Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Association of the apolipoprotein B gene polymorphisms with essential hypertension in Northern Chinese Han population.

OBJECTIVE To study the association of the apolipoprotein B gene polymorphisms with essential hypertension in Northern Chinese Han population. METHODS XbaI and EcoRI polymorphisms of the apolipoprotein B (APOB) gene were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction fragment-length polymorphism (RFLP) method in 503 unrelated hypertensive patients and 490 healthy controls recruited from international collaborative study of cardiovascular disease in Asia (InterAsia). RESULTS The difference in the genotypic distributions could be neglected across the groups. The prevalence of X+ allele in healthy controls (4.8%) was less frequent in Chinese, and there was no significant difference in the frequency of the X+ allele between cases (5.7%) and controls (P = 0.38). The observed E- allele frequencies were closely similar among groups (5.9% in cases vs 5.0% in controls, P = 0.39). Logitstic regression analyses revealed that the lack of association still persisted after adjustment of other environmental factors. Haplotype analysis showed that X-E+ was most frequent and no haplotype could significantly contribute to essential hypertension. CONCLUSION The APOB gene XbaI and EcoRI polymorphisms are not associated with essential hypertension in the Northern Chinese Han population. Future studies on single nucleotide polymorphisms in larger samples are needed to further investigate the possible contribution of the APOB gene to essential hypertension.
Professional judgment, practitioner expertise and organisational culture in child protection : an ethnographic study

Child protection social workers must make difficult decisions in real life circumstances that often involve limited knowledge, uncertainty, conflicting values, time pressures and powerful emotions. These circumstances can pose a significant challenge to reasoning skills, especially when the cost of errors and poor judgment can be unacceptably high. This study explores the psychological processes that underpin how child protection practitioners form judgments and how these are influenced by the organisational settings that they work within. The study has an ethnographic design with two sites; a local authority children's intake service and a NHS multi-disciplinary court assessment service. The sites were chosen as contrasting organisational settings within which to study practitioner decision making. Forty days of observation and twenty-four interviews with practitioners were completed across the two sites over a two-and-a-half year period. The study found that practitioners' reasoning processes were a dynamic interplay of intuitive and analytic processes with emotionally-informed intuitive processes as the primary driver. As practitioners became more experienced, they engaged in progressively more sophisticated pattern recognition and story building processes to analyse and evaluate complex information. However, practitioners of all experience levels were vulnerable to the same predictable errors arising from cognitive vulnerabilities that affect the whole population. Comparison of the two sites identified the following themes concerning the influence of organisational context; the timescales that practitioners worked within, the opportunities for case discussion, and the cultures of accountability within the organisation. In response to considerable time pressures and increased demand, local authority social workers at times engaged in a range of operational defences and speed practices. This was combined with a pervasive accountability culture that inadvertently led to local authority social workers being more likely to manage anxiety through practices that acted as a form of pre-emptive exoneration. The study contributes towards the existing literature by examining everyday child protection practice using a theoretical approach that combines insights from psychological and psychoanalytic approaches. The study identifies new insights into practitioner decision making, suggests new ways of understanding accountability, and has implications for how organisations can help both reduce errors and support expert practice.
Erythrocyte aging and disease: A tale of membranes and microparticles

