Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Helicobacter pylori infection and hypertension: Is there an association?

There are conflicting reports in the literature regarding the association of Helicobacter pylori with cardiovascular diseases like hypertension. However there is a paucity of literature from the Indian subcontinent on the relationship between Helicobacter pylori and the heart, coronary artery disease and hypertension. This study aims to evaluate the association between Helicobacter pylori seropositivity and hypertension. 40 hypertensives and 40 normotensive controls were included in the study. The presence of Helicobacter pylori was confirmed by serological evidence of Helicobacter pylori IgG antibodies as estimated by ELISA (> 40 EU/ml considered as positive). 18 subjects with hypertension and 9 controls were positive for Helicobacter pylori as per serological evidence. Chi square test revealed that the difference in the number of seropositive cases was statistically significant (p<0.05). Thus in the present study Helicobacter pylori infection had significant association with hypertension as compared to controls.
Deceptive meaning of oxygen uptake measured at the anaerobic threshold in patients with systolic heart failure and atrial fibrillation

Background Oxygen uptake at the anaerobic threshold (VO2AT), a submaximal exercise-derived variable, independent of patients’ motivation, is a marker of outcome in heart failure (HF). However, previous evidence of VO2AT values paradoxically higher in HF patients with permanent atrial fibrillation (AF) than in those with sinus rhythm (SR) raised uncertainties. Design We tested the prognostic role of VO2AT in a large cohort of systolic HF patients, focusing on possible differences between SR and AF. Methods Altogether 2976 HF patients (2578 with SR and 398 with AF) were prospectively followed. Besides a clinical examination, each patient underwent a maximal cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET). Results The follow-up was analysed for up to 1500 days. Cardiovascular death or urgent cardiac transplantation occurred in 303 patients (250 (9.6%) patients with SR and 53 (13.3%) patients with AF, p = 0.023). In the entire population, multivariate analysis including peak oxygen uptake (VO2) showed a prognostic capacity (C-index) similar to that obtained including VO2AT (0.76 vs 0.72). Also, left ventricular ejection fraction, ventilation vs carbon dioxide production slope, β-blocker and digoxin therapy proved to be significant prognostic indexes. The receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves analysis showed that the best predictive VO2AT cut-off for the SR group was 11.7 ml/kg/min, while it was 12.8 ml/kg/min for the AF group. Conclusions VO2AT, a submaximal CPET-derived parameter, is reliable for long-term cardiovascular mortality prognostication in stable systolic HF. However, different VO2AT cut-off values between SR and AF HF patients should be adopted.
On Analysis and Synthesis of Elementary and Complex Informational Bispectral Structures

The problem regarding shapes of bispectral peak of the triplet representing the triharmonic signal is discussed. This triplet can be used as both standard diagnostic signal for a bispectral analyzers and a simplest element of complex informational patterns of bispectrally organized signals. The problem of analyzing and measuring the parameters of bispectral peak is equally fundamental as the well-known problem concerning the shape and width of spectral line of quasi-monochromatic oscillations. The sectional area of bispectral peak restricts the limiting informational volume of complex bispectral patterns. Two models of an actual triplet with frequency fluctuations are analyzed. Universal bispectral-peak shapes are found for a triplet with proportional frequencies for the limiting cases of extremely slow and extremely fast frequency fluctuations. The phenomenon of bispectral-peak superlocalization is discovered for quasi-static fluctuations and analyzed for the most realistic model of 1/f frequency fluctuations. The experiment investigating the bispectral peak of the real high-frequency synthesizer is presented.
Metal contaminants in commercial thiazine dyes.

