Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Lithium augmentation compared with phenelzine in treatment-resistant depression in the elderly: an open, randomized, controlled trial.

BACKGROUND Up to a third of elderly patients with major depressive disorder do not respond to a first course of treatment with an antidepressant. There is a lack of controlled studies evaluating therapies for treatment-resistant depression in late-life depression, and no randomized controlled studies assessing the efficacy and tolerability of lithium augmentation in elderly patients have been published. METHOD Twenty-nine elderly inpatients with major depressive disorder according to DSM-IV criteria who had previously failed to respond to 1 or more adequate trials with a tricyclic antidepressant or venlafaxine were included in a 6-week, open, randomized, controlled study with a 2-year follow-up. Subjects received either lithium augmentation or the monoamine oxidase inhibitor phenelzine. The primary outcome criterion was remission, defined as a final score of less than or equal to 10 on the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS). Response was defined as at least 50% reduction on the MADRS or the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D). RESULTS Twenty-eight subjects completed the trial. Remission on the MADRS was achieved by 33.3% of the lithium patients, compared with none of the phenelzine patients (p = .042). Response also showed a difference in favor of lithium augmentation (p = .035 on both the MADRS and the HAM-D). Overall tolerability was good, with no dropouts due to side effects. Subjective memory impairment was more prevalent among patients receiving phenelzine (p = .002), and tremors were significantly more prevalent among patients receiving lithium (p = .002). During the 2-year follow-up, 25 patients (86.2%) did achieve remission, particularly on prolonging the lithium treatment (5 patients) or on lithium augmentation to phenelzine (5 patients). CONCLUSION Lithium was more effective than phenelzine in elderly patients with treatment-resistant major depressive disorder, while tolerance of both treatments was remarkably good in this group of elderly inpatients with many comorbid medical disorders. CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION Controlled-trials.com identifier is RCTN93105957.
[Good results of endoscopic paranasal sinus surgery for chronic or recurrent sinusitis and for nasal polyps].

Endoscopic sinus surgery is being applied increasingly for chronic or recurrent sinusitis and nasal polyps. We investigated the results, which we classified as subjective results (i.e. the opinion of the patient) and objective results (i.e. the result as seen with nasal endoscopy). The subjective result was 'good' in 85% of 92 patients with chronic or recurrent sinusitis, the objective result in 77% of the treated sides, with a median follow-up of 46 months. In 90 patients with nasal polyps the percentages were 90% and 65% respectively, with a follow-up of 24 months. In 63% of 30 patients with chronic obstructive lung disease and nasal polyps the pulmonary function increased postoperatively (FEV1). In 4.2% of 1235 operated sides in 593 patients local complications were seen. These were mainly minor complications. Only in 0.3% serious complications as a orbital hematoma or a CSF leak were seen. Endoscopic sinus surgery has good results and little morbidity.
Other People's Money: The Real Business of Finance

A Financial Times' Book of the Year, 2015 An Economist Best Book of the Year, 2015 A Bloomberg Best Book of the Year, 2015 The finance sector of Western economies is too large and attracts too many of the smartest college graduates. Financialization over the past three decades has created a structure that lacks resilience and supports absurd volumes of trading. The finance sector devotes too little attention to the search for new investment opportunities and the stewardship of existing ones, and far too much to secondary-market dealing in existing assets. Regulation has contributed more to the problems than the solutions. Why? What is finance for? John Kay, with wide practical and academic experience in the world of finance, understands the operation of the financial sector better than most. He believes in good banks and effective asset managers, but good banks and effective asset managers are not what he sees. In a dazzling and revelatory tour of the financial world as it has emerged from the wreckage of the 2008 crisis, Kay does not flinch in his criticism: we do need some of the things that Citigroup and Goldman Sachs do, but we do not need Citigroup and Goldman to do them. And many of the things done by Citigroup and Goldman do not need to be done at all. The finance sector needs to be reminded of its primary purpose: to manage other people's money for the benefit of businesses and households. It is an aberration when the some of the finest mathematical and scientific minds are tasked with devising algorithms for the sole purpose of exploiting the weakness of other algorithms for computerized trading in securities. To travel further down that road leads to ruin.
Receptor-mediated Regulation of Tomosyn-Syntaxin 1A Interactions in Bovine Adrenal Chromaffin Cells*

