Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reduction in catheter-associated urinary tract infections by bundling interventions.

OBJECTIVE Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are the most common type of hospital-acquired infection, and most are associated with indwelling urinary catheters, that is, catheter-associated UTIs (CAUTIs). Our goal was to reduce the CAUTI rate. DESIGN SETTING INTERVENTIONS We retrospectively examined the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of a bundle of four evidence-based interventions upon the incidence rate (IR) of CAUTIs in a community hospital. The first intervention was the exclusive use of silver alloy catheters in the hospital's acute care areas. The second intervention was a securing device to limit the movement of the catheter after insertion. The third intervention was repositioning of the catheter tubing if it was found to be touching the floor. The fourth intervention was removal of the indwelling urinary catheter on postoperative Day 1 or 2, for most surgical patients. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Rates of CAUTI per 1000 catheter days were estimated and compared using the generalized estimating equations Poisson regression analysis. RESULTS During the study period, 33 of the 2228 patients were diagnosed with a CAUTI. The CAUTI IR for the pre-intervention period was 5.2/1000. For the 7 months following the implementation of the fourth intervention, the IR was 1.5/1000 catheter days, a significant reduction relative to the pre-intervention period (P = 0.03). The annualized projection for the cost of implementing this bundle of four interventions is $23 924. CONCLUSION A bundle of four evidence-based interventions reduced the incidence of CAUTIs in a community hospital. It is relatively simple, appears to be cost-effective and might be sustainable and adaptable by other hospitals.
Structural aspects of antioxidant activity of substituted pyridoindoles

Abstract Stobadine and its two structural analogues, dehydrostobadine and N-acetylated stobadine were used to examine how structural alteration in the close proximity of the indolic nitrogen would influence the antioxidant activity of the substituted pyridoindoles. The compounds were tested for their efficiency to scavenge stable free radicals of α,α′-diphenyl-β-picrylhydrazyl as well as for their ability to prevent 2,2′-azobis-(2-amidinopropane)hydrochloride induced peroxidation of dioleoyl phosphatidylcholine liposomes. The results proved that the substituted pyridoindoles can act as potent scavengers of peroxyl radicals both in aqueous and lipid phases, the antioxidant activity being comparable with that of Trolox. Structural changes in the proximity of the indolic nitrogen were found crucial for the radical scavenging efficiency: aromatisation of the pyridoindole skeleton in dehydrostobadine lowered the antioxidant activity, while acetylation of the indolic nitrogen completely abolished the ability to scavenge peroxyl radicals. The results are in agreement with the notion that the antioxidant activity of stobadine and of the related pyridoindoles may be mediated via the indolic nitrogen centre. When stobadine and Trolox were present simultaneously in liposomal incubations, Trolox spared stobadine in a dose-dependent manner; a direct interaction of Trolox with stobadinyl radical appears to be a plausible explanation with possible consequences for the antioxidant capacity of stobadine under in vivo conditions, where re-cycling of stobadine by vitamin E might occur.
Language Development in Children Implanted with the Clarion® Cochlear Implant

This study examined the development of language skills in 23 prelingually, profoundly deaf children following implantation with the CLARION® Multi-Strategy™ Cochlear Implant. Language skills were assessed with the Reynell Developmental Language Scales (RDLS) preoperatively with hearing aids, and compared to postoperative performance after 6 months of Clarion use. The RDLS was administered in each child's preferred mode of communication, either spoken English alone or simultaneous spoken and signed English. Significant improvements were observed in average age-equivalent scores over time, both for receptive and expressive skills, although the absolute language levels of the implanted children remained delayed relative to those of hearing peers of the same chronological age. The children's rate of language growth in the first 6 months of implant use also was calculated. The results from this analysis showed that the Clarion children, on average, progressed at a rate that exceeded that of normal-hearing children of the same language age. There was no significant difference between the language performance of children who used oral versus total communication.
Mutants carrying conditionally lethal mutations in outer membrane genes omsA and firA (ssc) are phenotypically similar, and omsA is allelic to firA