The iron, potassium, sodium and zinc content of commercial samples of the thiazine dyes azure A (C.I. 52005), azure B (C.I. 52010), azure C (C.I. 52002), methylene blue (C.I. 52015), new methylene blue (C.I. 52030), polychrome methylene blue, thionine (C.I. 52000) and toluidine blue (C.I. 52040) have been determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The metal concentration varied widely in the 38 samples examined--iron, potassium, sodium and zinc together comprised between 0.02% and 25.35% of individual samples.
Using Cognitive Dimensions Questionnaire to Evaluate the Usability of Security APIs

Usability issues that exist in security APIs cause programmers to embed those security APIs incorrectly to the applications they develop. This results in introduction of security vulnerabilities to those applications. One of the main reasons for security APIs to be not usable is currently there is no proper method by which the usability issues of security APIs can be identified. We conducted a study to assess the effectiveness of the cognitive dimensions questionnaire based usability evaluation methodology in evaluating the usability of security APIs. We used a cognitive dimensions based generic questionnaire to collect feedback from programmers who participated in the study. Results revealed interesting facts about the prevailing usability issues in four commonly used security APIs and the capability of the methodology to identify those issues.
Assessment of bone resorption with a new marker of collagen degradation in patients with metabolic bone disease.

We have used a new enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) to measure the urinary excretion of type I collagen peptides (CrossLaps) released during bone matrix degradation in a sample of healthy adults comprising 146 women and 60 men, aged 31-89 yr, and in patients with metabolic bone disease. The intra- and interassay coefficients of variation were less than 10% and 13%, respectively. The recovery of CrossLaps antigen from urine samples ranged from 92-115%, and the ELISA was linear for serial sample dilutions. The CrossLaps assay does not cross-react with either free pyridinoline (Pyr) or free deoxypyridinoline (D-Pyr). CrossLaps measured by ELISA and the total excretion of Pyr measured by high performance liquid chromatography were highly correlated in normal women (n = 91; r = 0.73; P < 0.001). Urinary CrossLaps excretion increased with age in women, but not in men. In women, the menopause was reflected by a mean 141% increase in CrossLaps excretion [from an average 217 to 524 micrograms/mmol creatinine (Cr)] that was higher than the mean increase in total D-Pyr (+91%) and total Pyr (+47%) measured by HPLC and the mean increase in bone alkaline phophatase (+48%) and osteocalcin (+41%). Urinary CrossLaps excretion was increased from control values in Paget's disease (n = 32; mean, 1810 +/- 2300 micrograms/mmol Cr; P < 0.001), in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (n = 10; mean, 780 +/- 380 micrograms/mmol Cr; P < 0.001), and in patients with hyperthyroidism (n = 27; mean, 1280 +/- 970 micrograms/mmol Cr; P < 0.001), with Z-scores (number of SD from the mean of sex- and age-matched controls) of 4.4 +/- 6.6, 1.5 +/- 1.2, and 6.7 +/- 6.5, respectively. In patients with Paget's disease, CrossLaps values were highly correlated with urinary hydroxyproline levels (r = 0.91; P < 0.001), and the decrease in urinary CrossLaps excretion was greater than that in urinary hydroxyproline (-71% vs. -17%; P < 0.001) after 3 days of i.v. treatment with the bisphosphonate pamidronate. In patients with hyperthyroidism, CrossLaps excretion was elevated above the normal range in most patients (78%) and returned to normal within 1 month of treatment for hyperthyroidism. It is concluded that this new convenient assay represents a sensitive and specific index of the bone resorption rate, and that it should be useful for the clinical investigation and therapeutic monitoring of patients with osteoporosis and other metabolic bone diseases.
Course of functional improvement after stroke, spinal cord injury, and traumatic brain injury.

OBJECTIVE To examine functional improvement patterns of persons with stroke, traumatic brain injury (TBI), and spinal cord injury (SCI). DESIGN Statistical analysis of data from a multisite study evaluating rehabilitation outcomes. SETTING Eight inpatient rehabilitation facilities. PARTICIPANTS A total of 314 consecutive admissions of persons with stroke, SCI, and TBI who received acute medical rehabilitation between 1994 and 1998. INTERVENTION Calibration of motor and cognitive items from the FIM instrument, grouping of cases by number of weeks of rehabilitation (length of stay [LOS] groups), and plotting of weekly averages across time. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Weekly motor and cognitive functional status. RESULTS With the exception of cognitive functioning for persons with SCI, LOS was related to initial functional status, with patients with greater disability having longer LOS (eg, initial motor status for persons with stroke was 48.3 for those with a 2-week stay, 36.8 for a 6-week stay, with the averages between decreasing monotonically). With the exception of cognitive gains for person with TBIs, the amount of functional gain during rehabilitation was essentially the same for all LOS groups (eg, the overall average total motor gain for persons with SCI is 22.3, with no patterns of increase or decrease across LOS groups); however, the rate of improvement in motor (but not cognitive) functioning differed across LOS groups, with patients with shorter stays having the greater rates of improvement (eg, the overall average weekly motor gain for persons with SCI was 3.6, with the averages by LOS group monotonically decreasing from 6.4 for those with 4-week stays to 2.7 for those with 9-week stays). CONCLUSIONS When examined separately for persons grouped by LOS, functional status improved linearly during the rehabilitation stay, with differences in rate of improvement depending on initial functional status.
Cost Minimization Analysis Comparing Diagnostic Strategies in Unexplained Pancreatitis

