Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
"Effective" plasma renin activity: a derived measure for assessing residual plasma renin activity in patients taking angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers.

To the Editor: The plasma renin activity (PRA) test quantifies the circulating activity of the renin-angiotensin system by measuring the rate at which renin forms angiotensin I (Ang I) in plasma. The PRA test overestimates the true activity of the circulating renin-angiotensin system in patients taking angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) or angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) because these drugs block the system at sites distal to the enzymatic release of Ang I by plasma renin.1,2 When patients are taking these drugs, a simple calculation can be used to determine …
Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhoea: epidemiological data from Western Australia

SUMMARY The incidence of Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhoea (CDAD) was investigated retrospectively at a 690-bed teaching hospital for the period 1983–92. Our aims were to determine: (i) the distribution by age and sex of patients with CDAD, (ii) the possibility of a seasonal trend and, (iii) the influence of infection control procedures, contamination of the hospital environment and the use of third-generation cephalosporins. The laboratory diagnosis of CDAD was based on demonstration of the organism by stool culture and/or detection of specific cytotoxin in stool filtrates. C. difficile was detected in 917 patients who were being investigated for diarrhoeal illness. Yearly isolations varied from a low of 49 in 1983 to a high of 120 in 1990 (Chi square for linear trend 128·8; P < 0·005). Most patients were elderly, with 63% aged 60 years or more; the majority (59%) were female. The relationship between culture of C. difficile and detection of cytotoxin in faecal extracts was also examined. Sixty percent of a sample of 132 isolates from patients in whom faecal cytotoxin was not detected produced cytotoxin in vitro, suggesting that culture is a more sensitive indicator of infection with C. difficile than cytotoxin detection. When the total number of faecal specimens received in the laboratory was used as a denominator there was an increase in the number of incident cases of CDAD between 1983 and 1990, apart from 1986. When occupied bed days was used as the denominator a similar trend was observed with a peak in 1990. These increases correlated with an increase in the use of third-generation cephalosporins at SCGH between 1983 and 1989 (Pearson's correlation coefficient, 0·90). The introduction of Body Substance Isolation in 1989, in conjunction with other infection control procedures, appears to have halted the rise, despite a continuing use of broad-spectrum cephalosporins. In order to reduce the number of cases of CDAD, either a reduction in levels of environmental contamination or a reduction in the use of third-generation cephalosporins is required. If this can be achieved the economic consequences, in terms of an opportunity cost, will be considerable.
THE DEMI-LICHENIZATION OF TRAMETES VERSICOLOR (L.:FRIES) PILAT (POLYPORACEAE): THE TRANSFER OF FIXED 14CO2 FROM EPIPHYTIC ALGAE TO T. VERSICOLOR.

Abstract Basidiocarps of Trametes versicolor with an epiphytic flora (including Trebouxia sp.) collected from north-central Rhode Island were incubated in an atmosphere of 14C labeled CO2 for 6 hours. Using autoradiography, the location of the fixed 14CO2 was determined at 6h, 12h, 24h, 48h, 96h, and 192h. The fixed 14C was recorded in the epiphytic algae after 6h, and at all subsequent times. After 192h the 14C was recorded in the fibrillar matrix associated with the epiphytic algae, and appeared to be present in the fungal hyphae in the top smooth, silky layer of the basidiocarp. The results suggest that the epiphytic algae secrete the fixed carbon in a form that Trametes versicolor can potentially assimilate, however, the slow assimilation of the carbon (4–8 days) suggest a casual relationship between T. versicolor and its epiphytic algal flora.
Zeil Neelson and Wade‐Fite stains to demonstrate medlar bodies of chromoblastomycosis

