Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Retrospective analysis of the effect of acid-suppressant therapy on clinicopathologic parameters of cats with chronic kidney disease

Objectives The aim was to retrospectively evaluate the effects of acid-suppressant therapy in a population of cats with chronic kidney disease (CKD). The study objectives were to evaluate the effects of acid-suppressant therapy on clinicopathologic variables and progression of CKD over time. Methods The databases of two institutions were searched over an 11 year time span for cats fitting inclusion criteria for CKD. A total of 89 cats met the criteria for inclusion and were grouped according to either early (ie, stages 1–2) or advanced (ie, stages 3–4) CKD. Variables were statistically analyzed before and after treatment with either: (1) proton pump inhibitors (PPIs; n = 17), (2) histamine-2 receptor antagonists (H2RAs; n = 30), (3) combined acid-suppressant therapy (PPI + H2RA; n = 6) or (4) no acid-suppressant therapy (n = 36). Shapiro–Wilk testing and Q-Q plots were used to assess normality and variance, respectively. A complete randomized design with a mixed-effects repeated measures ANOVA was used to evaluate for differences in stage, treatment and time, as well as the interaction between these effects. Results A significant increase in blood creatinine concentration was found over time independent of severity of CKD and treatment group (P = 0.0087). A significant increase in blood sodium concentration (change of 3.12 mmol/l) was found independent of stage in cats receiving PPI therapy (P = 0.0109). A significant decrease in total blood magnesium (change of 0.15 mmol/l) was detected in two cats with early CKD receiving combined acid suppressants (P = 0.0025). Conclusions and relevance Results of this retrospective study suggest that cats with CKD receiving PPI therapy may develop alterations in blood sodium concentrations but do not experience more rapid progression of CKD.
A COMPUTERISED AXIAL TOMOGRAPHIC STUDY OF POSTSTROKE MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER

32 right handed patients who had developed stroke within six months prior to the study and were free from aphasia and impaired level of consciousness were subjected to detailed neurological and psychiatric evaluation. 30 of them also had CT scan of brain. 9 among the 32 patients (28.I %) had major depression as per DSM III R criteria and 5 among them (15.6%) fulfilled the criteria for major depression with melancholia. Occurrence of depression was not related to the age or sex of the patient or duration or type of stroke. Radiological evidence for stroke was present in 25 out of the 30 who had CT Scan. Though there was no correlation between presence of depression and the involvement of a particular hemisphere, MDD was more prevalent in those who had left frontal and right or left subcortical lesions.
Moving forward: location privacy and location awareness

This extended abstract looks forward at which shared concepts and approaches are shaping future research in the field of location privacy, as well as reflecting on the broader achievements and progress that the field can claim. Seven key principles of research into location privacy are proposed. Taken together, these principles aim to delineate what makes research into location privacy and location-awareness different and distinctive, when compared with other research topics in privacy and spatial information science more generally.
The measurement of urinary hydroxyurea in sickle cell anaemia

Hydroxyurea is increasingly used in the treatment of sickle cell disease (SCD) although there is little evidence on how best to monitor treatment and compliance. It is also not known why 10–50% patients do not benefit from the drug and whether some of this resistance is because of pharmacokinetic factors. We have developed an assay using mass spectrometry (MS) to measure urinary concentrations of hydroxyurea. We have used this assay to study 12 children and six adults with SCD taking hydroxyurea and found that urinary hydroxyurea was present for at least 12 h following tablet ingestion. Thirty‐five urine samples were analysed that were expected to contain hydroxyurea, based on the reported timing of the last dose and hydroxyurea was detected in 29 (83%) of these. There were also marked differences in urinary hydroxyurea concentrations, suggesting pharmacokinetic variability may explain some of the differences in response to hydroxyurea. Urine samples were also analysed by MS for penicillin metabolites and 43 of the 57 (75%) contained phenoxyacetate, suggesting the ingestion of penicillin within the last 12 h. These assays are potentially useful to study hydroxyurea metabolism further, develop optimal dosing regimes and monitor compliance with treatment.
Hypoxia Up-regulates Prolyl Hydroxylase Activity

