Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The pharmacodynamics of antiplatelet compounds in thrombosis treatment

ABSTRACT Introduction: As it is importance to understand the involvement of platelets in the initiation and propagation of thrombosis, antiplatelet drugs have come to the forefront of atherothrombotic disease treatment. Dual antiplatelet therapy of aspirin plus clopidogrel has its benefits, but it also has its limitations with regard to its pharmacologic properties and adverse effects. For these reasons, within the last decade or so, the investigation of novel antiplatelet agents has prospered. Areas covered: In this review, we discuss the unique pharmacodynamic properties of several antiplatelet drugs with their possible potential molecular of mechanisms on inhibiting platelet aggregation. Expert opinion: Considering multiple synergetic pathways of platelet activation and their close interplay with coagulation, the current treatment strategies are not only based on platelet inhibition, they also rely on the attenuation of procoagulant activity, inhibition of thrombin generation, and enhancement of clot dissolution. Current guidelines recommend various antiplatelet agents in addition to aspirin for patients with acute coronary syndromes. The advantages of these agents, as repute mortality, may be associated with off-target effects of the drug. Hence, further studies are required to facilitate the physician’s choice of the most appropriate antiplatelet agents for each patient for thrombosis treatment.
Multiple Discussion Networks and Their Consequence for Political Participation

Social capital studies have provided some evidence that discussion networks increase political participation. However, a counterargument is that discussion with heterogeneous networks may instead decrease political participation. We examine the empirical validity of this claim using multiple discussion network data collected through the 2003 Japanese General Social Survey. We find that talking about politics positively affects political participation, irrespective of whether politics is the main subject of conversation or merely a by-product of conversation about other topics. Further, our results do not support the somewhat controversial claim that interacting with others holding opposing political views decreases political participation. To the contrary, we find a positive link between political heterogeneity and political participation in a variety of discussion networks.
Mechanism of quantum vortices' intercommutation.

The forces acting on the nearest segments of two intercommuting vortices which intersect at a nonzero angle are derived from the exact equation of motion of vortices in a U(1)-symmetric field model. These forces explain the first crucial stage in the intercommutation, in which the closest segments are attracted to each other and align antiparallel, locally annihilating the topological charge in the intercommutation zone and permitting the exchange of vortex parts between the vortices. © 1995 The American Physical Society.
Tuberculosis: Awareness among Students in a Saudi University

Background: Knowledge plays a vital role in influencing the behavior and practices of individuals. Tuberculosis (TB) is a major public health problem. Our objective is to identify the extent of awareness about TB among King Saud University students, and to compare knowledge about tuberculosis amongst different University tracks. Methods: This study was conducted using a cross-sectional approach including 530 students in three different academic tracks: Health, Scientific, and Humanitarian tracks. For data collection, a structured questionnaire was developed through revision of the literature which contained three different parts; demographic data of subjects, knowledge about TB and attitude toward TB. Results: The established scoring system revealed a poor grade of knowledge at 51.4%. Tuberculosis knowledge was significantly higher amongst the track of Health colleges (46.7% compared with 27.2% for the track of Science and 26% for the track of Humanitarian studies). However, some of the issues were answered fittingly in higher magnitude by the two other non-health tracks; there was no significant difference in gender-specific awareness level (48% for both). Conclusion: Although the Health track has better knowledge in general (46.7%), the level of awareness of Tuberculosis is poor among King Saud University students. Moreover, the level of awareness differs among the three tracks, which are health, humanitarian, and science. The health track showed the highest level of awareness.
A Two-Sided Perspective on Supplier Dependence in IS Outsourcing Dyads

Whilst client dependence on an IT supplier is already a well-known risk in IS outsourcing relationships, investigations of the supplier side of dependence have been largely neglected. This contradicts traditional dependence research, which suggests to incorporate the respective dependence of both parties in a bilateral exchange relationship. This paper attempts to close this research gap and investigates supplier dependence in five outsourcing relationships with two-sided data. Furthermore, it proposes a conceptualization of supplier dependence and applies two central dyadic constructs from reference disciplines, namely relative and joint dependence, on IS outsourcing relationships.
Introducción al análisis del trabajo y de la vida cotidiana

