Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Workshops to disseminate the Canadian Thoracic Society guidelines for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to health care professionals in Ontario: impact on knowledge, perceived health care practices and participant satisfaction.

BACKGROUND The Canadian Thoracic Society (CTS) has developed a clinical practice guideline (CPG) regarding the management of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Implementation of this CPG in the primary care setting requires an effective dissemination strategy. OBJECTIVES To examine the change in knowledge, participant satisfaction and perceived changes in clinical practice among health care professionals working in the primary care setting following attendance at a workshop to disseminate the CTS CPG for COPD. METHODS A 2.5 h workshop was conducted in three community health sites within Ontario. Each workshop comprised a didactic presentation and interactive case study discussions. Before, and one month following the workshop, a structured knowledge assessment questionnaire was administered. A structured satisfaction questionnaire and evaluative form that examined the impact of the workshop on the clinical management of COPD patients were administered immediately and three months following completion of the workshop, respectively. RESULTS Sixty-nine participants attended the workshop. The mean score for the structured knowledge assessment questionnaire increased from 8.5+/-2.7 to 10.6+/-2.0 following the workshop (P=0.008). Eighty-nine per cent and 96% of participants indicated that they would recommend the workshop to a colleague and had greater confidence in their management of COPD patients, respectively. Following attendance of the workshop, 73%, 69% and 46% described increased patient education, patient monitoring and the use of objective testing in clinical practice, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Workshop attendance was associated with high levels of satisfaction and important self-reported changes in clinical practice, which may reflect improved knowledge of the CTS CPG for COPD.
Medical malpractice reform: noneconomic damages caps reduced payments 15 percent, with varied effects by specialty.

The impact of medical malpractice reforms on the average size of malpractice payments in specific physician specialties is unknown and subject to debate. We analyzed a national sample of malpractice claims for the period 1985-2010, merged with information on state liability reforms, to estimate the impact of state noneconomic damages caps on average malpractice payment size for physicians overall and for ten different specialty categories. We then compared how the effects differed according to the restrictiveness of the cap ($250,000 versus $500,000). We found that, overall, noneconomic damages caps reduced average payments by $42,980 (15 percent), compared to having no cap at all. A more restrictive $250,000 cap reduced average payments by $59,331 (20 percent), and a less restrictive $500,000 cap had no significant effect, compared to no cap at all. The effect of the caps overall varied according to specialty, with the largest impact being on claims involving pediatricians and the smallest on claims involving surgical subspecialties and ophthalmologists.
Racial differences in paranoid ideation and psychoses in an older urban population.

OBJECTIVE This study examined whether there are racial differences in the prevalence of paranoid ideation and psychotic symptoms in persons age >/=55 in an urban community. METHOD Using 1990 census data for Brooklyn, N.Y. , the authors attempted to interview all cognitively intact persons age >/=55 in randomly selected blocks. The final group consisted of 206 whites and 821 blacks. The authors used George's Social Antecedent Model for analyzing 21 independent and three dependent variables: paranoid ideation, psychotic symptoms, and psychotic symptoms/paranoid ideation. The group was weighted by race and gender. To control for intrablock clustering effects without replacement sampling, the authors used SUDAAN for data analysis. RESULTS A significant difference in psychotic symptoms or paranoid ideation was found between blacks and whites (24% versus 10%) that was attenuated but not eliminated with logistic regression analyses. Blacks with psychotic symptoms or paranoid ideation, especially Caribbeans, had significantly lower receipt of mental health services and lower perceived service needs. With logistic regression, psychotic symptoms and paranoid ideation were associated with four variables among blacks and whites, although only one was significant in both groups. CONCLUSIONS Racial differences in psychotic symptoms and paranoid ideation persist even after control for various clinical, social, and attitudinal effects. Among blacks, response to stressors may be expressed through increased paranoid ideation and psychotic symptoms. Stronger beliefs in spiritualism increase this expression in both races. The high prevalence of psychotic symptoms or paranoid ideation among this aging urban population, especially blacks, highlights a potential public health issue.
Toward Defining the Regenerative Potential of Olfactory Mucosa: Establishment of Schwann Cell-Free Adult Canine Olfactory Ensheathing Cell Preparations Suitable for Transplantation

