Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Concurrent Occipital Bone Malformation and Atlantoaxial Subluxation in a Neonatal Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina)

Abstract A stranded male harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) neonate with progressive clinical signs of ataxia, tremors, and deteriorating consciousness was evaluated using magnetic resonance imaging for suspected cerebellar brain disease prior to euthanasia because of grave prognosis. Magnetic resonance imaging identified occipital bone dysplasia with cerebellar herniation and concurrent atlantoaxial subluxation with spinal cord compression. These imaging findings elucidated the cause of histopathology changes including gliosis of the cerebellum and axonal degeneration and dilation of myelin sheaths of the dorsal funiculus of the spinal cord. Occipital bone dysplasia and/or atlantoaxial subluxation should be considered as differentials for abnormal neurologic signs in harbor seal neonates. Magnetic resonance imaging is a valuable modality for antemortem diagnosis.
Relación entre PM2.5 y PM10 en la ciudad de Bogotá

Se realizaron mediciones simultaneas de material particulado menor a 2.5 micras (PM 2.5 ) y menor a 10 micras (PM 10 ), durante periodos de hasta dos meses, en varias estaciones de la red de monitoreo de calidad del aire de la ciudad de Bogota y se analizaron los resultados con herramientas estadisticas. Los resultados del analisis muestran una correlacion positiva y lineal entre los dos parametros.
Adaptations at the Shoulder of the Throwing Athlete and Implications for the Clinician

The shoulders of those involved in repeated forceful overhead throwing undergo a range of neural, muscular, and skeletal adaptations. Knowledge of these normal adaptations may be helpful for the understanding of the prevention and treatment of injury in these athletes. This paper summarizes the current literature regarding these adaptations, and their relation to performance and pathology are presented along with relevant clinical implications. Throwing athletes show alterations in the strength ratio of their internal rotation (IR) compared with external rotation such that IR is enhanced and external rotation remains unchanged (in comparison with their nonthrowing arm). Typical scapular postural changes are seen (often IR and anterior tilting of the scapula) in the throwing arm; the humeral cortical and trabecular bones are thickened and there is often greater humeral retrotorsion. Torsional changes are, however, variable. Throwers have a higher incidence of injury to their suprascapular nerve, which may help explain their relative external rotational weakness. There is some evidence that the posterior inferior capsule is thickened in throwing athletes.
Cardio-Protection in Acute Stroke

Background: Measures of damage limitation for acute stroke have not produced substantial benefit to reduce stroke mortality. Search continues for measures to reduce stroke mortality. Methods: Literature review for influence of cardiovascular factors, specifically the value of NT proBNP (a sensitive index of cardiac impairment) for stroke mortality. Results: Cardiovascular factors, in particular cardiac failure, adversely influence acute stroke mortality. There is evidence of cardiological abnormality in acute strokes as indicated by ECG changes and tachycardia secondary to neurohumoral changes in acute strokes. Patients with ECG abnormality, tachycardia, dysrrhythmia and elevated levels of nor-epinephrine in acute stroke phase have higher mortality. Recent studies reveal that Troponin (measure of cardiac injury) and NT-proBNP (measure of cardiac function impairment) are elevated in acute stroke patients, in response to the activated Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone-System and other neurohumoral changes, as a protective mechanism for sympatho-inhibitory activity. Patients with elevated troponin have a higher mortality. Similarly elevated NT-proBNP has been reported to be associated with higher short and long-term mortality. In one study all patients who died at 4 months had NT-proBNP levels above the median, no patient with NT-proBNP below the median value died. Two studies revealed that NT-proBNP is more significant than clinical stroke severity for stroke mortality. Protection of myocardium in stroke patients may be possible by the use of drugs such as beta-blockers and the drugs acting on RAAS. Reduction of mortality in studies of candesartan (ACCESS study) and prior betablockers is one such example. Heart is at risk in acute strokes and protecting heart makes sense to reduce stroke mortality. Conclusion: Some stroke patients die due to occult cardiac damage and functional impairment in acute phase due to common risk factors. This relationship between brain and heart needs evaluation. Protection of heart with currently available or new drugs in acute strokes is worth investigating since this intervention could be applied to a large proportion of acute stroke patients over a wide time window.
What is Enough Planning? Results From a Global Quantitative Study

