Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Meta-analysis of routine blood tests as predictors of mortality in COPD

Objective The purpose of this study was to examine whether routine blood tests can be useful in predicting mortality in COPD patients. Methods Eligible studies were found through a search conducted in the PubMed and Embase databases, the Cochrane Library, and the Web of Knowledge. Twelve studies were included for the meta-analysis of five biochemical markers. Pooled odds ratios (ORs), matching 95% confidence intervals (CIs), and p-values for each of the biochemical markers were calculated using the random effect model. Results The following four examined biochemical markers were shown to be associated with mortality in patients suffering from COPD: anemia (OR=2.62, 95% CI: 1.60; 4.29, p=0.01), hypoalbuminemia (OR=2.90, 95% CI: 1.56; 5.40, p=0.0008), elevated NT-proBNP (OR=7.54, 95% CI: 4.04; 14.10, p<0.00001), and elevated cardiac troponin T (OR=3.10, 95% CI: 1.11; 8.25, p=0.03). hs-CRP was not found to be associated with increased mortality. Conclusion In this study, we found that anemia, hypoalbuminemia, elevated NT-proBNP, and elevated cardiac troponin T were associated with increased mortality in patients suffering from COPD.
The Analysis of Wave Propagation in Dielectric Waveguide Array

Based on the established rigorous theory for two-dimensionally periodic (2DP) medium, a great amount of numerical results for Dielectric Waveguide Array (DWA) were presented in this paper. Wave propagation in DWA was analyzed in detail. The applications about transversal and longitudinal propagation in DWA were discussed.
Cross‐generational trans fat intake modifies BDNF mRNA in the hippocampus: Impact on memory loss in a mania animal model

Recently, we have described the influence of dietary fatty acids (FA) on mania‐like behavior of first generation animals. Here, two sequential generations of female rats were supplemented with soybean oil (SO, rich in n‐6 FA, control group), fish oil (FO, rich in n‐3 FA) and hydrogenated vegetable fat (HVF, rich in trans FA) from pregnancy and during lactation. In adulthood, half of each group was exposed to an amphetamine (AMPH)‐induced mania animal model for behavioral, biochemical and molecular assessments. FO supplementation was associated with lower reactive species (RS) generation and protein carbonyl (PC) levels and increased dopamine transporter (DAT) levels, while HVF increased RS and PC levels, thus decreasing catalase (CAT) activity and DAT levels in hippocampus after AMPH treatment. AMPH impaired short‐ (1 h) and long‐ (24 h) term memory in the HVF group. AMPH exposure was able to reduce hippocampal BDNF‐ mRNA expression, which was increased in FO. While HVF was related to higher trans FA (TFA) incorporation in hippocampus, FO was associated with increased percentage of n‐3 polyunsaturated FA (PUFA) together with lower n‐6/n‐3 PUFA ratio. Interestingly, our data showed a positive correlation between brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) mRNA and short‐ and long‐term memory (r2 = 0.53; P = 0.000/r2 = 0.32; P = 0.011, respectively), as well as a negative correlation between PC and DAT levels (r2 = 0.23; P = 0.015). Our findings confirm that provision of n‐3 or TFA during development over two generations is able to change the neuronal membrane lipid composition, protecting or impairing the hippocampus, respectively, thus affecting neurothrophic factor expression such as BDNF mRNA. In this context, chronic consumption of trans fats over two generations can facilitate the development of mania‐like behavior, so leading to memory impairment and emotionality, which are related to neuropsychiatric conditions. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Risk Assessment of Low-Level Cadmium and Arsenic on the Kidney

