Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Preadolescents' Somatic and Cognitive-Affective Depressive Symptoms Are Differentially Related to Cardiac Autonomic Function and Cortisol: The TRAILS Study

Objective: To examine in a nonclinical sample of preadolescents the possibility that somatic and cognitive-affective depressive symptoms are differentially related with the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Depression is a well-known risk factor for cardiovascular disease and mortality. Dysregulation of the ANS and the HPA axis have been proposed as underlying mechanisms. Several studies suggest that only a subset of the depression symptoms account for associations with cardiovascular prognosis. Methods: Self-reported somatic and cognitive-affective depressive symptoms were examined in relationship to heart rate variability (HRV), spontaneous baroreflex sensitivity (BRS), and the cortisol awakening response (CAR) in 2049 preadolescents (mean age = 11.1 years; 50.7% = girls) from the Tracking Adolescents' Individual Lives Survey (TRAILS). Results: Physiological measurements were not associated with the overall measure of depressive symptoms. Somatic depressive symptoms were negatively related to HRV and BRS, and positively to the CAR; cognitive-affective depressive symptoms were positively related to HRV and BRS, and negatively to the CAR. Associations with the CAR pertained to boys only. Conclusions: Somatic and cognitive-affective depressive symptoms differ in their association with both cardiac autonomic and HPA axis function in preadolescents. Particularly, somatic depression symptoms may mark cardiac risk. ANS = autonomic nervous system; BP = blood pressure; BRS = baroreflex sensitivity; CAR = cortisol awakening response; CVD = cardiovascular disease; HPA = hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal; HR = heart rate; HRV = heart rate variability; HRV-LF = heart rate variability in the low-frequency band; HRV-HF = heart rate variability in the high-frequency band; MI = myocardial infarction; SD = standard deviation; YSR = Youth Self-Report.
Functional Performance and Grip Strength After Total Hip Replacement

Objective. The progress of adults after total hip replacement (THR) was measured baseline to discharge using the Functional Independence Measure (FIM). Measures of effectiveness and efficiency were investigated. Additionally, although grip strength is frequently evaluated, its relationship to impact on functional gains after THR is unknown and was explored in this study. Method. A retrospective chart review was conducted on 41 patients' progress in acute rehabilitation following THR. Baseline and discharge FIM subscales of self-care, mobility, and locomotion were compared using paired t-tests with post hoc correction for type I error. Effectiveness and efficiency indicators on FIM subscale improvement were calculated. Grip strength was compared to expected values by age and gender using one-sample t-tests. Then, grip strength and FIM subscale scores were correlated using Pearson correlation. Results. FIM subscale scores each improved 2.1 points on average. Statistically significant improvement was made in 10 subscales of self-care, mobility, and locomotion. Grip strength was significantly less than expected norms in six of 14 subgroups after surgery; four of eight were female subgroups. There were no significant correlations between grip strength and any FIM subscale. Conclusion. Improvement in functional performance, as measured by FIM, was made on all FIM subscales. Grip strength after THR was moderately decreased from the norm. Results suggest that loss of grip strength alone may not adversely affect functional performance.
Impact of Psychological Stress on the Associations Between Apolipoprotein E Variants and Metabolic Traits: Findings in an American Sample of Caregivers and Controls