Objectives: Both endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) and endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) are commonly performed in the evaluation of idiopathic pancreatitis. However, comparative trials of these modalities are lacking, and thus the ideal endoscopic diagnostic strategy to evaluate idiopathic pancreatitis remains unknown. Methods: A decision analysis model of patients with 2 attacks of idiopathic pancreatitis with gallbladder in situ was constructed using TreeAge software. We analyzed cost and overall diagnostic ability of 3 strategies, namely, EUS, ERCP with manometry and bile aspiration, and laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Results: Using the base case analysis, initial EUS was the preferred initial modality for the diagnosis. The expected cost for initial EUS was $4469 compared with $4615 for ERCP and $6268 for laparoscopic cholecystectomy. For cholecystectomy to be the preferred strategy, the total cost would need to be less than $1314, well below any realistic cost estimate. If the prevalence of microlithiasis/sludge was greater than 80%, then cholecystectomy would be preferred, whereas ERCP would be preferred with a prevalence of less than 41%. Conclusions: This cost minimization study identifies EUS as the least costly initial test for the diagnostic evaluation of patients with idiopathic pancreatitis with gallbladder in situ.
Aerobic expression of the nar operon of Escherichia coli in a fnr mutant

Mutations allowing aerobic expression of the anaerobically controlled nar operon have been located in the autoregulated fnr gene. Cloning and sequencing of the mutant fnrd20 allele, and fnr mRNA quantitation by dot blot assay, revealed that the mutation was the result of an IS5 insertion into the control region of fnr that enhanced transcription of the fnr gene at least ten‐fold. Examination of the regulatory region of the negatively autoregulated fnr gene indicated that it shared homologous sequences with the positively Fnr‐controlled frd and nar operons. The increase in fnr transcription in the fnrd20 mutated allele could be partly the result of loss of autoregulation, since the IS5 separated the Fnr target site from the ‘−35’ region of the promoter.
Differential expression of the ADAMs in developing chicken retina

The expression patterns of the seven members of the ADAM (a disintegrin and metalloprotease) family, ADAM9, ADAM10, ADAM12, ADAM13, ADAM17, ADAM22, and ADAM23 were analyzed in the developing chicken retina by in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry. Results show that each individual ADAM is expressed and regulated spatiotemporally in the developing retinal layers. ADAM9, ADAM10 and ADAM17 are widely expressed in the differential layers of the retina throughout the whole embryonic period, while ADAM12 and ADAM13 are mainly expressed in the ganglion cell layer at a later stage. ADAM22 and ADAM23 are restricted to the inner nuclear layer and the ganglion cell layer at a later stage. Furthermore, ADAM10 protein is co‐expressed with the four members of the classic cadherins, N‐cadherin, R‐cadherin, cadherin‐6B and cadherin‐7 in distinct retinal layers. Therefore, the differential expression of the investigated ADAMs in the developing retina suggests the contribution of them to the retina development.
Model for the combined effects of temperature, pH, and sodium lactate on growth rates of Listeria innocua in broth and Bologna-type sausages

