Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Thiazide-Associated Hypercalcemia: Incidence and Association With Primary Hyperparathyroidism Over Two Decades.

CONTEXT Thiazide diuretics, the antihypertensive agent prescribed most frequently worldwide, are commonly associated with hypercalcemia. However, the epidemiology and clinical features are poorly understood. OBJECTIVE To update the incidence of thiazide-associated hypercalcemia and clarify its clinical features. PATIENTS AND METHODS In a population-based descriptive study, Olmsted County, Minnesota, residents with thiazide-associated hypercalcemia were identified through the Rochester Epidemiology Project and the Mayo Clinic Laboratory Information System from 2002-2010 and were added to the historical cohort beginning in 1992. MAIN OUTCOME Incidence rates were adjusted to the 2010 United States white population. RESULTS Overall, 221 Olmsted County residents were identified with thiazide-associated hypercalcemia an average of 5.2 years after initiation of treatment. Subjects were older (mean age, 67 years) and primarily women (86.4%). The incidence of thiazide-associated hypercalcemia increased after 1997 and peaked in 2006 with an annual incidence of 20 per 100,000, compared to an overall rate of 12 per 100,000 in 1992-2010. Severe hypercalcemia was not observed in the cohort despite continuation of thiazide treatment in 62.4%. Of patients discontinuing thiazides, 71% continued to have hypercalcemia. Primary hyperparathyroidism was diagnosed in 53 patients (24%), including five patients who underwent parathyroidectomy without thiazide discontinuation. CONCLUSIONS Many patients with thiazide-associated hypercalcemia have underlying primary hyperparathyroidism. Additionally, a sharp rise in thiazide-associated hypercalcemia incidence began in 1998, paralleling the increase observed in primary hyperparathyroidism in this community. Case ascertainment bias from targeted osteoporosis screening is the most likely explanation.
Patients' priorities with respect to general practice care: an international comparison. European Task Force on Patient Evaluations of General Practice (EUROPEP).

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Improving the sensitivity of general practice to patients' needs demands a good understanding of patients' expectations and priorities in care provision. Insight into differences in expectations of patients in different cultures and health care systems may support decision-making on desirable models for care provision in general practice. An international study was conducted to determine priorities of patients in general practice care: which views do patients in different countries have in common and which views differ? METHODS Written surveys in general practices in the UK, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, The Netherlands, Germany, Portugal and Israel were performed. Samples of patients from at least 12 practices per country, stratified according to area and type of practice, were included. Patients rated the importance of 38 different aspects of general practice care, selected on the basis of literature analysis, qualitative studies and consensus discussions. Rankings between countries were compared. RESULTS A total number of 3540 patients (response rate on average 55%) completed the questionnaire. Patients in different countries had many opinions in common. Aspects that got the highest ranking were: getting enough time during the consultation; quick services in case of emergencies; confidentiality of information on patients; telling patients all they want to know about their illness; making patients feel free to talk about their problems; GPs going to courses regularly; and offering preventive services. However, differences between opinions of patients in different countries were also found for some of the selected aspects. A confounding effect of patients' characteristics may have played a role in these differences. DISCUSSION The study provides information on what patients expect of and value in general practice care. It shows that patients in different cultures and health care systems may have different views on some aspects of care, but most of all that they have many views in common, particularly as far as doctor-patient communication and accessibility of services are concerned.
Integration of Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization–Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry and Molecular Cloning for the Identification and Functional Characterization of Mobile ortho-Halobenzoate Oxygenase Genes in Pseudomonas aeruginosa Strain JB2