Ned Tijdschr Klin Chem Labgeneesk 2016, vol. 41, no. 3 This chapter is an introduction to the research on erythrocytes, microparticles and regulatory T cells that is presented in the subsequent chapters. The first part of this chapter briefly discusses the main functions and characteristics of the erythrocyte. The second part focusses on erythrocyte aging and removal, transfusion side effects, and anemia of inflammation. The third part discusses the functions of erythrocyte-derived and platelet-derived microparticles in the context of health, disease and transfusion medicine. In the fourth part, a brief overview of the immune system and its role in tissue homeostasis is given. In the final part, the scope of this thesis is presented. I The erythrocyte Erythrocytes, commonly known as red blood cells, are the most abundant cells in the circulation, and are the principal means of oxygen delivery to and CO2 removal from the peripheral tissues. The erythrocyte owes its ability to transport oxygen to its high hemoglobin content. In the human lung, the erythrocytes take up oxygen at the alveolar-capillary interface, which they release whilst traversing the capillary network in the peripheral tissues. This oxygen release is stimulated by the CO2 that is produced by metabolically active tissues. Upon entering the erythrocyte, CO2 is converted into HCO3and H by the enzyme carbonic anhydrase. The subsequent decrease in intracellular pH serves as a signal for hemoglobin to release oxygen. Erythrocytes are biconcave disks with an approximate diameter of 7 μm and maximum thickness of 2.5 μm. Unlike almost all the other cells of the body, erythrocytes do not contain intracellular organelles such as a nucleus, endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, and mitochondria, which enables a maximal hemoglobin content and plasma membrane deformability. Erythrocytes must be able to undergo large passive deformations in order to pass through the narrow capillaries of the microvasculature and the fenestrae in the spleen. The shear stress that erythrocytes experience when traversing the vessels and the deoxygenation of their hemoglobin trigger the release of potent vasodilators in the form of S-nitrosothiol and ATP, which promote the passage of the erythrocyte. ATP promotes the release of NO by the vascular endothelium, which is further enhanced by the shear stress that the passing erythrocytes exert on the endothelium. This physiological activity is exemplary for the complex interactions between the erythrocyte and its environment.
Mutants of Escherichia coli K-12 with an Altered Glutamyl-Transfer Ribonucleic Acid Synthetase

Three streptomycin-suppressible lethal mutants of Escherichia coli K-12 have been shown to possess structurally altered glutamyl-transfer ribonucleic acid (tRNA) synthetases. Each mutant synthetase displays a Km value for glutamate which is 10-fold higher than the parental value, and the mutations reside in two widely separate loci on the genetic map. Mixing of the mutant extracts in pairs gave no indication of in vitro complementation. All three enzymes charge the minor tRNAglu fraction identically, but one (EM 120) charges the major fraction at a twofold lower rate than do the other two (EM 102 and EM 111). Possible explanations for the existence of the two synthetase loci are presented.
Educational innovation on politically sensitive subjects: a case‐study of interview material involving the bereaved families of the Iraq Nasiriya killings of 12 November 2003

Northern Ireland schools and colleges are no strangers to the experience of political violence and inevitably the travails of the wider community feature in the curriculum matter of the school and university systems. Peace education, in various forms, has been a recurrent feature of curriculum innovation at every level of educational provision in Northern Ireland—higher, further, informal and the school sector alike (Duffy, 2000). Faced with the realities of the Northern Ireland conflict, we have found that a comparative approach to politically sensitive subjects has allowed considerable progress to be made in exploring real life issues of death, injury and human suffering, and in discussions concerning reconciliation in a society which have been plagued by ethnic violence. This ‘in practice’ article offers a brief snapshot of a recent project we conducted in creating and teaching politically sensitive curriculum materials with university students, including future teachers, in Northern Ireland. By means of a genuinely comparative approach to such politically sensitive subjects we have found our students to be much more responsive, open and frank in their discussions than in similar discussions on the theme of Northern Ireland alone. Certainly the tragedy of post-war suffering in Iraq represents an interesting point of comparison with the post-conflict peace process in Northern Ireland. Working with Marcello Mollica, Marie Curie research student in conflict research and himself from Sicily, we decided to look at the tragic example of the deaths of Italian Carabinieri, and how the inspirational words of the families of these police officers
Major Depression with Ischemic Heart Disease: Effects of Paroxetine and Nortriptyline on Measures of Nonlinearity and Chaos of Heart Rate