The mechanism by which hypoxia induces gene transcription is now well established. Hypoxia reduces activity of prolyl hydroxylases (PHD) that hydroxylate specific proline residues in the oxygen-dependent degradation domain (ODD) of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α). As a consequence, HIF-1α accumulates and promotes hypoxic tolerance by activating gene transcription. This paper identifies the three forms of PHDs in rats and shows that a period of hypoxia selectively increases expression of PHD-2 mRNAs levels. We developed assays for PHD activity that used (i) the peptide-specific conversion of labeled 2-oxoglutarate into succinate and (ii) the binding of the von Hippel-Lindau protein to a glutathione S-transferase-ODD fusion protein. The two assays indicated a low enzymatic activity in normoxic and hypoxic cells and a rapid increase during reoxygenation. We also developed hydroxyproline-specific antibodies that recognized hydroxylated forms of a fusion protein (ODD-green fluorescent protein) that combined the ODD domain of HIF-1α and the green fluorescent protein. Using this antibody, we demonstrated that reoxygenation induced a rapid hydroxylation of Pro-564, which was followed by a massive degradation of the proteins. The results suggest that a hypoxic upregulation of PHD (presumably PHD-2) acts as a feedback mechanism to stop hypoxic responses in reoxygenated cells. We propose that proline hydroxylation might play a role in hypoxic preconditioning.
CRYOPRESERVATION STRATEGY FOR TISSUE ENGINEERING CONSTRUCTS CONSISTING OF HUMAN MESENHYMAL STEM CELLS AND HYDROGEL BIOMATERIALS.

BACKGROUND The development of vitrification strategy for cell-biomaterial constructs, particularly biologically inspired nanoscale materials and hydrogels mimicking the in vivo environment is an active area. A cryopreservation strategy mimicking the in vivo environment for cell-hydrogel constructs may enhance cell proliferation and biological function. OBJECTIVE To demonstrate the efficacy of vitrification as a platform technology involving tissue engineering and human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs). MATERIALS AND METHODS Microcarriers made from alginate coated with chitosan and collagen are used. Conventional freezing and vitrification were compared. The vitrification strategy includes 10 min step-wise exposure to a vitrification solution (40% v/v EG, 0.6M sucrose) and immersion into liquid nitrogen. RESULTS Confocal imaging of live/dead staining of hMSCs cultured on the surface of microcarriers demonstrated that vitrified cells had excellent appearance and prolonged spindle shape morphology. The proliferation ability of post-vitrified cells arbitrated to protein Ki-67 gene expression was not significantly different in comparison to untreated control, while that of post-freezing cells was almost lost. The ability of hMSCs cultured on the surface of microcarriers to proliferate has been not affected by vitrification and it was significantly better after vitrification than after conventional freezing during continuous culture. Collagen II related mRNA expression by 4 weeks post-vitrification and post-freezing showed that ability to differentiate into cartilage was sustained during vitrification and reduced during conventional freezing. No significant difference was found between control and vitrification groups only. CONCLUSION Vitrification strategy coupled with advances in hMSC-expansion platform that completely preserves the ability of stem cells to proliferate and subsequently differentiate allows not only to reach a critical cell number, but also demonstrate prospects for effective utilization and transportation of cells with their support system, creating demand for novel biodegradable materials.
A History of American Higher Education

