Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dinámica de la regeneración de los pinares autóctonos de pino silvestre (pinus sylvestris l. Var. Nevadensis christ) de Sierra Nevada y Sierra de Baza

Se ha estudiado la regeneracion de los pinares autoctonos de pino silvestre de Sierra Nevada y Sierra de Baza, que constituyen bosques relictos y de pequenos tamano en el limite sur de distribucion de la especie. Para ello se analiza la perdida de potencial reproductor en distintas fasess del ciclo de vida de la planta para localizar los factores que pueden colapsar la regeneracion natural de estos bosques,lo que finalmente se integra con la dinamica de sucesion de las especies arboreas conobjeto de predecir la composicion del bosque en el futuro. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que la regeneracion de estos pinares es un proceso seriamente limitado en tres fases del ciclo de vida de la planta. En primer lugar, en fase de semilla, ya que estas son consumidad en grandes proporciones tanto por parte de predadores predispersivos como postdispersivos, de modo que menos de un 0,5% de las semillas que finalmente se encuentran depositadas en el suelo son semillas sanas. En segundo lugar, en fase de plantula, produciendose la muerte de la mayor parte de ellas (incluso del 100%) por diversos agentes, siendo el mas improtante de ellos la sequia estival. No obstante, el patron de mortalidad es muy variable espacialmente, de modo que la supervivencia es casi nula en areas de suelo desporvisto de vegetacion bajo la cobertura de los pinos adultos pero mayor bajo la copa de los matorrales (hasta 1,5 ordenes de magnitud superior). Los matorrales actuan asi de plantas nodriza,facilitando el reclutamiento de plantulas de pino silvestre al protegerlas fundamentalmente de la sequia estival (al ser menor la radicacion incidente y la tempertarua del suelo y mayor la humedad del sustrato), asi como por la proteccion que ofrecen frente a otros agentes de mortalidad como el pisoteo del ganado, las heladas o las fuertes tormentas de lluvia y de granizo. En tercer lugar, en fase de juvenil, debido a la baja tasa de crecimiento
The changing faces of HP1: From heterochromatin formation and gene silencing to euchromatic gene expression

Heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1) is a positive regulator of active transcription in euchromatin. HP1 was first identified in Drosophila melanogaster as a major component of heterochromatin. Most eukaryotes have at least three isoforms of HP1, which are conserved in overall structure but localize differentially to heterochromatin and euchromatin. Although initial studies revealed a key role for HP1 in heterochromatin formation and gene silencing, recent progress has shed light on additional roles for HP1 in processes such as euchromatic gene expression. Recent studies have highlighted the importance of HP1‐mediated gene regulation in euchromatin. Here, we focus on recent advances in understanding the role of HP1 in active transcription in euchromatin and how modification and localization of HP1 can regulate distinct functions for this protein in different contexts.
Duplex ultrasonography arteriography as first-line investigation for peripheral vascular disease.

INTRODUCTION The gold standard for evaluation of the lower extremity arterial tree is catheter angiography. Duplex arterial-occlusive imaging or duplex ultrasonography arteriography, a noninvasive technique, is used as the first-line investigation in patients with peripheral vascular disease at our centre. Based on the results of duplex imaging, patients who require angiographic intervention then proceed with simultaneous catheter arteriography and intervention. This study aimed to compare the results of duplex imaging alone as the first-line investigation against the eventual results of catheter angiography, and to assess the impact of the former on patients' clinical outcomes. METHODS All cases involving patients who underwent duplex imaging followed by angiographic intervention, from May 2008 to February 2009, were discussed at weekly interdisciplinary meetings. Only patients who underwent lower limb imaging were included in the study. Those who were involved in grafts and stent surveillance studies, as well as those with incomplete duplex images were excluded. RESULTS During the study period, 113 duplex imaging studies of the lower limb followed by percutaneous transluminal angioplasty were performed at our hospital for peripheral vascular disease. The iliac artery was visualised in 40 images, but could not be visualised in 73 images. There was a potential change in management in three cases due to radiological differences between the duplex images and angiography films. CONCLUSION In our series, duplex imaging was found to be accurate enough to guide initial clinical management of patients with peripheral vascular disease. This modality is the preferred first-line investigation for such patients at our centre.
Stroke and its Relationship to Risk Factors