Depression is associated with increased cardiovascular mortality in patients with preexisting cardiac illness. A decrease in cardiac vagal function as suggested by a decrease in heart rate variability (HRV) or heart period variability has been linked to sudden death in patients with cardiac disease as well as in normal controls. Recent studies have shown decreased vagal function in cardiac patients with depression as well as in depressed patients without cardiac illness. In this study, we compared 20 h awake and sleep heart period nonlinear measures using quantification of nonlinearity and chaos in two groups of patients with major depression and ischemic heart disease (mean age 59–60 years) before and after 6 weeks of treatment with paroxetine or nortriptyline. Patients received paroxetine, 20–30 mg/day or nortriptyline targeted to 190–570 nmol/l for 6 weeks. For HRV analysis, 24 patients were included in the paroxetine treatment study and 20 patients in the nortriptyline study who had at least 20,000 s of awake data. The ages of these groups were 60.4 ± 10.5 years for paroxetine and 60.8 ± 13.4 years for nortriptyline. There was a significant decrease in the largest Lyapunov exponent (LLE) after treatment with nortriptyline but not paroxetine. There were also significant decreases in nonlinearity scores on SnetPR and SnetGS after nortriptyline, which may be due to a decrease in cardiac vagal modulation of HRV. SnetGS and awake LLE were the most significant variables that contributed to the discrimination of postparoxetine and postnortriptyline groups even with the inclusion of time and frequency domain measures. These findings suggest that nortriptyline decreases the measures of chaos probably through its stronger vagolytic effects on cardiac autonomic function compared with paroxetine, which is in agreement with previous clinical and preclinical reports. Nortriptyline was also associated with a significant decrease in nonlinearity scores, which may be due to anticholinergic and/or sympatholytic effects. As depression is associated with a strong risk factor for cardiovascular mortality, one should be careful about using any drug that adversely affects cardiac vagal function.
Large-scale scanning of TCP's initial window

Improving web performance is fueling the debate of sizing TCP's initial congestion window (IW), which is a critical performance parameter especially for short-lived flows. This debate yielded several RFC updates to recommended IW sizes, e.g., an increase to IW10 in 2010. The current adoption of IW recommendations is, however, unknown. In this paper, we therefore conduct large-scale measurements covering the entire IPv4 space inferring the IW distribution size by probing HTTP and HTTPS servers. We present an HTTP and TLS scanning method implemented in ZMap, enabling quick estimations of IW sizes at Internet scale. For the first time since the standardization and implementation of IW 10, we shed light on the rugged landscape of IW configurations on the Internet.
A Framework for the Automatic Correction of Constraint Programs

Constraint programs, such as those written in high-level constraint modelling languages, e.g., OPL (Optimization Programming Language), COMET, ZINC or ESSENCE, are more and more used in business-critical programs. As any other critical programs, they require to be thoroughly tested and corrected to prevent catastrophic loss of money. This paper presents a framework for the automatic correction of constraint programs that takes into account the specificity of the software development process of these programs as well as their typical faults. We implemented this framework in our testing platform CPTEST for OPL programs. Using mutation testing, our experimental results show that well-known constraint programs written in OPL can be automatically corrected using our framework.
Analysis and Enhanced Control of Hybrid-MMC-Based HVDC Systems During Asymmetrical DC Voltage Faults

This paper presents an enhanced control for HVDC systems employing hybrid modular multilevel converters (MMCs) during asymmetrical dc voltage faults. The characteristics of pole-to-ground (PTG) fault under different system grounding schemes are analyzed. Then, the principle of enhanced control strategy to deal with the PTG fault is presented for a hybrid-MMC-based HVDC system with symmetrical monopolar configuration. A new control variable is proposed on the arm voltages to distribute the power transmitted from the ac side between the upper and lower arms. By adopting the enhanced control, the overvoltage and the fault current can be eliminated when a PTG fault occurs. Furthermore, the hybrid-MMC-based HVDC system can operate continuously with adjustable active power and controllable reactive power by controlling the upper and lower arms of the converter asymmetrically during a fault period. Finally, the feasibility of the proposed control scheme is verified by simulation results in PSCAD/EMTDC.
Bread, beer and wine: Saccharomyces cerevisiae diversity reflects human history