ABSTRACT Protein mass spectrometry and molecular cloning techniques were used to identify and characterize mobile o-halobenzoate oxygenase genes in Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain JB2 andPseudomonas huttiensis strain D1. Proteins induced in strains JB2 and D1 by growth on 2-chlorobenzoate (2-CBa) were extracted from sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis gels and analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization–time of flight mass spectrometry. Two bands gave significant matches to OhbB and OhbA, which have been reported to be the α and β subunits, respectively, of an ortho-1,2-halobenzoate dioxygenase of P. aeruginosa strain 142 (T. V. Tsoi, E. G. Plotnikova, J. R. Cole, W. F. Guerin, M. Bagdasarian, and J. M. Tiedje, Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 65:2151–2162, 1999). PCR and Southern hybridization experiments confirmed that ohbABwere present in strain JB2 and were transferred from strain JB2 to strain D1. While the sequences of ohbA from strains JB2, D1, and 142 were identical, the sequences of ohbB from strains JB2 and D1 were identical to each other but differed slightly from that of strain 142. PCR analyses and Southern hybridization analyses indicated that ohbAB were conserved in strains JB2 and D1 and in strain 142 but that the regions adjoining these genes were divergent. Expression of ohbAB inEscherichia coli resulted in conversion ofo-chlorobenzoates to the corresponding (chloro)catechols with the following apparent affinity: 2-CBa ≈ 2,5-dichlorobenzoate > 2,3,5-trichlorobenzoate > 2,4-dichlorobenzoate. The activity of OhbABJB2appeared to differ from that reported for OhbAB142 primarily in that a chlorine in thepara position posed a greater impediment to catalysis with the former. Hybridization analysis of spontaneous 2-CBa− mutants of strains JB2 and D1 verified that ohbAB were lost along with the genes, suggesting that all of the genes may be contained in the same mobile element. Strains JB2 and 142 originated from California and Russia, respectively. Thus,ohbAB and/or the mobile element on which they are carried may have a global distribution.
Adaptive admixture in the West African bovine hybrid zone: insight from the Borgou population

Understanding the adaptive response to environmental fluctuations represents a central issue in evolutionary biology. Population admixture between divergent ancestries has often been considered as an efficient short‐term adaptation strategy. Cattle populations from the West African Bos taurus × Bos indicus hybrid zone represent a valuable resource to characterize the effect of such adaptive admixture at the genome level. We here provide a detailed assessment of the global and local genome ancestries of the Borgou breed, one of the most representative cattle of this hybrid zone. We analysed a large data set consisting of 38 100 SNPs genotyped on 203 Borgou and 591 individuals representative of all the different cattle ancestries. At the global genomic level, we show that Borgou is a stabilized admixed breed whose origin (c. 130 years ago) traces back to the great African rinderpest pandemic, several centuries after the last admixture events, the West African zebus originate from (c. 500 years ago). To identify footprints of adaptive admixture, we combined the identification of signatures of selection and the functional annotation of the underlying genes using systems biology tools. The detection of the SILV coat coloration gene likely under artificial selection may be viewed as a validation of our approach. Overall, our results suggest that the long‐term presence of pathogens and the intermediate environmental conditions are the main acting selective pressures. Our analytical framework can be extended to other model or nonmodel species to understand the process that shapes the patterns of genetic variability in hybrid zones.
Using tapped delay line to improve the precision of an ensemble of classifiers in device-free localization

In this paper, we adopt a tapped delay line (TDL) equalizer as the arbiter of ensemble learning for device-free localization over IEEE 802.11 wireless local area network (WLAN). The proposed model is a two-stage decision process. While an input signal along with a delay line is given, a trained support vector machine (SVM) and Bayesian classifier performs the first stage prediction. Then, the second stage decision selects the most frequent one among the intermediate outputs of stage one as the final output. Experimental results show the proposed method can not only to be as the arbiter of ensemble learning, but also significantly improve the precision to achieve 99.02%.
Production, isolation and purification of bacteriocins expressed by two strains of Neisseria meningitidis

The systemic Neisseria meningitidis strain P241 and the healthy pharyngeal carrier strain BT878 produce bacteriocin‐like substances during growth. A method has been devised for obtaining the active substances in solution. The activity was recovered by freeze‐thaw extraction of dialyzed Todd‐Hewitt agar medium into which the bacteriocins had diffused during growth of the producer strains. The bacteriocins were purified more than 50‐fold by ammonium‐sulphate precipitation and hydrophobic interaction chromatography. They are quite stable to heat and remain active 100% after 30 min at 100°C. However, the protein nature of the bacteriocins has been confirmed by their sensitivity to α‐chymotrypsin. Gel filtration indicated an Mr of 100–110 kDa, whereas SDS‐polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis produced a common band by Coomassie staining corresponding to an Mr of 47–48 kDa, suggesting a dimer form of the active protein component.
No Kinetic Interaction Between Levetiracetam and Cyclosporine: A Case Report