El articulo plantea la introduccion a la investigacion y, en este sentido, a los articulos posteriores. Aparecen las preocupaciones y la problematica que estan en el origen de la investigacion, es decir, la necesidad de superar los analisis sectoriales en los campos de la produccion, reproduccion y tiempo libre para dar precisamente cuenta de hechos sociales vinculados a la relacion entre ellos, aparte de ofrecer un vision de cada uno de ellos. Establece los objetivos de la investigacion y los marcos teoricos de referencia, concretamente la perspectiva de la vida cotidiana y las teorias que vinculan produccion y reproduccion, asi como las fases, niveles de tratamiento, las grandes orientaciones metodologicas y las tecnicas utilizadas. Este articulo es parte de una investigacion cuyos resultados aparecen en este mismo numero de PAPERS. El articulo tiene autonomia y entidad por si mismo pero la lectura del resto de los articulos de este numero facilitara su contextualizacion.
Ten years of hospital admissions for liver cirrhosis in Portugal

Background and aims More data on epidemiology of liver diseases in Europe are needed. We aimed to characterize hospital admissions for liver cirrhosis in Portugal during the past decade. Patients and methods We analyzed all hospital admissions for cirrhosis in Portugal Mainland between 2003 and 2012 registered in the national Diagnosis-Related Group database. Cirrhosis was classified according to etiology considering alcohol, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C. Results Between 2003 and 2012, there were 63 910 admissions for cirrhosis in Portugal Mainland; 74.4% involved male patients. Etiologies of admitted cirrhosis were as follows: 76.0% alcoholic, 1.1% hepatitis B, 1.4% hepatitis B plus alcohol, 3.6% hepatitis C, and 4.0% hepatitis C plus alcohol. There was a significant decline (P<0.001) in admissions for alcoholic cirrhosis, whereas hospitalizations for cirrhosis caused by hepatitis C or hepatitis C plus alcohol increased by almost 50% (P<0.001). Patients admitted with alcoholic plus hepatitis B or C cirrhosis were significantly younger than those with either alcoholic or viral cirrhosis (53.1 vs. 59.4 years, respectively, P<0.001). Hospitalization rates for cirrhosis were 124.4/100 000 in men and 32.6/100 000 in women. Hepatocellular carcinoma and fluid retention were more common in viral cirrhosis, whereas encephalopathy and variceal bleeding were more frequent in alcoholic cirrhosis. Hepatorenal syndrome was the strongest predictor of mortality among cirrhosis complications (odds ratio 12.97; 95% confidence interval 11.95–14.09). In-hospital mortality was 15.2%. Conclusion Despite the decline in admissions for alcoholic cirrhosis and the increase in those related to hepatitis C, the observed burden of hospitalized liver cirrhosis in Portugal was essentially attributable to alcoholic liver disease.
Measurement of thyroglobulin by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry in serum and plasma in the presence of antithyroglobulin autoantibodies.

BACKGROUND Measurement of serum thyroglobulin (Tg) is used to monitor patients after treatment for differentiated thyroid carcinoma (TC). Difficulty in using Tg as a biomarker of the recurrence of TC in many patients stems from the presence of endogenous anti-Tg autoantibodies (Tg-AAbs), which can interfere with immunoassays (IAs) and cause false-negative results. METHODS We enriched Tg from serum samples using rabbit polyclonal anti-Tg antiserum and protein precipitation. Unrelated proteins were partially depleted in the process. Enriched proteins were then denatured, reduced, and digested with trypsin after the addition of a winged internal standard peptide. A Tg-specific tryptic peptide was purified by immunoaffinity extraction and analyzed by 2-dimensional LC-MS/MS. Instrument cycle time was 6.5 min per sample. RESULTS The lower limit of quantification was 0.5 ng/mL (0.76 fmol/mL dimer). Total imprecision of triplicate measurements in serum samples over 5 days was <10%. Comparison with a commercial IA using serum samples free of Tg-AAb (n = 73) showed Deming regression, IA = 1.00 * LC-MS/MS - 2.35, r = 0.982, standard error of the estimate (S(y|x)) = 9.52. In a set of Tg-AAb-positive samples that tested negative for Tg using IA (n = 71), concentrations determined by LC-MS/MS were ≥0.5 ng/mL in 23% of samples (median 1.2, range 0.7-11 ng/mL). CONCLUSIONS The introduced method has acceptable performance characteristics for use in clinical diagnostic applications. The most substantial disagreement between methods was observed in Tg-AAb-positive samples with concentrations <2 ng/mL (determined with LC-MS/MS). The affinity-assisted enrichment strategy used for Tg in this method should be applicable to other biomarkers that have endogenous autoantibodies.
Flexible and robust 3D face recognition