We have previously identified the gene (the ssc gene) defective in the thermosensitive and antibiotic-supersusceptible outer membrane permeability mutant SS-C of Salmonella typhimurium and shown that this gene is analogous to the Escherichia coli gene firA (L. Hirvas, P. Koski, and M. Vaara, EMBO J. 10:1017-1023, 1991). Others have tentatively implicated firA in a different function, mRNA synthesis. Here we report that the defect in the thermosensitive outer membrane omsA mutant of E. coli (T. Tsuruoka, M. Ito, S. Tomioka, A. Hirata, and M. Matsuhashi, J. Bacteriol. 170:5229-5235, 1988) is due to a mutation in firA; this mutation changed codon 271 from serine to asparagine. The omsA-induced phenotype was completely reverted by plasmids containing wild-type firA or ssc. Plasmids carrying the omsA allele, or an identical mutant allele prepared by localized mutagenesis, under the control of lac elicited partial complementation. Transcomplementation studies with plasmids carrying various mutant alleles of the S. typhimurium gene indicated that the ability of these plasmids to complement the omsA mutation was similar to their ability to complement the ssc mutation. The antibiotic-supersusceptible phenotype of the omsA mutant closely resembled that of the ssc mutant, i.e., the omsA mutant was supersusceptible to hydrophobic antibiotics and large-peptide antibiotics against which the intact outer membrane is an effective permeability barrier. As previously demonstrated with the omsA mutant, the outer membrane of the ssc mutant became selectively ruptured after incubation for 1 h at the growth-nonpermitting temperature; 82% of the periplasmic beta-lactamase and less than 3% of the cytoplasmic marker enzyme were released into the medium. All of these findings are consistent with our concept that firA is an essential gene involved in generation of the outer membrane.
The Spatial Mismatch between Innovation and Joblessness

American technological creativity is geographically concentrated in areas that are generally distant from the country’s most persistent pockets of joblessness. Could a more even spatial distribution of innovation reduce American joblessness? Could federal policies disperse innovation without significant costs? If research funding is already maximizing knowledge production, then spatial reallocation of that funding will reduce America’s overall innovation unless that reallocation comes with greater spending. Without any spatial reallocation, the primarily inventive parts of innovation policy, such as National Institutes of Health grants, can potentially aid underperforming areas by targeting the problems of those areas, such as widespread disability. The educational aspects of innovation policy, such as Pell Grants, work-study, vocational training, and federal overhead reimbursement on grants, currently have multiple objectives and could focus more on employability in distressed areas. Lifting the cap on H-1B visas in poorer places could attract outside human capital to those places. Geographically targeted entrepreneurship policies, such as eliminating the barriers to new business formation near universities and in distressed places, could potentially enhance employment growth in those regions. Spatially targeted employment subsidies will increase the returns to labor-intensive innovation in depressed areas, but we need to know more about how much innovation will respond to such subsidies.
c‐fos transcriptional activation and repression correlate temporally with the phosphorylation status of TCF.

EGF‐induction of human astrocytoma and A431 cells leads to c‐fos transcriptional activation and then repression. This could be correlated with changes in the DNA binding characteristics of the c‐fos regulatory protein ternary complex factor (TCF) present in nuclear extracts from these cells. Band shifts showed the appearance of induction‐related slowly migrating protein‐DNA complexes, detected as ternary complexes on the c‐fos SRE using a truncated SRF molecule and by direct binding to the Drosophila E74 Ets‐protein recognition sequence. By several criteria both types of complexes represented TCF. The appearance of the slow ternary and direct complexes correlated with c‐fos transcriptional activation, and their disappearance coincided with the ensuing c‐fos shut‐off. Blocking c‐fos transcriptional repression with the phosphatase inhibitor okadaic acid led to their continued presence. They were sensitive to protein phosphatase 2A but not 1 alpha, and similar slow complexes were formed by partially purified p62TCF phosphorylated by a copurifying kinase activity. Thus the phosphorylation state of TCF correlated strongly with c‐fos promoter activity. Since ternary complex formation mediated by full‐sized SRF was only slightly affected under comparable conditions, we propose a model for c‐fos regulation involving modification of constitutively bound TCF.
UCD GEARY INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY DISCUSSION PAPER SERIES Urbanization, trade openness, and air pollution: a provincial level analysis of China

