Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Response from the hornet's nest: furthering the debate on transplantation for alcoholic liver disease.

O’Grady’s leading article highlighted the ongoing debate surrounding liver transplantation for alcoholic liver disease (ALD). 1 As addiction specialists working in the area of liver transplantation in two other UK centres, we welcome his contribution to the debate, but take this opportunity to develop the argument further and challenge some of his arguments and assumptions. O’Grady offers us the opportunity to once again consider the issue of liver transplantation for ALD in a more articulate way by providing a useful overview of some of the pros and cons of transplanting this population, as well as carefully highlighting some of the dilemmas. Nevertheless, there are some facets of his report which need further exploration and indeed challenging. Firstly, we accept that disease recurrence in the first 7–10 years after transplant is negligible when directly compared with the recurrence rates in viral hepatitis C virus (HCV), but it is misleading to prove the efficacy of transplantation for one medical indication by looking at outcomes in another. Historically transplant centres have measured outcome in terms of 5-year graft survival; however, in >40 years of liver transplantation, surgical, medical and drug management regimens have improved considerably and, therefore, it is not unreasonable to expect much greater graft survival in the ALD population. The HCV versus ALD debate is a limited one. Secondly, we accept that historically too much emphasis has been placed on apparently arbitrary tests to determine candidate selection on ALD, and it would be useful to know which arbitrary tests O’Grady is referring to and how he defines these. In the UK, the liver advisory group (LAG) guidelines on transplantation for ALD2 have at least offered transplant …
Antiangiogenic agents significantly improve survival in tumor-bearing mice by increasing tolerance to chemotherapy-induced toxicity

Chemotherapy-induced broad toxicities are the leading cause of the drug-induced mortality in cancer patients. Antiangiogenic drugs (ADs) in combination with chemotherapy are widely used as front-line therapy for the treatment of various human cancers. However, the beneficial mechanisms underlying combination therapy are poorly understood. Here we show that, in several murine tumor models, administration of sunitinib markedly reduced chemotherapy-induced bone marrow toxicity. Intriguingly, in a sequential treatment regimen, delivery of ADs followed by chemotherapy demonstrated superior survival benefits compared with simultaneous administration of two drugs. In murine tumor models, we show that VEGF increased chemotoxicity by synergistically suppressing bone marrow hematopoiesis with cytostatic drugs. These findings shed light on molecular mechanisms by which ADs in combination with chemotherapy produce survival benefits in cancer patients and provide conceptual information guiding future designs of clinical trials, current practice, and optimization of ADs for the treatment of cancer.
Global trends in molecular epidemiology of HIV-1 during 2000–2007

Objective:To estimate the global and regional distribution of HIV-1 subtypes and recombinants between 2000 and 2007. Design:Country-specific HIV-1 molecular epidemiology data were combined with estimates of the number of HIV-infected people in each country. Methods:Cross-sectional HIV-1 subtyping data were collected from 65 913 samples in 109 countries between 2000 and 2007. The distribution of HIV-1 subtypes in individual countries was weighted according to the number of HIV-infected people in each country to generate estimates of regional and global HIV-1 subtype distribution for the periods 2000–2003 and 2004–2007. Results:Analysis of the global distribution of HIV-1 subtypes and recombinants in the two periods indicated a broadly stable distribution of HIV-1 subtypes worldwide with a notable increase in the proportion of circulating recombinant forms (CRFs), a decrease in unique recombinant forms (URFs) and an overall increase in recombinants. In 2004–2007, subtype C accounted for nearly half (48%) of all global infections, followed by subtypes A (12%) and B (11%), CRF02_AG (8%), CRF01_AE (5%), subtype G (5%) and D (2%). Subtypes F, H, J and K together cause fewer than 1% of infections worldwide. Other CRFs and URFs are each responsible for 4% of global infections, bringing the combined total of worldwide CRFs to 16% and all recombinants (CRFs along with URFs) to 20%. Conclusion:The global and regional distributions of individual subtypes and recombinants are broadly stable, although CRFs may play an increasing role in the HIV pandemic. The global diversity of HIV-1 poses a formidable challenge to HIV vaccine development.
Mouse Models of Hepatitis B Virus Infection Comprising Host-Virus Immunologic Interactions

