Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Changes in functional capacity of patients two years after coronary artery bypass grafting surgery.

OBJECTIVE To check changes in the functional capacity of patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) by testing six-minute walk test (6MWT) following two years. METHODS A prospective cohort study where 215 patients were enrolled who underwent CABG, 13 did not meet the criteria for inclusion. 202 patients were evaluated preoperatively, 13 died during hospitalization and 6 in the follow up of two years. Four patients were considered lost follow up. This study followed 179 patients for two years classified into active and sedentary, according to physical activity in leisure time and to the 6MWT preoperatively and 2 years later. RESULTS One hundred and twenty patients were evaluated in the day before CABGS, being 67% male with an average age of 63 (+/- 9.75) years. Before surgery and 2 years later, 52 were active and the 6MWT distances performed had been 359m (+/- 164.47) and 439m (+/- 171.34), respectively; P= 0.016. Forty five patients were classified as sedentary before and 2 years after surgery. The 6MWT distances walked before and after surgery had been 255m (+/- 172.15) and 376m (+/- 210.92), respectively; P < 0.001. Eighty two patients transited between these two groups, 71 passed from sedentary to active and had walked before and after surgery 289m (+/- 157.15) and 380m (+/- 125.44), respectively; P= 0.001. The 11 patients who were active and passed to the sedentary group walked 221m (+/- 191.91) and 384m (+/- 63.73), respectively; P= 0.007. CONCLUSION The functional capacity of the patients submitted to CABGS had a significant improvement in a medium period of follow-up.
Mineralogy of Juventae Chasma: Sulfates in the light‐toned mounds, mafic minerals in the bedrock, and hydrated silica and hydroxylated ferric sulfate on the plateau

[1] Juventae Chasma contains four light-toned sulfate-bearing mounds (denoted here as A–D from west to east) inside the trough, mafic outcrops at the base of the mounds and in the wall rock, and light-toned layered deposits of opal and ferric sulfates on the plateau. Hyperspectral visible/near-infrared Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) spectra were used to identify monohydrated and polyhydrated sulfate (PHS) outcrops of layered material on the bright mounds. Most of the monohydrated sulfate signatures closely resemble those of szomolnokite (FeSO4·H2O), characterized by a water band near 2.08 μm, while some areas exhibit spectral features more similar to those of kieserite (MgSO4·H2O), with a band centered closer to 2.13 μm. The largest PHS outcrops occur on the top of mound B, and their spectral features are most consistent with ferricopiapite, melanterite, and starkeyite, but a specific mineral cannot be uniquely identified at this time. Coordinated analyses of CRISM maps, Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter elevations, and High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment images suggest that mounds A and B may have formed together and then eroded into separate mounds, while mounds C and D likely formed separately. Mafic minerals (low-Ca pyroxene, high-Ca pyroxene, and olivine) are observed in large ∼2–10 km wide outcrops in the wall rock and in smaller outcrops ∼50–500 m across at the floor of the canyon. Most of the wall rock is covered by at least a thin layer of dust and does not exhibit strong features characteristic of these minerals. The plateau region northwest of Juventae Chasma is characterized by an abundance of light-toned layered deposits. One region contains two spectrally unique phases exhibiting a highly stratified, terraced pattern. CRISM spectra of one unit eroded into swirling patterns with arc-like ridges exhibit a narrow 2.23-μm band assigned to hydroxylated ferric sulfate. A thin layer of a fractured material bearing an opaline silica phase is observed at the contact between the older plateau unit and the younger hydroxylated ferric sulfate-bearing light-toned layered deposits. Hydrothermal processes may have produced an acidic environment that fostered formation of the hydrated silica and hydroxylated ferric sulfate units.
Modelling and Experimental Verification of Step Response Overshoot Removal in Electrothermally-Actuated MEMS Mirrors

Micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) mirrors are widely used for optical modulation, attenuation, steering, switching and tracking. In most cases, MEMS mirrors are packaged in air, resulting in overshoot and ringing upon actuation. In this paper, an electrothermal bimorph MEMS mirror that does not generate overshoot in step response, even operating in air, is reported. This is achieved by properly designing the thermal response time and the mechanical resonance without using any open-loop or closed-loop control. Electrothermal and thermomechanical lumped-element models are established. According to the analysis, when setting the product of the thermal response time and the fundamental resonance frequency to be greater than Q/2π, the mechanical overshoot and oscillation caused by a step signal can be eliminated effectively. This method is verified experimentally with fabricated electrothermal bimorph MEMS mirrors.
Changes in cerebral dynamics associated with seizures

THE PHESENT INVESTIGATION has been undertaken to measure changes occurring in cerebral blood flow and cerebrospinal fluid dynamics during convulsions in human beings. Additional observations on the cardiovascular changes associated with seizures have been included. With succinylcholine and artificial respiration, the various changes in cardiovascular function, cerebrospinal fluid dynamics, and cerebral blood flow can be measured during the resting state and in the absence of physical activity. Some of the data pertaining to this technic have been previously published. ' Other authors have indicated that profound changes do occur in many vital functions in response to induced or spontaneous seizures. Early observations by Gibbs, Lennox, and Gibbs? indicated that seizures were not associated with cerebral vasoconstriction. Using a thermoelectric device, they noted an increase in blood flow through the internal jugular vein and a rise in blood pressure accompanying spontaneous seizures. They included a brief comment that there appeared to be no change in cerebrospinal fluid pressure before petit ma1 or grand ma1 seizures. Some of their measurements were impaired by the wide fluctuations in flow associated with muscular activity, struggling, and heavy breathing and by compression of veins of the neck with changes in posture. More direct observations by Penfield, Santha, and Cipriani3 indicated that localized increases in blood flow were associated with partial or focal seizures and that with generalized seizures there was a more generalized increase in cerebral blood flow. Schmidt, Kety, and P e n n e ~ , ~ using the nitrous oxide cerebral Mood flow measuring technic, have shown changes in blood flow during induced seizures in monkeys. Direct and in-
The TMPRSS 2 : ERG Rearrangement , ERG Expression , and Prostate Cancer Outcomes : A Cohort Study and Meta-analysis

Background: Whether the genomic rearrangement transmembrane protease, serine 2 (TMPRSS2):v-ets erythroblastosis virus E26 oncogene homolog (ERG) has prognostic value in prostate cancer is unclear. Methods:Amongmen with prostate cancer in the prospective Physicians’ Health andHealth Professionals Follow-Up Studies, we identified rearrangement status by immunohistochemical assessment of ERG protein expression. We used Coxmodels to examine associations of ERG overexpression with biochemical recurrence and lethal disease (distant metastases or cancer-specific mortality). In a meta-analysis including 47 additional studies, we used random-effectsmodels to estimate associations between rearrangement status and outcomes. Results: The cohort consisted of 1,180 men treated with radical prostatectomy between 1983 and 2005. During amedian follow-upof 12.6 years, 266menexperienced recurrence and85mendeveloped lethal disease. We found no significant association between ERG overexpression and biochemical recurrence [hazard ratio (HR), 0.99; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.78–1.26] or lethal disease (HR, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.61–1.43). The metaanalysis of prostatectomy series included 5,074 men followed for biochemical recurrence (1,623 events), and 2,049 men followed for lethal disease (131 events). TMPRSS2:ERGwas associated with stage at diagnosis [risk ratio (RR) T3 vs. T2, 1.23; 95%CI, 1.16–1.30) but not with biochemical recurrence (RR, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.86–1.17) or lethal disease (RR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.47–2.09). Conclusions: These results suggest that TMPRSS2:ERG, or ERG overexpression, is associated with tumor stage but does not strongly predict recurrence or mortality among men treated with radical prostatectomy. Impact: This is the largest prospective cohort study to examine associations of ERG overexpression and lethal prostate cancer among men treated with radical prostatectomy. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 1–13.
Multi-label feature selection algorithm based on label pairwise ranking comparison transformation