Project planning is widely thought to be an important contributor to project success. However, there is a little research to affirm its impact and give guidance as to how much effort should be spent on planning to achieve best results. We aim to rectify this omission. Data was collected on 1386 projects from 859 respondents via a global survey. A significant relationship was found between the quality of the planning deliverables and success. Detailed analysis of the data collected revealed an inverted-U relationship between the percentage of effort spent on planning and project success. After correcting for key moderator effects, a significant relationship with an R2 of 0.15 was revealed. Further analysis showed that the fraction of planning effort that maximized the project success was 25% of project effort. This was substantially more than the 15% mean value reported by respondents. The greatest impact was found to be on the broad success measures with a lesser effect on project efficiency: time; budget; and scope. The inverted-U relationship between effort spent on planning and project success indicates that projects can spend too much time in planning, as well as too little. But we found that projects are spending less time in planning than the optimum to achieve best results.
Dextran Sulfate Sodium‐induced Colitis Generates a Transient Thymic Involution – Impact on Thymocyte Subsets

One of the most widely used animal models for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is the dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)‐induced colitis. We have previously reported that 5 days administration of DSS in C57Bl/6J mice induces a colonic inflammation that progresses into chronicity after DSS removal, whereas in BALB/cJ mice the inflammation resolves within 4 weeks post‐DSS. Here we show that both thymic size and thymocyte numbers dramatically decreased in the acute phase of inflammation in C57Bl/6 mice, 7 days after DSS withdrawal. Mature, CD4+ and CD8+ single positive (SP) CD69lo CD62Lhi thymocytes were enriched in these mice, accompanied by a major decrease in the number of immature double positive (DP) thymocytes. However, the different maturation stages within the DP thymocyte subset were unchanged between healthy and inflamed C57Bl/6J mice. Interestingly, as the inflammation progressed into the chronic phase, the thymus recovered and 2 weeks after the acute inflammatory phase all the thymic parameters investigated in this study were restored to normal. In contrast, BALB/cJ mice only develop mild thymic alterations. Nevertheless, we found that within the double negative (DN) thymocytes an increased frequency and also total numbers of CD44+ CD25− (DN1) cells correlated with the severety of colitis, and that the frequency of CD44− CD25− (DN4) thymocytes decreased proportionally in the acute phase in BALB/cJ mice. Our observations suggest that the thymic effects are intimately connected to the intestinal inflammatory response in colitis regardless of the inflammatory stimuli.
A Bang Bang Phase-Locked Loop Using Automatic Loop Gain Control and Loop Latency Reduction Techniques

This paper presents a digital bang-bang phase-locked loop (DBPLL) that employs automatic loop gain control and loop latency reduction techniques to enhance the jitter performance. Due to noise filtering properties, a DBPLL has an optimal loop gain which gives rise to the best jitter performance, taking into account external and internal noise sources. By using the automatic loop gain control technique, the DBPLL can automatically attain this loop gain in background to minimize the jitter. This paper also exploits time-series analysis to analyze the DBPLL. In particular, the closed-form gain of a bang-bang phase detector (BBPD) is first derived, taking into account reference clock noise and oscillator noise simultaneously. The chip was fabricated in a 40 nm CMOS process. This DBPLL achieves <; 290 fs integrated rms jitter and <;- 72.89 dBc reference spurs. It consumes 3.8 mW from a 1.1 V supply while operating at 3.96 GHz. This translates to an figure-of-merit (FOM) of -245 dB.
Mesh/Meshless paraumbilical hernia repair with concomitant single-incision transumbilical three-port laparoscopic cholecystectomy-prospective observational study of 126 patients.