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is one of the most prevalent infectious diseases associated with various human liver diseases, including acute, fulminant and chronic hepatitis; liver cirrhosis; and hepatocellular carcinoma. Despite the availability of an HBV vaccine and the development of antiviral therapies, there are still more than 350 million chronically infected people worldwide, approximately 5% of the world population. To understand the virus biology and pathogenesis in HBV-infected patients, several animal models have been developed to mimic hepatic HBV infection and the immune response against HBV, but the narrow host range of HBV infection and lack of a full immune response spectrum in animal models remain significant limitations. Accumulating evidence obtained from studies using a variety of mouse models that recapitulate hepatic HBV infection provides several clues for understanding host-virus immunologic interactions during HBV infection, whereas the determinants of the immune response required for HBV clearance are poorly defined. Therefore, adequate mouse models are urgently needed to elucidate the mechanism of HBV elimination and identify novel targets for antiviral therapies.
Effect of gaze stability exercise along with proprioception training to improve balance in cerebellar ataxia

Background: Cerebellar disorders typically manifest with ataxia- incoordination of movement, instability of gait, impairment of articulation, and difficulty with eye movement and swallowing. Proprioception prescription is often given in terms of balancing activities based on patient starting abilities and prior injury Gaze-stability exercises have shown to decrease symptoms of dizziness and increase function in individuals with vestibular disorders objective of the study was to find out whether the effect of proprioception training alone will improve balance in cerebellar ataxia or to find whether the effect of gaze stability exercise along with proprioception training will improve balance in cerebellar ataxia. Methods and Material: A Total of 30 subjects who fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria were included in the study. All of the subjects were diagnosed with cerebellar ataxia by a Neurologist and referred for physiotherapy, they were randomly divided into two groups by convenience sampling. Group A =15 (Gaze stability exercise along with proprioception training) Group B= 15 (Proprioception training). Results: shows there was an improvement in Pre to Post scores of BBS and FRT for both the groups, but when comparing both the groups, there was a drastic improvement in scores of BBS and FRT in group A when compared to group B with p- value <0.0001. Conclusions: Results suggest that Gaze stability exercise along with proprioception training was more effective in improving balance than proprioception training alone in patients cerebellar ataxia
Study of some factors controlling fatty acid oxidation in liver mitochondria of obese Zucker rats.

Livers of genetically obese Zucker rats showed, compared with lean controls, hypertrophy and enrichment in triacylglycerols, indicating that fatty acid metabolism was directed towards lipogenesis and esterification rather than towards fatty acid oxidation. Mitochondrial activities of cytochrome c oxidase and monoamine oxidase were significantly lower when expressed per g wet wt. of liver, whereas peroxisomal activities of urate oxidase and palmitoyl-CoA-dependent NAD+ reduction were unchanged. Liver mitochondria were able to oxidize oleic acid at the same rate in both obese and lean rats. For reactions occurring inside the mitochondria, e.g. octanoate oxidation and palmitoyl-CoA dehydrogenase, no difference was found between both phenotypes. Total carnitine palmitoyl-, octanoyl- and acetyl-transferase activities were slightly higher in mitochondria from obese rats, whereas the carnitine content of both liver tissue and mitochondria was significantly lower in obese rats compared with their lean littermates. The carnitine palmitoyltransferase I activity was slightly higher in liver mitochondria from obese rats, but this enzyme was more sensitive to malonyl-CoA inhibition in obese than in lean rats. The above results strongly suggest that the impaired fatty acid oxidation observed in the whole liver of obese rats is due to the diminished transport of fatty acids across the mitochondrial inner membrane via the carnitine palmitoyltransferase I. This effect could be reinforced by the decreased mitochondrial content per g wet wt. of liver. The depressed fatty acid oxidation may explain in part the lipid infiltration of liver observed in obese Zucker rats.
Balancing Risk and Learning Opportunities in Corporate Venture Capital Investments: Evidence from the Biopharmaceutical Industry