Background: Stroke is a medical emergency and can cause permanent neurological damage, complications, and death. This trial was conducted to study the risk factors for stroke in our set up. Material & Methods: This observational study was conducted in Department of Medicine, Saidu Teaching Hospital Swat, from January 2006 to December 2006. Eighty-eight patients, 62 males and 26 females with stroke were included in the study. History, general physical and neurological examination was recorded. Relevant investigations were performed, risk factors noted and the outcome studied after one week. Results: Out of 88 patients, 62 were males and 26 females with age range of 45-95 years (Mean 65.9+9.15). Cerebral infarction constituted 50%, intra-cerebral hemorrhage 29.5% and subarachnoid hemorrhage 11.3%. Hypertension was the most common risk factor 68 (75%) followed by diabetes mellitus 48 (54.5%), ischemic heart disease 32 (36.3%), hyperlipidaemia 12 (13.6%), smoking (13.6%) and valvular heart disease 6 (6.8%). Most of these patients on presentation were semi-comatosed (50%), few were comatosed (29.5%) or alert (20.5%) at presentation. The outcome of these patients was recorded after a week of presentation and it showed mortality in 24 (27.2%). There was no improvement in 22 (25%), 30 (34%) partially improved while complete recovery occurred in 12 (13.6%). Conclusion: Mortality rate in stroke is 27.2% in our set up. The main risk factors for stroke are hypertension, diabetes mellitus, ischaemic heart disease, hyperlipidaemia and smoking. These can be modified by proper health education.
Development of rheumatoid arthritis is not associated with two polymorphisms in the Crohn's disease gene CARD15.

INTRODUCTION It has been proposed that genetic susceptibility loci for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) may be shared with other autoimmune/inflammatory diseases. Recently, common variation in the CARD15 (NOD2) gene on chromosome 16q12 has been associated with Crohn's disease (CD) in several independent populations. CARD15 is an excellent functional and positional candidate gene for RA. METHODS Genomic DNA was obtained from 392 RA cases and 471 ethnically matched healthy controls. All samples were genotyped for two polymorphisms in CARD15, 1007fs and R702W, using 5' nuclease reporter assays. Allele frequencies were compared between cases and controls using the chi(2) test. Estimated haplotype frequencies across the two mutations were determined using the EH program. RESULTS The allele frequency of the 1007fs variant in RA cases was 1.8% compared with 1.6% in normal controls (not significant). The frequency of the R702W variant was 4.0% in both cases and controls. Haplotypes carrying either of the two mutations accounted for 5.6% of possible haplotypes. A haplotype carrying both mutations was rare, with estimated frequency <0.01%. This study provided high power to detect an association of similar magnitude to that in Crohn's disease. These data therefore exclude the possibility that the contribution of these mutations to RA is comparable to that seen in CD. CONCLUSION Within defined statistical parameters, we excluded a role for the CARD15 1007fs and R702W variants in RA susceptibility. These data do not preclude a role for other polymorphisms in the CARD15 gene in RA susceptibility. Results from other autoimmune and inflammatory diseases will reveal whether the CARD15 gene is in fact a common autoimmune susceptibility locus.
Relation of mental imagery to hallucinations.

THE CONCEPT that hallucinations are exaggerations of mental imagery has been long in dying. Previous to the present study, the relationship of mental imagery to hallucinations has been investigated experimentally only four times: first by Mourgue,1in 1932; then by Cohen,2in 1938; then by Snyder and Cohen,3in 1940, and, finally, by Roman and Landis,4in 1945. So far as visual and auditory hallucinations are concerned, none of these investigations revealed a direct relationship between the predominating type of mental imagery and the modality of hallucination. Furthermore, our analysis of Cohen's data suggests that with respect to auditory hallucinations there might even be a direct relationship between hallucinations in this modality and relatively deficient imagery in this modality. The purpose of the present paper is to describe a more extensive investigation than any of the four just mentioned, in which it has been found not
Aliskiren alone or with other antihypertensives in the elderly with borderline and stage 1 hypertension: the APOLLO trial.