BACKGROUND Paraumbilical hernia with benign gallbladder disease forms a challenging combination for offering benefits of single-incision surgery. The purpose of this prospective observational study was to assess the outcomes of paraumbilical hernia repair performed concomitantly with three-port laparoscopic cholecystectomy through the same periumbilical incision using routine instruments. PATIENTS AND METHODS In total, 126 subjects formed the patient cohort. The mean age for females was 38.5 years, and that for the males was 40 years. The periumbilical curved incision accommodated three independent ports for conducting the cholecystectomy. The subsequent choice for the hernia repair was subject to the size (diameter) of the defect. Defects <4 cm in diameter (n=96) were suture-closed without mesh reinforcement. For defects 5-8-cm in diameter (n=33), an innovative technique of inserting all three ports directly into the peritoneal/hernial sac in a triangular manner was used for the cholecystectomy. Such a hernia defect was then reinforced with preperitoneal polypropylene mesh before closing it primarily after releasing the posterior rectus sheath. However, defects >8 cm were excluded from the study. RESULTS The mean operative time was 75 minutes. Patients were discharged after a mean of 1.5 days. Four patients were converted to conventional laparoscopic cholecystectomy owing to technical difficulty. An umbilical seroma occurred in 3 patients. Over the mean follow-up of 38.5 months, none of the patients had paraumbilical hernia recurrence. A hernial sac was used to space out the ports. The morbidity of the procedure was acceptable. CONCLUSIONS Concomitant paraumbilical repair and cholecystectomy by the technique described is effective and safe for select patients. Prosthetic reinforcement is advisable for hernia defects with a diameter of 5-8 cm.
Comparative Effects of Statin Therapy versus Renin-Angiotensin System Blocking Therapy in Patients with Ischemic Heart Failure Who Underwent Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

Statins and renin-angiotensin system (RAS) blockers are key drugs for treating patients with an acute myocardial infarction (AMI). This study was designed to show the association between treatment with statins or RAS blockers and clinical outcomes and the efficacy of two drug combination therapies in patients with ischemic heart failure (IHF) who underwent revascularization for an AMI. A total of 804 AMI patients with a left ventricular ejection fraction <40% who undertook percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) were analyzed using the Korea Acute Myocardial Infarction Registry (KAMIR). They were divided into four groups according to the use of medications [Group I: combination of statin and RAS blocker (n=611), Group II: statin alone (n=112), Group III: RAS blocker alone (n=53), Group IV: neither treatment (n=28)]. The cumulative incidence of major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCEs) and independent predictors of MACCEs were investigated. Over a median follow-up study of nearly 1 year, MACCEs had occurred in 48 patients (7.9%) in Group I, 16 patients (14.3%) in Group II, 3 patients (5.7%) in Group III, 7 patients (21.4%) in Group IV (p=0.013). Groups using RAS blocker (Group I and III) showed better clinical outcomes compared with the other groups. By multivariate analysis, use of RAS blockers was the most powerful independent predictor of MACCEs in patients with IHF who underwent PCI (odds ratio 0.469, 95% confidence interval 0.285-0.772; p=0.003), but statin therapy was not found to be an independent predictor. The use of RAS blockers, but not statins, was associated with better clinical outcomes in patients with IHF who underwent PCI.
Downregulation of Bone Morphogenetic Protein 4 Expression in Coronary Arterial Endothelial Cells: Role of Shear Stress and the cAMP/Protein Kinase A Pathway

Objective—Bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP-4) is a transforming growth factor &bgr; family member cytokine that exerts proinflammatory effects on the endothelium and is likely to play a role in atherogenesis. Recent studies suggested that atheroprotective levels of shear stress control endothelial BMP-4 expression; however, the underlying mechanisms remained unknown. Methods and Results—We found that shear stress downregulated BMP-4 expression in human and rat coronary arterial endothelial cells (CAECs) as well as in cultured mesenteric arterioles, although it had no effect on the expression of BMP-2, a related cytokine. In human coronary arterial endothelial cells, 8-bromo-cAMP, the adenylate cyclase activator forskolin, or a cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) activator effectively decreased BMP-4 expression, mimicking the effects of shear stress. Indeed, shear stress induced the nuclear translocation of PKA-c, and inhibition of PKA attenuated the effects of shear stress and forskolin on BMP-4 expression. RNA decay assay and BMP-4 promoter-driven luciferase reporter gene assay showed that cAMP regulates BMP-4 expression at the transcriptional level. Conclusions—Laminar shear stress and the cAMP/PKA pathway are important negative regulators of BMP-4 expression in the vascular endothelium. Because BMP-4 elicits endothelial activation and dysfunction, hypertension, and vascular calcification, inhibition of BMP-4 expression by shear stress and the cAMP/PKA pathway is likely to exert antiatherogenic and vasculoprotective effects.
A physiologically based pharmacokinetic model of vitamin D