Cadmium (Cd) and arsenic (As) are widely distributed in the environment and are known human carcinogens. Several studies reported that chronic exposure to Cd and As produced renal injuries in humans. As one of the mechanisms, oxidative stress was suggested to play a role in the early process of Cd- and/or As-induced tubular damage in the kidney. This study was performed to evaluate the significance of urinary biomarkers, role of oxidative stress, and effect of coexposure to environmental low-level exposure to Cd and/or As in the general population. Urine samples were collected from 290 adults (86 males and 204 females). Urinary concentrations of Cd and As were measured, and kidney biomarkers of toxicity such as ß2-microglobulin and N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) activity determined in urine. Urinary malondialdehyde (MDA) and 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) levels were measured as oxidative stress indices. The mean concentration of Cd was 1.21 μg/L, 0.84 μg/g creatinine, and As was 5.7 μg/L, 3.95 μg/g creatinine in urine. NAG, MDA, and 8-OHdG were positively correlated with both Cd and As in urine. Positive correlations were also observed between NAG and oxidative indices. The effects of coexposure to Cd and As on biomarkers are more pronounced than for exposure to each metal alone. These findings suggest that chronic exposure to low levels of Cd and/or As might produce tubular damage in the kidney through oxidative stress in humans.
Electrocardiographic left ventricular hypertrophy regression induced by an angiotensin receptor blocker-based regimen in hypertensive patients with diabetes: data from the SARA study

Introduction. This study examined the influence of diabetes on left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) detected by different electrocardiographic (ECG) criteria and its changes induced by a 12-month candesartan-based regimen. Methods. The patients were treated for a 12-month period with a candesartan-based regimen (8/16 mg + hydrochlorothiazide12.5 mg + additional drugs to target blood pressure < 140/90 mmHg [< 130/80 in diabetics]). Cornell voltage index (CorV), Cornell product (CorP), Sokolow-Lyon voltage index (SokV), and Sokolow-Lyon product (SokP) were calculated. In total 276 patients were included, 51 with diabetes. Results. At study end, blood pressure was reduced 19.0±9.2/7.3±3.4 mmHg in diabetic patients and 18.8±9.1/8.0±3.2 mmHg in non-diabetic subjects (both p<0.01 vs. baseline; p=0.85 between groups). At baseline, 37.5% of diabetic and 26.4% of non-diabetic patients fulfilled criteria of ECG-LVH by CorP (p=0.02), 25.7% and 23.2%, respectively, by SokP (p=0.18), 11.8% and 13.7% by CorV (p=0.16), and 14.3% and 11.6% by SokV (p=0.10). At study end, the prevalence of ECG-LVH was reduced to 25.1% (relative risk reduction [RRR] 33.3%, p=0.001) and 18.2% (RRR 29.2%, p=0.001) by CorP and SokP, in diabetic patients, respectively. In non-diabetic patients, only the CorP criterion showed a significant decrease (RRR 18.9%, p=0.01). No significant changes were observed by other criteria.The RRR of ECG-LVH with treatment was significantly higher in diabetics according to CorP and SokP criteria. Conclusions. The prevalence of ECG-LVH detected by CorP was higher in diabetics. Diabetics achieved higher reductions in ECG-LVH prevalence than non-diabetics with a candesartan-based regimen.
Ten-year increase in the prevalence of obesity and reduction in fat intake in Brazilian women aged 35 years and older

Background Data from two population-based surveys conducted in 1995 and 2005 in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil were examined to determine changes in the prevalence of obesity and macronutrient intake among women according to socio-economic level. Methods Weight and height were measured, and food intake was based on a food-frequency questionnaire. A probabilistic sample of about 1000 women aged 35 years or older participated in each survey. Results Prevalence of obesity (BMI>30 kg/m2) increased in the 10-year period (17–24%), as well as energy intake (2.408–2.912 kcal) (p<0.0001). These changes were largely dependent on education, but not on income. Over the 10-year period, there was an increase in carbohydrate intake adjusted for energy, although lipid intake decreased among those women of low education but not among the more educated women. An overall reduction in the intake of cholesterol was also observed (273 mg vs 212 mg; p<0.001). Conclusion In line with an advertised reduction in fat intake, Brazilian women at greatest risk of obesity had a reduction in fat intake and cholesterol, and increased intake of carbohydrate. This group needs to be given a clear message regarding energy reduction in order to curb the obesity epidemic.
Transposon Tn7 Directs Transposition into the Genome of Filamentous Bacteriophage M13 Using the Element-Encoded TnsE Protein

