Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Systemic Nitric Oxide Production Rate during Hemodialysis and Its Relationship with Nitric Oxide-Related Factors

Background/Aims:Nitric oxide (NO) plays a key role in the regulation of vascular tone and controls both local and systemic hemodynamics. Here, we estimated systemic NO production rates of hemodialysis (HD) patients, based on the time course of plasma concentration of nitrate (an oxidative end product of NO) and investigated possible roles of NO-related factors. Methods: We measured plasma concentrations of nitrate, L-arginine (a substrate of NO synthase: NOS), asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA, an endogenous NOS inhibitor), tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4, a NOS cofactor), dihydrobiopterin (BH2, an oxidized form of BH4) and oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxyLDL; an index of oxidative stress) before and after 30-min and 4-hour HD (n = 10). Results:The time-averaged NO production rate during HD was estimated by fitting the time course of plasma nitrate concentration with a single-compartment model (4.00 ± 0.82 µmol/min, 4.99 ± 1.08 µmol/kg/h). The L-arginine/ADMA ratio (L-arginine availability) after 30-min HD showed a positive correlation with the NO production rate (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The systemic NO production rate during HD could be estimated by the single-compartment analysis. The L-arginine/ADMA ratio seems to play an important role in the regulation of the NO production during HD.
Rasch analysis of the illness management and recovery scale-clinician version.

RATIONALE, AIMS AND OBJECTIVES The illness management and recovery scale-clinician version (IMRS-C) is a measure of outcomes thought to be important indicators of progress for consumers participating in illness management and recovery (IMR). Prior research has examined the psychometric properties of the IMRS-C; extant research supports certain aspects of the scale's reliability (test-retest) and validity (sensitivity to interventions). Analyses based on Rasch provide certain advantages and have not been applied to the IMRS-C. METHOD This study used an archival IMRS database including responses regarding 697 participants with severe mental illness from a variety of community-based settings. Rasch analyses were utilized to determine item functioning and utility of the IMRS-C. RESULTS Results of Rasch analyses using the IMRS-C as one unidimensional scale were problematic. Analyses grouping items into three separate scales measuring recovery, management and biological vulnerability were more promising, but the third scale had other limitations. CONCLUSIONS Results suggest that the items included in the IMRS-C can form two screeners, one for recovery and one for management; items regarding biological vulnerability were inadequate. The assessment could be supplemented by more refined measures of coping/self-management and recovery constructs.
CUT: automatic unit testing in the cloud

Unit tests can be significantly sped up by running them in parallel over distributed execution environments, such as the cloud. However, manually setting up such environments and configuring the testing frameworks to effectively use them is cumbersome and requires specialized expertise that developers might lack. We present Cloud Unit Testing (CUT), a tool for automatically executing unit tests in distributed execution environments. Given a set of unit tests, CUT allocates appropriate computational resources, i.e., virtual machines or containers, and schedules the execution of tests over them. Developers do not need to change existing unit test code, and can easily control relevant aspects of test execution, including resource allocation and test scheduling. Additionally, during the execution CUT monitors and publishes events about the running tests which enables stream analytics. CUT and videos showcasing its main features are freely available at: https://www.st.cs.uni-saarland.de/testing/cut/
Dynamics and genetic diversification of Escherichia coli during experimental adaptation to an anaerobic environment

Background Many bacteria are facultative anaerobes, and can proliferate in both anoxic and oxic environments. Under anaerobic conditions, fermentation is the primary means of energy generation in contrast to respiration. Furthermore, the rates and spectra of spontaneous mutations that arise during anaerobic growth differ to those under aerobic growth. A long-term selection experiment was undertaken to investigate the genetic changes that underpin how the facultative anaerobe, Escherichia coli, adapts to anaerobic environments. Methods Twenty-one populations of E. coli REL4536, an aerobically evolved 10,000th generation descendent of the E. coli B strain, REL606, were established from a clonal ancestral culture. These were serially sub-cultured for 2,000 generations in a defined minimal glucose medium in strict aerobic and strict anaerobic environments, as well as in a treatment that fluctuated between the two environments. The competitive fitness of the evolving lineages was assessed at approximately 0, 1,000 and 2,000 generations, in both the environment of selection and the alternative environment. Whole genome re-sequencing was performed on random colonies from all lineages after 2,000-generations. Mutations were identified relative to the ancestral genome, and based on the extent of parallelism, traits that were likely to have contributed towards adaptation were inferred. Results There were increases in fitness relative to the ancestor among anaerobically evolved lineages when tested in the anaerobic environment, but no increases were found in the aerobic environment. For lineages that had evolved under the fluctuating regime, relative fitness increased significantly in the anaerobic environment, but did not increase in the aerobic environment. The aerobically-evolved lineages did not increase in fitness when tested in either the aerobic or anaerobic environments. The strictly anaerobic lineages adapted more rapidly to the anaerobic environment than did the fluctuating lineages. Two main strategies appeared to predominate during adaptation to the anaerobic environment: modification of energy generation pathways, and inactivation of non-essential functions. Fermentation pathways appeared to alter through selection for mutations in genes such as nadR, adhE, dcuS/R, and pflB. Mutations were frequently identified in genes for presumably dispensable functions such as toxin-antitoxin systems, prophages, virulence and amino acid transport. Adaptation of the fluctuating lineages to the anaerobic environments involved mutations affecting traits similar to those observed in the anaerobically evolved lineages. Discussion There appeared to be strong selective pressure for activities that conferred cell yield advantages during anaerobic growth, which include restoring activities that had previously been inactivated under long-term continuous aerobic evolution of the ancestor.
Emerging industry-university trends, challenges, and interventions for Latin America