Levetiracetam is a new antiepileptic drug reported to be effective and well-tolerated in adults and children affected by epilepsy. Its lack of hepatic cytochrome metabolism is the theoretic basis for the absence of interactions with other drugs that follow this pathway. We present a 14-year-old girl who underwent orthotopic heart transplantation, followed by antirejection therapy including cyclosporine. Symptomatic occipital lobe epilepsy developed that was successfully treated with oxcarbazepine, but cyclosporine plasma levels decreased to below the antirejection threshold. Oxcarbazepine was replaced by levetiracetam. Levetiracetam did not affect the metabolism of cyclosporine, and cyclosporine plasma levels have remained in the therapeutic range up to now. The patient is still seizure-free and does not complain of any side effects after a 1-year follow-up. Further studies are necessary to confirm the lack of interactions between these drugs, which would make levetiracetam a useful therapeutic option in managing seizure control during antirejection therapy with cyclosporine.
Tractable nonlinear production planning models for semiconductor wafer fabrication facilities

We describe a simulation study of a production planning model for multistage production inventory systems that reflects the nonlinear relationship between resource utilization and lead time. The model is based on the use of clearing functions that capture the nonlinear relationship between workload and throughput. We show how these clearing functions can be estimated from empirical data using a simulation model as a surrogate for observation of the production system under study. We then examine the sensitivity of the estimated clearing function to different dispatching algorithms, different demand patterns, and production planning techniques. Computational experiments based on a scaled-down model of a semiconductor wafer fabrication facility illustrate the potential benefits of the clearing function model relative to conventional linear programming models.
Combined use of erythrocyte zinc protoporphyrin and mean corpuscular volume in differentiation of thalassemia from iron deficiency anemia

Abstract: In a retrospective study the diagnostic value of erythrocyte zinc protoporphyrin (ZPP) measurement as a means of distinguishing iron deficiency anemia from thalassemia syndromes in patients with microcytosis was explored. ZPP values were increased in all patients with iron deficiency and in part of the patients with thalassemia. The combined measurement of erythrocyte mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and ZPP resulted in a correct classification of patients with iron deficiency and with thalassemia in more than 95%. The predictive value of this method is better than the results obtained by using formulae derived from red cell indices. In population screening programs for thalassemia syndromes, in which MCV determination is used as the initial test, the ZPP test is recommended as a second test, in order to discriminate between patients with microcytosis due to iron deficiency and patients with microcytosis due to thalassemia syndromes.
COLLEGE STUDENT BEREAVEMENT, SCHOLARSHIP, AND THE UNIVERSITY: A CALL FOR UNIVERSITY ENGAGEMENT

The prevalence of bereavement among traditional-aged college students should impel universities to assist bereaved students on their campuses. Dealing with bereavement can not only challenge a college student's completing the developmental tasks that our society sets for the later adolescent years, but also imperil the student's remaining in school and graduating. It is in the best interests of the university to develop and implement a variety of effective interventions to assist bereaved students. The author argues that universities are communities devoted to scholarly endeavors and should explicitly incorporate the dimension of compassion and caring. An abbreviated case study is used to illustrate the situations in which one grieving student found herself when she returned to school following the death of her father. A call is made for greater university engagement by forming a university-based bereavement center to coordinate and conduct coherent inquiry that fulfills the scholarly functions of discovery, application, and instruction. Four specific actions for a bereavement center are to train nonbereaved students to provide peer support, to provide structured interventions for college students at risk of bereavement complications, to raise consciousness about bereavement on the university campus, and to conduct research into various bereavement populations and bereavement topics.
Women who put condoms on male partners: correlates of condom application.

OBJECTIVE To identify correlates of women applying condoms. METHODS Cross-sectional survey of 533 sexually-active women; questionnaire. RESULTS Of the condom users (n = 322), 31.7% reported applying condoms at least once--an average on 59.7% of the occasions. Compared to nonappliers, appliers had more positive affect toward sexually related situations (erotophilia, P = .004) and a higher frequency of sex (P = .003). Condom users, compared to nonusers, were significantly younger (P = .001), were less likely to be in sexually exclusive relationships (P = .001) or married (P = .01), and reported more partners in the past 3 months (P = .001). CONCLUSIONS Condom-applying women may have more positive attitudes toward sexuality and engage in a higher frequency of sexual activity.
Nursing Implications in the Application of Conversion Therapies on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Clients

Conversion therapies, also know as reparative therapies, emphasize homosexual orientations as psychopathology in gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) clients and claim these individuals can reverse their sexual orientation through psychiatric counseling and treatment. Although professional medical and nursing organizations have branded psychiatric interventions designed to change an individual's sexual orientation as unethical, an international movement fueled largely by religious organizations promote such therapies for GLBT persons. This article explores the historical perceptions of homosexuality as psychiatric pathology, efficacy of conversion-based therapies in the changing of clients' homosexual orientations to heterosexual, positions of professional medical and nursing organizations regarding the use of conversion therapies, and ethical considerations these types of therapies pose for psychiatric and mental health nurses.
A Distributed Hierarchical Policy Management System for Security Control over Tactical Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