Despite the plethora of studies discussing the benefits of vitamin D on physiological functioning, few mathematical models of vitamin D predict the response of the body on low‐concentration supplementation of vitamin D under sunlight‐restricted conditions. This study developed a physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model utilizing published human data on the metabolic cascade of orally derived, low‐concentration (placebo, 5 μg and 10 μg) supplementation of vitamin D over the course of 28 days in the absence of sunlight. Vitamin D and its metabolites are highly lipophilic and binding assays of these compounds in serum may not account for binding by lipids and additional proteins. To compensate for the additional bound amounts, this study allowed the effective adipose–plasma partition coefficient to vary dynamically with the concentration of each compound in serum utilizing the Hill equation for binding. Through incorporating the optimized parameters with the adipose partition coefficient adaptation to the PBPK model, this study was able to fit serum concentration data for circulating vitamin D at all three supplementation concentrations within confidence intervals of the data. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Intraocular Pharmacokinetics of Intravitreal Aflibercept (Eylea) in a Rabbit Model.

PURPOSE We determined the intraocular pharmacokinetic properties of intravitreally injected aflibercept (Eylea) in a rabbit model. METHODS Aflibercept was injected intravitreally in 21 eyes from New Zealand White rabbits. The eyes were enucleated 1, 24, 48, 120, 216, 360, and 720 hours (1, 2, 5, 9, 15, and 30 days, respectively) after injection and immediately frozen at -80°C. The concentrations of aflibercept in the vitreous, aqueous humor, and retina/choroid were determined by performing an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and analyzed to understand the pharmacokinetic properties of the drug. RESULTS The maximum concentration of aflibercept was observed 1, 48 (2 days), and 24 (1 day) hours after intravitreal administration in the vitreous, aqueous humor, and retina/choroid, respectively. The one-compartment model was selected as the final model for all three ocular tissues. In the vitreous, aqueous humor, and retina/choroid, the estimated half-lives of aflibercept were 94.1, 48.0, and 58.2 hours, and the estimated mean residence times (MRTs) were 135.8, 69.2, and 84.0 hours, respectively. The area under curve from time 0 to the end point (AUClast) was 135,810.6 hours × μg/mL for the vitreous, 13,889.7 hours × μg/mL for the aqueous humor, and 2453.1 hours × μg/g for the retina/choroid. CONCLUSIONS In rabbits, the vitreous half-life of aflibercept is 94.1 hours (3.92 days). This is shorter than that of bevacizumab (6.99 days), and longer than that of ranibizumab (2.51 days) and VEGF-Trap (3.63 days).
Atopic dermatitis and the atopic march revisited

Atopic dermatitis (AD) has become a significant public health problem because of increasing prevalence, together with increasing evidence that it may progress to other allergic phenotypes. While it is now acknowledged that AD commonly precedes other allergic diseases, a link termed ‘the atopic march’, debate continues as to whether this represents a causal relationship. An alternative hypothesis is that this association may be related to confounding by familial factors or phenotypes that comanifest, such as early‐life wheeze and sensitization. However, there is increasing evidence from longitudinal studies suggesting that the association between AD and other allergies is independent of confounding by comanifest allergic phenotypes. The hypotheses on plausible biological mechanisms for the atopic march focus on defective skin barrier function and overexpression of inflammatory mediators released by the skin affected by AD (including thymic stromal lymphopoietin). Both human and animal studies have provided evidence supporting these potential biological mechanisms. Evidence from prevention trials is now critical to establishing a causal nature of the atopic march. An emerging area of research is investigation into environmental modifiers of the atopic march. Such information will assist in identifying secondary prevention strategies to arrest the atopic march. Despite much research into the aetiology of allergies, little progress has been made in identifying effective strategies to reduce the burden of allergic conditions. In this context, the atopic march remains a promising area of investigation.
Single nucleotide polymorphism of bone morphogenetic protein 4 gene: A risk factor of non-syndromic cleft lip with or without palate