Multi-label classification refers to the learning problem that a single training sample possibly has multiple labels at the same time. Many real world applications consist of high-dimensional feature vectors, which generally involve some irrelevant and redundant features. This possibly reduces classification performance and increases computational costs. Therefore, feature selection becomes an indispensable pre-processing step. Nowadays filter-type feature selection algorithms based on problem transformation strategies (for example, binary relevance) have attracted more attention due to their high computational efficiency and good classification performance. In this paper, according to the definition of ranking loss, we propose a label pairwise comparison transformation method (PCT), which converts each original multi-label sample into multiple samples with same feature vectors and different label vectors. Further, when PCT is combined with chi-square statistics, we introduce a fast implementation procedure, whose time complexity is approximated to that of binary relevance method. The experimental results of four text data sets show that our proposed algorithm outperforms five existing filter-type feature selection techniques based on problem transformation strategies according to six instance-based evaluation measures.
A double-blind, randomized controlled trial of the use of imiquimod cream for the treatment of anal canal high-grade anal intraepithelial neoplasia in HIV-positive MSM on HAART, with long-term follow-up data including the use of open-label imiquimod

Objective:To determine whether imiquimod was more effective than placebo for the treatment of high-grade anal canal intraepithelial neoplasia (HG-ACIN). Design:Double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial. Methods:Sixty-four HIV-positive patients were randomized to self-application of imiquimod cream or matched placebo into the anal canal three times a week for 4 months. Response was assessed by cytology, high-resolution anoscopy and biopsy 2 months after therapy. All patients who failed to resolve were offered treatment with open-label imiquimod for a further 4 months. Results:Fifty-three patients completed the study, of which 28 patients were on active drug and 25 patients on placebo. In the imiquimod group, four patients resolved and eight patients downgraded to low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL) with a median follow-up of 33 months. In the placebo group, one patient resolved. Imiquimod was significantly associated with a positive outcome (P = 0.003). Only one patient discontinued owing to side effects. Twenty-one patients entered a second open-label phase of treatment. Five of these patients cleared their anal canal intraepithelial neoplasia (ACIN) and four patients downgraded to LSIL. The overall mean duration of follow-up was 36 months. During this extended follow-up period, 61% have exhibited sustained absence of high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL). Conclusion:This study demonstrates the effectiveness of imiquimod for the treatment of ACIN, and the benefit of prolonged or repeated treatments. This form of therapy is likely to be especially valuable for patients with widespread multifocal ACIN who are otherwise difficult to treat, and should be considered as an adjunct to ablative therapy.
Intellectual Abilities and Motivation Toward Substance Abuse Treatment in Drug-Involved Offenders: A Pilot Study in the Belgian Criminal Justice System

A sample of Belgian drug-involved inmates (N = 116) completed the European Addiction Severity Index, the Raven Standard Progressive Matrices (SPM), and the Circumstances, Motivation, and Readiness Scales. The pilot results demonstrate that nearly 50% of the participating drug-involved offenders display low intellectual abilities (SPM score definitely below average). Legal difficulties, drug abuse, and psychological problems are identified as the most severe problem areas for the total group. The participants display low to moderately low scores regarding motivation, readiness, and external reasons to stay in or leave treatment. No to very limited correlations between motivational attributes and other variables such as the length of the prison sentence and the number of violent crimes are found. Participants with high intellectual abilities are less motivated to enter substance abuse treatment compared to their counterparts with average and low intellectual abilities. Implications for treatment are discussed.
Combined zebrafish-yeast chemical-genetic screens reveal gene–copper-nutrition interactions that modulate melanocyte pigmentation