ly, modem utopian communities, of which there were at least seven hundred in 2000 (such as Drop City, Stephen Gaskin’s The Farm, or Twin Oaks). Although Sutton undoubtedly is right in concluding that “secular communities, in contrast to religious ones, often lacked a charismatic leader,” he provides vivid portraits of many visionaries whose names are indelibly associated with some of the communities mentioned above that they inspired. When Sutton’s introduction labels utopian communalism as “an unbroken motif in American history,” readers may expect a celebration of this tradition. However, his tone throughout is even handed, and, in fact, he concludes by pessimistically noting the “eventual disillusionment” experienced by most members of communal societies when they realized that their experiments were simply microcosms of the larger society, sharing the same problems and shortcomings. Even readers familiar with the subject will most likely encounter new information; however, because Sutton was constrained by both the book’s brevity and breadth of coverage, they may also wish that he had devoted more attention to certain communities, such as Frances Wright’s radical Nashoba Community. I was surprised that the selected bibliography omitted such works as John Egerton’s Visions of Utopia: Nashoba, Rugby, Ruskin, and the “New Communities ” in Tennessee’s Past (1977), Richard Fairfield’s Communes USA: A Personal Tour (1972), Robert Houriet’s Getting Back Together (1971), and Ron Roberts’s The New Communes: Coming Together in America (1971). Nonetheless, this brief overview, along with his companion volume on religious utopian communities, belongs in all major library collections.
Consumers' beliefs resulting from conceptual combinations: Conjunctive inferences about brand extensions

The nature of consumers' inferences about conceptual combinations is examined in this article. Specifically, brand extensions are posited as representing the unique combination of two knowledge categories or concepts—the brand and the new product class—and inferences about the combination as representing conjunctive inferences that consumers form on line to comprehend the combination. Predictions of what consumers might infer about brand extensions and of the possible sources of these inferences were tested in a concurrent verbalization study that utilized an idiographic coding scheme. The study results indicate that consumers frequently and spontaneously formed inferences when evaluating brand extensions. Both the presence of attributes and the valences of attributes were inferred. Consumers appeared to construct these inferences on line rather than retrieving them from brand, product-class, subcategory, superordinate category, or exemplar knowledge. As such, inferences about conceptual combinations appear to be distinct from those previously found in the consumer inference literature. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Perspectives in Open Spaces: A Geometrical Application of the Thouless Index

A geometrical model for computing ‘general perspectives’ is discussed. It is based on the power function r = p(d/t)1-i, where i is the Thouless index for the phenomenal regression to the real object, r is the real size of the object, p is the apparent size, d is the distance between the subject and the object, and t is the distance between the subject and the projection plane. This model assumes that i is invariant for different distances and this was verified in seventy children and adults at distances of 15 to 120 m. A computer program draws families of curved perspectives which are well-fitted to the actual shape of large visual alleys produced by experiment in open fields.
The effectiveness of crisis resource management and team debriefing in resuscitation education of nursing students: A randomised controlled trial

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to investigate (i) whether integrating a course on crisis resource management principles and team debriefings in simulation training, increases self-efficacy, team efficacy and technical skills of nursing students in resuscitation settings and (ii) which phases contribute the most to these outcomes. BACKGROUND Crisis resource management principles have been introduced in health care to optimise teamwork. Simulation training offers patient safe training opportunities. There is evidence that simulation training increases self-efficacy and team efficacy but the contribution of the different phases like crisis resource management principles, simulation training and debriefing on self-efficacy, team efficacy and technical skills is not clear. DESIGN Randomised controlled trial in a convenience sample (n = 116) in Belgium. Data were collected between February 2015-April 2015. METHODS Participants in the intervention group (n = 60) completed a course on crisis resource management principles, followed by a simulation training session, a team debriefing and a second simulation training session. Participants in the control group (n = 56) only completed two simulation training sessions. The outcomes self-efficacy, team efficacy and technical skills were assessed after each simulation training. An ancillary analysis of the learning effect was conducted. RESULTS The intervention group increased on self-efficacy (2.13%, p = .02) and team efficacy (9.92%, p < .001); the control group only increased significantly on team efficacy (4.5%, p = .001). The intervention group scored significantly higher on team efficacy (8.49%, p < .001) compared to the control group. CONCLUSION Combining crisis resource management principles and team debriefings in simulation training increases self-efficacy and team efficacy. The debriefing phase contributes the most to these effects. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE By partnering with healthcare settings, it becomes possible to offer interdisciplinary simulation training that can increase patient safety.
Non-nearest-neighbor dependence of the stability for RNA bulge loops based on the complete set of group I single-nucleotide bulge loops.