Tomosyn, a soluble R-SNARE protein identified as a binding partner of the Q-SNARE syntaxin 1A, is thought to be critical in setting the level of fusion-competent SNARE complexes for neurosecretion. To date, there has been no direct evaluation of the dynamics in which tomosyn transits through tomosyn-SNARE complexes or of the extent to which tomosyn-SNARE complexes are regulated by secretory demand. Here, we employed biochemical and optical approaches to characterize the dynamic properties of tomosyn-syntaxin 1A complexes in live adrenal chromaffin cells. We demonstrate that secretagogue stimulation results in the rapid translocation of tomosyn from the cytosol to plasma membrane regions and that this translocation is associated with an increase in the tomosyn-syntaxin 1A interaction, including increased cycling of tomosyn into tomosyn-SNARE complexes. The secretagogue-induced interaction was strongly reduced by pharmacological inhibition of the Rho-associated coiled-coil forming kinase, a result consistent with findings demonstrating secretagogue-induced activation of RhoA. Stimulation of chromaffin cells with lysophosphatidic acid, a nonsecretory stimulus that strongly activates RhoA, resulted in effects on tomosyn similar to that of application of the secretagogue. In PC-12 cells overexpressing tomosyn, secretagogue stimulation in the presence of lysophosphatidic acid resulted in reduced evoked secretory responses, an effect that was eliminated upon inhibition of Rho-associated coiled-coil forming kinase. Moreover, this effect required an intact interaction between tomosyn and syntaxin 1A. Thus, modulation of the tomosyn-syntaxin 1A interaction in response to secretagogue activation is an important mechanism allowing for dynamic regulation of the secretory response.
Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms for Integrative Mapping in the Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo)

When multiple genetic maps exist for a species, integration of these maps requires a set of common markers be genotyped across the individual mapping populations. In the turkey, three genetic maps based on separate mapping populations are available. In this study, SNP-based markers were developed for integrating the cDNA/RFLP-based map (1) with microsatellite markers of the second-generation turkey genome map (2). Forty-eight primer sets were designed and tested and 33 (69%) correctly amplified turkey genomic DNA by PCR. Putative SNPs were detected in 20 (61%) of the amplified gene fragments, and 10 SNP markers were subsequently genotyped by PCR/RFLP for segregation analysis. Eight SNP markers were incorporated into the turkey genetic map.
Low Expression of Nuclear Toll-like Receptor 4 in Laryngeal Papillomas Transforming into Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Objective The malignant transformation rate of recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP), a disease caused by human papillomavirus (HPV), has varied significantly. Cells of the human immune system express toll-like receptors (TLRs) that recognize particles from viruses and bacteria; TLRs are also present on tumor cells, and down-regulation of TLRs has been shown during the progression of HPV-associated neoplasia. The aim of this study was to determine the malignant transformation rate of laryngeal papillomas (LPs) and analyze the potential of TLR2, TLR4, and TLR9 immunoexpression as indicators of the increased cancer risk. Study Design Retrospective case-control study. Setting Department of Otorhinolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, Helsinki University Hospital, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland. Subjects and Methods We reviewed all patients with RRP treated for LPs between 1975 and 2011. Data from the Finnish Cancer Registry confirmed the number of patients diagnosed with laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC). Laryngeal tissue specimens from patients developing LSCC were subjected to TLR2, TLR4, and TLR9 immunohistochemistry. Nine patients with RRP without malignant transformation and 19 patients with LSCC without a pre-existing LP served as controls. Results Nine of 324 patients (2.8%) with RRP developed LSCC. The intensity of nuclear staining of TLR4 was significantly lower in LPs transforming into LSCC than in LPs without malignant transformation. The expression of cytoplasmic TLR4 in LSCC correlated with tumor grade and T stage. Cytoplasmic TLR9 expression was significantly lower in LPs than in LSCC. Conclusion The expression of TLR4 may serve as a predictive marker of malignant transformation in LPs. High immunoexpression of cytoplasmic TLR4 in LSCC was associated with a more aggressive disease.
Effect of gender on correlation of anaemia with body mass index in medical students.