ABSTRACT The bacterial transposon Tn7 has a pathway of transposition that preferentially targets conjugal plasmids. We propose that this same transposition pathway recognizes a structure or complex found during filamentous bacteriophage replication, likely by targeting negative-strand synthesis. The ability to insert into both plasmid and bacteriophage DNAs that are capable of cell-to-cell transfer would help explain the wide distribution of Tn7 relatives.
Factors Affecting the Durability of Primary Total Knee Prostheses

Background: Failure of total knee arthroplasty is problematic. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the factors that influence the durability of a primary total knee prosthesis.Methods: A survivorship analysis of 11,606 primary total knee arthroplasties carried out between January 1, 1978, and December 31, 2000, was performed. An analysis of patient and implant-related factors affecting survivorship was done with use of a multivariate Cox model.Results: The survivorship was 91% (95% confidence interval, 90% to 91%) at ten years (2943 knees), 84% (95% confidence interval, 82% to 86%) at fifteen years (595 knees), and 78% (95% confidence interval, 74% to 81%) at twenty years (104 knees) following the surgery. Prosthetic survivorship at ten years was 83% for patients fifty-five years of age or less compared with 94% for those older than seventy years of age (p < 0.0001), 90% for those with a diagnosis of osteoarthritis compared with 95% for those with inflammatory arthritis (p < 0.005), and 91% for those with retention of the posterior cruciate ligament compared with 76% for those with substitution of the posterior cruciate ligament (a posterior stabilized prosthesis) (p < 0.0001). Survivorship at ten years was 92% for nonmodular metal-backed tibial components, 90% for modular metal-backed tibial components, and 97% for all-polyethylene tibial components (p < 0.0001). Survivorship at ten years was 92% for prostheses fixed with cement compared with 61% for those fixed without cement (p < 0.0001). Conclusions: Significant risk factors for failure of total knee arthroplasty were the type of implant, age and gender of the patient, diagnosis, type of fixation, and design of the patellar component. In the ideal situation—treatment of a woman over the age of seventy years who has inflammatory arthritis with a nonmodular, metal-backed tibial component, cement fixation, an all-polyethylene patellar component, and retention of the posterior cruciate ligament—the ten-year survivorship of the prosthesis was estimated to be 98% (95% confidence interval, 97% to 99%). Level of Evidence: Prognostic study, Level II-1 (retrospective study). See Instructions to Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
HETEROZYGOTE EXCESS IN SMALL POPULATIONS AND THE HETEROZYGOTE‐EXCESS EFFECTIVE POPULATION SIZE

Abstract It has been proposed that effective size could be estimated in small dioecious population by considering the heterozygote excess observed at neutral markers. When the number of breeders is small, allelic frequencies in males and females will slightly differ due to binomial sampling error. However, this excess of heterozygotes is not generated by dioecy but by the absence of individuals produced through selfing. Consequently, the approach can also be applied to self‐incompatible monoecious species. Some inaccuracies in earlier equations expressing effective size as function of the heterozygote excess are also corrected in this paper. The approach is then extended to subdivided populations, where time of sampling becomes crucial. When adults are sampled, the effective size of the entire population can be estimated, whereas when juveniles are sampled, the average effective number of breeders per subpopulations can be estimated. The main limitation of the heterozygote excess method is that it will only perform satisfactorily for populations with a small number of reproducing individuals. While this situation is unlikely to happen frequently at the scale of the entire population, structured populations with small subpopulations are likely to be common. The estimation of the average number of breeders per subpopulations is thus expected to be applicable to many natural populations. The approach is straightforward to compute and independent of equilibrium assumptions. Applications to simulated data suggest the estimation of the number of breeders to be robust to mutation and migration rates, and to specificities of the mating system.
Regulation of Non‐Infectious Lung Injury, Inflammation, and Repair by the Extracellular Matrix Glycosaminoglycan Hyaluronan