Background: The bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signalling pathway is crucial in a number of developmental processes and is critical in the formation of variety of craniofacial elements including cranial neural crest, facial primordium, tooth, lip and palate. It is an important mediator in regulation of lip and palate fusion, cartilage and bone formation. Aim: To study the role of mutation of BMP4 genes in the aetiology of non-syndromic cleft lip with or without palate (NSCL ± P) and identify it directly from human analyses. Materials and Methods: A case-control study was done to evaluate whether BMP4T538C polymorphism, resulting in an amino acid change of Val=Ala (V152A) in the polypeptide, is associated with NSCL ± P in an Indian paediatric population. Genotypes of 100 patients with NSCL ± P and 100 controls (in whom absence of CL ± P was confirmed in three generations) were detected using a polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism strategy. Logistic regression was performed to evaluate allele and genotype association with NSCLP. Results: Results showed significant association between homozygous CC genotype with CL ± P (odds ratio [OR]-5.59 and 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.85-10.99). The 538C allele carriers showed an increased risk of NSCL ± P as compared with 538 T allele (OR - 4.2% CI = 2.75-6.41). Conclusion: This study suggests an association between SNP of BMP4 gene among carriers of the C allele and increased risk for NSCLP in an Indian Population. Further studies on this aspect can scale large heights in preventive strategies for NSCLP that may soon become a reality.
Treating Job Burnout Changes in Symptoms , Antecedents , in Employee Rehabilitation and Consequences

Hätinen, Marja Treating job burnout in employee rehabilitation: Changes in symptoms, antecedents and consequences of burnout Jyväskylä: University of Jyväskylä, 2008, 85 p. (Jyväskylä Studies in Education, Psychology and Social Research ISSN 0075-4625; 348) ISBN 978-951-39-3452-1 (PDF), 978-951-39-3407-1 (nid.) Finnish summary: Työuupumuksen hoito työikäisten kuntoutuksessa: muutokset työuupumuksen oireissa, ennakoijissa ja seurauksissa Diss. This longitudinal study examined the manifestations of burnout and changes in its symptoms during a 1-year rehabilitation intervention and a 6-month followup by using personand variable-oriented approaches. In addition, the aim was to study the changes in certain antecedents and consequences of burnout during the intervention. The data were obtained as a part of a research project (N = 175) that was conducted among working-aged rehabilitation clients. Burnout was studied as a syndrome comprising exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced professional efficacy. Antecedents of burnout were examined in terms of personal resources (sense of coherence and coping) and job conditions (time pressures at work, job control, workplace climate, satisfaction with supervisor). Consequences of burnout were evaluated by depression and job satisfaction. The main results of three studies showed that a) the experience of burnout was heterogeneous at baseline and across time; b) exhaustion and cynicism declined in certain subgroups as early as 4 months after the first rehabilitation period and this decline was maintained during the follow-ups; c) the participatory approach appeared to be more effective as compared to the traditional approach; d) decreased job demands and increased resources were associated with recovery from burnout; and e) decreased depression and increased job satisfaction were associated with recovery from burnout. A more precise targeting of burnout interventions is needed since the rehabilitation program included a group of employees whose burnout symptoms were only minor, as well as a group with high levels of burnout and depression who did not benefit from rehabilitation. The latter result suggests that rehabilitation started too late for them. The participatory type of intervention might have greater potential as an efficient treatment strategy for burnout since it gives participants better opportunities to exercise control over their work and, consequently, results in better fit between the individual and the job.