Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Losartan reduces collagen content and intimal thickening of iliac arteries after balloon injury in rabbits

JRAAS 2000;1:278-82 Abstract Intimal thickening and formation of extracellular matrix are parts of the repair process after vascular injury. Similar processes occur after coronary angioplasty. Prior studies have shown that losartan inhibits intimal thickening in rat carotid arteries following balloon injury. However, the effects of losartan in reducing the collagen content of arteries after balloon injury have not been examined. The objectives of this study were to determine the change in collagen content after balloon injury and to analyse the mechanisms of reduction of collagen content and intimal thickening. Losartan (15 mg/kg/d) was administered orally from six days before to eight weeks after balloon injury in rabbits. Collagen content was measured histologically by the use of circularly polarised images of picrosirius redstained sections. Collagen content in arterial intima was found to be significantly lower in the losartan-treated group (n=12) than in the control group (n=12) (21.6%±5.2% vs. 43.8%±7.6%, p<0.01). Losartan reduced the collagen content in arterial intima by 50.7% area fraction compared with that of control. The morphological observation showed that the intimal area and intimal-to-medial area ratio in the losartan-treated group were significantly less than in the control group (0.27±0.13mm vs. 0.52±0.29 mm, 0.55±0.21 vs. 0.97±0.25, respectively, p<0.05). These data indicate that losartan reduces vascular collagen content and inhibits intimal thickening after balloon injury. The results also suggest that collagen accumulation in the intima may be an important factor in the development of the stenotic lesion and that the use of losartan may have therapeutic value to prevent stenosis after balloon injury.
Glycemic Variations after Ingestion of Different Carbohydrate-Containing Foods Assessed by Continuous Glucose Monitoring in Healthy and Diabetic Individuals in Daily Life

Carbohydrate counting is a meal planning approach for diabetic patients, but individu- al variations of the effect of glycemic index do not seem to be well taken into account. Here we assessed glycemic variations after the ingestion of different carbohydrate-containing foods by continuous glucose monitoring in healthy and diabetic individuals in daily life. After an over- night fast, seven healthy persons and four patients each of type 1 and 2 diabetes were instructed to eat three different kinds of 40 g carbohydrate-containing breakfast within 10 minutes for three consecutive days. The meals consisting of foods chosen from starchy foods, fruits and dairy foods were 100 g cooked rice with Japanese green tea seasoning (183 kcal), 300 g apple (162 kcal), and 35 g cereal with 180 ml milk (253 kcal), respectively. The glycemic profiles were measured every 5 minutes over three hours before and after the breakfast meals by us- ing a continuous glucose monitoring system (iPro2 ® ). Sulfonylurea was not taken, and insulin dose was reduced at the breakfast to avoid hypoglycemia, which was fixed during the study. The respective profiles of glycemic responses to the breakfast meals varied largely among individuals, especially in diabetic patients. The sums of glycemic increments over three hours after the ingestion of apple and cereal+milk (322 ± 123 (mean ± SD) and 181 ± 275 mg/dl) were significant (p<0.05) lower than those after the rice ingestion (543 ± 209 mg/dl) in healthy persons, but there was no significant difference among those (528 ± 471, 766 ± 1374 and 1442 ± 1025 mg/dl, respectively) in diabetic patients. Postprandial glucose levels were suppressed in the cereal+milk meal, but the elevated glucose levels appeared to persist in patients with type 1 diabetes. Medical staff should be aware of controlling carbohydrate intake with glycemic index, keeping in mind large individual variations of glycemic responses to the same amount of carbohydrate. It may be wise for diabetic patients to develop their own personal glycemic indexes in their respective situations.
The Effects of the Minimum Legal Drinking Age on Morbidity

Despite the fact that nonfatal injuries are much more common than fatal ones, most studies examining the health effects of tighter alcohol control have focused on fatalities. We provide the first comprehensive quasi-experimental evaluation of the effect of the minimum legal drinking age in the United States on injuries serious enough to require treatment in a hospital. Using a near census of emergency department (ED) and hospital discharge records from several large states we document that at age 21, ED visits and hospital admissions increase by 69.4 and 9.2 per 10,000 person-years respectively. These increases are due mainly to an increase in the rate at which young men experience accidental injuries, alcohol overdoses, and injuries inflicted by others – providing the literature’s first direct evidence that easing access to alcohol increases the risk of violent victimization. Our results indicate that the literature's disproportionate focus on mortality leads to a significant underestimation the benefits of tighter alcohol control.
Analysis of pharyngeal airway space and tongue position in individuals with different body types and facial patterns: A cephalometric study