by Timothy C. Faltemier Face recognition is one of the least intrusive modalities in biometrics. Our research shows that using 3D face data for recognition provides a promising route to improved performance. In this dissertation, we introduce a new system for 3D face recognition that addresses many of the current challenges preventing this technology from becoming viable. The first challenge is to determine the feasibility of combining data from multiple sensors. Next, we create a technique named Region Ensemble for FacE Recognition (REFER) that is capable of matching 3D face images in the presence of expressions and occlusion. Accurate feature detection and pose recognition is accomplished through a novel technique that we have created, named Rotated Profile Signatures (RPS). Scalability issues are mitigated by combining a feature-based indexing technique with desktop grid processing to greatly reduce the amount of time required for recognition experiments. Finally, we investigate the potential benefits of using a multi-instance enrollment approach that can be used to further increase the performance of our system. These solutions result in a final system that is capable of deployment in a variety of realistic biometric scenarios. To my parents Ed and Sharon, my wife Emily, family, friends, co-workers, and advisors. None of this would be possible without your help.
ENDOCRINE EVALUATION IN THALASSEMIA MAJOR *

Thalassemia major is a serious disease diagnosed in early life, when children present with anemia, hepatosplenomegaly, jaundice, and bone changes as described originally by Cooley and Lee. ' With transfusion therapy however, patients generally achieve adulthood but often suffer its consequences of chronic iron overload.2s3 Iron deposition in endocrine organs has been well documented histologically. Growth retardation is almost universal with retarded bone age and craniofacial disproportion.k Multiple endocrine deficiencies were well documented by Bannerman and coworkers in a single case of thalassemia intermedia,5 and Kuo and colleagues described a series of patients with thalassemia who had evidence of growth retardation and of gonadal dysfunction but normal pituitary function with normal growth hormone secretion. Similarly, carbohydrate intolerance has been associated with iron o v e r l ~ a d , ~ but aand p-pancreatic islet cell function have not been extensively evaluated. To date, we have studied eight patients, all with thalassemia major and a lifelong history of transfusion treatment, to delineate further endocrine dysfunction and to provide a baseline for evaluation of chelation therapy. ' Preliminary findings in these patients form the basis of this report.
Prevalence of Multiple Sclerosis: Door-to-Door Survey in Three Rural Areas of Coastal Black Sea Regions of Turkey

Background: Little information exists on multiple sclerosis (MS) in Turkey. With a door-to-door survey in an urban part of Istanbul, we recently reported a prevalence rate of 101/100,000 population. We therefore investigated three rural areas of Turkey at the same latitude. Methods: The same survey methods were used for total populations of two rural areas (Kandıra and Geyve) near Istanbul, and for half the population of Erbaa, all near 40° north latitude on the Black Sea coast. Results: In Kandıra, 5 of 8 suspects were diagnosed as having MS among 8,171 screened, resulting in a prevalence rate of 61/100,000. Geyve with 7 MS cases in 17,016 screened had a prevalence of 41/100,000, and Erbaa with 15 MS cases in 28,177 screened one of 53/100,000. Together they showed a prevalence of 51/100,000. Of the 27 patients, 20 were women; 25 had definite and 2 possible MS, the former all with abnormal laboratory findings. Average ages were 30.5 years at onset and 39.1 years at diagnosis. Clinical features and course were typical of European MS. Conclusion: These findings indicate that Turkey is a high-risk MS area, similar to most regions of Mediterranean Europe, where all recent increases are likely due to (undefined) environmental factors.
New approaches for detecting and curtailing foodborne microbial infections.