Olfactory mucosa (OM)-derived olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) are attractive candidates for autologous cell transplantation-based therapy of nervous system injury. However, defining the regenerative capacity of OM-derived OECs is impeded by the fact that cell cultures used for transplantation may contain significant amounts of contaminating trigeminal nerve Schwann cells that escape identification by sharing in vitro expression of OEC markers. The aim of the present study, therefore, was to quantify contaminating Schwann cells in OEC preparations and to develop a protocol for their specific depletion. Based on the observation that freshly dissociated, but not cultured, OECs and Schwann cells display differential expression of HNK-1 and p75NTR, magnet-activated cell sorting (MACS) was used to deplete myelinating (HNK-1-positive) and nonmyelinating (p75NTR-positive) Schwann cells from primary cell suspensions containing HNK-1-/p75NTR-negative OECs. Upregulation of p75NTR expression in OECs during culturing allowed their subsequent MACS-based separation from fibroblasts. Immunofluorescence analysis of freshly dissociated OM prior to MACS depletion revealed that 21% of the total and 56% of all CNPase-positive cells, representing both OECs and Schwann cells, expressed the Schwann cell antigens HNK-1 or p75NTR, indicating that freshly dissociated OM prior to culturing contained as many Schwann cells as OECs, while olfactory bulb (OB) primary cell suspensions revealed lower levels of Schwann cell contamination. Interestingly, neurite growth of neonatal rat dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons cocultured with OM-OECs, OB-OECs, and fibular nerve (FN) Schwann cells used as control was significantly higher in the presence of OECs than of Schwann cells. The first report on identification and specific depletion of Schwann cells from OEC preparations provides a solid basis for future efforts to fully define the regenerative potential of nasal mucosa OECs.
Brain distribution and evidence for both central and neurohormonal actions of cocaine‐ and amphetamine‐regulated transcript peptide in Xenopus laevis

We tested the hypothesis that, in the amphibian Xenopus laevis, cocaine‐ and amphetamine‐regulated transcript peptide (CARTp) not only has widespread actions in the brain but also acts as a local factor in endocrine pituitary cells and/or is neurohemally secreted into the circulation to control peripheral targets. CARTp‐immunoreactive cells occur in the olfactory bulb, nucleus accumbens, amygdala, septum, striatum, nucleus of Bellonci, ventrolateral nucleus, central thalamic nucleus, preoptic nuclei, and suprachiasmatic nucleus, and particularly in the medial pallium, ventromedial nucleus, hypothalamus, Edinger‐Westphal nucleus, optic tectum, raphe nuclei, central gray, nucleus of the solitary tract, and spinal cord. From the hypothalamic magnocellular nucleus, CARTp‐containing axons run to the neurohemal median eminence, and to the neural pituitary lobe to form neurohemal terminals, as shown by immunoelectron microscopy. Starvation increases the number of CARTp‐cells in the optic tectum by 46% but has no effect on such cells in the torus semicircularis. CARTp does not affect in vitro release of α‐melanophore‐stimulating hormone from pituitary melanotrope cells. Our results support the hypothesis that in X. laevis, CARTp not only has multiple and not exclusively feeding‐related actions in the brain but is also secreted as a neurohormone 1) into the portal system to control endocrine targets in the pituitary distal lobe and 2) from neurohemal axon terminals in the neural pituitary lobe to act peripherally. The differences in CARTp distribution between X. laevis and Rana esculenta may be related to different environmental and physiological conditions such as feeding, sensory information processing, and locomotion. J. Comp. Neurol. 507:1622–1638, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The Effects of a Euro Exit on Growth, Employment, and Wages

A technical analysis shows that the doomsayers who support the euro at all costs and those who naively theorize that a single currency is the root of all evil are both wrong. A euro exit could be a way of getting back to growth, but at the same time it would entail serious risks, especially for wage earners. The most important lesson we can learn from the experience of the past is that the outcome, in terms of growth, distribution, and employment, depends on how a country remains in the euro; or, in the case of a euro exit, on the quality of the economic policies that are put in place once the country regains control of monetary and fiscal matters, rather than on abandoning the old exchange system as such. It all depends on how a country stays in the eurozone, or on how it leaves if need be.
Environmental Impacts Evaluation of Sorbitol Production from Glucose

