Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prognostic significance of postoperative pneumonia after curative resection for patients with gastric cancer

Few studies have been designed to investigate the incidence of postoperative pneumonia after radical gastrectomy and its effect on prognosis of these patients. Incidences of postoperative pneumonia after radical gastrectomy in our department between January 1996 and December 2014 were summarized. Their effects on prognosis were retrospectively analyzed using survival curves and Cox regression. A total of 5237 patients were included in this study, 767 (14.4%) of them had complications, including 383 cases of postoperative pneumonia (7.2%). The 5‐year overall and disease‐specific survival of patients with postoperative pneumonia were both lower than those without this complication (P < 0.001). Stratified analysis demonstrated that this difference existed in all Stage I, II, and III patients (log‐rank, P < 0.05). Multivariate analysis revealed that age, neoadjuvant chemotherapy, tumor size, tumor stage, and postoperative pneumonia were independent risk factors for disease‐specific survival. Postoperative pneumonia after radical gastrectomy is an independent risk factor for prognosis of gastric cancer patients, especially in stage III.
Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) Neutralizing Peptides Reveal a Lipid A Binding Site of LPS Binding Protein (*)

Endotoxic shock follows a cascade of events initiated by release of lipopolysaccharide during infection with Gram-negative organisms. Two overlapping 15-mer peptides were identified, corresponding to residues 91-108 of human lipopolysaccharide binding protein that specifically bound the lipid A moiety of lipopolysaccharide with high affinity. The peptides inhibited binding of lipopolysaccharide to lipopolysaccharide binding protein, inhibited the chromogenic Limulus amebocyte lysate reaction, and blocked release of tumor necrosis factor α following lipopolysaccharide challenge both in vitro and in vivo. These results suggest lipopolysaccharide binding protein residues 91-108 form at least part of the lipopolysaccharide binding site. Moreover, derivatives of lipopolysaccharide binding protein residues 91-108 might modulate lipopolysaccharide toxicity in the clinical setting.
Lysine utilization by growing pigs: simultaneous measurement of protein accretion and lysine oxidation

Nitrogen retention and lysine oxidation were measured in growing pigs given diets which supplied 0, 0·2 or 0·8 of the lysine requirement, with other amino acids in relative excess. Eight groups of three female littermate pigs were used: one of each group was given each of the three diets. In half the pigs (four groups) N retention was measured at body weights (W) of approximately 25,35 and 45 kg. The other four littermate groups of three pigs were given the same three diets; when they reached 35 kg W they were given a continuous (6h) primed infusion of L-[6-3H]lysine. Lysine oxidation was estimated from the production of tritiated water. Rates of both N retention and lysine oxidation increased significantly with lysine intake; mean values (g/kg W0·75 per d) for the three diets respectively were for N retention, 0·00, 0·32 and 1·22, and for lysine oxidation 0·051, 0·058 and 0·078. From the N balance results (assuming a constant lysine concentration in body protein) the efficiency of utilization of absorbed lysine was estimated to be 0·85; from the oxidation results (assuming lysine absorbed but not retained is oxidized) the estimate was 0·95.
Association of metal tolerance with multidrug resistance among bacteria isolated from sewage.

Objectives: Sewage effluent from the sewage treatment plant of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, was analyzed for the presence of metal and non-metal ions and for the presence of metal tolerant and drug resistant bacteria. Methods: Plasmid mediation of metal tolerance and multiple drug resistance was demonstrated by sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) curing and direct cell transfer experiments. Results: Ions found present (in mgL -1 ) include, among others, Mercury (50.148), Lead (41.906), Sodium (907.240), and Potassium (700.00). Bacterial populations isolated from the effluent were members of the genera Enterobacter (n = 15), Escherichia (n = 18), Achromobacter (n = 18), Acinetobacter (n = 25) Klebsiella (n = 12), Pseudomonas (n = 08), Proteus (n = 20) and Serratia (n = 10). Enterobacter spp showed high percentage tolerance of 73% to Lead. Species of Acinetobacter and Pseudomonas showed, to varying degrees, across – the – board tolerance to all the individual salts. Also an across-the-board resistance of between 25 – 75% and 8.3 – 41.7% to the test drugs was exhibited by Pseudomonas and Klebsiella spp respectively. Sixty per cent each of Acinetobacter and Klebsiella spp lost both metal tolerance and drug resistance attributes simultaneously following the SDS curing protocol. Overall percentage loss of both characteristics was 57.1%. Acquisition of metal tolerance and multidrug resistance by recipients was total (100%) and so was the subsequent loss of these capabilities following SDS treatment of these recipients. Discussion: The public health hazard derivable from these findings is discussed.
Smallpox and Climate in the American Southwest