Objective: To examine the association between apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene variants and waist circumference, fasting plasma glucose, serum insulin, serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and serum triglycerides, all metabolic traits known as cardiovascular disease (CVD) endophenotypes, in a population of stressed individuals and controls. Abdominal obesity, insulin resistance, elevated serum lipid concentration, and APOE polymorphisms have been associated with CVD risk. Current evidence supports the hypothesis that gene-environment interactions modulate serum lipid concentrations. Methods: The association between rs769450, rs405509, rs439401, and metabolic traits were analyzed in a U.S. sample of 126 white caregivers of a relative with Alzheimer's disease or other major dementia and 122 white controls. The associations were analyzed, using multivariate analysis of variance adjusted for age, sex, and medications. Results: Significant multivariate interactions were found, using both additive (p = .009) and dominant (p = .047) models between rs439401 (C/T) and caregiver stress in relation to a profile of metabolic variables. Univariate analyses found the TT genotype to be associated with more adverse levels of waist circumference (interaction, p = .026), triglycerides (interaction, p = .001) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (interaction, p = .001) among caregivers but with a more favorable profile of these endophenotypes among controls. There were no significant associations or interactions involving the other two single nucleotide polymorphisms. Conclusion: The APOE rs439401 TT genotype is associated with an adverse metabolic profile among chronically stressed individuals compared with individuals not similarly stressed in whom a more favorable profile is expressed. Confirmation of these results in further research would indicate that the TT genotype can be used to identify persons at high risk for CVD when subjected to chronic stress. APOE = apolipoprotein E; CVD = cardiovascular disease; SNPs = single nucleotide polymorphisms.
Transcriptional profiling reveals gene expression changes associated with inflammation and cell proliferation following short‐term inhalation exposure to copper oxide nanoparticles

Our recent studies revealed a dose‐dependent proinflammatory response to copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs) in rats following short‐term inhalation exposure for five consecutive days. Here transcriptomics approaches were applied using the same model to assess global gene expression in lung tissues obtained 1 day post‐exposure and after a recovery period of 22 days from rats exposed to clean air or 6 hour equivalent doses of 3.3 mg m−3 (low dose) and 13.2 mg m−3 (high dose). Microarray analyses yielded about 1000 differentially expressed genes in the high‐dose group and 200 in low‐dose compared to the clean air control group, and less than 20 after the recovery period. Pathway analysis indicated cell proliferation/survival and inflammation as the main processes triggered by exposure to CuO NPs. We did not find significant perturbations of pathways related to oxidative stress. Upregulation of epithelial cell transforming protein 2 (Ect2), a known oncogene, was noted and ECT2 protein was upregulated in the lungs of exposed animals. Proliferation of alveolar epithelial cells was demonstrated based on Ki67 expression. The gene encoding monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (or CCL2) was also upregulated and this was confirmed by immunohistochemistry. However, no aberrant DNA methylation of inflammation‐associated genes was observed. In conclusion, we have found that inhalation of CuO NPs in rats causes upregulation of the oncoprotein ECT2 and the chemokine CCL2 and other proinflammatory markers as well as proliferation in bronchoalveolar epithelium after a short‐term inhalation exposure. Thus, pathways known to be associated with neoplastic processes and inflammation were affected in this model.
Mechanisms and clinical implications of renal drug excretion*

The body defends itself against potentially harmful compounds like drugs, toxic compounds, and their metabolites by elimination, in which the kidney plays an important role. Renal clearance is used to determine renal elimination mechanisms of a drug, which is the result of glomerular filtration, active tubular secretion and reabsorption. The renal proximal tubule is the primary site of carrier-mediated transport from blood to urine. Renal secretory mechanisms exists for, anionic compounds and organic cations. Both systems comprises several transport proteins, and knowledge of the molecular identity of these transporters and their substrate specificity has increased considerably in the past decade. Due to overlapping specificities of the transport proteins, drug interactions at the level of tubular secretion is an event that may occur in clinical situation. This review describes the different processes that determine renal drug handling, the techniques that have been developed to attain more insight in the various aspects of drug excretion, the functional characteristics of the individual transport proteins, and finally the implications of drug interactions in a clinical perspective.
Moulding and shielding flexural waves in elastic plates