Tactical mobile ad hoc wireless networks can provide flexibility, agility, and mobility for dynamic network-centric warfare. They are designed to function without fixed infrastructure support. But, this design makes network security attacks hard to detect and control. For instance, an attacker could compromise one portion of the network by inducing a worm and then move to another portion of the network and replay the attack without being detected. In this paper, we describe a policy management system (PMS) that provides ubiquitous and consistent security policy control despite adverse conditions such as node mobility, node failures, network partitions, a compromise of the routing infrastructure, a high packet loss rate, and ongoing cyber attacks. We give performance results in a 47-node emulated network. Key challenges in tactical networks include a lossy environment with bit error rates as high as 0.001 and bandwidth as low as 500Kbits/s. TCP backs off in the face of packet loss and hence behaves poorly in such networks. Tactical network are also subject to cyber attacks that have the potential even to compromise the routing infrastructure. Our PMS architecture mitigates these issues by using a transport protocol that has two components, one oriented toward normal operation when the routing infrastructure is functioning and one oriented toward limited, but robust, operation even when the routing infrastructure has been compromised. In normal operation we use a reliable UDP protocol (RUDP) and in times of compromise we use a flooding protocol.
High-level concepts for northbound APIs: An interview study

There is little work which empirically analyses network management practice with respect to policy creation and maintenance. To address this gap we carried out five semistructured interviews of network administrators at a diverse range of enterprises. Analysis of the results led us to make the following contributions: We introduce a number of high-level orthogonal concepts (dimensions) for representing network policy; we identify a set of real-world network policies; and show how each of these may be represented by these dimensions. There are a number of use cases for our work: Engineers or researchers looking to create or refine high-level network management frameworks (such as northbound APIs for SDN); Network administrators looking to document their network policy in a consistent format; Researchers looking to develop empirical studies in this area.
Research Methodologies in MIS: An Update

This article presents trends in published MIS research for an 11 year period, 1993-2003. It is an update of a previous article in CAIS (Volume 11, Article 16) that covered the period 1993-1997. All of the articles in seven mainstream MIS journals were examined in terms of subjects researched and methodologies employed to conduct research. Recent trends are presented and compared to those of the earlier study. The results clearly indicate the focus of efforts of researchers on information system usage and information systems resource management. The survey methodology still appeals to many researchers but increases in the use of mathematical models and laboratory experiments is an indication that the field is attaining maturity by using more rigorous research methods.
L‐Leucine improves the anaemia in models of Diamond Blackfan anaemia and the 5q‐ syndrome in a TP53‐independent way

Haploinsufficiency of ribosomal proteins (RPs) and upregulation of the tumour suppressor TP53 have been shown to be the common basis for the anaemia observed in Diamond Blackfan anaemia and 5q‐ myelodysplastic syndrome. We previously demonstrated that treatment with L‐Leucine resulted in a marked improvement in anaemia in disease models. To determine if the L‐Leucine effect was Tp53‐dependent, we used antisense MOs to rps19 and rps14 in zebrafish; expression of tp53 and its downstream target cdkn1a remained elevated following L‐leucine treatment. We confirmed this observation in human CD34+ cells. L‐Leucine thus alleviates anaemia in RP‐deficient cells in a TP53‐independent manner.
Evaluation of a genomics platform for cross‐species transcriptome analysis of recombinant CHO cells

Microarray technology for mammalian cells has been utilized mainly for humans, mouse, and rat gene expression analysis. In this approach the feasibility of cross‐species hybridization experiments using Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells was evaluated. Sequence alignments of available data for CHO were performed against mouse and rat transcripts to determine the homology between the investigated species. We implemented a probability model based on this homology in order to estimate the chance for successful hybridization using Agilent's 60‐mer oligonucleotide platform. Heat‐shock expression data from CHO, mouse 3T3, and rat A10 cells were generated to determine intraspecies variability, reproducibility, and specificity in order to assess the accuracy of this method. Detected signature genes, in particular from studies with the mouse arrays, showed a reliable similarity between these two rodents and were confirmed by quantitative RT‐PCR. Our findings provide evidence that cross‐species analysis can be a useful tool to study gene expression profiles of related organisms for which species‐specific microarrays are not available.