AIMS We studied the unclear question whether blood pressure (BP) lowering reduces cardiovascular disease (CVD) in elderly individuals with systolic BP <160 mm Hg. METHODS AND RESULTS We initiated a randomized placebo-controlled stratified 2 × 2 factorial clinical trial evaluating the effects of BP lowering in 11 000 elderly individuals with systolic blood pressure (SBP) between 130 and 159 mm Hg, for 5 years. Following 5-week active run-in, participants were randomized to aliskiren (300 mg) or placebo, and to an additional antihypertensive [hydrochlorothiazide (25 mg) or amlodipine (5 mg)], or their respective placeboes. Study was terminated by sponsor after 1759 subjects (age 72.1 ± 5.2 years, 88% receiving at least one antihypertensive) were randomized and followed for 0.6 year. Study drugs were well tolerated with few serious adverse events during run-in and after randomization, with no significant differences between treatment groups. By design, three levels of BP reductions were achieved, adjusted mean BP reductions of 3.5/1.7 mm Hg (P < 0.001) by aliskiren, 6.8/3.3 mm Hg (P < 0.001) by hydrochlorothiazide or amlodipine, and 10.3/5.0 mm Hg (P < 0.001) by double therapy compared with placebo. Twenty-five major CVD events occurred. Non-significant trends towards fewer CVD events with greater BP reductions are evident: hazard ratios (HR) 0.82 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.37-1.81] for 3.5 mm Hg SBP reduction; HR 0.45 (95% CI: 0.19-1.04) for 6.8 mm Hg; and HR 0.25 (0.05-1.18) for 10.3 mm Hg reduction for primary composite of CV death, MI, stroke, or significant heart failure. CONCLUSIONS Sizeable reductions in BP, with potential for substantial CVD reduction, can be safely achieved using combinations of BP drugs in the elderly with normal high and Stage 1 hypertension. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION NCT01259297.
Too fat to exercise? Obesity as a barrier to physical activity.

OBJECTIVE To describe perceptions of being 'too fat' as a barrier to physical activity by gender and body mass index, and to examine the associations between feeling fat and other weight-related barriers to physical activity. METHODS Analyses of cross-sectional self-report data from a representative population survey of 2,298 Australian adults. RESULTS Overall, 4.4% of respondents reported being too fat as a barrier to physical activity; this being more common among women (6.2%), and among the obese (22.6%). Associations were found between being too fat as a barrier, and being too shy or embarrassed to exercise; being too lazy or not motivated; having an injury or disability (males only); and being not the sporty type (females only). There was no association between feeling too fat and poor health. CONCLUSIONS Feeling too fat to exercise is a common barrier among the overweight, particularly for women. Results suggest gender differences in weight-related barriers to physical activity. IMPLICATIONS A better understanding of the nature of weight-related physical activity barriers can help inform public health strategies designed to increase physical activity among those who are obese.
Glutamate receptors localize postsynaptically at neuromuscular junctions in mice

Dlg (Discs Large) is a multidomain protein that interacts with glutamate receptors and potassium channels at Drosophila neuromuscular junctions (NMJs) and at mammalian central nervous system synapses. Dlg also localizes postsynaptically at cholinergic mammalian NMJs. We show here that α‐amino‐3‐hydroxy‐5‐methylisoxazole‐4‐proprionate (AMPA) receptor subunits, together with glutamate, are present at the mammalian NMJ. Both AMPA and NMDA (N‐methyl‐D‐aspartate) glutamate receptor subunits display overlapping postsynaptic localization patterns with Dlg at all NMJs examined in normal mice. Kir2 potassium channels also localize with Dlg and glutamate receptors at this synapse. Localization of the components of a glutamatergic system suggests novel mechanisms at mammalian neuromuscular synapses. Muscle Nerve 39: 343–349, 2009
A quantitative and qualitative appraisal of microbial pollution of water by swimmers: a preliminary report