Aim: To evaluate if the different body types and facial patterns have any effect on the dimensions of the pharyngeal airway space and tongue position. Materials and Methods: Ninety subjects (age 13-30 years) with no history of previous orthodontic treatment, jaw surgeries, or functional jaw orthopedics were taken and divided into different groups based on their body built. They were further subdivided into different groups based on their Frankfort Mandibular Angle. Group I included 30 subjects (15 males, 15 females) who were ectomorphic (body mass index [BMI] < 20). Group II included 30 subjects (16 males, 14 females) who were mesomorphic (BMI between 20 and 25), and Group III included 30 subjects (14 males, 16 females) who were endomorphic (BMI > 25). Lateral cephalograms were traced manually to evaluate the pharyngeal airway passage and tongue position. Results: When the comparison between different facial growth patterns was done, differences in soft palate inclination (P < 0.004) and upper pharyngeal wall - pterygomaxillary (P < 0.012) was found to be statistically significant. A significant difference among different growth patterns was observed for the soft palate inclination between the hypo- and hyper-divergent groups (P < 0.003). No significant differences were seen when a comparison between different facial types (irrespective of growth) was done. No significant difference was seen in the position of the tongue in all the groups. Conclusion: Different body types and facial patterns had a significant effect on the dimension of the pharyngeal airway space but no significant effect on the position of the tongue.
Performance Analysis of MIMO-OFDM System Using QOSTBC Code Structure for M-PSK

MIMO-OFDM system has been currently recognized as one of the most competitive technology for 4G mobile wireless systems. MIMO-OFDM system can compensate for the lacks of MIMO systems and give play to the advantages of OFDM system. In this paper, a general Quasi orthogonal space time block code (QOSTBC) structure is proposed for multiple-input multipleoutput–orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (MIMO-OFDM) systems for 4X4 antenna configuration. The signal detection technology used in this paper for MIMO-OFDM system is Zero-Forcing Equalization (linear detection technique). In this paper the analysis of high level of modulations (i.e. M-PSK for different values of M) on MIMO-OFDM system is presented. Here AWGN and Rayleigh channels have been used for analysis purpose and their effect on BER for high data rates have been presented. The proposed MIMO-OFDM system with QOSTBC using 4X4 antenna configuration has better performance in terms of BER vs SNR than the other systems.
Review : Polymers for Absorbable Surgical Sutures—Part I

ne of the most important and earliest recorded applications of O degradable polymers is the use of absorbable surgical sutures. The use of a string-like material made from sheep intestines to suture abdominal wounds is believed to date back many centuries. Today, sutures are still the primary method of wound closure used by surgeons, although the advances in tissue adhesives and mechanical devices such as clips and staples are notable. The development of polymer science in the twentieth century has had an enormous effect on the materials used for wound closure, in particular for absorbable and nonabsorbable sutures. This is a review of the polymers used to manufacture the currently available absorbable surgical sutures and some of the polymers under development for absorbable suture applications. The emphasis will be on the polymer fiber properties and how these properties change with time, in vivo or in vitro. These degradative changes have been characterized by measurements of the thermal properties, of the changes in polymer in molecular weights, molecular weight distributions, tensile properties, and morphological studies. Detailed coverage of the mechanism of degradation is not included as there are other recent references which discuss this in detail [1-3].
Mortality after fluid bolus in African children with severe infection.

BACKGROUND The role of fluid resuscitation in the treatment of children with shock and life-threatening infections who live in resource-limited settings is not established. METHODS We randomly assigned children with severe febrile illness and impaired perfusion to receive boluses of 20 to 40 ml of 5% albumin solution (albumin-bolus group) or 0.9% saline solution (saline-bolus group) per kilogram of body weight or no bolus (control group) at the time of admission to a hospital in Uganda, Kenya, or Tanzania (stratum A); children with severe hypotension were randomly assigned to one of the bolus groups only (stratum B). All children received appropriate antimicrobial treatment, intravenous maintenance fluids, and supportive care, according to guidelines. Children with malnutrition or gastroenteritis were excluded. The primary end point was 48-hour mortality; secondary end points included pulmonary edema, increased intracranial pressure, and mortality or neurologic sequelae at 4 weeks. RESULTS The data and safety monitoring committee recommended halting recruitment after 3141 of the projected 3600 children in stratum A were enrolled. Malaria status (57% overall) and clinical severity were similar across groups. The 48-hour mortality was 10.6% (111 of 1050 children), 10.5% (110 of 1047 children), and 7.3% (76 of 1044 children) in the albumin-bolus, saline-bolus, and control groups, respectively (relative risk for saline bolus vs. control, 1.44; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.09 to 1.90; P=0.01; relative risk for albumin bolus vs. saline bolus, 1.01; 95% CI, 0.78 to 1.29; P=0.96; and relative risk for any bolus vs. control, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.13 to 1.86; P=0.003). The 4-week mortality was 12.2%, 12.0%, and 8.7% in the three groups, respectively (P=0.004 for the comparison of bolus with control). Neurologic sequelae occurred in 2.2%, 1.9%, and 2.0% of the children in the respective groups (P=0.92), and pulmonary edema or increased intracranial pressure occurred in 2.6%, 2.2%, and 1.7% (P=0.17), respectively. In stratum B, 69% of the children (9 of 13) in the albumin-bolus group and 56% (9 of 16) in the saline-bolus group died (P=0.45). The results were consistent across centers and across subgroups according to the severity of shock and status with respect to malaria, coma, sepsis, acidosis, and severe anemia. CONCLUSIONS Fluid boluses significantly increased 48-hour mortality in critically ill children with impaired perfusion in these resource-limited settings in Africa. (Funded by the Medical Research Council, United Kingdom; FEAST Current Controlled Trials number, ISRCTN69856593.).
Assessment Skills for School Counselors