Nutritional anemia exists globally and cuts across all the sections of the population. Adolescent being formative years in life are more susceptible to nutritional anemia. Considerable changes in growth pattern, lifestyle, dietary habits & behavior are likely to influence the hemoglobin levels among male and females of high income group. Study was done to assess the level of anemia among medical students and it's relation to Body mass index (BMI) among medical students. 200 healthy medical students at the Himalayan Institute of Medical Sciences belonging to both the sexes were taken in the study. Following consent anthropometry was conducted using standard protocol. Body Mass Index of >/= 18.5 kg/m2 is used to define undernutrition. Hemoglobin was estimated in gram %. Statistical analyses was done using mean . Standard deviation, Student's t test, and was studied for effect of gender on correlation of anemia with BMI. 8% of the students of MBBS were found to be anemic (Hb <12 g%) with none of the boys having hemoglobin <12 g% . 15.5% under nutrition was observed in the medical students with (25.75%) of girls having a BMI of <18.5 kg/m2. A negative association of hemoglobin was found with nutritional status (BMI) (r = -0.59; P = 0.24) in over weight and obese females students. Nutritional anemia and under nutrition exist among female medical students who are literate, and have free access to the nutritive diet in a good healthy environment.
Determinants of intrarenal oxygenation. II. Hemodynamic effects.

To study hemodynamic effects on intrarenal oxygenation, O2 microelectrodes were inserted into rat kidneys. In a previous study [M. Brezis, Y. Agmon, and F. H. Epstein. Am. J. Physiol. 267 (Renal Fluid Electrolyte Physiol. 36): F1059-F1062, 1994], we showed that tubular metabolism is a major determinant of intrarenal oxygenation, in part responsible for medullary hypoxia observed under basal conditions. Acute hypotension (by controlled hemorrhage, aortic ligation, or nitroprusside infusion) paradoxically increased medullary PO2 (from 21 +/- 2 to 39 +/- 2 mmHg, P < 0.001) while decreasing cortical PO2 (from 46 +/- 2 to 32 +/- 3 mmHg, P < 0.001), abolishing corticomedullary gradients of oxygen. Laser-Doppler studies indicated that, while cortical blood flow was reduced during hypotension, medullary blood flow was unchanged or increased. The increase in medullary PO2 induced by hypotension was abolished by prior administration of furosemide, suggesting that during hypotension, reduced glomerular filtration rate (GFR), distal delivery, and reabsorption result in decreased oxygen utilization. Acute infusions of atriopeptin III (0.1-1 microgram.kg-1.min-1) decreased both cortical PO2 (from 61 +/- 2 to 55 +/- 2 mmHg, P < 0.001) and medullary PO2 (from 15 +/- 1 to 7 +/- 1 mmHg, P < 0.001), consistent with atriopeptin-induced increases in GFR and tubular reabsorptive work. These data suggest that medullary oxygen availability increases during renal hypoperfusion and may decrease during renal vasodilation.
Lasers for otosclerosis: CO2 vs. Argon and KTP-532.