Abstract When seizing new investment opportunities, CVC investors face a tension between learning rewards and risks in the form of market and technological uncertainties. Based on an inductive qualitative study relying upon a unique, longitudinal dataset of 260 CVC deals carried out by the top CVC investors in the biopharmaceutical industry between 2003 and 2013, we argue that the extent to which a CVC investor (and its corporate sponsor) may learn from new ventures depends on the nature of its risk attitude and, more in general, on its portfolio diversification (low risk) or concentration (high risk) strategy. In so doing, we identify four typologies of CVC portfolio strategies that allow for growth and learning options available to the parent sponsor, showing that there is a curvilinear (U-shaped) relationship between learning propensity and portfolio diversification. We also develop a tool for determining a CVC opportunity set that may help a fund to optimally allocate capital based on its own risk-return preferences. Theory for CVC decision-making is advanced by furthering two propositions requiring future empirical validation.
What's on Your Mind? Conversation Topics Chosen by People With Degenerative Cognitive-Linguistic Disorders for Communication Boards.

PURPOSE Conversational topics chosen by a group of adults with degenerative cognitive-linguistic disorders for personalized communication board development were examined. The patient-generated themes commonly selected are presented to guide treatment planning and communication board development. METHOD Communication boards were created for 109 adults as part of a larger research project. One autobiographical topic that each participant would enjoy discussing multiple times was represented on each communication board with 16 pictures and word labels. For this review, topics were collapsed into general themes through a consensus process and examined by gender and age. RESULTS Sixty unique conversational topics were identified from 109 participants and collapsed into 9 general themes: Hobbies, Family, Travel, Work, Home/Places I've Lived, Sports/Fitness, Religion, Animals, and World War II. Age and gender produced variations in themes chosen, though no significance in rank orders was found across groups. CONCLUSIONS Topics selected by adults with degenerative cognitive-linguistic disorders for communication boards resemble common conversational adult themes and do not center around basic needs or medical issues. Differences in gender and age for topic selection tend to be based on traditional roles. These general themes should be used when creating personalized communication boards for those who benefit from conversational aids.
The Neglected Burden of Stroke in Sub-Saharan Africa

The looming epidemic of stroke and other chronic non-communicable diseases associated with lifestyle and demographic transitions occurring all over the world is increasingly being acknowledged. However, the significance of these trends in the relatively young populations of the countries comprising Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is less certain and considerably overshadowed by attention given to the impact of human immunodeficiency virus and other infectious diseases. We undertook a literature review of the burden of stroke in SSA and provide recommendations for future research. Despite the paucity of high quality studies, the mostly hospital-based data and limited community surveys indicate there to be high and increasing rates of stroke affecting people at much younger ages in SSA than in developed countries. In general, awareness, diagnosis and management of stroke are poor, and the associated case fatality and residual disability are high. As elsewhere, elevated blood pressure is the major determinant of stroke but there are also high rates of strokes related to the complications of rheumatic heart disease and other infections. Given high attributable risks exposures in association with rapid ageing and urbanisation in SSA, the future is not bright. Population-based incidence studies are urgently needed to map the profile and outcome of stroke. Such data would provide the necessary evidence base to improve prevention and treatments for stroke alongside current efforts to bring infectious diseases under control in SSA.
Evaluation of Bayesian models of substitution rate evolution--parental guidance versus mutual independence.