Platonic crystals (PlCs) are the elastic plate analogue of the photonic crystals widely used in optics, and are thin structured elastic plates along which flexural waves cannot propagate within certain stop band frequency intervals. The practical importance of PlCs is twofold: These can be used either in the design of microstructured acoustic metamaterials or as an approximate model for surface elastic waves propagating in meter scale seismic metamaterials. Here, we make use of the band spectrum of PlCs created by an array of either very small or densely packed clamped circles to achieve surface wave reflectors at very large wavelengths, a flat lens, a waveguide effect, a directive antenna near the stop band frequencies. The limit in which the circles reduce to points is particularly appealing as there is an exact dispersion relation available so the origin of these phenomena can be explained and interpreted using Fourier series and high-frequency homogenization (HFH). We then enlarge the radius of clamped circles, which both makes the zero-frequency stop band up to five times wider and flattens the dispersion curves. Here, HFH notably captures the essence of localized modes, one of which appears in the zero-frequency stop band and is used in the design of a highly directive waveguide.
Selective targeting of green fluorescent nanodiamond conjugates to mitochondria in HeLa cells

Fluorescent cellular biomarkers play a prominent role in biosciences. Most of the available biomarkers have some drawbacks due to either physical and optical or cytotoxic properties. In view of this, we investigated the potential of green fluorescent nanodiamonds as biomarkers in living cells. Nanodiamonds were functionalized by attaching antibodies that target intracellular structures such as actin filaments and mitochondria. Then, the nanodiamond conjugates were transfected into HeLa cells. Transfections were mediated by 4th‐generation dendrimers, cationic liposomes and protamine sulfate. Using fluorescence microscopy, we confirmed successful transfections of the nanodiamonds into HeLa cells. Nanodiamond fluorescence could be easily differentiated from cellular autofluorescence. Furthermore, nanodiamonds could be targeted selectively to intracellular structures. Therefore, nanodiamonds are a promising tool for intracellular assays. (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Emotional Stress and Heart Rate Variability Measures Associated With Cardiovascular Risk in Relocated Katrina Survivors

Objective To explore the effects of hurricane exposure and forced relocation on the mind and body, we compared psychiatric diagnoses and symptoms with heart rate variability (HRV) for 34 relocated Katrina survivors and 34 demographically matched controls. Methods All participants were healthy and free of psychiatric and cardiovascular medications. We measured symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale 1) and depression (Beck Depression Inventory), Axis I psychiatric diagnoses (Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV), psychosocial disability (Sheehan Disability Scale), and power spectral analysis HRV reactivity to trauma reminders. Results Katrina-related PTSD occurred in 38% of survivors and 12% of controls. Survivors reported higher levels of PTSD and depression symptoms, within diagnostic ranges, and greater psychosocial disability than controls. Survivors had higher resting heart rate (80.82 [standard deviation = 13.60] versus 74.85 [10.67], p = .05), lower parasympathetic (high-frequency [HF] normalized unit) baseline HRV activity (40.14 [23.81] versus 50.67 [19.93], p = .04) and less reactivity with trauma cues (−2.63 [20.70] versus −11.96 [15.84], p = .04), and higher baseline sympathovagal activity (low frequency/HF ratio) (2.84 [3.08] versus 1.35 [1.08], p = .04) than controls. Survivors with depression (n = 12) and with depression and PTSD combined (n = 7), but not those with PTSD (n = 13), had flattened parasympathetic responsiveness to trauma cues. HRV indices correlated with depressive (low frequency/HF, p = .01; HF normalized unit, p = .046) but not PTSD symptoms (p values > .05). Conclusions Results showed this multilayer trauma’s impact on emotional health and HRV-based measures of autonomic nervous system dysregulation. Specifically, dysregulation of depressed survivors’ HRV in response to trauma reminders supports more autonomic involvement in traumatic loss/depression than in PTSD. Diagnostic criteria for PTSD include physiologic reactivity, and the present findings suggest that, in this setting, altered physiologic reactivity observed when PTSD coexists with depression.
SERUM TREATMENT IN TYPE I LOBAR PNEUMONIA