The concept of using laser energy to perform stapedotomy and stapedectomy revision is an attractive one. Precision of vaporizing a perfectly round 0.6- to 0.8-mm hole in the stapes footplate, regardless of its thickness or degree of fixation, would introduce an elegant simplicity to a sometimes difficult operation while eliminating mechanical trauma to the inner ear. When revising a previously failed stapedectomy, lasers should enable the otologic surgeon to atraumatically vaporize the obliterating oval window tissue and thus precisely diagnose the cause of the failure. A laser stapedotomy could then be performed in the membranous oval window, thus minimizing the risk of recurrent prosthesis migration. To accomplish these objectives, lasers must possess physical properties which permit the precise controlled delivery of laser energy to the microscopic operative field. Tissue characteristics of this laser energy should permit the vaporization of the stapes footplate or oval window soft tissue without thermal effect to the vestibule and without passing through the perilymph to damage the delicate structures of the inner ear. Two types of lasers have been successfully used for otosclerosis surgery: the visible lasers (Argon and KTP-532) and the invisible CO2 laser. This paper explores relative merits and disadvantages of each. The visible lasers possess ideal optical properties for microsurgery and, until recently (1984), were the only group of lasers optically precise enough for safe use on the oval window. Unfortunately, the short wavelength of these visible lasers (0.5 mu) impart tissue properties which are less than ideal for otosclerosis surgery. Visible laser is only partially absorbed by the white stapes footplate and readily passes through the perilymph to be absorbed by pigmented tissue of the inner ear (blood vessels, neuroepithelium, etc.). Therefore, the Argon and KTP-532 lasers should be used with caution while performing stapedotomies. Visible lasers should not be used for stapedectomy revisions since direct application of visible laser energy to the open vestibule produces dramatic temperature rises (up to 175 degrees C) in the vestibule at the level of the utricle and saccule. The long wavelength of the invisible CO2 laser (10.6 mu) imparts many optical problems which limit its precision for microscopic surgery. Until recently, the CO2 laser was too inaccurate for otosclerosis engineering advances for CO2 microsurgery. A newly designed microslad optical delivery system could deliver a 0.3-mm spot size CO2 beam at 250-mm focal length which was satisfactorily par-focal and coaxial with the aiming HeNe beam. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
The psychosocial and cognitive impact of longstanding ‘benign’ multiple sclerosis

Background: Benign multiple sclerosis (BMS) is typically defined using the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS), which relies heavily on ambulation. We set out to examine important psychosocial and cognitive outcomes in patients with longstanding BMS compared with patients who had recently progressed to ‘no longer benign’ (NLB). Methods: A previously reported cohort of BMS (EDSS ≤3 at 20 years disease duration) were re-assessed 25–30 years post-onset. Patients remaining benign (EDSS ≤3 at re-assessment) were compared with those NLB for: depression (Beck Depression Inventory), fatigue (Modified Fatigue Impact Scale), health-related quality of life (MSQoL-54), cognition (Rao’s Neuropsychological Screening Battery), and employment status. Results: A total of 75% (66/88) of the original cohort were located. A total of 61 patients were re-assessed. Twenty-five patients (41%) had progressed in EDSS and were NLB. Compared with benign patients, those NLB were more likely to have: significant fatigue (15/36 [42%] vs. 18/25 [72%], p = 0.019); poorer physical functioning (mean MSQoL-54 = 67.30 vs. 50.89, p = 0.002); an MS-related negative change in employment status (13/36 [36%] vs. 21/25 [84%], p < 0.0001) and cognitive impairment (3/28 [11%] vs. 5/19 [26%]; trend only, p = 0.317). Depression and mental health quality if life differed little between the benign and NLB patients (p > 0.6). Conclusions: Despite remaining benign for 20 years, a significant proportion of patients progressed with further follow up. While neither depression nor patient-reported mental health quality of life was associated with EDSS progression, patients with longstanding ‘benign’ MS (EDSS ≤3 for 25+ years) had less fatigue, better physical quality of life and employment outcomes and infrequent cognitive impairment. Remaining benign over the long term, as defined by the EDSS, carried some advantages beyond ambulation.
Barriers to Physical Activity Among Patients With Type 1 Diabetes

OBJECTIVE—To determine, in an adult population with type 1 diabetes, barriers to regular physical activity using a diabetes-specific barriers measure (the Barriers to Physical Activity in Diabetes [type 1] [BAPAD1] scale) and factors associated with these barriers. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—One hundred adults with type 1 diabetes answered a questionnaire assessing perceived barriers to physical activity and related factors. A1C was obtained from the medical chart of each individual. RESULTS—Fear of hypoglycemia was identified as being the strongest barrier to physical activity. Greater knowledge about insulin pharmacokinetics and using appropriate approaches to minimize exercise-induced hypoglycemia were factors associated with fewer perceived barriers. Greater barriers were positively correlated with A1C levels (r = 0.203; P = 0.042) and negatively with well-being (r = −0.45; P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS—Fear of hypoglycemia is the strongest barrier to regular physical activity in adults with type 1 diabetes, who should therefore be informed and supported in hypoglycemia management.
An interim report on the production of colonic diverticula in the rabbit