A life cycle assessment (LCA) has been performed on sorbitol production from glucose, which aims to quantify and evaluate the environmental impacts that produced from the process. SuperPro Designer software was employed to perform the process simulation, while SimaPro was used to quantify the LCA.Potency of global warming, acidification, eutrophication, photochemical oxidants creation, abiotic depletion, and ozone layer depletion were evaluated. A gate-to-gate LCA study of sorbitol production showed that global warming potential (GWP) had the largest impact to environment with the value of 3.551 kg CO2 eq/kg sorbitol. Glucose and electricity consumption were known as two major contributors to GWP, and hydrogen reactor was the main consumer of electricity. The use of glucose were responsible for more than 50% of total environmentalimpact in each category. Performing heat integration in sorbitol processing is highly recommended for gate-togate system to reduce energy demand, thus decreasing the environmental impacts. Therefore, this LCA study may be applied to perform a sustainable improvement on sorbitol production process.Keywords: sorbitol; life cycle assessment; global warming potential
Education in Designing out Crime - A Case Study

The State’s Designing Out Crime Strategy (Office of Crime Prevention, 2007) is committed to reducing opportunities for crime and the fear of crime using Designing Out Crime principles and strategies. One of its five goals is to increase / disseminate understanding of Designing Out Crime. This phenomenological case study discusses the development of Designing Out Crime education within Curtin University of Technology’s Urban and Regional Planning Department and the dissemination of Designing Out Crime ideas to planning students. Insights on students’ knowledge and interest in Designing Out Crime were gathered from a series of urban and regional planning field trips, lectures to students from product design, interior architecture, architecture, urban design and urban and regional planning and the supervision of numerous undergraduate planning dissertations on Designing Out Crime. Along with ongoing research into the Designing Out Crime field, insights from this research and teaching experiences are being synthesised to develop more critical teaching programs for Designing Out Crime. The knowledge is currently being formulated into a textbook, which will form the basis for a Special Projects Unit, representing an elective unit for undergraduate students in Urban and Regional Planning.
Impaired Endothelium-Mediated Relaxation in Coronary Arteries from Insulin-Resistant Rats1

Objective: The insulin resistance syndrome is associated with atherosclerosis and cardiovascular events; however, the underlying mechanism of vascular dysfunction is unknown. The purpose of the current study was to assess endothelium- and smooth-muscle-mediated vasodilation in isolated coronary arteries from insulin-resistant rats and to determine whether insulin resistance alters the activity of the specific endothelium-derived relaxing factors. Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomized to insulin resistance or control. Insulin resistance was induced by a fructose-rich diet. After 4 weeks of diet, coronary arteries were removed and vascular function was assessed in vitro using videomicroscopy. Acetylcholine (10–9–3 × 10–5 M)- or sodium-nitroprusside (10–9–3 × 10–4 M)-induced relaxations were determined. To evaluate the role of the specific endothelium-derived relaxing factors, several inhibitors were used, including N-nitro-L-arginine (LNNA), charybdotoxin/apamin (CTX/apamin), and indomethacin. Results: Studies with nitroprusside showed that smooth-muscle-dependent relaxation did not differ between insulin resistance and control groups. In contrast, maximal relaxation (Emax) to acetylcholine was decreased in the insulin resistance group (56 ± 7%) versus control (93 ± 3%). LNNA pretreatment further impaired Emax in the IR group from 56 ± 7 to 17 ± 2% (p < 0.01). In control, Emax was only slightly impaired by LNNA (93 ± 3 to 63 ± 6%; p < 0.05). The addition of CTX/apamin also decreased relaxation in the control group (93 ± 3 to 47 ± 7%; p < 0.05), whereas relaxation in insulin-resistant rats was not affected (45 ± 5% with CTX/apamin vs. 56 ± 7% with acetylcholine alone, NS). Pretreatment with indomethacin did not affect relaxation in either group, while pretreatment with the combination of LNNA and CTX/ apamin completely abolished relaxation in both groups. Conclusions: Endothelium-dependent relaxation is impaired in small coronary arteries from insulin-resistant rats. The mechanism of this defect is related to a decrease in an endothelium-dependent, nitric oxide/prostanoid-independent relaxing factor or endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor.
Fate of the Penumbra after Mechanical Thrombectomy