As the largest developing country in the world, with fast-paced urbanization development, China has achieved rapid economic growth since the “Reform and opening-up” policy implemented in 1978. This growth, however, has resulted in persistent and severe environmental problems. This paper evaluates urbanization, trade openness, energy consumption and PM2.5 in the Chinese economy using Fixed effect (FE), fixed effect instrumental (FE-IV), and system generalized method of moments (GMM-sys) estimation methods from 29 provinces over the period 2001–2012. Results demonstrated that PM2.5 is a continuous process that the previous period has positive effect on the current level of PM2.5; Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis was not supported by analyzing the relationship between economic growth and PM2.5 in China; temperature is not a crucial influencing factor in affecting the amount of PM2.5; urbanization is beneficial to the decrease of PM2.5. PM2.5 from neighboring regions is an important factor increasing the local PM2.5, and the influencing factors of international trade, heavy industry and private cars are contributors to PM2.5 level as well.
POSSUM and Portsmouth POSSUM for predicting mortality. Physiological and Operative Severity Score for the enUmeration of Mortality and morbidity.

BACKGROUND There is a need for an accurate measure of surgical outcomes so that hospitals and surgeons can be compared properly regardless of case mix. POSSUM (Physiological and Operative Severity Score for the enUmeration of Mortality and morbidity) uses a physiological score and an operative severity score to calculate risks of mortality and morbidity. In a previous small study it was found that Portsmouth POSSUM (P-POSSUM; a modification of the POSSUM system) provided a more accurate prediction of mortality. METHODS Some 10000 general surgical interventions (excluding paediatric and day cases) were studied prospectively between August 1993 and November 1995. The POSSUM mortality equation was applied to the full 10000 surgical episodes. The 10000 patients were arranged in chronological order and the first 2500 were used as a training set to produce the modified P-POSSUM predictor equation. This was then applied prospectively to the remaining 7500 patients arranged chronologically in five groups of 1500. RESULTS The original POSSUM logistic regression equation for mortality overpredicts the overall risk of death by more than twofold and the risk of death for patients at lowest risk (5 per cent or less) by more than sevenfold. The P-POSSUM equation produced a very close fit with the observed in-hospital mortality. CONCLUSION P-POSSUM provides an accurate method for comparative surgical audit.
Abnormal relationship between medial temporal lobe and subcortical dopamine function in people with an ultra high risk for psychosis.

BACKGROUND Neuroimaging studies in humans have implicated both dysfunction of the medial temporal lobe (MTL) and the dopamine system in psychosis, but the relationship between them is unclear. We addressed this issue by measuring MTL activation and striatal dopaminergic function in individuals with an At Risk Mental State (ARMS) for psychosis, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and positron emission tomography (PET), respectively. METHODS Thirty-four subjects (20 ARMS and 14 Controls), matched for age, gender, digit span performance, and premorbid IQ, were scanned using fMRI, while performing a verbal encoding and recognition task, and using 18F-DOPA PET. All participants were naïve to antipsychotic medication. RESULTS ARMS subjects showed reduced MTL activation when encoding words and made more false alarm responses for Novel words than controls. The relationship between striatal dopamine function and MTL activation during both verbal encoding and verbal recognition was significantly different in ARMS subjects compared with controls. CONCLUSION An altered relationship between MTL function and dopamine storage/synthesis capacity exists in the ARMS and may be related to psychosis vulnerability.
Beta-endorphin prevents collagen induced arthritis by neuroimmuno-regulation pathway.