Fermented beverages and foods have played a significant role in most societies worldwide for millennia. To better understand how the yeast species Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the main fermenting agent, evolved along this historical and expansion process, we analysed the genetic diversity among 651 strains from 56 different geographical origins, worldwide. Their genotyping at 12 microsatellite loci revealed 575 distinct genotypes organized in subgroups of yeast types, i.e. bread, beer, wine, sake. Some of these groups presented unexpected relatedness: Bread strains displayed a combination of alleles intermediate between beer and wine strains, and strains used for rice wine and sake were most closely related to beer and bread strains. However, up to 28% of genetic diversity between these technological groups was associated with geographical differences which suggests local domestications. Focusing on wine yeasts, a group of Lebanese strains were basal in an FST tree, suggesting a Mesopotamia‐based origin of most wine strains. In Europe, migration of wine strains occurred through the Danube Valley, and around the Mediterranean Sea. An approximate Bayesian computation approach suggested a postglacial divergence (most probable period 10 000–12 000 bp). As our results suggest intimate association between man and wine yeast across centuries, we hypothesize that yeast followed man and vine migrations as a commensal member of grapevine flora.
Mining Complaints to Improve a Product: a Study about Problem Phrase Extraction from User Reviews

The rapidly growing availability of user reviews has become an important resource for companies to detect customer dissatisfaction from textual opinions. Much research in opinion mining focuses on extracting customers' opinions from products' reviews and predicting their sentiment orientation or ratings with the aim of helping other users to make a decision on whether to buy a product. However, there have been few recent studies conducted on business-related opinion tasks to extract more refined opinions about a product's quality problems or technical failures. The focus of this study is the extraction of problem phrases, mentioned in user reviews about products. We explore main opinion mining tasks to determine whether given text from reviews contains a mention of a problem. We formulate research questions and propose knowledge-based methods and probabilistic models to classify users' phrases and extract latent problem indicators, aspects and related sentiments from online reviews.
Acute detoxification of opioid‐addicted patients with naloxone during propofol or methohexital anesthesia: A comparison of withdrawal symptoms, neuroendocrine, metabolic, and cardiovascular patterns

Objective: μ‐Opioid receptor blockade during general anesthesia is a new treatment for detoxification of opioid addicted patients. We assessed catecholamine plasma concentrations, oxygen consumption, cardiovascular variables, and withdrawal symptoms after naloxone and tested the hypothesis that variables are influenced by the anesthetic administered during detoxification. Design: Prospective randomized clinical study. Setting: Intensive care unit of a university hospital and psychiatric ward. Patients: Twenty‐five mono‐opioid addicted patients with mild to moderate systemic disease (ASA II classification) in a methadone substitution program. Intervention: General anesthesia with either propofol (129 ± 7 μg·kg−1·min−1, mean ± SEM) or methohexital (74 ± 14 μg·kg−1·min−1), μ‐opioid receptor blockade by naloxone in a stepwise fashion (increasing doses of 0.4 mg, 0.8 mg, 1.6 mg, 3.2 mg, and 6.4 mg at 15 min intervals followed by 0.8 mg·hr−1 for 24 hrs) and naltrexone 50 mg·day−1 orally for ≥4 wks. Clonidine was started 180 mins after the first naloxone dose and its infusion rate was individually adjusted to mitigate withdrawal symptoms during weaning and after extubation. Measurements and Main Results: During propofol and methohexital anesthesia, naloxone induced a 30‐fold increase in epinephrine and a significant three‐fold increase in norepinephrine plasma concentrations without a significant difference between groups. This increase in catecholamine plasma concentrations was associated with increased oxygen consumption and marked cardiovascular stimulation with both anesthetics, as shown by increased cardiac index, heart rate, and systolic atrial pressure whereas diastolic pressure remained unchanged. Patients receiving propofol could be extubated significantly earlier after discontinuation of the anesthetics. Although the maximum degree of withdrawal symptoms (Short Opioid Withdrawal Scale) on the day after detoxification was similar with both anesthetics, subsequent withdrawal symptoms decreased significantly more rapidly after propofol anesthesia. Conclusions: Naloxone treatment, in opioid‐addicted patients, induced a marked increase in catecholamine plasma concentrations, metabolism, and cardiovascular stimulation during anesthesia with both propofol and methohexital. Although both anesthetics appear suitable for detoxification treatment, the use of propofol is associated with earlier extubation and, surprisingly, a shortened period of long‐term withdrawal symptoms during detoxification.
Intrafamilial sexual abuse victims perception family: a case study

