudine (d4T) has been observed in clinical trials and cohort studies to be more often implicated in cases of hyperlactatemia than other nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, possibly because of its relatively greater propensity to induce mitochondrial toxicity. The ESS40010 study was a 48-week, open-label, switch study that assessed changes in serum lactate levels and signs/symptoms of hyperlactatemia after substitution of abacavir (n = 86) or zidovudine (n = 32) for d4T in 118 virologically suppressed HIV-infected patients (HIV-1 RNA <400 copies/mL) who had developed serum lactate concentrations ≥2.2 mmol/L (n = 16) or had remained normolactatemic (n = 102) after receiving ≥6 months of d4T-based treatment. Median serum lactate decreased significantly below baseline at week 24 (−0.15 mmol/L, P = 0.0002) and week 48 (−0.15 mmol/L, P = 0.0015). In 10 hyperlactatemic patients in whom d4T was discontinued, serum HIV-1 RNA levels rebounded over the ensuing 31 days, but virologic suppression (HIV-1 RNA <400 copies/mL) was regained when treatment using abacavir or zidovudine was subsequently instituted. In the group with elevated lactate at baseline, symptoms of hyperlactatemia improved in 8% to 23% of patients, did not change in 69%, and worsened in 8%. Serum transaminases, which had been elevated while patients received d4T, normalized after d4T discontinuation and remained in the normal range after the switch to abacavir or zidovudine. Overall, in patients with d4T-associated hyperlactatemia, stopping d4T results in normalization of lactate and a rebound in viral load; restarting treatment using abacavir or zidovudine subsequently maintains normal lactate levels and rapidly leads to a return of virologic suppression.
Evaluation of Binary Descriptors for Fast and Fully Automatic Identification

In this study we evaluate the potential of local binary descriptors for automatic sorting in an industrial context. This problem is different from that of retrieval for human handling as we need to identify the one correct class, rather than finding all the similar classes. We have looked at classes of objects that need to be identified by their cover or label, rather than their shape. Challenges for this application are that the process needs to be very fast and the approach must be able to distinguish between a large number of classes, where the classes can be quite similar and have identical elements. We have studied various combinations of detectors and binary descriptors in combination with approximate nearest neighbor (ANN) searches in such contexts. Our conclusion is that these approaches are well suited for this type of automatic sorting, and our experiments show that for the best performing combinations we are able to obtain a 99% recognition rate on a database of 80,000 images using an average of less than 0.5 seconds per image.
Organization and expression of rat Tspy

We have isolated both a full-length rat Tspy cDNA from testicular mRNA by rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) and RT-PCR and a full-length rat Tspy gene from genomic DNA by PCR. In contrast to the mouse, where Tspy is present in a single copy and is apparently functionless, and to man and cattle, where TSPY is organized in a moderately repetitive cluster, the rat Tspy locus apparently consists of one complete functional and one truncated, probably nonfunctional, copy, coherently localized on Yp, as revealed by FISH analysis.
A Comparison of the in vitro Cytotoxicity of Two Glass-ionomer Cements

The in vitro cytotoxicity of two glass-ionomer cements - ASPA and ChemBond - was compared using a model cavity system which simulates the in vivo situation. Both materials were cytotoxic to fibroblasts and macrophages, although differences were observed in the time scale and magnitude of the response elicited.
Transient and Static Hybrid-Triggered Active Clamp Design for Power-Rail ESD Protection

A transient and static hybrid-triggered active clamp is proposed in this paper. By skillfully incorporating different detection mechanisms, the proposed clamp achieves enhanced static electrical overstress protection capability over the transient one. Furthermore, the proposed clamp achieves improved electrostatic discharge reaction speed in both human body model and charged device model events over the static one. Moreover, the superior transient-noise immunity of the proposed clamp over traditional transient ones is essentially revealed in this paper. The proposed clamp is successfully verified in a 65-nm bulk CMOS process. In addition, the design flexibility of the proposed clamp for other processes is also deeply discussed in this paper.
Cultural differences in child delivery: comparisons between Jewish and Arab women in Israel.