OBJECTIVE To observe the effects and mechanisms of beta-endorphin (beta-END) preventing collagen induced arthritis (CIA) by neuroimmuno-regulating pathway. METHODS Female wistar (Ws) rats were used in this study. CIA was induced by Native bovine type II collagen emulsified with complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA). Beta-END was administered i.p. to CIA rats every other day from the 14th day (secondary immunization) to the 35th day after primary immunization. Clinical assessments were performed by two independent, blinded examiners every other day. Pathological and radiological observations were taken on the 35th day after the primary immunization. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta), interleukin-6 (IL-6), regulated upon activation, normal T-cell expressed and secreted (RANTES), inducible NO syntheses (iNOS), matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and MMP-9 mRNA expression of synovium tissues of CIA rats was estimated by quantitative RT-PCR. The frequency of spleen Th1 and Th2 cells were assessed by fluorescence activated cell sorter (FACS) assay. RESULTS Clinical manifestation of rats with CIA were significantly abrogated or ameliorated by treatment with beta-END. Beta-END treatment in vivo could down-regulate mRNA expression of several pro-inflammatory cytokines, chemokines and MMPs in CIA synovial, and polarize Th1/Th2 balance to Th2. CONCLUSION Beta-END alleviates CIA through both depressing Th1 responses and down-regulating proinflammatory and other rheumatic factors, suggesting beta-END is a promising anti-inflammatory and anti-rheumatic agent in treating CIA.
Effects of pitavastatin (LIVALO tablet) on the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in hypercholesterolemic patients with chronic kidney disease. Sub-analysis of the LIVALO Effectiveness and Safety (LIVES) Study.

AIM In addition to the risk of progression to end-stage renal disease (ESRD), chronic kidney disease (CKD) is also known to be associated with an elevated risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Statins may improve renal function in CKD patients. METHODS The database of the LIVALO Effectiveness and Safety (LIVES) Study, a large-scale (n=20,279), long-term (104 weeks), prospective post-marketing surveillance study of hypercholesterolemic patients treated with pitavastatin, was used to evaluate the effects of pitavastatin on the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). RESULTS Of the 19,925 patients enrolled in the aforementioned study, data from 3,119 patients were analyzed to evaluate the effects of pitavastatin treatment for 104 weeks on the eGFR. In this subanalysis, 958 patients with a baseline eGFR of less than 60 mL/min/1.73 m(2) (30.7%) were analyzed. A significant increase of the eGFR (+5.4 mL/min/1.73 m(2)) was observed after 104 weeks of pitavastain treatment (p < 0.001; one-sample t-test). In the analysis of the time-course of changes in the eGFR in response to pitavastatin treatment, the eGFR was elevated by 2.4 mL/min/1.73 m(2) after 12 weeks' treatment, and by 5.6 mL/min/1.73 m(2) after 104 weeks' treatment (p < 0.001; repeated measures ANOVA). The results of multivariate analysis identified the presence/absence of proteinuria and the amount change of HDL-C as clinical factors associated with increased eGFR during pitavastatin treatment. CONCLUSIONS Increased eGFR was noted after 104 weeks of treatment with pitavastatin, which suggests a possible effect of the statin on CKD.
Demonstration of Platelet-Derived Microvesicles in Blood from Patients with Activated Coagulation and Fibrinolysis Using a Filtration Technique and Western Blotting

Summary Platelet vesiculation in vitro is correlated to platelet activation. It was therefore considered of interest to see if microvesicles (MV) are present in blood in clinical situations associated with platelet activation in vivo. Patients with both activated coagulation and fibrinolysis, implying that thrombin has been generated, suit such a purpose. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate whether microvesicles could be detected in patients with activated coagulation and fibrinolysis, as diagnosed by the presence of soluble fibrin (positive ethanol gelation tests) and positive tests for fibrin degradation products (FDP). Platelet-rich plasma was prepared from citrated blood from patients (n = 22) and healthy controls (n = 32) matched as to age and sex. The intact platelets were removed from plasma by centrifugation. Any MV present were isolated from the platelet-free plasma by a filtration procedure, washed, solubilized in Triton X-100 and subjected to SDS-PAGE with Western blotting using a MAb against GPIIba as an indicator of the presence of microvesicles. All of the 22 patients showed the presence of microvesicles detectable by the content of GPIIba, whereas this could be observed in only 4 out of the 32 normal controls and then in small or trace amounts only. The presence of microvesicles among cell-derived material in the plasma of two of the patients was also confirmed by electron microscopy. To the best of our knowledge this is the first report on the presence of microvesicles in plasma from patients with both activated coagulation and fibrinolysis. Thus, the isolation of the microvesicles by the filtration technique allowed studies of the chemical composition of the microvesicles, and demonstrated the presence of microvesicles in situations where platelets are expected to have been activated in vivo and a tendency to thrombosis exists.
A LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF MANGANESE IN HUMAN MILK