Ever since the dawn of the last decade, Latin America has witnessed both an existing, entrenched, consensus on the need for changing the role of universities, as well as the incremental demand for knowledgeable-high-tech skilled labor in emerging industries. Such a role has arrived in addition to the standard roles of advanced education and research, to one more where extension, engagement, and entrepreneurship contributes to regional economic development. Hence, these institutions are compelled to increase, develop, and raise their potential in terms of training qualified, “knowledge workers” thus creating imminent direct innovation and scientific capacity building.
A system for recommending colleges to HSC appointees using slope one algorithm

With the expansion of population, the growing number of students are inducing an increase in the number of educational institutions in Bangladesh. Every year, lots of students, after passing their SSC examination, are in a quandary to choose a suitable college. Is it possible to mitigate their tribulation by helping them to choose their suitable college? Is there any prospect of building a recommender system that will suggest a list of suitable college to a student? What are the facts that can be used to measure the effectiveness of a college for a student? In this study, we worked to build such a recommender system. We figured out some facts that are efficacious to construct a sorted list of colleges according to their suitability for a particular student. To build the recommender system, user-based and item-based collaborative filtering methods have been used. Students are categorized according to their performance in SSC examination, group, gender, spatial information etc.
Beyond words: how do children with ADHD and/or conduct problems process nonverbal information about affect?

OBJECTIVE To study nonverbal social cue perception in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; n = 86), conduct problems (CP; n = 24), or both disorders (ADHD + CP; n = 63), as well as normal controls (n = 27). METHOD Using a standardized test of receptive nonverbal processing abilities, participants were required to interpret emotional cues from pictures of facial expressions and recordings of voices. RESULTS As predicted, children with CP and ADHD were significantly less accurate at interpreting emotions than normal controls. However, children with CP and ADHD differed in the type of errors made: the ADHD group's errors were generally random in nature, whereas the CP group tended to misinterpret emotions as anger. Contrary to our hypothesis, the ADHD + CP group performed better than the ADHD and CP groups, was as accurate as the control group, and displayed a unique pattern of errors. CONCLUSIONS These results support the idea that social deficiencies associated with CP arise from a biased perception of emotion, whereas social problems in ADHD originate from a failure to attend to the appropriate cues of affect. The findings also support the theory that comorbid ADHD + CP is a distinct disorder.
Molecular evolution, species distribution, and clinical consequences of an endemic aminoglycoside resistance plasmid

During the first 6 years after appearing in one hospital, a 92-kilobase conjugative plasmid, pBWH1, which encoded resistance to chloramphenicol and sulfonamides and determined TEM-1 beta-lactamase and 2''-aminoglycoside nucleotidyltransferase, underwent a variety of molecular changes. It was most prevalent initially in isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae, then in isolates of Serratia marcescens, and finally, after nearly disappearing, in isolates of Enterobacter cloacae. Evolutionary changes in the plasmid did not account for its shifts in species distribution, since the original molecule was found in isolates of each species. The late resurgence of pBWH1 occurred after a copy of its original molecule entered a distinctive ornithine decarboxylase-negative strain of E. cloacae, new to the hospital. The resulting transconjugant strain, chromosomally resistant to topical silver salts and to cephalosporins, and with the addition of pBWH1-encoded aminoglycoside resistance, spread in the hospital by causing an outbreak of sepsis in the burn unit, where these were commonly used antibacterial agents. Thus, an endemic plasmid became prevalent in a new host species because one of its genes supplemented the fitness of an uncommon strain of the species for a particular clinical niche.
Depletion of l‐ascorbic acid alternating with its supplementation in the treatment of patients with acute myeloid leukemia or myelodysplastic syndromes