An important hallmark of tissue remodeling is the dynamic turnover of extracellular matrix (ECM). ECM performs a variety of functions in tissue repair including scaffold formation, modulation of fluid dynamics, and regulating cell behavior. During non‐infectious tissue injury ECM degradation products are generated that acquire signaling functions not attributable to the native precursor molecules. Hyaluronan (HA) is a non‐sulfated glycosaminoglycan which is produced in great abundance following tissue injury. It exists both in a soluble form and as side chains on proteoglycans. HA has critical roles in development as well as a variety of biological processes including wound healing, tumor growth and metastasis, and inflammation. HA fragments share structural similarities with pathogens and following tissue injury can be recognized by innate immune receptors. Elucidating the protean roles of HA in tissue injury, inflammation, and repair will generate new insights into mechanisms of diseases characterized by chronic inflammation and tissue remodeling. Anat Rec, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Chapter IV: Are Content Standards Being Implemented in the Classroom? A Methodology and Some Tentative Answers

Arguably the most notable trend in education policy in the past ten years has been the movement toward a standards-based approach to insuring the quality of education provided to all children. Standards have been set by professional organizations, such as the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), by the states and strongly encouraged by the federal government. Title I of the ESEA legislation requires all states to adopt challenging content and performance standards in at least reading, language arts and mathematics. The question is whether standards-based reform is making a difference in the type and/or quality of instruction experienced by students. This chapter focuses on the issues that must be addressed and the challenges that must be overcome to provide a credible answer to questions regarding the impact of standards on the quality of instruction received by students. Results from some preliminary investigations are reported. Determining the impact of standards on classroom practice can be viewed as a three-part problem. First, one needs a description of the relevant educational practice that permits
Finding a way: a grounded theory of young people's experience of the pathway to mental health care

Objective: The purpose of this grounded theory study was to explore how young people experienced the onset of mental health problems and to investigate their initial interactions with the health system. Design: Grounded theory was used to address the study objectives. Data were obtained through in depth semi structured interviews. Setting: Participants were recruited through two community health centres in a Sydney metropolitan area health service. Subjects: The purposive sample consisted of eight males and twelve females between the ages of eighteen and twenty five (mean age was 21). Main outcome measures: The research identified a basic social process, a core category or central phenomenon which had the characteristics of a maze through which the participants had to struggle to find a way. The process of 'finding a way' has four stages. These are (a) first sign in the early stages, often involving denial or fear, and self-medication with alcohol or other drugs; (b) recognition of the symptoms as a sign of mental illness; (c) understanding, discovering information about the illness; and (d) resolution, when care is successfully accessed. At each stage, barriers and/or facilitating factors either delay or speed progress. Conclusions: The study offers insights into the experiences of a small group of individuals and hence has limitations; however this theoretical approach provides an understanding of what 'finding a way' means to this group of participants and how it influences their lives. It offers a framework for understanding some of the cultural and contextual factors that affect young people's pathways into mental health services and can inform interventions.
Composite Enterprise Process Modeling (CEProM) Framework - Setting Up a Process Modeling Center of Excellence Using CEProM Framework

Process Modeling is one of the important subject area as well as a practical tool in enterprise wide initiatives like Business Process Management, Enterprise Business Architecture and Enterprise Modeling. Process Modeling is both an art and a science which leads to better understanding and improvement of how products/services of the enterprise are reaching the customers. Though there are various researches already conducted and reported on process modeling, these researches are disparate in nature and either address a part of process modeling in detail or provide theoretical background of how to address specific issues rather than addressing enterprise wide process modeling using a structured framework that assist practitioners. The research objective is to prescribe a generic framework for enterprise process modeling – Composite Enterprise Process Modeling (CEProM) Framework with modular parts based on applied research and practical exposure enabling practitioners to comprehend enterprise process modeling at the large.
Accuracy of the vivofit activity tracker

Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine the accuracy of the vivofit activity tracker in assessing energy expenditure and step count. Thirteen participants wore the vivofit activity tracker for five days. Participants were required to independently perform 1 h of self-selected activity each day of the study. On day four, participants came to the lab to undergo BMR and a treadmill-walking task (TWT). On day five, participants completed 1 h of office-type activities. BMR values estimated by the vivofit were not significantly different from the values measured through indirect calorimetry (IC). The vivofit significantly underestimated EE for treadmill walking, but responded to the differences in the inclination. Vivofit underestimated step count for level walking but provided an accurate estimate for incline walking. There was a strong correlation between EE and the exercise intensity. The vivofit activity tracker is on par with similar devices and can be used to track physical activity.
Cerebral Blood Flow and Oxidative Metabolism during Human Endotoxemia