Fifty-nine RNA duplexes containing single-nucleotide bulge loops were optically melted in 1 M NaCl, and the thermodynamic parameters DeltaH degrees, DeltaS degrees, DeltaG 37 degrees, and TM for each sequence were determined. Sequences from this study were combined with sequences from previous studies [Longfellow, C. E. , et al. (1990) Biochemistry 29, 278-285; Znosko, B. M. , et al. (2002) Biochemistry 41, 10406-10417], thus examining all possible group I single-nucleotide bulge loop and nearest-neighbor sequence combinations. The free energy increments at 37 degrees C for the introduction of a group I single-nucleotide bulge loop range between 1.3 and 5.2 kcal/mol. The combined data were used to develop a model for predicting the free energy of a RNA duplex containing a single-nucleotide bulge. For bulge loops with adjacent Watson-Crick base pairs, neither the identity of the bulge nor the nearest-neighbor base pairs had an effect on the influence of the bulge loop on duplex stability. The proposed model for prediction of the stability of a duplex containing a bulged nucleotide was primarily affected by non-nearest-neighbor interactions. The destabilization of the duplex by the bulge was related to the stability of the stems adjacent to the bulge. Specifically, there was a direct correlation between the destabilization of the duplex and the stability of the less stable duplex stem. The stability of a duplex containing a bulged nucleotide adjacent to a wobble base pair also was primarily affected by non-nearest-neighbor interactions. Again, there was a direct correlation between the destabilization of the duplex and the stability of the less stable duplex stem. However, when one or both of the bulge nearest neighbors was a wobble base pair, the free energy increment for insertion of a bulge loop is dependent upon the position and orientation of the wobble base pair relative the bulged nucleotide. Bulge sequences of the type ((5'UBX)(3'GY)), ((5'GBG)(3'UU)) and ((5'UBU)(3'GG)) are less destabilizing by 0.6 kcal/mol, and bulge sequences of the type ((5'GBX)(3'UY)) and ((5'XBU)(3'YG)) are more destabilizing by 0.4 kcal/mol than bulge loops adjacent to Watson-Crick base pairs.
Marked effects of Pilates on the abdominal muscles: a longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging study.

PURPOSE The study's purpose was to analyze the effects of Pilates on the volume of the rectus abdominis (RA), obliques, and transversus abdominis, with the last two considered conjointly (OT). METHODS The volume of OT and RA were determined using magnetic resonance imaging in nine nonactive healthy women, before and after 36 wk of a standardized Pilates training program (Modern Pilates). RESULTS The volume of the dominant OT was increased by 8% (P < 0.05) with training, whereas the nondominant OT volume remained unchanged (+2%, P = 0.58). The total volume of RA increased by 21% after Pilates (P < 0.05) because of a similar increase of dominant and nondominant RA volume (21% and 20%, respectively, P < 0.05). Before Pilates, the volume of the OT was 8% greater in the nondominant compared with the dominant side (P < 0.01). This asymmetry was compensated by Pilates training (2%, P = 0.43). No side-to-side asymmetries in RA muscle volumes were observed either before (2%, P = 0.51) or after (1%, P = 0.81) Pilates. CONCLUSIONS The present study reveals the existence of asymmetries in the muscles of the abdominal wall in nonactive healthy women. Pilates practice twice a week for 9 months elicits hypertrophy of the abdominal wall muscles, particularly of the RA, and eliminates preexisting asymmetries of the OT. Modern Pilates can be recommended as an effective method to reinforce the muscles of the abdominal wall and to compensate preexisting asymmetric developments.
Semantically Motivated Hebrew Verb-Noun Multi-Word Expressions Identification

Identification of Multi-Word Expressions (MWEs) lies at the heart of many natural language processing applications. In this research, we deal with a particular type of Hebrew MWEs, Verb-Noun MWEs (VN-MWEs), which combine a verb and a noun with or without other words. Most prior work on MWEs classification focused on linguistic and statistical information. In this paper, we claim that it is essential to utilize semantic information. To this end, we propose a semantically motivated indicator for classifying VN-MWE and define features that are related to various semantic spaces and combine them as features in a supervised classification framework. We empirically demonstrate that our semantic feature set yields better performance than the common linguistic and statistical feature sets and that combining semantic features contributes to the VN-MWEs identification task.
Critical appraisal of Rome IV criteria: hypersensitive esophagus does belong to gastroesophageal reflux disease spectrum