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: In acute stroke, CTP is often used to visualize the endangered brain areas, including the ischemic core and the penumbra. Our goal was to assess the evolution of the infarct after mechanical thrombectomy and to analyze the interventional factors determining the fate of the penumbra. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All patients receiving mechanical thrombectomy in the anterior circulation and receiving CTP beforehand were identified. The infarct volume was specified. The clinical parameters, outcome, and interventional results were correlated with the CTP and the final infarct size. RESULTS: In total, 73 patients were included. After mechanical thrombectomy, 78.1% reached a TICI score of 3/2b. The final infarct volume was significantly smaller, with a TICI score of 3/2b compared with less sufficient recanalization (19.60 ± 3 cm3 versus 38.1 ± 9 cm3; P < .001). After TICI 3/2b recanalization, 81% ± 5.2% of the potential infarct size (calculated as the sum of infarct core and penumbra) could be rescued. In patients with TICI scores of 2a or worse, only 39 ± 28.3 were salvaged (P < .001). The Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score after successful recanalization TICI score of 3/2b resulted in a decline of 1.9 ± 1.4 compared with the significantly higher degradation score of 3.7 ± 1.7 after recanalization, with a TICI score of 2a or worse. A recanalization TICI score of 3/2b resulted in an NIHSS improvement of 7.3 ± 0.8 NIHSS points, whereas a poorer recanalization improved on the NIHSS by only 2.5 ± 1.5 points (P < .01). CONCLUSIONS: Mechanical thrombectomy is a potent method to rescue large areas of penumbra in acute stroke.
Effects of novel fluoroquinolones on the catalytic activities of eukaryotic topoisomerase II: Influence of the C-8 fluorine group

A previous study (M.J. Robinson, B.A. Martin, T.D. Gootz, P.R. McGuirk, M. Moynihan, J.A. Sutcliffe, and N. Osheroff, J. Biol. Chem. 266:14585-14592, 1991) demonstrated that novel 6,8-difluoroquinolones were potent effectors of eukaryotic topoisomerase II. To determine the contribution of the C-8 fluorine to drug potency, we compared the effects of CP-115,955 [6-fluoro-7-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-1-cyclopropyl-4-quinolone-3-carboxylic acid] on the enzymatic activities of Drosophila melanogaster topoisomerase II with those of CP-115,953 (the 6,8-difluoro parent compound of CP-115,955). Removal of the C-8 fluoro group decreased the ability of the quinolone to enhance enzyme-mediated DNA cleavage approximately 2.5-fold. Like its difluorinated counterpart, CP-115,955 increased the levels of cleavage intermediates without impairing the DNA religation reaction of the enzyme. Removal of the C-8 fluorine reduced the ability of the quinolone to inhibit topoisomerase II-catalyzed DNA relaxation. In addition, the cytotoxicity of CP-115,955 towards Chinese hamster ovary cells was decreased compared with that of CP-115,953. These results demonstrate that the C-8 fluorine increases the potency of quinolone derivatives against eukaryotic topoisomerase II and mammalian cells. Further comparisons of CP-115,955 with CP-115,953 and CP-67,804 (the N-1 ethyl-substituted derivative of the difluoro parent compound) indicate that the two intrinsic activities of quinolone-based drugs towards topoisomerase II (i.e., enhancement of DNA cleavage and inhibition of catalytic strand passage) can be differentially influenced by alteration of ring substituents. Finally, correlations between the biochemical and cytological activities of these drugs suggest that the ability to inhibit catalytic strand passage enhances the cytotoxic potential of quinolones towards eukaryotic cells.
Anti–tumor necrosis factor therapies