ABSTRACT HEADLINES of recent foodborne disease outbreaks—strawberries tainted with hepatitis A virus, unpasteurized apple juice contaminated with Escherichia coli 0157:H7, raspberries harboring Cyclospora cayetanensis—are doing much to fuel the perception that microbial pathogens are gaining an upper hand. But while it's true that such pathogens are evolving new tricks and exploiting new opportunities, epidemiologists and laboratory scientists are countering with new strategies that promise to revolutionize the detection of infections caused by foodborne microbes.See also pp 1340 and 1344National surveillance of foodborne diseases at a group of sentinel public laboratories around the nation, sophisticated technologies such as DNA fingerprinting to pinpoint specific bacterial subtypes responsible for an outbreak, and computer networks that link and analyze the findings of far-flung laboratories may soon provide public health experts with an early warning system far beyond what is possible today.Although such efforts have been in progress during the past
A newly recognized cause of travelers' diarrhea: enteroadherent Escherichia coli.

Adherence to HEp-2 tissue culture cells has been proposed as a virulence characteristic of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC). A preliminary study revealed that E. coli that adhered to HEp-2 cells, but did not produce conventional enterotoxins and did not belong to recognized EPEC serogroups, could be isolated from adults from the United States who acquired diarrhea in Mexico. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of these enteroadherent E. coli (EAEC) in 188 travelers with diarrhea and in 92 well travelers. EAEC were found in 14.9% of patients with diarrhea and in 7.6% of well individuals. Compared with well travelers, patients with diarrhea in whom no recognized enteropathogen could be identified had a 30.4% prevalence of EAEC (P less than .0003). These results further support our finding that EAEC are associated with diarrhea in travelers to Mexico and may help to explain the effect of antibiotics in the prevention and therapy for travelers' diarrhea in patients with no recognized bacterial enteropathogens.
Optomotor responses and nystagmus in intact, blinded and statocystless cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis L.).

1. Evidence is reviewed confirming that the eyes of Sepia move under the influence of gravity, angular acceleration and visual receptors. 2. Visual nystagmus and optomotor responses are described in free-swimming Sepia ; these survive bilateral destruction of the statocysts, though they are abolished by blinding. 3. Post-rotatory nystagmus is shown by intact animals in a plain background; in bilaterally blinded animals there are post-rotatory movements of the head. These responses disappear if the statocysts are removed. 4. The post-rotatory nystagmus of intact animals is almost completely suppressed by visual cues. 5. Other effects of blinding and statocyst removal are described.
Patterns of Somatic Diagnoses in Older People with Intellectual Disability: A Swedish Eleven Year Case–Control Study of Inpatient Data

BACKGROUND Knowledge about diagnoses patterns in older people with intellectual disabilities is limited. METHODS The case group (n = 7936) comprised people with intellectual disabilities aged 55 years and older. The control group (n = 7936) was age matched and sex matched. Somatic inpatient diagnoses (2002-2012) were collected retrospectively. RESULTS Several diagnoses were in several years significantly more common in the case group, particularly infections [odds ratio (OR) 1.78-4.08]; nervous system (OR 2.06-31.75); respiratory (OR 1.78-4.08) and genitourinary diseases (1.59-11.50); injuries, unspecified symptoms (OR 1.56-4.27); and external causes of morbidity (OR 1.53-4.08). The oldest in the case group had significantly less occurrence of tumours (OR 0.26-0.51), cardiovascular (OR 0.42-0.72), and musculoskeletal diseases (OR 0.32-0.53) than controls. CONCLUSIONS Older people with intellectual disabilities have higher numbers of some diagnoses, but lower numbers of others. Further research on the reasons for the unique pattern of diagnoses in this group is required.
Overestimation and underestimation of cardiovascular risk in clinical practice: usefulness of risk estimation charts.