Pneumonia in man is not a single disease; the term includes a group of diseases, and today there is no more justification for making a diagnosis of pneumonia than there is for making a diagnosis of enteritis when the patient suffers from typhoid. This fact becomes fundamentally important when the question of serum therapy is involved. Although, as Tillett has shown, nontype specific humoral factors may be concerned in immunity to pneumococcus, yet the evidence so far available strongly indicates that the most important role in immunity to pneumococcus, and in recovery from infection with this organism, is played by substances in the serum which are effective only in relation to a particular type of pneumococcus. In most experimental animals recovery from pneumococcus infection, either natural or acquired, is followed by at least a temporary resistance to subsequent infection, and during recovery the blood of the animal acquires new properties.
High Salt Intake and Stroke: Meta‐analysis of the Epidemiologic Evidence

Research on the potential impact of high salt intake on health has grown rapidly over the last decades. Recent studies have suggested that high salt intake could also be associated with adverse effects on cardiovascular system. The review evaluated the current level of epidemiologic evidence on the association between the level of habitual salt intake and stroke outcome. We also suggest further research direction. There were 21 independent samples from 12 studies, with 225,693 participants (follow‐up, 3–19 years) and 8135 stroke events. High salt intake was associated with risk of stroke event (pooled odd ratio [OR], 1.34; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.19–1.51), stroke death (1.40; 1.21–1.63) and stroke onset (1.11; 1.00–1.24), ischemic stroke death (2.15; 1.57–2.95), not associated with risk of ischemic stroke onset (1.07, 0.95–1.2), with no significant evidence of publication bias. High salt intake is associated with significantly increased risk of stroke event. Further research should be directed toward clarifying and quantifying these possible effects and generating testable hypotheses on plausible biologic mechanisms.
The Temporal Relation Between Pain and Depression: Results From the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam

Objective Pain and depression are both common in old age, but their (long-term) temporal relationship remains unknown. This study is designed to determine whether pain predicts the onset of depression and vice versa. Methods This is a prospective, population-based cohort study with 12-year follow-up and 3-year intervals in the Netherlands (Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam). At baseline, participants were aged 55 to 85 years (n = 2028). Main measurements outcomes were incident depression defined as crossing the cutoff of 16 and showing a relevant change (≥5 points) on the Center for Epidemiological Studies–Depression Scale among nondepressed participants and incident pain defined as a score of 2 or higher on the pain scale of the 5-item Nottingham Health Profile in pain-free participants. Multiple imputations were adopted to estimate missing values. Results In nondepressed participants (n= 1769), a higher level of pain was predictive of incident depression in multiple extended Cox regression analyses (hazard rate [HR] = 1.13 [95% confidence interval {CI}: 1.05–1.22], p = .001), which all remained significant after correction for sociodemographic characteristics, life-style characteristics, functional limitations, and chronic diseases (HR = 1.09 [95% CI = 1.01–1.18], p = .035). In the pain-free participants (n = 1420), depressive symptoms at baseline predicted incident pain (HR = 1.02 [95% CI: 1.01–1.04], p = .006). This depression measure did not independently predicted the onset of pain in the fully adjusted models. Conclusions As pain precedes the onset of depression, strategies to prevent depression in chronic pain patients are warranted. In contrast, no effects of depression on the development of subsequent pain were found when adjusting for covariates.
The insufficient milk syndrome: A biocultural explanation

Abstract The authors discuss the “insufficient milk syndrome” associated with the decline of breastfeeding in the urbanizing world and offer a biocultural model to demonstrate its complex transcultural etiology. Rejecting the common explanation of insufficient milk reports as rationalizations of women no longer interested in breastfeeding, the authors suggest that the syndrome stems from the spread of nonbiological breastfeeding patterns in industrializing, urbanizing societies. This paper describes the syndrome and its effects on infant feeding patterns, explains the biocultural model, and considers some possible interventions to affect its course.
Barriers to Antiretroviral Medication Adherence in Young HIV-Infected Children