Purpose: l‐ascorbic acid (LAA) modifies the in vitro growth of leukemic cells from ∼50% of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) or myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). To test the hypothesis that depletion of LAA, alternating with supplementation to prevent scurvy, would provide therapeutic benefit, a single‐arm pilot trial was conducted (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00329498).
Brief Reports: International Anthropometric, Body Composition, and Blood Pressure Measures Among Rural Elderly Adults of Asian Indian Origin: The Santiniketan Aging Study

The number of older adults is increasing in industrialized and in developing countries. The present community-based cross sectional work was undertaken to study the anthropometric, body composition, and blood pressure characteristics of rural-dwelling elderly adults of Asian Indian origin. A total of 300 individuals (Male1⁄4 157 and Female1⁄4 143) from the Bolpur-Sriniketan area of West Bengal, India, took part in the study. Participants were divided into four age-groups: Group I, 55–59 years (Male:Female1⁄4 55:61); Group II, 60–64 years (Male:Female1⁄4 41:33); Group III, 65–69 years (Male:Female1⁄4 27:21); Group IV, 70 years and older (Male: Female1⁄4 34:28). Anthropometric measures were taken using standard techniques. Body mass index, waist-hip ratio, and the sum of four skin folds were subsequently computed. Body composition measures, namely percentage of body fat, fat mass, fat free mass, arm muscle circumference, arm muscle area, and arm fat area, were calculated accordingly. Left-arm systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressures (DBP) were also measured, and mean arterial pressure was subsequently calculated. Overall observations in the study population indicate a predominance of body weights below the normal body mass index of 25 kg=m. More than half the subjects reported the lack of adequate sanitation facilities and
Timing and Biosynthetic Potential for Carotenoid Accumulation in Genetically Diverse Germplasm of Maize1[C][W][OA]

Enhancement of the carotenoid biosynthetic pathway in food crops benefits human health and adds commercial value of natural food colorants. However, predictable metabolic engineering or breeding is limited by the incomplete understanding of endogenous pathway regulation, including rate-controlling steps and timing of expression in carotenogenic tissues. The grass family (Poaceae) contains major crop staples, including maize (Zea mays), wheat (Triticum aestivum), rice (Oryza sativa), sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), and millet (Pennisetum glaucum). Maize carotenogenesis was investigated using a novel approach to discover genes encoding limiting biosynthetic steps in the nutritionally targeted seed endosperm. A combination of bioinformatics and cloning were first used to identify and map gene families encoding enzymes in maize and other grasses. These enzymes represented upstream pathways for isopentenyl diphosphate and geranylgeranyl diphosphate synthesis and the downstream carotenoid biosynthetic pathway, including conversion to abscisic acid. A maize germplasm collection was used for statistical testing of the correlation between carotenoid content and candidate gene transcript levels. Multiple pathway bottlenecks for isoprenoid biosynthesis and carotenoid biosynthesis were discovered in specific temporal windows of endosperm development. Transcript levels of paralogs encoding isoprenoid isopentenyl diphosphate and geranylgeranyl diphosphate-producing enzymes, DXS3, DXR, HDR, and GGPPS1, were found to positively correlate with endosperm carotenoid content. For carotenoid pathway enzymes, transcript levels for CrtISO inversely correlated with seed carotenoid content, as compared with positive correlation of PSY1 transcripts. Since zeaxanthin epoxidase (ZEP) depletes the carotenoid pool in subsequent conversion to abscisic acid, ZEP transcripts were examined. Carotenoid accumulation was found to be inversely associated with ZEP1 and ZEP2 transcript levels. Extension of the maize results using phylogenetic analysis identified orthologs in other grass species that may serve as potential metabolic engineering targets.
The role of post-remission chemotherapy for older patients with acute myelogenous leukemia

Standard practice in older patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is induction chemotherapy (ICT) followed by post-remission chemotherapy (PRT). We previously reported a median disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) for patients in complete remission (CR) of 7.5 and 13.5 months, respectively, in 30 older patients treated with standard ICT and PRT (study A). We designed a subsequent trial excluding PRT (study B). Forty patients with AML age ⩾ 60 years were treated with ICT consisting of standard dose cytosine arabinoside and mitoxantrone followed with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor subcutaneously starting day 11 if the bone marrow aspirate and biopsy was hypocellular. Median age was 68 years. Myelodysplasia preceded AML in 37% of patients. Favourable, normal, and unfavourable karyotypes were seen in 7.5%, 55%, and 37.5% of patients, respectively. Twenty-one patients (52.5%) achieved CR. Median DFS and OS for patients in CR were 6.2 and 10.8 months, respectively. Study A and B differed by the addition of PRT in study A. However, DFS and OS did not differ significantly between patients treated in study A or study B (P = 0.21 and P = 0.15, respectively). PRT has not clearly improved survival in older patients with AML, and therefore the routine addition of chemotherapy to older patients in complete remission is not indicated.
Durability of Aneurysm Embolization with Matrix Detachable Coils