The Rome IV Committee introduced a major change in the classification of functional gastrointestinal disorders, proposing a more restrictive definition of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). It was suggested that hypersensitive esophagus (HE) may sit more firmly within the functional realm. It was suggested that GERD diagnosis should be based upon abnormal acid exposure time (AET) only, implying no advantage of impedance-pH over pH monitoring. Symptom association probability (SAP), symptom index (SI) and heartburn relief with proton pump inhibitor (PPI) therapy were regarded as unreliable, whereas a lack of response to PPI was considered as evidence of functional heartburn. These assumptions are contradicted by numerous studies showing the clinical relevance of weakly acidic refluxes and the diagnostic utility of SAP, SI and new impedance parameters, namely the post-reflux swallow-induced peristaltic wave (PSPW) index and the mean nocturnal baseline impedance (MNBI). The PSPW index and MNBI provide significant diagnostic advantage, particularly in patients with normal AET who can be classified as HE when both parameters are abnormal, even though SAP and SI are negative. Visceral pain modulators are recommended by the Rome IV Committee despite scanty evidence of efficacy, but a positive outcome with medical or surgical anti-reflux treatment has been reported by several studies of HE patients. Therefore, we believe that patients with endoscopy-negative heartburn should be investigated by means of impedance-pH monitoring with analysis of PSPW index and MNBI: such an approach provides accurate identification of HE cases, who remain, in our opinion, within the realm of GERD and should be treated accordingly.
A 2 Watt, Sub-dB Noise Figure GaN MMIC LNA-PA Amplifier with Multi-octave Bandwidth from 0.2-8 GHz

This paper reports on a 0.2-8 GHz high dynamic range GaN MMIC LNA-PA which achieves sub-dB noise figure and a PldB of 2 watts. The GaN MMIC utilizes a 0.2 mum AlGaN/GaN-SiC HEMT technology with an fT ~75 GHz. At high power bias (15 V/400 mA), the MMIC amplifier achieves sub-dB NF ~0.7-0.9 dB over a 2-8 GHz band. At low bias(12 V, 200 mA), the amplifier achieves ~0.5dB over the same band. This is believe to be the lowest NF reported for a multi-octave MMIC amplifier in the S-and C-band frequency range. In addition, the amplifier obtains ultra high linearity with an OIP3 of 43.2-46.5 dBm and P1 dB of 32.8-33.2 dBm (2 watts) over a 2-6 GHz bandwidth. The PAE at P1 dB is ~28.6-31%. The Psat is 34.2 dBm with 39% PAE @ 2 GHz. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a multi-octave MMIC amplifier with sub-dB NF and a pout >2 Watt.
Heart period and heart period variability during sleep on the MIR space station

The long‐term acclimation of cardiac rhythms to microgravity was studied in four astronauts aboard the Russian space station MIR during wakefulness and sleep. Sleep polygraphies were obtained between the third and the 30th day in space and, in addition, prior to mission on the ground. From each of the sleep polygraphies, beat‐to‐beat intervals of cardiac rhythms were determined. The response of heart period and heart period variability to the stimulus microgravity was tested during sleep across sleep stages and during waking. A lengthening of heart period by about 100 ms was found in space compared to measurements on the ground. The slowing of heart rate was more pronounced for non‐REM sleep than for REM sleep. A systematic change in heart period in relation to the duration of the stay in space could not be detected. An analysis of heart period variability in the high frequency (respiratory sinus arrhythmia) band supports the hypothesis that the decrease of heart rate under microgravity is produced by an increase in parasympathetic activity. Testing the response of cardiac rhythms to microgravity across distinct behavioural states seems to be a powerful tool to investigate the cardiovascular system.