We have evaluated the performance of two classes of probabilistic models for substitution rate variation over phylogenetic trees. In the first class, branch rates are considered to be independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) stochastic variables. Three versions with respect to the underlying distribution (Gamma, Inverse Gaussian, and LogNormal) are considered. The i.i. d. models are compared with the autocorrelated (AC) model, where rates of adjacent nodes in the tree are AC, so that a node rate is LogNormal distributed around the rate of the parent node. The performance of different models is evaluated using three empirical data sets. For all data sets, it was clear that all tested models extracted substantial knowledge from data when posterior divergence time distributions were compared with the prior distributions and, furthermore, that they clearly outperformed a molecular clock. Moreover, the descriptive power of the i.i. d. models, as evaluated by Bayes factors, was either equal to or clearly better than that of the AC model. The latter effect increased with extended taxon sampling. Likewise, under none of the models could we find compelling evidence, in any of the data sets, for rate correlation between adjacent branches/nodes. These findings challenge previous suggestions of universality of autocorrelation in sequence evolution. We also performed an additional comparison with a divergence time prior including calibration information from fossil evidence. Adding fossil information to the prior had negligible effect on Bayes factors and mainly affected the width of the posterior distribution of the divergence times, whereas the relative position of the mean divergence times were largely unaffected.
Alcoholics Anonymous and the use of medications to prevent relapse: an anonymous survey of member attitudes.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to systematically assess the attitudes of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) members toward the newer medications used to prevent relapse (e.g., naltrexone) and to assess their experiences with medication use, of any type, in AA. METHOD Using media solicitations and snowball sampling techniques, 277 AA members were surveyed anonymously about their attitudes toward use of medication for preventing relapse and their experiences with medication use of any type in AA. RESULTS Over half the sample believed the use of relapse-preventing medication either was a good idea or might be a good idea. Only 17% believed an individual should not take it and only 12% would tell another member to stop taking it. Members attending relatively more meetings in the past 3 months had less favorable attitudes toward the medication. Almost a third (29%) reported personally experiencing some pressure to stop a medication (of any type). However, 69% of these continued taking the medication. CONCLUSIONS The study did not find strong, widespread negative attitudes toward medication for preventing relapse among AA members. Nevertheless, some discouragement of medication use does occur in AA. Though most AA members apparently resist pressure to stop a medication, when medication is prescribed a need exists to integrate it within the philosophy of 12-step treatment programs.
Toxoplasmic Encephalitis in the AIDS Patient

&NA; Toxoplasmic encephalitis was observed early in the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemic and has now been recognized as the major cause of opportunistic infection of the central nervous system after human immunodeficiency virus infection. This complication of AIDS usually represents a reactivation of latent infection. At present, the definitive diagnosis can be made only by demonstrating the protozoan causal agent, Toxoplasma gondii, in brain tissue. Pyrimethamine and sulfadiazine are effective treatments. Nurses are challenged to understand this neurological manifestation of AIDS. Since therapy is life‐long, patient education is important in addressing discharge planning concerns and returnto‐community issues.
Increase in upper extremity fractures in young male soccer players in the Netherlands, 1998–2009

Young male soccer players have been identified as a target group for injury prevention, but studies addressing trends and determinants of injuries within this group are scarce. The goal of this study was to analyze age‐specific trends in hospital‐treated upper extremity fractures (UEF) among boys playing soccer in the Netherlands and to explore associated soccer‐related factors. Data were obtained from a national database for the period 1998–2009. Rates were expressed as the annual number of UEF per 1000 soccer players. Poisson's regression was used to explore the association of UEF with the number of artificial turf fields and the number of injuries by physical contact. UEF rates increased significantly by 19.4% in boys 5–10 years, 73.2% in boys 11–14 years, and 38.8% in boys 15–18 years old. The number of injuries by physical contact showed a significant univariate association with UEF in boys 15–18 years old. The number of artificial turf fields showed a significant univariate association with UEF in all age groups, and remained significant for boys aged 15–18 years in a multivariate model. This study showed an increase of UEF rates in boys playing soccer, and an independent association between artificial turf fields and UEF in the oldest boys.
The cross charge-control flip-flop: a low-power and high-speed flip-flop suitable for mobile application SoCs