INTRODUCTION Charts for the estimation of cardiovascular risk contribute greatly to clinical decision making in the management of asymptomatic individuals. However, most decisions are taken without consulting the charts. The aim of our study was to record the degree of overestimation or underestimation of cardiovascular risk in everyday clinical practice. METHODS Seven cases of asymptomatic individuals at different levels of cardiovascular risk as a result of different combinations of risk factors (one at very low, one at very high and five at intermediate risk) were presented in random order to 30 doctors who deal with primary prevention consultations in their daily clinical practice. They were asked if hypolipidaemic therapy was needed and their answers were compared with the recommended management of the current European guidelines on prevention using the risk charts of the European Society of Cardiology. RESULTS The mean percentage of agreement was 70%. In the two extreme cases agreement with the guidelines was absolute, but in the intermediate cases it varied widely. Particularly in those cases with cholesterol level 200-240 mg/dl it was just 40%, due either to overestimation or to underestimation of the risk. CONCLUSION In the cases of obviously low or obviously high risk, clinical judgement is in accordance with the guidelines. However, in cases of intermediate risk there is either overestimation of risk with non-indicated prescription of hypolipidaemic treatment, or underestimation of risk with no administration of indicated therapy. The use of risk charts in clinical practice may provide substantial help towards a more objective practice of prevention.
Use of affinity capillary electrophoresis for characterizing pharmaceutical colloidal vehicle systems thermodynamically

This review offers a detailed discussion of the interaction between pharmaceutical compounds and vehicles using the affinity capillary electrophoresis and the microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography. Partition coefficients of drugs were calculated between a micelle and an aqueous phases from the measurement of the migration time, provided the critical micelle concentration and the phase ratio are known. Thermodynamic quantities such as enthalpy and entropy changes of micellar solubilization were calculated from the temperature dependence of the partition coefficients. Partial specific volumes were measured using dynamic light scattering. The logarithm of the partition coefficients and the capacity factor in the micellar system were correlated with the logarithm of the n‐octanol/water partition coefficients. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Early onset post‐transplant lymphoproliferative disease is associated with allograft localization

Abstract: Post‐transplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD) is a major complication after solid organ transplantation. We analyzed incidence, patient characteristics, clinical presentation, and prognostic factors for treatment outcome and survival of PTLD patients transplanted at our center. Records from adult kidney and lung transplant recipients, transplanted between January 1985 and December 2002 with a histologically confirmed diagnosis of PTLD, were retrieved. Histology was reviewed and prognostic factors for treatment outcome were evaluated by multivariable analysis. Of 1354 kidney and 206 lung transplants, PTLD was diagnosed in 40 transplant recipients (2.6%). Lung transplant recipients had a significantly higher incidence of PTLD (8.3%) than kidney transplant recipients (1.7%). Sites of presentation were highly heterogeneous. Notably, PTLD localized in the allograft occurred significantly earlier after transplantation than PTLD localized outside the allograft (p = 0.001). This was true for lung (p = 0.006) as well as for kidney transplant recipients (p = 0.03). In multivariable Cox regression, performance status (p = 0.01) and advanced stage (p = 0.04) were factors negatively predictive for response to first‐line treatment. Only performance status remained as negative predictive factor for survival (p = 0.002) and freedom from tumor progression (p = 0.01). In conclusion, the allograft is significantly more often involved as primary site of PTLD presentation during the first post‐transplant year. This may have clinical consequences and give new insights in pathogenesis of PTLD. Performance status and stage are important risk factors for outcome of PTLD.
Knowledge Acquisition of Generic Queries for Information Retrieval

Several studies have identified clinical questions posed by health care professionals to understand the nature of information needs during clinical practice. To support access to digital information sources, it is necessary to integrate the information needs with a computer system. We have developed a conceptual guidance approach in information retrieval, based on a knowledge base that contains the patterns of information needs. The knowledge base uses a formal representation of clinical questions based on the UMLS knowledge sources, called the Generic Query model. To improve the coverage of the knowledge base, we investigated a method for extracting plausible clinical questions from the medical literature. This poster presents the Generic Query model, shows how it is used to represent the patterns of clinical questions, and describes the framework used to extract knowledge from the medical literature.