To the Editor, The characteristic fungal bodies of chromoblastomycosis, known as Medlar bodies, are visualized as golden brown rounded bodies in routine hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stained tissue sections of the skin (Fig. 1). We report a hither to undocumented staining pattern of Medlar bodies that will be useful when they are not identified in routine H&E stains, in cases with a high index of clinical suspicion. Chromoblastomycosis is a chronic fungal infection of skin and subcutaneous tissue seen in rural populations of tropical and subtropical regions. The commonly reported causative fungi are Fonsecaea pedrosoi, Phialophora verrucosa and Cladosporium carrionii. The organisms after gaining entry to the body through traumatic skin injury produce a slow growing verrucous nodule or a plaque. The histological diagnosis of the disease is by staining tissue sections of skin with the H&E stain to demonstrate Medlar bodies. A 72-year-old female presented with a non-itchy warty growth on the dorsum of the left foot of oneyear duration. The warty growth had a hyperkeratotic center with peripheral scarring. The clinical differential diagnosis in this patient included warty tuberculosis and chromoblastomycosis. H&E-stained sections of the lesion showed epidermal hyperplasia and a dense chronic inflammatory infiltrate with illformed granulomata within the dermis. Although these histological features supported a diagnosis of chromoblastomycosis, the characteristic Medlar bodies were not seen. Therefore, the Zeil Neelson stain (ZNS) was performed to rule out the possibility of warty tuberculosis. In the ZNS sections, Medlar bodies were seen prominently as dark grayish oval bodies against a light blue background (Fig. 2). Subsequently, ZNS was performed on tissue sections of three confirmed cases of chromoblastomycosis retrieved from the departmental case files. A similar pattern of staining was seen in all three cases confirming that Medlar bodies of chromoblastomycosis are stained by the ZNS, traditionally used to demonstrate acid fast bacilli. Following this, Wade-Fite staining (WFS) was done on tissue sections in the above patients. Medlar bodies stained positively with WFS in a pattern similar to that seen with the ZNS (Fig. 3). Medlar bodies were easier to identify in the ZNS and WFS than in the routine H&E-stained slides as all inflammatory cells and the back ground stained
On Assessment of Risks in Offshore Outsourcing of Information Technology

The paper proposes a systemic framework for assessment of Information Technology risks in offshore outsourcing projects based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process. The authors provide an analysis of current literature on IT risks in outsourcing, software project development and offshoring in order to illustrate the many facets of IT offshoring risks. The features of the framework and its elements are discussed as well.
Usefulness of molecular markers for detecting population bottlenecks via monitoring genetic change

It is important to detect population bottlenecks in threatened and managed species because bottlenecks can increase the risk of population extinction. Early detection is critical and can be facilitated by statistically powerful monitoring programs for detecting bottleneck‐induced genetic change. We used Monte Carlo computer simulations to evaluate the power of the following tests for detecting genetic changes caused by a severe reduction in a population's effective size (Ne): a test for loss of heterozygosity, two tests for loss of alleles, two tests for change in the distribution of allele frequencies, and a test for small Ne based on variance in allele frequencies (the ‘variance test’). The variance test was most powerful; it provided an 85% probability of detecting a bottleneck of size Ne = 10 when monitoring five microsatellite loci and sampling 30 individuals both before and one generation after the bottleneck. The variance test was almost 10‐times more powerful than a commonly used test for loss of heterozygosity, and it allowed for detection of bottlenecks before 5% of a population's heterozygosity had been lost. The second most powerful tests were generally the tests for loss of alleles. However, these tests had reduced power for detecting genetic bottlenecks caused by skewed sex ratios. We provide guidelines for the number of loci and individuals needed to achieve high‐power tests when monitoring via the variance test. We also illustrate how the variance test performs when monitoring loci that have widely different allele frequency distributions as observed in five wild populations of mountain sheep (Ovis canadensis).
Contribution of Na+/Ca2+ exchange to excessive Ca2+ loading in dendrites and somata of CA1 neurons in acute slice