A modified Monod equation was successfully applied to describe the maximum specific growth rate of Listeria innocua in a broth model in the presence of various concentrations of sodium lactate or NaCl. The combined effects of temperature and pH were assessed by translating the parameters of the modified Monod equation mu(m), alpha, and p') as functions of pH and/or temperature. As a result, the area in which the growth rate could be predicted was extended to include as a variable not only the salt concentration but also pH and temperature. The number of parameters needed to describe the experimental data was thereby reduced from 48 to 4 (NaCl) and from 42 to 5 (sodium lactate). The decline in the goodness of fit that accompanied the reduction in the number of parameters was within statistically acceptable ranges. The resulting model was compared with a polynomial fit, and it was proposed that the former was more suitable for the purpose of this study. The broth model for sodium lactate was evaluated with Bologna-type sausages. Because of the "worst-case" design of the broth model, it was necessary to reestimate one or all parameters to obtain a good description of the growth rate of L. innocua in the meat product. However, the simplicity of the model and the practical usefulness of its parameters offer considerable prospects for its use in predictive microbiology.
Pharyngojejunostomy with the creation of a funnel‐shaped jejunal stump during reconstruction of the cervical esophagus using a free jejunal graft

Pharyngolaryngoesophagectomy is performed for locally advanced malignancies, including hypopharyngeal carcinoma and thyroid carcinoma [1,2]. In pharyngolaryngoesophagectomy, several procedures have been employed for reconstruction of the cervical esophagus. Transplantation of a free jejunal autograft (FJT) is a superior reconstruction method compared to other methods, because of its lower invasiveness, safety, and reliability [3]. Because the diameter of the jejunum is markedly smaller than that of the pharyngeal stump, pharyngojejunal anastomosis is usually performed in an end-toend fashion. However, as such reconstruction is nonanatomical, the patients sometimes developed dysphagia probably due to the food pooling in the blind loop. Here, we present a simple and safe procedure for end-to-end anastomosis of the pharyngeal stump and jejumum, which facilitated an easy and anatomical anastomosis.
User Relevance Assessment of Personal Finance Information: What is the Role of Cognitive Abilities?

For most people, financial well-being is in large part driven by their ability to make informed judgments about varying personal finance topics. With the over-abundance of information available online, it can be a daunting process to effectively evaluate and identify the most relevant information for one’s specific financial needs. There are many factors involved in evaluating online information and one that is not well understood is the role that cognitive abilities play in the human relevance assessment process. This research seeks to investigate the relationship of certain cognitive abilities with users’ assessment of relevance and users’ relevance strategies for searching and selecting documents related to personal finance information tasks. It expands upon previously published research that found effects of specific cognitive abilities on search behaviors and perceptions of mental workload by adults searching the open Web. This extended abstract presents a summary of the motivation, background, description and design of a laboratory study which will ultimately serve as the empirical research for my doctoral dissertation.
Associations of Fasting Blood Glucose With Cholesterol Absorption and Synthesis in Nondiabetic Middle-Aged Men

NIDDM and the metabolic syndrome are characterized by a low serum HDL cholesterol content and a high triglyceride level, whereas total and LDL cholesterol concentrations are not necessarily elevated. Variable results have been reported on cholesterol absorption, elimination, and synthesis in NIDDM, but no studies are available on subjects within the normal range of blood glucose. From serum samples collected in 1985 from 203 nondiabetic men aged 51–66 years, we examined lipids, cholesterol precursors (reflecting cholesterol synthesis), and plant sterols and cholestanol (reflecting cholesterol absorption) in relation to fasting blood glucose. The findings prompted us (in 1993) to further examine 11 men from the highest and lowest glucose thirds of 203 nondiabetic men by additional dietary, serum, and fecal analyses for absorption, elimination, and synthesis of cholesterol and insulin sensitivity. In 1985, blood glucose was significantly related to LDL apolipoprotein B (P = 0.05) but not to LDL cholesterol (P = 0.19). Significantly higher serum lathosterol and desmosterol-to-cholesterol proportions and lower plant sterol and cholestanol proportions in the highest rather than the lowest glucose thirds suggested that the subjects with high normal blood glucose had decreased absorption and enhanced synthesis of cholesterol. In 1993, men with the lowest glucose versus those with the highest glucose had a lower waist-to-hip ratio, plasma HbA1c, fasting and postload insulin and glucose values, and a higher insulin sensitivity index. In agreement with the 1985 noncholesterol sterol data, direct analyses of cholesterol metabolism showed further higher cholesterol absorption efficiency (P = 0.03) and serum plant sterol and cholestanol proportions (P < 0.001). Despite a slightly lower dietary cholesterol intake, cholesterol synthesis (P = 0.02) and serum lathosterol (P < 0.01) and desmosterol (P < 0.01) proportions were lowest in men with the lowest glucose third. We conclude that noncholesterol sterols in serum exhibits a long-lasting correlation with blood glucose level in a nondiabetic male population. Low intestinal absorption and high synthesis of cholesterol characterize men with high normal blood glucose. Differences in cholesterol metabolism could be due to underlying insulin effects associated with obesity-like fat distribution and may thus imply novel aspects in the metabolic interrelation between insulin and cholesterol in humans.
Label Free Fiber Optic Apta-Biosensor for In-Vitro Detection of Dopamine