Recently published studies confirm that the long-term use of biologicals targeting tumor necrosis factor-&agr; (TNF-&agr;) in therapy for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) gives rise to sustained improvement in symptoms and signs of disease provided the anti-TNF agent is efficacious and of low immunogenicity. The current regimens for infliximab 3 or 10 mg/kg infusion in combination with weekly oral methotrexate, or of etanercept 25 mg subcutaneously twice per week, appear to fulfill these criteria. D2E7, a “human” antibody produced by phage display, has also been used for over a year. It has recently emerged that anti-TNF therapy protects joints from structural damage. The 1-year data for infliximab and methotrexate combination therapy suggest that this regimen reduces disability. In early RA, etanercept acts more rapidly than methotrexate to decrease symptoms and retard the progression of erosions. In conclusion, for patients with established and early RA, anti-TNF therapies set a new standard for symptom control and joint protection.
Cognitive-experiential self-theory and subjective probability: further evidence for two conceptual systems.

Three experiments (N = 1,331) demonstrated that research findings on suspiciousness about coincidences (Miller, Turnbull, & McFarland, 1989) can be accounted for in terms of subjective probability, as predicted by cognitive-experiential self-theory (CEST) but in contrast with the norm theory (NT) account offered by Miller et al. (1989). Ss participated in a hypothetical (Experiments 1 and 2) or real (Experiment 3) lottery game in which they chose between 2 bowls offering equivalent probabilities of winning or losing but differing with respect to absolute numbers (e.g., 1 in 10 vs. 10 in 100). Responses across 4 conditions (2 probability levels x 2 outcome types) and across the 3 experiments supported predictions derived from CEST but not those derived from NT. Results are discussed in terms of 2 conceptual systems, rational and experiential, that operate by different rules of inference.
Cryptic B Cell Response to Renal Transplantation

Transplantation reliably evokes allo‐specific B cell and T cell responses in mice. Yet, human recipients of kidney transplants with normal function usually exhibit little or no antibody specific for the transplant donor during the early weeks and months after transplantation. Indeed, the absence of antidonor antibodies is taken to reflect effective immunosuppressive therapy and to predict a favorable outcome. Whether the absence of donor‐specific antibodies reflects absence of a B cell response to the donor, tolerance to the donor or immunity masked by binding of donor‐specific antibodies to the graft is not known. To distinguish between these possibilities, we devised a novel ELISPOT, using cultured donor, recipient and third‐party fibroblasts as targets. We enumerated donor‐specific antibody‐secreting cells in the blood of nine renal allograft recipients with normal kidney function before and after transplantation. Although none of the nine subjects had detectable donor‐specific antibodies before or after transplantation, all exhibited increases in the frequency of donor‐specific antibody‐secreting cells eight weeks after transplantation. The responses were directed against the donor HLA‐class I antigens. The increase in frequency of donor‐specific antibody‐secreting cells after renal transplantation indicates that B cells respond specifically to the transplant donor more often than previously thought.
Production of lignocellulolytic enzymes by Trametes gallica and detection of polysaccharide hydrolase and laccase activities in polyacrylamide gels

White rot fungus Trametes gallica was studied for the production of lignocellulolytic enzymes: cellulase, xylanase, laccase, manganese‐dependent peroxidase (MnP), and lignin peroxidase (LiP). The results demonstrated that low‐nitrogen (2.2 mM N) and surface stationary cultivation favored production of extracellular MnP. MnP activity reached 118.1 UL–1 while T. gallica was grown in a low‐nitrogen culture containing phenylalanine. However, Laccase levels observed in high‐nitrogen (22 mM N) agitated cultures were much greater than those seen in low‐nitrogen. The N source experiments seemed to reveal that NH4+ plays an important role in inducing MnP and laccase of the fungus. Results showed that T. gallica produces a series of the lignocellulolytic enzymes, and needs high N to produce all the enzymes during solid‐state fermentation of wheat straw. This paper also presents a modified zymogram procedure to detect xylanase and laccase of T. gallica in polyacrylamide gel. Xylanase in crude enzyme of T. gallica was displayed by contacting protein gel strips with xylan substrate gels and by staining with iodine. By immersing the protein gel strips in o‐tolidine solution, the blue‐green zones representing laccase activity were visualized against a colorless background. (© 2004 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)