Multiple Ca2+ entry routes have been implicated in excitotoxic Ca2+ loading in neurons and reverse‐operation of sodium–calcium exchangers (NCX) has been shown to contribute under conditions where intracellular Na+ levels are enhanced. We have investigated effects of KB‐R7943, an inhibitor of reverse‐operation NCX activity, on Ca2+ elevations in single CA1 neurons in acute hippocampal slices. KB‐R7943 had no significant effect on input resistance, action potential waveform, or action potential frequency adaptation, but reduced L‐type Ca2+ entry in somata. Nimodipine was therefore included in subsequent experiments to prevent complication from effects of L‐type influx on evaluation of NCX activity. NMDA produced transient primary Ca2+ increases, followed by propagating secondary Ca2+ increases that initiated in apical dendrites. KB‐R7943 had no significant effect on primary or secondary Ca2+ increases generated by NMDA. The Na+/K+ ATPase inhibitor ouabain (30 μM) produced degenerative Ca2+ overload that was initiated in basal dendrites. KB‐R7943 significantly reduced initial Ca2+ increases and delayed the propagation of degenerative Ca2+ loads triggered by ouabain, raising the possibility that excessive intracellular Na+ loading can trigger reverse‐operation NCX activity. A combination of NMDA and ouabain produced more rapid Ca2+ overload, that was contributed to by NCX activity. These results suggest that degenerative Ca2+ signaling can be triggered by NMDA in dendrites, before intracellular Na+ levels become sufficient to reverse NCX activity. However, since Na+/K+ ATPase inhibition does appear to produce significant reverse‐operation NCX activity, this additional Ca2+ influx pathway may operate in ATP‐deprived CA1 neurons and play a role in ischemic neurodegeneration. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The role of non-intrusive operator logging to support the analysis and generation of product engineering data using immersive VR

Virtual reality (VR) has the potential to substantially alter the manner in which products of the future are engineered. Currently there are many applications of VR during the product engineering process from design and analysis through to process planning, assembly, machining and shop floor layout. VR takes a multitude of forms, including immersive, desktop, augmented, and is rapidly developing as a tool that can be used in the engineering of products. This paper looks at the use of immersive VR as a tool for analysing both design and manufacturing product engineering activities in a series of research projects involving assembly planning and cable harness design. It focuses particularly on the use of the non-intrusive logging of users in such environments as a means to obtaining a rich data source for activity analysis and its potential within computer integrated manufacturing environments as a means of providing downstream engineering data.
The DI@UE's Participation in QA4MRE: from QA to Multiple Choice Challenge

This QA4MRE edition brought two challenges to the DI@UE team: the absence of Portuguese as a working language and the different nature of the task when compared with previous participation in QA@CLEF. We addressed this multiple choice answering problem by assessing answer candidates in a text surface based manner, without a deep linguistic processing. This system employs a Lucene based search engine and Wordnet to assist in synonym check and morphological normalization. Answer analysis and the criteria for the answering decision are fundamentally based on superficial analysis of document text, enriched with semantic validation of compatibility between terms. The solution we describe answered to 73 from 120 questions, having 18 correct answers and an accuracy of 0.15.
Predicting Business Successfulness using Predictive Data Analytics

In the modern business landscape, new business institutions are constantly emerging to meet the demands of the free market. However, the mere founding of a business does not necessarily mean that it will be successful among the general populace. A business that appears to be good idea, might in fact not be a good idea at all. So, to be able to appropriately predict the chance of success of a particular business, predictive data analysis and machine learning algorithms can be used to accomplish this task. So to predict the approximate success of a business, recommendations will be used. These recommendations will be generated by applying machine learning to a particular set of data. In this case, openly available yelp data
Cockayne syndrome group B protein promotes mitochondrial DNA stability by supporting the DNA repair association with the mitochondrial membrane

Cockayne syndrome (CS) is a human premature aging disorder associated with severe developmental deficiencies and neurodegeneration, and phenotypically it resembles some mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) diseases. Most patients belong to complementation group B, and the CS group B (CSB) protein plays a role in genomic maintenance and transcriptome regulation. By immunocytochemistry, mitochondrial fractionation, and Western blotting, we demonstrate that CSB localizes to mitochondria in different types of cells, with increased mitochondrial distribution following menadione‐induced oxidative stress. Moreover, our results suggest that CSB plays a significant role in mitochondrial base excision repair (BER) regulation. In particular, we find reduced 8‐oxo‐guanine, uracil, and 5‐hydroxy‐uracil BER incision activities in CSBdeficient cells compared to wild‐type cells. This deficiency correlates with deficient association of the BER activities with the mitochondrial inner membrane, suggesting that CSB may participate in the anchoring of the DNA repair complex. Increased mutation frequency in mtDNA of CSB‐deficient cells demonstrates functional significance of the presence of CSB in the mitochondria. The results in total suggest that CSB plays a direct role in mitochondrial BER by helping recruit, stabilize, and/or retain BER proteins in repair complexes associated with the inner mitochondrial membrane, perhaps providing a novel basis for understanding the complex phenotype of this debilitating disorder. —Aamann, M. D. , Sorensen, M. M. , Hvitby, C, Berquist, B. R, Muftuoglu, M. , Tian, J., de Souza‐Pinto, N. C, Scheibye‐Knudsen, M. , Wilson, D. M. , III, Stevnsner, T. , Bohr, V. A Cockayne syndrome group B protein promotes mitochondrial DNA stability by supporting the DNA repair association with the mitochondrial membrane. FASEBJ. 24, 2334–2346 (2010). www.fasebj. org
Association between maternal depression and maternal sensitivity from birth to 12 months: a meta-analysis