This study had the objective of investigating the perceptions of family of two girls victims of intrafamilial sexual abuse. The participants were two twin sisters of 12 years old, abused by their grandfather, uncle and father. They responded to a semi-structured interview and to family instruments (Family System Test (FAST), Family Identification Test (FIT) and Familiograma). The results indicate low familial cohesion, high hierarchy with explicit generational limits and low self-congruence. The two sisters showed identification with the abusers and consider the mother as a model for them. The affection was described toward each family member and varied from low to medium. The conflict varied from medium to high. The interview indicated an isolation tendency, low self-steam, aggressive attitudes, guilt feelings, fear and shame. The need for studies that provide an amplification of knowledge about the family’s dynamic involved in these cases is highlighted.
The Effects of Acute Hypercortisolemia on β-Hydroxybutyrate and Glycerol Metabolism During Insulin Deficiency

The present study was undertaken to determine whether an acute physiologic rise in plasma cortisol during selective insulin deficiency would have significant effects on glycerol and beta-hydroxybutyrate metabolism in conscious overnight-fasted dogs. Each experiment consisted of a two hour dye equilibration period, a 40 minute basal period, and a 3 hour experimental period. A continuous infusion of indocyanine green dye for blood flow estimation was initiated at the start of the equilibration period and continued throughout the experiment. In both of two protocols selective insulin deficiency was created during the experimental period by infusing somatostatin peripherally (0.8 microgram/kg-min) with basal replacement of glucagon intraportally (0.65 ng/kg-min). In the test protocol (CORTISOL, n = 5), 3.0 micrograms/kg-min of hydrocortisone was infused during the experimental period. In the control protocol (SALINE, n = 5), saline was infused. Net hepatic balances were determined using the (A-V) difference technique. During selective insulin deficiency alone (SALINE), the arterial blood glycerol level increased from 81 +/- 19 to 140 +/- 11 microM (p < 0.01) and net hepatic glycerol uptake (NHGlyU) tended to increase from 2.3 +/- 0.3 to 3.3 +/- 0.6 mumol/kg-min (0.05 < 0.1). The arterial plasma free fatty acid (FFA) level remained unchanged at 1041 +/- 35 microM. The arterial beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHOB) level increased slightly from 21 +/- 4 to 29 +/- 5 microM while net hepatic beta-hydroxybutyrate production (NHBP) remained unchanged (1.0 +/- 0.2 mumol/kg-min). During acute hypercortisolemia with selective insulin deficiency (CORTISOL), similar changes occurred in the arterial blood glycerol level and net hepatic glycerol uptake. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
The wolf in sheep’s clothing: Microtomographic aspects of clinically incipient radiation-related caries

Background Radiation-related caries (RRC) can cause rapid progression, with a high potential for dental destruction affecting mainly cervical and incisal areas. Unlike the injuries that occur in the conventional caries, incipient RRC present in unusual surfaces have difficult diagnosis and classification stages of cavitation. Material and Methods Evaluate the radiographic patterns of demineralization of RRC by using micro-CT. Ten teeth with incipient RRC and 10 teeth with incipient conventional caries (control group) matched by anatomic teeth group and caries affected surfaces were evaluated by X-ray microtomography (micro-CT) Skyscan 1174V2 (50Kv, 1.3 megapixel, Kontich, Belgium). Teeth were placed in a standard position for micro-CT (coronal, transaxial and sagittal sections) during images acquisition. Lesions were classified according to the depth of invasion and relationship with enamel, dentin and pulp. Results RRC samples presented deeper lesions with higher involvement of enamel and dentin. Control group presented focal and superficial lesions with lower involvement of enamel and dentin. Conclusions Incipient RRC present aggressive microtomographic patterns of demineralization when compared to conventional caries, as indicated by deep lesions, regardless of its clinically incipient aspects. Key words:Head and neck cancer, radiotherapy, microtomography, radiation caries.