Five healthy young women swam in untreated water of known bacterial quality under a variety of hygienic conditions. Evidence based on bacteriological examination of water samples leads to the following conclusions: 1. There is a marked variation in the number and types of bacteria shed by a bather while swimming and the variations do not seem to be correlated to the differences in personal hygiene or the menstrual period. 2. Faecal organisms may be discharged in considerable numbers by a swimmer after a thorough and careful shower with soap and warm water and yet not be discharged in appreciable numbers by a bather who does not take a shower before swimming. 3. Faecal organisms constitute only a small minority of the total number of viable bacteria that are discharged in swimming pool water by a bather during the act of swimming and as such seem to have limited use as indicators of total bacterial pollution. 4. Members of the genus Staphylococcus are shed in large numbers under all conditions and Staph. aureus is consistently present. Therefore, this genus appears to be a good choice as an index for the determination of body contamination. 5. Further studies are indicated under more stringently controlled hygienic conditions to determine the value of hexachlorophene in reducing microbial flora that a given individual may shed during swimming.
Verapamil improves the outcome after cadaver renal transplantation.

Because of their favorable effects on renal hemodynamics, calcium antagonists may have a major role in the prevention and management of certain types of acute renal dysfunction. In fact, verapamil (VP) was shown to prevent cyclosporin A (CsA)-induced decreases in RBF in mice and in cadaver renal transplant (CRT) recipients. The study presented here of 59 cadaver renal transplant patients evaluates the outcome from perioperative treatment with VP (N = 30) administered intraoperatively into the renal artery (10 mg) followed by oral administration of 120 mg every 8 to 12 h for 14 days versus no drug (N = 29). Early immunosuppression included azathioprine, corticosteroids, and antilymphocyte globulin with subsequent overlapping with CsA on days 5 and 6. Actuarial graft survival at 1 yr was different when the two groups were compared (P less than 0.05). Estimated graft survival at 1 yr for VP patients was 93.3 compared with 72.4% in control patients. The improved graft survival was most striking in repeat transplants with 90% graft survival at 1 yr for VP recipients versus 37.5% for controls. Compared with controls, VP recipients had significantly improved renal parenchymal diastolic blood flow velocities on the first day after surgery (7.8 versus 5.8 cm/s). By day 7, GFR were greater with VP (44 +/- 29 mL/min) versus controls (28 +/- 22 mL/min). Of VP patients, 67% (18 of 24) had GFR greater than 30 mL/min versus 33% (9 of 26) for control patients. Similarly, on the seventh day, 77% (21 of 30) of VP patients had serum creatinines less than 2.0 mg% versus 34% (10 of 29) for controls. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Telomere Loops and Homologous Recombination-Dependent Telomeric Circles in a Kluyveromyces lactis Telomere Mutant Strain

ABSTRACT The Kluyveromyces lactis ter1-16T strain contains mutant telomeres that are poorly bound by Rap1, resulting in a telomere-uncapping phenotype and significant elongation of the telomeric DNA. The elongated telomeres of ter1-16T allowed the isolation and examination of native yeast telomeric DNA by electron microscopy. In the telomeric DNA isolated from ter1-16T, looped molecules were observed with the physical characteristics of telomere loops (t-loops) previously described in mammalian and plant cells. ter1-16T cells were also found to contain free circular telomeric DNA molecules (t-circles) ranging up to the size of an entire telomere. When the ter1-16T uncapping phenotype was repressed by overexpression of RAP1 or recombination was inhibited by deletion of rad52, the isolated telomeric DNA contained significantly fewer t-loops and t-circles. These results suggest that disruption of Rap1 results in elevated recombination at telomeres, leading to increased strand invasion of the 3′ overhang within t-loop junctions and resolution of the t-loop junctions into free t-circles.
[The clinical and laboratory features of 263 cases of chronic lymphocytic leukemia].