OBJECTIVE To compare Jewish and Arab women characteristics regarding pregnancy follow-up, compliance to a health regime and behavioural expressions during labour, delivery and the post-partum period. DESIGN The participants answered a 45-item questionnaire designed for the current research. SETTING The first three post-partum days in the delivery ward at one of the biggest hospitals in Israel. PARTICIPANTS A total of 126 Jewish and Arab-Muslim parturients. RESULTS Significant differences were found (P < 0.01) concerning pregnancy follow-up attendance and participation in a prenatal course, which were lower among Arab women. Several differences were found regarding delivery room attendance, type and number of companions, and behavioural expressions of pain, which were demonstrated more among Arab women. Epidural anaesthesia was highly prevalent among Jewish women, in comparison with the Arab women. While all Arab women decided to breastfeed their babies, only 71% of Jewish women expressed a wish to breastfeed. No significant differences were found between weight gains during pregnancy, reasons for delivery room attendance, number of pregnancy weeks prior to delivery and newborn weight. CONCLUSIONS Cultural differences exist between Jewish and Arab women attending delivery rooms in Israel. Understanding these cultural differences may assist caregivers in providing culturally sensitive treatment that is suited to the parturients' needs.
«Voler» + infinitive in Catalan: From the imminence aspectual periphrasis to the epistemic and evidential marker (from the 13th century to the present day)

Today’s Catalan knows the phrases vol ploure and vol caure , literally ‘[ it ] wants to rain’ and ‘[ it ] wants to fall,’ with the meaning of ‘showing signs that [something] has to [happen]’ ( DDLC , s.v. voler ). Such structures are only a remainder from the imminence aspectual periphrasis voler + infinitive, present in old and modern Catalan, as well as in other Romance languages, at least in medieval times (such as Occitan, Franco-Provencal, French or Italian). Our aim in this study is trying to describe and explain the constructionalization process (following Traugott 2012 and Traugott & Trousdale 2013) whereby this structure, saturated with the infinitives ploure or caure , will assume an epistemic/evidential value ever since the Modern Era (17th and 18th centuries) which is the one known by the current language. From Classical Latin and up to present-day Catalan, the periphrasis will thus describe a trend Wish > Intention > Imminence > Epistemicity/Evidentiality.
Brilliant Cresyl Blue stain selects largest oocytes with highest mitochondrial activity, maturation-promoting factor activity and embryo developmental competence in prepubertal sheep.

The aim of this study was to test the Brilliant Cresyl Blue (BCB) stain to select prepubertal sheep oocytes for in vitro blastocyst production. Oocyte diameter, mitochondrial activity, maturation-promoting factor (MPF) activity and mRNA relative expression (RE) of genes related to metabolism (ATPase Na(+)/K(+) transporting α 1 (ATP1A1) and cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COX1)) and constitutive function of the cell (cytoplasmic polyadenylation-element-binding protein (CPEB) and S100A10) were assessed. Immature oocytes were exposed to different BCB concentrations (13, 26, 39 and 52 μM) and classified according to their cytoplasm colouration as grown BCB+ (blue cytoplasm) and growing BCB- (colourless cytoplasm). Staining oocytes with 13 μM BCB during 60 min allows selection of (BCB+) the largest (123.66 μm) and most competent oocytes to develop to the blastocyst stage (21%) with a higher number of cells (69.71 ± 6.19 s.e.m.) compared with non-stained BCB- oocytes (106.82 μm, 9% and 45.91 ± 3.35 s.e.m. respectively). Mitochondrial activity, assessed by MitoTracker Orange CMTMRos probe, was significantly higher in BCB+ than in BCB- oocytes after in vitro maturation (3369 and 1565 AU respectively). MPF activity was assessed by CDC2 kinase activity assay showing significantly higher activity at metaphase II stage in BCB+ than in BCB- oocytes (1.479 ± 0.09 and 1.184 ± 0.05 optical density respectively). The genes analysed in this work, ATP1A1, COX1, CPEB and S100A 10, did not show significant effect in mRNA RE between BCB selected oocytes. In conclusion, BCB stains larger and more competent oocytes to develop to the blastocyst stage with more active mitochondria and MPF activity and higher blastocyst cell number.
Biogenic Amines in Drosophila virilis under Stress Conditions

The effect of heat stress (38°C) on the content of DL-β-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)alanine (DOPA), dopamine, tyramine, octopamine, and their precursor Tyr was studied in adults of two lines of Drosophila virilis contrasting in their stress response. In individuals of line 101 responding to stress by a hormonal stress reaction, the contents of DOPA, dopamine, octopamine, and Tyr were lower than those of line 147 that did not respond to the stress. However, heat stress caused an increase in the contents of DOPA, dopamine, octopamine, and Tyr in line 101, whereas the equivalent titers in line 147 remain unchanged.