For many decades anthropologists have assumed that native populations in the American Southwest were relatively unaffected by Spanish contact and by later intrusions of Hispanic and Anglo populations. In spite of the recorded occurrence of disease in census documents, smallpox, measles, influenza, and other European-introduced crowd infections were believed to have reached the Southwest only during the last 200 years. Consequently, estimates of contact-period populations as well as reconstructions of various groups' social, political, and economic organization generated between 1900 and 1960 were thought to mirror the past rather well. A growing list of arguments suggests the above situation is factually incorrect. In this paper I focus on two important and interrelated issues relevant to this topic: ( 1 ) modeling the incidence and spread of disease using data from the quantitative epidemiological literature concerning smallpox, and (2) examining the effects of climate on the incidence and severity of epidemic smallpox. I show that there is a high probability that this disease spread to the American Southwest during the period before systematic Spanish exploration of the region (A.D. 1519-81).
The effect of valerian extract on sleep polygraphy in poor sleepers: a pilot study.

The effect of acute and repeated treatment (seven days) with a valerian extract (Valdispert forte, 405 mg t.i.d.) on objective and subjective measures of sleep was studied. Polysomnography was conducted in 14 elderly poor sleepers on three nights, at one-week intervals (N0, N1, N2). N0 was an adaptation night, N1 and N2 the first and last night under treatment. Six subjects received placebo and eight subjects valerian. Subjects in the valerian group showed an increase in slow-wave sleep (SWS) and a decrease in sleep stage 1. Density of K-complexes was increased under active treatment. There was no effect on sleep onset time or time awake after sleep onset. REM sleep was unaltered. There was also no effect on self-rated sleep quality. We hypothesize that valerian increases SWS in subjects with low baseline values.
Sources of job stress and cognitive receptivity to change: the moderating role of job embeddedness

Scholars interested in investigating individual-level concerns relevant to organisational change programmes have reported the importance of employees’ psychological processes and characteristics in understanding their reactions and attitudes towards change. The study explored the moderating role of job embeddedness in the association between experiences of sources of job stress and cognitive receptivity to change. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with a sample (N = 350) of employees undergoing change in the South African fast-moving consumer goods sector (Black African: 67%; males: 69%; 26–40 years: 67%). Correlations and hierarchical moderated regression analysis showed that the participants’ experiences of job-related sources of stress and their cognitive receptivity to change were stronger when their job embeddedness was low. The findings may potentially inform the planning of change initiatives within organisations. The results of the study emphasise the importance of considering job-related sources of stress and employees’ job embeddedness in order to gain employee support for organisational change initiatives.
Guidelines for the study of familial dilated cardiomyopathies. Collaborative Research Group of the European Human and Capital Mobility Project on Familial Dilated Cardiomyopathy.

*International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, and **Department of Cardiology, Ospedale Maggiore, Trieste, Italy; †Department of Internal Medicine & Cardiology, Hospitals of the Philipps-University, Marburg, Germany; ‡Department of Cardiological Sciences, St. George’s Hospital Medical School, London, U.K.; §Institut de Myologie, QDepartment of Cardiology, Q¶Lab. Génétique et Insuffisance Cardiaque, Association Claude Bernard, Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpétriere, Paris, France
Fast axonal transport in permeabilized lobster giant axons is inhibited by vanadate

We have developed a method for permeabilizing axons and reactivating the fast transport of microscopically visible organelles. Saltatory movements of organelles in motor axons isolated from lobster walking legs were observed using Nomarski optics and time-lapse video microscopy. In the center of the axon most of the particles and mitochondria moved in the retrograde direction, but immediately below the axolemma the majority moved in the anterograde direction. When axons were permeabilized with 0.02% saponin in an adenosine 5′- triphosphate (ATP)-free “internal” medium, all organelle movement ceased. Saltatory movements resembling those in intact axons immediately reappeared upon the addition of MgATP. Very slight movement could be detected with ATP concentrations as low as 10 microM, and movement appeared to be maximal with 1 to 5 mM ATP. Vanadate, which does not affect axonal transport in intact axons, inhibited the reactivated organelle movements in permeabilized axons. Movement was rapidly and reversibly inhibited by 50 to 100 microM sodium orthovanadate. The effects of vanadate, including the time course of inhibition, its reversibility, and its concentration dependence, are consistent with the hypothesis that a dyneinlike like molecule may play a role in the mechanism of fast axonal transport.
Asymptotic Confidence Intervals for Impulse Responses of Near-Integrated Processes

Many economic time series are charecterized by high persistence which typically requires nonstandard limit theory for inference. This paper proposes a new method for constructing confidence intervals for the impulse response functions of nearly nonstationary processes. The method is based on inverting the acceptance region of the LR statistic evaluated under a sequence of null hypotheses of possible values for the impulse response. Under the null, the LR statistic can be represented as a ratio of functionals of Ornstein-Uhlenbeck processes and its asymptotic quantiles can be simulated easily. The method is extended to multivariate processes with near-unit roots. The empirical results for the real exchange rates show some support for 3-5 year half-lives reported by Rogoff (1996).
Renal cyst pseudoenhancement: influence of multidetector CT reconstruction algorithm and scanner type in phantom model.