OBJECTIVE To analyze the clinical and laboratory features of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). METHODS Retrospective investigation of 263 patients with CLL in our hospital between Feb. 2000 and Jan. 2007. RESULTS The median age was 60 years with male/female ratio of 2.17 : 1. Patients who were asymptomatic at diagnosis (35.4%) had low Rai grades. Fatigue and lymphadenopathy (54.8%) were the most common features at presentation. Infections, connective tissue diseases and secondary tumors frequently occurred in CLL. WBC counts were between (10 - 100) x 10(9)/L, with lymphocytes percentages more than 0.50 in 97.1% patients. Bone marrow was normal- to hyper-cellularity with lymphocytes percentages more than 0.300 in 99.4% patients. Diffuse infiltrations in bone marrow section were found in 72.2% patients. There were lower CD5 (85.1%) and higher CD25 (78.9%) positivities in the present series as compared with that in other reports. Hypogammaglobulinemia, especially hypo-IgM, usually occurred. Chromosome abnormality were rarely found by routine chromosome examination. CONCLUSIONS There were some clinical and laboratory characteristics different from that of abroad data. Further exploration of new markers is required for prognosis prediction and treatment choice.
Minimally Invasive Aortic Valve Surgery

Minimally invasive aortic valve surgery by definition means performing procedures through alternative approaches without the need to divide the sternum completely. Even though this contributes towards lowering the mortality and morbidity of patients, minimally invasive techniques have to be tailored to the unique patient as well as surgeon characteristics. With the advancements made in invasive cardiology techniques, the line between invasive cardiology and minimally invasive cardiac surgery is becoming thinner and thinner. We are presenting state-of-the-art techniques and outcomes for surgical aortic valve replacement via upper mini-sternotomy or anterior right mini-thoracotomy. In addition, aortic valve repair and valve-sparing procedures through a minimally invasive approach are discussed.
Introduction to the Special Issue on Repetitive Behavior Problems

Treatments for a variety of problematic behaviors have been derived from behavioral principles. Early in the history of behavior modification, the target behaviors of those doing crossover research between basic laboratories and applied settings involved overt behaviors such as bedwetting, self-injury, and aggression (Miltenberger, 2001). Another area that soon became a focus of applied behavior analysis involved repetitive behavior problems such as hair pulling, skin picking, and thumb or finger sucking (e.g., Azrin & Nunn, 1977). Regardless of the different diagnostic labels used to categorize these behaviors (e.g., impulse-control disorder, stereotypic movement disorder, habit disorder), behavioral techniques provided an effective method for their treatment (Woods & Miltenberger, 2001). The behavioral interventions designed for these repetitive behavior problems were generally successful and have stood the test of time (Woods & Miltenberger, 2001). For example, habit reversal, developed by Azrin and Nunn (1973), is still a core feature of many interventions for such problems. Unfortunately, research in the area of repetitive behavior problems has been relatively scarce, and as a result, our knowledge about these problems and their treatment has not advanced much past what was known in the early 1970s. For example, a review of the literature showed that from 1975 to 2000,
How does fertility of the substrate affect intraspecific competition? Evidence and synthesis from self-thinning

When dense populations of even-aged plant monocultures are subject to intense competition, mortality can occur in a process known as self-thinning, in which changes in biomass are accompanied by decreases in density. On a plot of log biomass versus log density, self-thinning populations show a linear relationship called the self-thinning line. Variations in the fertility level of the substrate are known to affect self-thinning in a number of ways. Populations from substrates with different fertility levels have been observed to self-thin along the same line, or along different lines. A review of several experiments using the one species grown at different fertility levels was undertaken to look for any mechanisms that might account for the different patterns observed. It was postulated that the critical difference between whether populations followed a common or different line was the way in which competition developed in the stands as biomass accumulated. For the common-line pattern, data on the canopy volume required to support a given biomass showed that biomass packing did not differ between fertility levels, supporting the model of a common competitive mechanism operating at all fertility levels. When different lines were observed, the development of competition differed as plants increased in size and biomass accumulated at each fertility level. Over the upper range of fertility levels, biomass packing values per plant increased as fertility declined and the position of self-thinning lines followed predictions from biomass packing data. At the low end of the fertility scale, biomass packing values still decreased with fertility level, but the position of self-thinning lines was not linked to the biomass packing of individual plants: root interactions were presumed to dominate competition and the trajectory of self-thinning lines.