Abstract. Flameless atomic absorption spectrophotometry has been applied to the analysis of manganese in human milk samples. Twenty‐seven breast‐feeding mothers donated 229 individual milk samples between the 2nd week and the 9th month of lactation. The milk samples were representative of every feed in a period of 24 hours, foremilk and hind‐milk in equal proportions. The median concentration of manganese declined from the initial value of 5.9 μg/l to about 4 μg/l before the 2nd month of lactation, remained at this level up to the 5th‐6th month of lactation and showed a tendency to rise thereafter. The values presented here are noticeably lower than most of those reported earlier. It remains an open question whether the manganese concentration is exceptionally low in Finnish human milk or whether the great difference from most earlier studies may reflect problems of contamination or technical difficulties when less sensitive analytical methods have been used.
A Root-Expressed Magnesium Transporter of the MRS2/MGT Gene Family in Arabidopsis thaliana Allows for Growth in Low-Mg2+ Environments[W]

The MRS2/MGT gene family in Arabidopsis thaliana belongs to the superfamily of CorA-MRS2-ALR-type membrane proteins. Proteins of this type are characterized by a GMN tripeptide motif (Gly-Met-Asn) at the end of the first of two C-terminal transmembrane domains and have been characterized as magnesium transporters. Using the recently established mag-fura-2 system allowing direct measurement of Mg2+ uptake into mitochondria of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we find that all members of the Arabidopsis family complement the corresponding yeast mrs2 mutant. Highly different patterns of tissue-specific expression were observed for the MRS2/MGT family members in planta. Six of them are expressed in root tissues, indicating a possible involvement in plant magnesium supply and distribution after uptake from the soil substrate. Homozygous T-DNA insertion knockout lines were obtained for four members of the MRS2/MGT gene family. A strong, magnesium-dependent phenotype of growth retardation was found for mrs2-7 when Mg2+ concentrations were lowered to 50 μM in hydroponic cultures. Ectopic overexpression of MRS2-7 from the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter results in complementation and increased biomass accumulation. Green fluorescent protein reporter gene fusions indicate a location of MRS2-7 in the endomembrane system. Hence, contrary to what is frequently found in analyses of plant gene families, a single gene family member knockout results in a strong, environmentally dependent phenotype.
Articular Cartilage Repair in Soccer Players with Autologous Chondrocyte Transplantation

Background The ability of autologous chondrocyte transplantation to produce and maintain an effective articular cartilage repair under high mechanical demands has not been investigated. Hypothesis Autologous chondrocyte transplantation provides a reliable and durable repair of full-thickness knee articular cartilage lesions in high-demand athletes. Study Design Case series; Level of evidence, 4. Methods A total of 45 soccer players were evaluated 41 ± 4 months after autologous chondrocyte transplantation for their ability to return to soccer, the timing of their return, skill level, and functional outcome rating by the Tegner activity rating scale score and Brittberg score. The factors influencing the return to sport were analyzed. Results Of these players, 72% reported good to excellent results, with significant overall improvement of Tegner activity rating scale scores; 33% returned to soccer, including 83% of competitive-level players and 16% of recreational players. Of the returning players, 80% returned to the same skill level and 87% maintained their ability to play soccer at 52 ± 8 months postoperatively. Players who successfully returned to soccer were significantly younger and had a shorter preoperative duration of symptoms than did patients who did not return to the sport. Concomitant adjuvant procedures did not adversely affect the ability to return to soccer. Conclusion Repair of knee articular cartilage lesions by autologous chondrocyte transplantation in high-performance athletes is particularly successful in younger, competitive athletes with limited preoperative intervals.