PURPOSE To prospectively determine the dependence of renal cyst pseudoenhancement on multidetector computed tomographic (CT) scanner type and convolution kernel in a phantom model. MATERIALS AND METHODS A customized anthropomorphic phantom was created to accept interchangeable 40-, 140-, and 240-HU renal inserts that contained stacked 0- and 50-HU cylindric cysts measuring 7, 10, and 15 mm in diameter. Each phantom and insert was scanned with five different multidetector CT scanners on five separate occasions by using 120 kVp, low and high tube current settings, 3.00-3.75-mm collimation, and standard and high-spatial-resolution kernels. A total of 2340 CT attenuation measurements were obtained by using standardized regions of interest. The effect of multidetector CT imaging regimen, tube current, cyst diameter, and renal attenuation on pseudoenhancement incidence was assessed by using generalized estimating equations based on a binary logistic regression model. Within this framework, a Bonferroni multiple comparison correction was used to assess pseudoenhancement frequency differences among imaging regimens. RESULTS Pseudoenhancement occurred in both 0- and 50-HU cysts; was significantly correlated with multidetector CT imaging regimen (P<.0001), cyst diameter (P<.0001), and renal attenuation (P<or=.032); and was independent of tube current (P>.3). When convolution kernels on specific scanners were compared, significant differences (P<.04) between kernels were identified with all five scanners in terms of observed pseudoenhancement incidence. Generational differences in equipment were noted, with pseudoenhancement incidence ranging from 1.7% to 8.3%, 1.7% to 16.7%, and 18.3% to 56.7% across relevant kernels for three scanners from one manufacturer. CONCLUSION Pseudoenhancement is strongly dependent on multidetector CT convolution kernel. Varying this parameter may mitigate this phenomenon, which is independent of volume-averaging effects.
Dried Probiotics for Use in Functional Food Applications

The increasing consumer demand for foods with health benefits has led the food industry to diversify its products. Most of the foods containing probiotic bacteria are dairy products, although there is a rapidly growing demand for incorporating probiotics in other segments of the food industry. According to Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO, 2002), probiotics are live microorganisms that, when administered in adequate amounts, confer health benefits on the host. In order to produce such health benefits, it is essential that live probiotic bacteria survive after passing through the gastrointestinal tract and reach their site of action intact. Foods containing probiotic microorganisms are expected to have a promising future, but will require the development of new technologies, specifically developed to enable their use in innovative products in a wide range of industries. The challenge for the industry is to produce large enough amounts of viable and stable probiotic cultures for use as inoculums or to be introduced directly into a dried food. Although specific numbers are not mentioned at the FAO definition, some studies demonstrated that high levels of viable microorganisms are recommended in probiotic foods for efficacy (Meng et al., 2007). However, maintaining such counts throughout preparation, processing and storage requires constant study by the scientific and industrial community. Drying process are often used as a means to stabilize probiotics and facilitate storage, handling, transportation and subsequent use in functional foods (Santivarangka et al., 2008). Drying by spray-drying and freeze-drying are the most commonly used techniques for dehydrating probiotic cultures and lactic acid bacteria starter cultures (Betoret et al., 2003), although other methods such as vacuum oven drying, fluid bed drying or combinations of these may also be used. Drying processes are a major cause of loss of viability of probiotics, and in the specific case of freeze-drying, the freezing step causes additional stress on the bacterial cells, making the
Perceiving the impossible

Mottron and colleagues found that individuals with autism were less affected by geometric impossibility than comparison participants on a copying task. The current experiment sought to determine whether a local perceptual style could account for this. Participants with and without autism copied possible and impossible geometric figures. Geometric impossibility had a larger effect on drawing time for comparison participants than for those with autism. However, participants with autism did not use more localized drawing strategies. Strength of impossibility effect was associated with a global strategy amongst comparison participants but this relationship was not found amongst participants with autism. The findings suggest that differences in high-level conceptual processing may account for group differences in effects of impossibility.
EMERGING POSSIBILITIES AND INSUPERABLE LIMITATIONS OF EXOGEOPHYSICS: THE EXAMPLE OF PLATE TECTONICS