OBJECTIVE:Matrix detachable coils (MDC; Boston Scientific/Target, Fremont, CA) are platinum coils coated with a bioabsorbable polymeric material (polyglycolic-polylactic acid). In animal models, the introduction of polyglycolic-polylactic acid-coated coils into experimental aneurysms resulted in a cellular reaction which promoted stable intra-aneurysmal scar tissue formation. The current study was undertaken to assess the durability of aneurysm occlusion after embolization with MDC. METHODS:All patients undergoing embolization were prospectively enrolled in an endovascular database at our institution. All coils used for embolization were recorded in the operative notes for the procedure. Only aneurysms embolized with 50% or greater length of MDC were included. All patients with Neuroform stents (Boston Scientific/Target, Fremont, CA) were excluded from the study. Patients were followed with conventional angiography and magnetic resonance angiography. RESULTS:During a 20-month period, 131 aneurysms were embolized with MDC. Follow up data (average, 6.9 mo; range, 1.5–22 mo) were available for 82 aneurysms (61 with conventional angiography, 21 with magnetic resonance angiography only). Of the aneurysm patients with follow-up available, 65 had small aneurysms with small necks, three were small aneurysms with wide necks, 12 were large aneurysms, and two were giant aneurysms. Overall, there were 30 (36.6%) recanalizations, 19 (23.1%) of which required retreatment. In two additional patients, retreatment was either recommended (n = 1) or attempted unsuccessfully (n = 1). Fifty–two aneurysms were unchanged or demonstrated progressive thrombosis (63.4%). The recanalization rate for small aneurysms with small necks was 26.1% (17 out of 65) with a 13.8% retreatment rate (9/65). The recanalization rate for large aneurysms was 75% (9 out of 12) with seven requiring retreatment. CONCLUSION:In the absence of Neuroform stent support, aneurysms embolized with the MDC system demonstrated a significant rate of recanalization. Many of the recanalizations were of sufficient size to warrant retreatment. The rates of recanalization observed in the present series were comparable to, or worse than, those reported for bare platinum coils.
The treatment of node negative squamous cell carcinoma of the postcricoid region

Abstract This study includes 155 patients with T1–4N0 carcinoma of the postcricoid region seen between 1963 and 1993. Sixty-seven were treated by primary surgery, 50 by primary irradiation therapy, 36 were unsuitable for curative treatment and two patients were lost to follow-up. Reasons for deciding against curative therapy were: advanced age, poor general condition and advanced disease at the primary site. This study included only those patients who had no neck node metastases at presentation. Patients receiving surgery tended to be in better general physical condition and tended to have more advanced disease than those treated by irradiation in this series. The tumour-specific five-year survival rate for those treated by surgery was 43 per cent (95 per cent confidence interval (CI) 23–60 per cent). For those patients treated by irradiation the five-year survival rate was 48 per cent (95 per cent CI 27–66 per cent) and for those receiving no treatment the median survival rate was three months (95 per cent CI two-six months). The observed survival for the surgery group was only 18 per cent and for the radiotherapy group 25 per cent at five years. Multiple logistic regression showed no significant difference in proportions of host and tumour factors between the group receiving radiotherapy and the group receiving surgery. Recurrence at the primary site and the appearance of neck node metastases were not predicted by any host or tumour factor. Twenty-one patients out of 67 receiving primary surgery had recurrence at the primary site compared with 26 patients out of 50 receiving primary irradiation. Neck node metastases occurred in 16 out of 67 patients receiving surgery and in eight out of 50 receiving radiotherapy. The difference was statistically significant for recurrence at the primary site (X21 = 4.261; p = 0.039) but not significant for neck node metastases (X 21= 0.661;p = 0.416). The data were further analysed using Cox's proportional hazards model for survival and no host or tumour factors were found to be predictive of eventual outcome apart from poorly differentiated histology. This adversely affected survival (X21 = 6.4444; p = 0.011). If patients not treated were included in the model, treatment became a significant factor in improving the survival (X21 = 4.4197; p = 0.034). Radiotherapy appears to be at least as good as surgery for treating patients with an early carcinoma of the postcricoid region. We would recommend radiotherapy is used in patients with no detectable neck node metastases and in tumours <5 cm long. The complication rate from radiotherapy was reduced when compared with that of surgery.