Six New Zealand white rabbits were given gas induction anaesthetics and maintained on glucochloralose (Merck) 60 mg/kg given intravenously. Intracolonic pressures were measured after a standard dose of prostigmine, 0·05 mg/kg, using fluid-filled, open-tipped, narrow-bore polythene tubes. Then the rabbits were put on a diet of white bread, butter, milk, and sugar supplemented by vitamins for four months. All six rabbits had put on weight but their general condition deteriorated; they had become constipated and the colon contracted. After stimulation with prostigmine 0·05 mg/kg scattered intertaenial wide-necked diverticula appeared which were thinner than the normal haustra and looked like a blackcurrant in colour, size, and shape. Repeat pressure measurements showed that the colonic motility index was increased up to 10 times from predietary levels with a highly significant mean increase from 5299 to 33151 (p < 0·0005).
The control of choice by its consequences.

Five pigeons were trained on concurrent variable-interval schedules in which equal rates of rein- forcement were always arranged for left- and right-key responses, but different overall rates were signaled by key colors. Sessions began with both keys lit yellow for the instrumental phase. If, after 20 s of this phase, the relative number of responses that had been made to the left key equaled or exceeded . 75, both keys changed red for the contingent phase. The contingent phase arranged another concurrent variable-interval schedule for a further 20 s before the instrumental phase was reinstated. However, if preference in the instrumental phase did not exceed . 75, the instrumental phase continued for a further 20 s before preference was again compared with the criterion. In Part 1, the reinforcer rate arranged in the instrumental phase was held constant at 4.8 reinforcers per minute, while the reinforcer rate arranged in the contingent phase was varied across conditions from 0 to 19.2 over ﬁve steps. In Part 2, reinforcer rates in the contingent phase were kept constant at 36 per minute, while reinforcer rates in the instrumental phase were varied from 0 to 36 over seven steps. Part 3 replicated Part 2 but used reinforcer rates in both phases that were one third of those arranged in Part 2. Measures of choice obtained by summing responses across presentations of the instrumental phase became more extreme toward the left key as the reinforcer rate obtained in the contingent phase was increased (Part 1) and as the reinforcer rate obtained in the instrumental phase was decreased (Parts 2 and 3). Changes in these measures of choice were accompanied by systematic changes in the relative frequency with which the criterion was exceeded. Changes in both these measures were correlated with changes in the relative frequency with which subjects responded exclusively to the left key. These results are discussed with respect to the two choices that were concurrently available in this procedure and the response alternatives that might constitute the concurrent operants in each choice.
Automatic Co-Registration of Digital Elevation Models Based on Centroids of Subwatersheds

This paper proposes a new method for automatic co-registration of digital elevation models (DEMs) based on centroids of subwatersheds. Subwatersheds are stable physical features, making their centroids more reliable and accurate as control points (CPs) than the other features. In the present method, subwatersheds are delineated from DEMs using hydrological analysis procedures. Modified invariant moments are employed to measure the similarity of subwatersheds for determining the correspondences between the reference and input. Centroids of matched subwatersheds are then derived as CP candidates, where the root-mean-square error is applied to eliminate mismatches using a global consistency check method. The established CP pairs are used to estimate parameters of a 3-D conformal transformation model, which is employed to rectify the input DEM. The accuracy of CP detection was assessed using two DEM subsets of different terrains. The results of six tests showed that the maximum shift and rotation errors were about 2 m (1/45 pixel) and 0.006°. The developed approach was used to co-register the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer Global DEM to the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission DEM at three locations. The results revealed that both the mean absolute error and the standard deviation of the elevation differences were reduced for all the tests after co-registration, showing the good performance of the proposed method. Comparisons have also been made against previous works, which suggested that our results were consistent with the previous studies.