To understand the evolution and the habitability of any rocky exoplanet demands detailed knowledge about its geophysical state and history—such as predicting the tectonic mode of a planet. Yet no astronomical observation can directly confirm or rule out the occurrence of plate tectonics on a given exoplanet. Moreover, the field of plate tectonics is still young—questioning whether we should study plate tectonics on exoplanets at this point in time. In this work, we determine the limitations and the emerging possibilities of exogeophysics, the science of connecting geophysics to exoplanets, on the example of plate tectonics. Assuming current uncertainties in model and planet parameters, we develop a qualitatively probabilistic and conservative framework to estimate on what kind of planets and where in the Galaxy plate tectonics might occur. This we achieve by modeling how plate yielding, the most critical condition needed for plate mobility and subduction, is affected by directly observable (planet mass, size) or indirectly, to some degree, assessable planet properties (structure and composition). Our framework not only highlights the importance of a planet’s chemistry for the existence of plate tectonics and the path toward practical exogeophysics but also demonstrates how exoplanet science can actually help to better understand geophysics and the fundamentals of plate tectonics on Earth itself.
Limiting spectral distribution of sample autocovariance matrices

We show that the empirical spectral distribution (ESD) of the sample autocovariance matrix (ACVM) converges as the dimension increases, when the time series is a linear process with reasonable restriction on the coefficients. The limit does not depend on the distribution of the underlying driving i.i. d. sequence and its support is unbounded. This limit does not coincide with the spectral distribution of the theoretical ACVM. However, it does so if we consider a suitably tapered version of the sample ACVM. For banded sample ACVM the limit has unbounded support as long as the number of non-zero diagonals in proportion to the dimension of the matrix is bounded away from zero. If this ratio tends to zero, then the limit exists and again coincides with the spectral distribution of the theoretical ACVM. Finally, we also study the LSD of a naturally modified version of the ACVM which is not non-negative definite.
Evaluation of three isotope-dilution techniques for studying the kinetics of glucose metabolism in sheep.

1. Comparisons have been made of three isotope-dilution techniques for measuring parameters of glucose metabolism in sheep given their daily ration in 12 equal amounts (i.e. from 07.00 to 18.00hr.) 2. [U-(14)C]Glucose was used in all experiments. After a single injection the specific radioactivity of plasma glucose was measured at specific times for up to 24hr. Primed infusions were made with various ratios of P, priming injection (nc), to F, infusion rate (nc/min.) (P/F ratios varying from 23:1 to 147:1) and the specific radioactivity of plasma glucose was measured at 60, 120, 150, 180, 210 and 240min. In continuous infusions the specific radioactivity of plasma glucose was followed for 9hr. ; a constant specific radioactivity was observed after approximately 180min. 3. A computer programme was used to fit a multi-exponential equation to the log(specific radioactivity)-time curve after a single injection. A second- or third-order exponential equation was found to fit the results. 4. Conventional analyses of all results showed that similar estimates of the irreversible loss of glucose were obtained by using all three techniques. Estimates of glucose pool size and space by using the primed infusion technique were both significantly higher than estimates obtained by the single injection technique. In these experiments total entry rate could only be determined from the single-injection results and a wide variation in estimates was obtained. 5. Comparisons of the specific radioactivity-time relationships after a single injection of [U-(14)C]glucose in sheep given their ration either once daily or as a proportion at hourly intervals indicated that there were fluctuations in glucose synthesis in the former over the period of the experiment. The multi-exponential curves fitted to these results had larger residual variances than in sheep given food at hourly intervals. All parameters of glucose metabolism estimated were similar under both feeding regimes. 6. A number of methods of analysis are discussed and a model for glucose metabolism in sheep in suggested.
Quantitative proteomics of intracellular Porphyromonas gingivalis

Whole‐cell quantitative proteomic analyses were conducted to investigate the change from an extracellular to intracellular lifestyle for Porphyromonas gingivalis, a Gram‐negative intracellular pathogen associated with periodontal disease. Global protein abundance data for P. gingivalis strain ATCC 33277 internalized for 18 h within human gingival epithelial cells and controls exposed to gingival cell culture medium were obtained at sufficient coverage to provide strong evidence that these changes are profound. A total of 385 proteins were overexpressed in internalized P. gingivalis relative to controls; 240 proteins were shown to be underexpressed. This represented in total about 28% of the protein encoding ORFs annotated for this organism, and slightly less than half of the proteins that were observed experimentally. Production of several proteases, including the classical virulence factors RgpA, RgpB, and Kgp, was decreased. A separate validation study was carried out in which a 16‐fold dilution of the P. gingivalis proteome was compared to the undiluted sample in order to assess the quantitative false negative rate (all ratios truly alternative). Truly null (no change) abundance ratios from technical replicates were used to assess the rate of quantitative false positives over the entire proteome. A global comparison between the direction of abundance change observed and previously published bioinformatic gene pair predictions for P. gingivalis will assist with future studies of P. gingivalis gene regulation and operon prediction.