The proinflammatory cytokine, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), has been suggested to mediate septic encephalopathy through an effect on cerebral blood flow (CBF) and metabolism. The effect of an intravenous bolus of endotoxin on global CBF, metabolism, and net flux of cytokines and catecholamines was investigated in eight healthy young volunteers. Cerebral blood flow was measured by the Kety-Schmidt technique at baseline (during normocapnia and voluntary hyperventilation for calculation of subject-specific cerebrovascular CO2 reactivity), and 90 minutes after an intravenous bolus of a reference Escherichia coli endotoxin. Arterial TNF-α peaked at 90 minutes, coinciding with a peak in subjective symptoms. At this time, CBF and Paco2 were significantly reduced compared to baseline; the CBF decrease was readily explained by hypocapnia. The cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen remained unchanged, and the net cerebral flux of TNF-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, and IL-6 did not differ significantly from zero. Thus, high circulating levels of TNF-α during human endotoxemia do not induce a direct reduction in cerebral oxidative metabolism.
A case with occurring adverse effects when cross-over titration from fluvoxamine to paroxetine associated with increasing the plasma fluvoxamine level in major depressive disorder

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are first line drugs for treating not only depressive disorder but also anxiety disorder. Fluvoxamine, a SSRI, is mainly metabolized by cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2D6 and 1A2. However, paroxetine, an another SSRI is potent inhibitor for CYP 2D6. We report a case with depression whose plasma fluvoxamine level rapidly increased after the addition of paroxetine while switching from fluvoxamine to paroxetine. The case indicates that emerging adverse effects via the pharmacokinetic interaction of these drugs when switching patients from fluvoxamine to paroxetine can occur.
Genetic Alterations in Primary Mediastinal B-cell Lymphoma: An Update

Primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma (PMBL) is a distinct clinical entity among non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The malignancy has received little attention from a standpoint of basic research due in part to its rarity. However, based on recent studies consistent trends are beginning to emerge regarding the molecular and chromosomal alterations commonly observed in this disease. By both CGH and AP-PCR, genetic gains involving chromosomes 2, 5, 7, 9p, 12, and Xq are among the most frequently observed events. From a molecular standpoint, alterations in the c-myc, p16INK4 and p53 genes have been observed in up to 30% of cases. This information along with the well-established histological, immunological, and clinical features should convince the few remaining disbelievers that PMBL is a distinct pathological entity among non-Hodgkin's lymphomas.
Robust Visual Tracking Using Sparse Discriminative Graph Embedding

SUMMARY For robust visual tracking, the main challenges of a sub-space representation model can be attributed to the di ﬃ culty in handling various appearances of the target object. Traditional subspace learning tracking algorithms neglected the discriminative correlation between different multi-view target samples and the e ﬀ ectiveness of sparse subspace learning. For learning a better subspace representation model, we designed a discriminative graph to model both the labeled target samples with various appearances and the updated foreground and background samples, which are selected using an incremental updating scheme. The proposed discriminative graph structure not only can explicitly capture multi-modal intraclass correlations within labeled samples but also can obtain a balance between within-class local manifold and global discriminative information from foreground and background samples. Based on the discriminative graph, we achieved a sparse embedding by using L 2 , 1 -norm, which is incorporated to select relevant features and learn transformation in a uniﬁed framework. In a tracking procedure, the subspace learning is embedded into a Bayesian inference framework using compound motion estimation and a discriminative observation model, which signiﬁcantly makes localization e ﬀ ective and accurate. Experiments on several videos have demonstrated that the proposed algorithm is robust for dealing with various appearances, especially in dynamically changing and clutter situations, and has better performance than alternatives reported in the recent literature.