Dopamine (DA) analysis is complicated by the interference from other electrochemically active endogenous compounds present in the brain, including DA precursors and metabolites and other neurotransmitters (NT). Here, we report a simple, sensitive, and selective optical fiber biosensor for in vitro detection of the DA in the presence of other NT. It is composed of a 57-mer dopamine-binding aptamer (DBA) as recognition element and nonadiabatic tapered optical fiber as a probe. Upon the addition of DA, the conformation of DBA would change from a random coil structure to a rigid tertiary structure like a pocket. The conformational change of DBA leads to the refractive index change around the tapered fiber surface. Specific recognition of DA by the aptamer allowed a selective optical detection of DA within the physiologically relevant 0-10 μM range. The sensitivity of the Apta-Biosensor for concentration of the DA in the range of 0-1 μM and 1-10 μM with correlation coefficients (R2) equal to 0.99 was 0.27 ± 0.05 and 0.08 ± 0.01 nm/μM, respectively. In addition, detection limit of the biosensor to DA in range from 0 to 1 μM and 1 to 10 μM was 37 and 125 nM, respectively. Some common interferents, such as epinephrine and ascorbic acid showed no or just a little interference in the determination of DA. In addition, the binding constant of the DA to DNA aptamer was determined.
Black Holes in Anti-de Sitter Spacetime

Black holes in anti-de Sitter (AdS) spacetime are known to be thermodynamically stable against radiation, unlike their asymptotically flat counterparts. Moreover, Hawking and Page discovered that they exhibit a first-order phase transition. This was reinterpreted by Witten using the AdS/CFT correspondence as a confinement/deconfinement transition in the quark-gluon plasma. Extending the gauge/gravity correspondence to the fluid/gravity correspondence, it was shown that there is an exact agreement between the thermodynamics and stress-energy tensor of large, rotating AdS black holes and fluids on its conformal boundary. In this essay I review the thermodynamics of AdS black holes, its gauge theory interpretation and discuss a recent work by Bhattacharyya et al., focusing on the AdS5 × S5 case.
Simulation of active vibration control of the cantilever beam

The paper deals with active vibration control of cantilevered beams. The motion of the cantilever beam as a continuum is described by a lumped parameter model for which the transfer function relating the beam displacement to the acting force is to be calculated. The paper analyzes the effect of feedback on vibration of the individual points of the beam, including its free end. Methods for analyzing are based on the transfer function calculation and simulation the time response to an acting force. Movement and position of the cantilever beam will be described either by deflection or velocity or acceleration. The feedback is designed using a pole placement method.
Neurovascular Coupling and Epilepsy: Hemodynamic Markers for Localizing and Predicting Seizure Onset

Hemodynamic surrogates of epileptic activity are being used to map epileptic foci with PET, SPECT, and fMRI. However, there are few studies of neurovascular coupling in epilepsy. Recent data indicate that cerebral blood flow, although focally increased at the onset of a seizure, may be temporarily inadequate to meet the metabolic demands of both interictal and ictal epileptic events. Transient focal tissue hypoxia and hyperperfusion may be excellent markers for the epileptic focus and may even precede the onset of the ictal event.