This paper presents a low power and high-speed flip-flop named cross charge-control flip-flop (XCFF). It has two dynamic nodes driving output transistors separately. The minimum power-delay product of the XCFF is 48% smaller than that of CMOS flip-flop and 20% smaller than that of the semi-dynamic flip-flop (SDFF). Applying it to a 125-MHz microprocessor core, we can achieve 10% power reduction without any speed or area penalty.
Chemical Constituents, Antiproliferative and Antioxidant Activities of Vernonanthura nudiflora (Less.) H. Rob. Aerial Parts

Sesquiterpene lactones are an important class of secondary metabolites frequently isolated from Vernonanthura genus that present a variety of biological properties, including antiproliferative activity. Due to the limitation of pharmacological studies on Vernonanthura nudiflora, the aim of this work was to investigate their antioxidant potential and antiproliferative activity against human tumor cells, as well as to isolate and identify the chemical constituents present in their aerial parts. The phytochemical investigation resulted in the isolation of the sesquiterpene lactones piptocarphins A, B, D, and a new hirsutinolide derivative, 8α-tigloyloxy-10α-hydroxy-hirsutinolide, besides triterpenes, glycosylated steroids, flavonoids, and one chlorogenic acid derivative. Also, other sesquiterpene lactones were identified by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-high resolution tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS/MS) from dichloromethane fraction. This fraction showed activity against the tumor cells tested, mainly against leukemia, glioma, ovarian and kidney, with growth inhibitory activity (GI50) less than 0.80 μg mL. Piptocarphins A and B, in mixture, showed strong activity against all human cancer cell lines tested, with GI50 values ≤ 0.15 μg mL. Piptocarphin D was selective for glioma and resistant ovarian cell lines. The new hirsutinolide derivative showed potent activity against breast (GI50 = 0.96 μg mL) and resistant ovarian (GI50 = 3.60 μg mL) cell lines.
Closing the loop: physician communication with diabetic patients who have low health literacy.

BACKGROUND Patients recall or comprehend as little as half of what physicians convey during an outpatient encounter. To enhance recall, comprehension, and adherence, it is recommended that physicians elicit patients' comprehension of new concepts and tailor subsequent information, particularly for patients with low functional health literacy. It is not known how frequently physicians apply this interactive educational strategy, or whether it is associated with improved health outcomes. METHODS We used direct observation to measure the extent to which primary care physicians working in a public hospital assess patient recall and comprehension of new concepts during outpatient encounters, using audiotapes of visits between 38 physicians and 74 English-speaking patients with diabetes mellitus and low functional health literacy. We then examined whether there was an association between physicians' application of this interactive communication strategy and patients' glycemic control using information from clinical and administrative databases. RESULTS Physicians assessed recall and comprehension of any new concept in 12 (20%) of 61 visits and for 15 (12%) of 124 new concepts. Patients whose physicians assessed recall or comprehension were more likely to have hemoglobin A(1c) levels below the mean (< or = 8.6%) vs patients whose physicians did not (odds ratio, 8.96; 95% confidence interval, 1.1-74.9) (P =.02). After multivariate logistic regression, the 2 variables independently associated with good glycemic control were higher health literacy levels (odds ratio, 3.97; 95% confidence interval, 1.09-14.47) (P =.04) and physicians' application of the interactive communication strategy (odds ratio, 15.15; 95% confidence interval, 2.07-110.78) (P<.01). CONCLUSIONS Primary care physicians caring for patients with diabetes mellitus and low functional health literacy rarely assessed patient recall or comprehension of new concepts. Overlooking this step in communication reflects a missed opportunity that may have important clinical implications.