The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine, from the perspectives of both HIV-infected children and such children's primary guardians, the barriers children face in adhering to combination antiretroviral therapies. Nine HIV-infected young children and 14 guardians of HIV-positive children were interviewed about what the children's lives were like, including the difficulties they faced in adhering to therapy, while taking antiretroviral medications. Results showed that children faced six main barriers to adherence related to (a) family daily routines; (b) medication side effects; (c) medication taste, size, and shape; (d) the stigma of HIV/AIDS; (e) medications as a reminder of HIV/AIDS; and (f) child deception. The findings underscore the difficult nature of the antiretroviral regimens and illuminate the daily obstacles children face in adhering to therapy. Interventions that target children's unique barriers are needed to improve adherence to antiretroviral medication regimens.
The Interactive Effects of Cerebral Perfusion and Depression on Cognitive Function in Older Adults With Heart Failure

Objective Depression is common among persons with heart failure (HF) and has been linked to cognitive impairment in this population. The mechanisms of this relationship are unclear, and the current study examined whether cerebral perfusion moderates the association between depressive symptoms and cognitive impairment in patients with HF. Methods Persons with HF (n = 89; mean [standard deviation] age = 67.61 [11.78] years) completed neuropsychological testing and impedance cardiography. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory II, and transcranial Doppler was used to quantify cerebral perfusion. Results Depression was associated with reduced performance on tasks assessing attention/executive function (r = −0.28), language (r = −0.0.30), and motor function (r = −0.28) in unadjusted models (p values <.05). Global cerebral blood flow was correlated with memory performance (r = 0.22, p = .040) but not with other tasks. A moderation analysis was performed using hierarchical regression models for attention/executive function, memory, language, and motor function. For each model, medical and demographic characteristics were entered into the initial blocks, and the final block consisted of an interaction term between global cerebral blood flow velocity and the Beck Depression Inventory II. The interaction between greater depressive symptoms and decreased global cerebral blood flow velocity was associated with greater deficits in attention/executive function (&bgr; = .32, &Dgr;R2 = 0.08, p = .003). Conclusions Depressive symptoms and cerebral hypoperfusion interact to adversely affect cognitive performance in older adults with HF. Longitudinal studies are needed to clarify this relationship and elucidate subsequent neuropathology.
Multispectral fluorescence lifetime imaging system for intravascular diagnostics with ultrasound guidance: in vivo validation in swine arteries

Fluorescence lifetime technique has demonstrated potential for analysis of atherosclerotic lesions and for complementing existing intravascular imaging modalities such as intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) in identifying lesions at high risk of rupture. This study presents a multimodal catheter system integrating a 40 MHz commercial IVUS and fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIm) using fast helical motion scanning (400 rpm, 0.75 mm/s), able to acquire in vivo in pulsatile blood flow the autofluorescence emission of arterial vessels with high precision (5.08 ± 0.26 ns mean average lifetime over 13 scans). Co‐registered FLIm and IVUS data allowed 3D visualization of both biochemical and morphological vessel properties. Current study supports the development of clinically compatible intravascular diagnostic system integrating FLIm and demonstrates, to our knowledge, the first in vivo intravascular application of a fluorescence lifetime imaging technique. (© 2014 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Chromophore based analyses of steady‐state diffuse reflectance spectroscopy: current status and perspectives for clinical adoption

Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy is a rapidly growing technology in the biophotonics community where it has shown promise in its ability to classify different tissues. In the steady‐state domain a wide spectrum of clinical applications is supported with this technology ranging from diagnostic to guided interventions. Diffuse reflectance spectra provide a wealth of information about tissue composition; however, extracting biologically relevant information from the spectra in terms of chromophores may be more useful to gain acceptance into the clinical community. The chromophores that absorb light in the visible and near infrared wavelengths can provide information about tissue composition. The key characteristics of these chromophores and their relevance in different organs and clinical applications is the focus of this review, along with translating their use to the clinic.