SUMMARY Hypopigmentation is a feature of copper deficiency in humans, as caused by mutation of the copper (Cu2+) transporter ATP7A in Menkes disease, or an inability to absorb copper after gastric surgery. However, many causes of copper deficiency are unknown, and genetic polymorphisms might underlie sensitivity to suboptimal environmental copper conditions. Here, we combined phenotypic screens in zebrafish for compounds that affect copper metabolism with yeast chemical-genetic profiles to identify pathways that are sensitive to copper depletion. Yeast chemical-genetic interactions revealed that defects in intracellular trafficking pathways cause sensitivity to low-copper conditions; partial knockdown of the analogous Ap3s1 and Ap1s1 trafficking components in zebrafish sensitized developing melanocytes to hypopigmentation in low-copper environmental conditions. Because trafficking pathways are essential for copper loading into cuproproteins, our results suggest that hypomorphic alleles of trafficking components might underlie sensitivity to reduced-copper nutrient conditions. In addition, we used zebrafish-yeast screening to identify a novel target pathway in copper metabolism for the small-molecule MEK kinase inhibitor U0126. The zebrafish-yeast screening method combines the power of zebrafish as a disease model with facile genome-scale identification of chemical-genetic interactions in yeast to enable the discovery and dissection of complex multigenic interactions in disease-gene networks.
Kindling‐like Effect Induced by Repeated Corneal Electro shock in Mice

Summary: The present study demonstrates that with the use of corneal electrodes mice can be kindled to minimal convulsions by repeated 60‐Hz elec‐troshocks. The efficacy of kindling was found to be dependent upon several stimulus parameters, including current duration and intensity as well as the intertrial interval. Because the complexity and generalization of the minimal convulsions increased with the number of electroshock treatments, it was apparent that such kindling had quantitative as well as qualitative characteristics. Moreover, the fact that 50% of the mice remained completely kindled to minimal convulsions 8 weeks after cessation of repeated stimulation indicated that the phenomenon is relatively long‐lived. Finally, the increase in CNS excitability associated with kindling extended to some, but not all, chemo‐ and electroshock tests of excitability. Altogether, the results show that mice kindled by corneal electrode stimulation have many features in common with animals kindled by stimulation of discrete brain areas. Because the procedure can readily and rapidly yield large numbers of kindled animals, an important application for the method will be in the evaluation of drug effects on kindled animals.
Enzymatic hydrolysate from velvet antler suppresses adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 cells and attenuates obesity in high-fat diet-fed mice

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the potential anti-obesity activity of an enzymatic hydrolysate of velvet antler in inhibiting adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 cells and in high-fat diet (HFD)-fed obese mice. The enzymatic hydrolysate was prepared using the commercial food grade protease, Protamex. The velvet antler Protamex hydrolysate (VAPH) indicated profound inhibitory effects on adipogenesis dose-dependently by decreasing the accumulation of triglycerides and down-regulating expression levels of adipogenesis-related proteins C/EBPα, SREBP-1, and PPARγ. In a mouse model of HFD-induced obesity, oral administration of VAPH (100 and 300 mg/kg for 13 weeks) significantly reduced the body weight gain that had resulted from the HFD. VAPH treatment also lowered the serum glucose and triglyceride levels, while increasing the HDL-C level. Furthermore, the treatment greatly reduced hepatic lipid droplet accumulation as well as the size of adipocytes. Current findings demonstrate that VAPH has profound anti-obesity effects and could be an effective candidate for preventing obesity and obesity-related chronic diseases.
Solution Structure of Nodularin

The three-dimensional solution structure of nodularin was studied by NMR and molecular dynamics simulations. The conformation in water was determined from the distance and dihedral data by distance geometry and refined by iterative relaxation matrix analysis. The cyclic backbone adopts a well defined conformation but the remote parts of the side chains of arginine as well as the amino acid derivative Adda have a large spatial dispersion. For the unusual amino acids the partial charges were calculated and nodularin was subjected to molecular dynamic simulations in water. A good agreement was found between experimental and computational data with hydrogen bonds, solvent accessibility, molecular motion, and conformational exchange. The three-dimensional structure resembles very closely that of microcystin-LR in the chemically equivalent segment. Therefore, it is expected that the binding of both microcystins and nodularins to serine/threonine-specific protein phosphatases is similar on an atomic level.
Fungal Contamination Assessment in Portuguese Elderly Care Centers