ABSTRACT Maternal sensitivity plays a central role in shaping children’s development across a number of domains, and may be disrupted by depression. The current meta-analysis quantified the magnitude of the association between depression and maternal sensitivity, defined broadly as timely, contingent, and appropriate responding to infants’ cues, from birth to 12 months. Across k = 48 studies and n = 4,934 mother–infant dyads, the aggregate effect size between depression and maternal sensitivity was r = −. 16, p < . 0001, indicating that mothers with higher depression levels were less sensitive than mothers with lower depression levels. Studies that compared a depressed group with a nondepressed/control group had larger effect sizes (r = −.35, p < .0001) than studies that examined depression within a single sample of either unselected cases or clinical-only cases (r = −.11, p < .001), suggesting that clinical levels of depression may pose a particular threat to sensitive parenting. Clinical implications (e.g. screening, prevention) are discussed.
La superproducción general en la acumulación actual y la cuestión de la acción de la clase obrera como sujeto revolucionario

Rolando Astarita pretende haber sintetizado mi posicion en el debate ocurrido en las V Jornadas de Razon y Revolucion, con un “el capitalismo esta en una ‘crisis de sobreproduccion permanente’”, que me atribuye literalmente. Esta es una manipulacion caricaturesca de mis planteos. Durante el debate, Astarita respondio a mis desarrollos concretos sobre la acumulacion de capital mediante reiteradas invocaciones a los “conceptos marxistas”, sobre los que, se diria, cree tener el monopolio. De modo opuesto, voy a insistir aqui en el curso senalado por Marx, en cuanto a no partir de conceptos1 y a avanzar reproduciendo lo concreto mediante el pensamiento.
Relationships between needle nutrient composition in Scots pine and Norway spruce stands and the respective concentrations in the organic layer and in percolation water

We explored how N, S, P, Ca, K, Mg, Zn and Mn concentrations in percolation water (PW) and organic layer (OL) are reflected in the respective element concentrations in Scots pine and Norway spruce current needles. For both tree species, N and Ca had the highest covariation (R adj 2 ≥ 0.73) between nutrient concentrations in the OL and in the needles. Mean N, S, P, K, Zn and Mn concentrations in PW significantly explained the variation in the respective needle concentrations on the spruce plots, and of K, Zn, and Mn in PW on the pine plots. The annual variation in needle element concentrations did not account for the respective variation in PW. Our results suggest that plant metabolism regulates the nutrient concentrations in the current needles more strongly in pine than in spruce, whereas the supply of soil nutrients is more clearly reflected in the nutrient concentrations of spruce.
Preliminary study of an electronic method of counting and sizing bull spermatozoa.

An electronic particle-size analyser has been used to examine the size distribution of spermatozoa in bull semen. A complete size distribution may be obtained on 10,000 spermatozoa in about an hour. Determinations of the concentration of spermatozoa in semen made with the instrument were found to be highly correlated (r = 0\m=.\96) with corresponding estimates obtained from direct counts with the microscope.
Association between depression and death in people with CKD: a meta-analysis of cohort studies.