Individuals spend 80–90% of their day indoors and elderly subjects are likely to spend even a greater amount of time indoors. Thus, indoor air pollutants such as bioaerosols may exert a significant impact on this age group. The aim of this study was to characterize fungal contamination within Portuguese elderly care centers. Fungi were measured using conventional as well as molecular methods in bedrooms, living rooms, canteens, storage areas, and outdoors. Bioaerosols were evaluated before and after the microenvironments' occupancy in order to understand the role played by occupancy in fungal contamination. Fungal load results varied from 32 colony-forming units CFU m−3 in bedrooms to 228 CFU m−3 in storage areas. Penicillium sp. was the most frequently isolated (38.1%), followed by Aspergillus sp. (16.3%) and Chrysonilia sp. (4.2%). With respect to Aspergillus genus, three different fungal species in indoor air were detected, with A. candidus (62.5%) the most prevalent. On surfaces, 40 different fungal species were isolated and the most frequent was Penicillium sp. (22.2%), followed by Aspergillus sp. (17.3%). Real-time polymerase chain reaction did not detect the presence of A. fumigatus complex. Species from Penicillium and Aspergillus genera were the most abundant in air and surfaces. The species A. fumigatus was present in 12.5% of all indoor microenvironments assessed. The living room was the indoor microenvironment with lowest fungal concentration and the storage area was highest.
Nanotopography follows force in TGF-β1 stimulated epithelium

Inflammation and cellular fibrosis often imply an involvement of the cytokine TGF-β1. TGF-β1 induces epithelial-to-mesenchymal transdifferentiation (EMT), a term describing the loss of epithelium-specific function. Indicative for this process are an elongated cell shape parallel to stress fibre formation. Many signalling pathways of TGF-β1 have been discovered, but mechanical aspects have not yet been investigated. In this study, atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to analyse surface topography and mechanical properties of EMT in proximal kidney tubule epithelium (NRK52E). Elongated cells, an increase of stress fibre formation and a loss of microvillus compatible structures were observed as characteristic signs of EMT. Furthermore, AFM could identify an increase in stiffness by 71% after six days of stimulation with TGF-β1. As a novel topographical phenomenon, nodular protrusions emerged at the cell–cell junctions. They occurred preferentially at sites where stress fibres cross the border. Since these nodular protrusions were sensitive to inhibitors of force generation, they can indicate intracellular tension. The results demonstrate a manifest impact of elevated tension on the cellular topography.
Association between serum alkaline phosphatase and C-reactive protein in the United States National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2005–2006

Abstract Background: Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) is a widely used marker for skeletal and hepatobiliary disorders, but its activity is also increased in atherosclerosis and peripheral vascular disease. It is an inflammatory marker like C-reactive protein (CRP). We therefore analyzed its relationship with CRP in the United States National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2005–2006. Methods: The analysis included 4155 men and non-pregnant women over the age of 20 years. The relationship between log-transformed ALP and plasma CRP was analyzed using univariate and multivariate models. Results: ALP activity was significantly correlated with age, waist circumference, body mass index, blood pressure, exercise, alcohol, triglycerides, and other liver enzymes after adjusting for age, gender and ethnicity (p<0.001). ALP was significantly associated with a higher frequency of cardiovascular disease (p=0.02), hypertension (p=0.01) hypercholesterolemia (p=0.04), and diabetes (p=0.02). Compared to the lowest quartile of ALP, the adjusted odds ratio (OR) associated with the highest quartile were 1.9 [95% confidence intervals (CI) 1.1–3.5], 1.6 (95% CI 1.0–2.5), 1.5 (95% CI 1.1–2.1) and 1.7 (95% CI 1.0–2.4) for cardiovascular disease, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and diabetes, respectively. In multivariate analysis, log ALP was an independent predictor of log CRP (p=1.0×10−6). A multivariate model that included log ALP, ethnicity, glycohemoglobin, waist circumference, albumin, apolipoprotein B, γ-glutamyltransferase and uric acid explained 40% of the variance in log CRP. Conclusions: ALP is a marker of cardiometabolic risk, but it needs to be tested as part of a multivariate model in prospective studies. Clin Chem Lab Med 2010;48:167–73.