BACKGROUND Depression occurs relatively commonly in people with chronic kidney disease (CKD), but it is uncertain whether depression is a risk factor for premature death in this population. Interventions to reduce mortality in CKD consistently have been ineffective and new strategies are needed. STUDY DESIGN Systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies. SETTING & POPULATION Adults with CKD. SELECTION CRITERIA FOR STUDIES Cohort studies identified in Ovid MEDLINE through week 3 December 2012 without language restriction. PREDICTOR Depression status as determined by physician diagnosis, clinical coding, or self-reported scales. SELECTION CRITERIA FOR STUDIES All-cause and cardiovascular mortality. Outcomes were summarized as relative risks (RRs) with 95% CIs using random-effects meta-analysis. RESULTS 22 studies (83,381 participants) comprising 12,063 cases of depression (mean prevalence, 27.4%; 95% CI, 20.0%-36.3%) with a follow-up of 3 months to 6.5 years were included. Methodological quality generally was good or fair. Depression consistently increased the risk of death from any cause (RR, 1.59; 95% CI, 1.35-1.87), but had less certain effects on cardiovascular mortality (RR, 1.88; 95% CI, 0.84-4.19). Associations for mortality were similar regardless of the diagnostic method used for depression, but were weaker in analyses controlled for preexisting cardiovascular disease (RR, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.23-1.50). LIMITATIONS Meta-analyses adjusting for antidepressant medication use were not possible, and data for kidney transplant recipients and individuals with earlier stages of CKD not treated with dialysis were limited. CONCLUSIONS Depression is associated with a substantially increased risk of death in people with CKD. Effective treatment for depression in people with CKD may reduce mortality.
The use of lidocaine for preventing the withdrawal associated with the injection of rocuronium in children and adolescents.

UNLABELLED We designed this study to examine the incidence and degree of movement after the administration of rocuronium in children and adolescents and to measure the treatment effect of lidocaine for its prevention. One hundred patients (aged 5-18 yr) were randomly assigned to two groups. After general anesthesia was induced with 5 mg/kg thiopental sodium and manual occlusion of venous outflow was performed, one group of patients received 0.1 mL/kg 1% lidocaine i.v. A second group received 0.1 mL/kg of isotonic sodium chloride solution as a placebo control. Venous outflow occlusion was held for 15 s, released, and immediately followed by the administration of rocuronium 1 mg/kg i.v. The patient's response to rocuronium injection was graded using a 4-point scale. We observed that the incidence of withdrawal was 84% in the placebo group and was significantly decreased to 46% in patients pretreated with lidocaine (P < 0.001). This study demonstrates that the i.v. injection of rocuronium is commonly associated with a withdrawal reaction in anesthetized pediatric patients and that this reaction can be attenuated or eliminated by pretreatment with i.v. lidocaine. IMPLICATIONS Pain on injection of rocuronium in pediatric patients can be alleviated by pretreatment with i.v. lidocaine.
Inhibition of NO3− and NO2− Reduction by Microbial Fe(III) Reduction: Evidence of a Reaction between NO2− and Cell Surface-Bound Fe2+

ABSTRACT A recent study (D. C. Cooper, F. W. Picardal, A. Schimmelmann, and A. J. Coby, Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 69:3517-3525, 2003) has shown that NO3− and NO2− (NOx−) reduction by Shewanella putrefaciens 200 is inhibited in the presence of goethite. The hypothetical mechanism offered to explain this finding involved the formation of a Fe(III) (hydr)oxide coating on the cell via the surface-catalyzed, abiotic reaction between Fe2+ and NO2−. This coating could then inhibit reduction of NOx− by physically blocking transport into the cell. Although the data in the previous study were consistent with such an explanation, the hypothesis was largely speculative. In the current work, this hypothesis was tested and its environmental significance explored through a number of experiments. The inhibition of ∼3 mM NO3− reduction was observed during reduction of a variety of Fe(III) (hydr)oxides, including goethite, hematite, and an iron-bearing, natural sediment. Inhibition of oxygen and fumarate reduction was observed following treatment of cells with Fe2+ and NO2−, demonstrating that utilization of other soluble electron acceptors could also be inhibited. Previous adsorption of Fe2+ onto Paracoccus denitrificans inhibited NOx− reduction, showing that Fe(II) can reduce rates of soluble electron acceptor utilization by non-iron-reducing bacteria. NO2− was chemically reduced to N2O by goethite or cell-sorbed Fe2+, but not at appreciable rates by aqueous Fe2+. Transmission and scanning electron microscopy showed an electron-dense, Fe-enriched coating on cells treated with Fe2+ and NO2−. The formation and effects of such coatings underscore the complexity of the biogeochemical reactions that occur in the subsurface.