The counseling community has become more aware of ethical issues in testing. An American Counseling Association (ACA) statement titled Responsibilities of Users of Standardized Tests (RUST), published in 1978 and revised in 1989, urges awareness of differing purposes for testing and reminds us to consider the limitations of tests for any purpose and to evaluate the costs of not testing or using alternative methods of gathering the information needed.
Störung der Monozytenfunktion bei Diabetes mellitus Typ 1 und 2

Zusammenfassung Monozyten sind an der Hämostase, der Wundheilung und der Arteriogenese, d. h. der Bildung von Kollateralarterien, beteiligt. Diabetes mellitus ist mit einer Reihe zellulärer und molekularer Defekte vergesellschaftet. Jüngst veröffentlichte Daten zeigen, dass der Diabetes mellitus mit einer Störung der durch Wachstumsfaktor VEGF-A induzierbaren Monozytenmigration vergesellschaftet ist. Allerdings ist die Migrationsfähigkeit der Monozyten nicht generell aufgehoben, denn andere chemotaktische Stimuli wie das Tripeptid fMLP sind in der Lage, die Migration von Monozyten, die von Diabetikern isoliert wurden, zu stimulieren. Als molekulare Basis der Monozytendysfunktion bei Diabetikern wurde ein Signaltransduktionsdefekt postuliert, denn die VEGF-Rezeptor Kinase Flt-1 ist in diesen Monozyten intakt. Die Charakterisierung der Monozytendysfunktion erscheint für das Verständnis der Diabetes-mellitusassoziierten Krankheitsprozesse wichtig.
Conventional Chemotherapy: Problems and Scope for Combined Therapies with Certain Herbal Products and Dietary Supplements

Cancer, the dreadful disease, is one of the burning issues that need collective efforts to successfully combat and cure. Chemotherapy is one among many options like surgery, radiation therapy, targeted molecular therapy etc., which is widely used to successfully treat certain types of cancer, but its use is restricted for the adverse side-effects of most of the chemotherapeutic drugs. A comprehensive search by utilizing data from the Pubmed, Cochrane Library, Embase and ISI Web of Knowledge and some related books was made to gain insight into the modern trend of research to combat the obstacles that come in the way of waging a successful war against cancer. The toxic by-products of some chemotherapeutic drugs are deposited mainly in liver producing hepatotoxicity, leading to many side-effects like loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps and constipation, anemia, fatigue, hyperthermia, loss of hair etc. In this review, the benefits and problems of chemotherapy have been highlighted and the scope and obstacles of combined therapy with some biologically based complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) derived from certain herbal products and dietary supplements, plant extracts and their active components, and some of their nano-encapsulated forms have been discussed.
Surface Properties of Chitosan Films Modified with Polycations and Their Effects on the Behavior of PC12 Cells

A series of composite films were prepared by blending chitosan with three polycations, poly(L-lysine), polyethyleneimine, and poly-L-ornithine, in specific blend proportions. The surface properties of the composite films, including surface topography, chemistry, and wettability, were examined by atomic force microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and contact angle assay, respectively. For all composite films, blending with different polycations produced different nanoscaled surface topographical features (particles, granules, fibers, and islands) in addition to inducing changes in surface chemistry and wettability. PC12 cells were cultured on these composite films to evaluate the effects of surface properties on cell behavior. The PC12 cell behavior was holistically affected by surface topography, chemistry, and wettability; the cells also displayed responses to surface topography. On the surfaces with fiber topographic features, the PC12 cells exhibited significantly higher levels of adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation when compared to particle, granule, or island dominant surfaces. It appears that the surface topography of chitosan and chitosan-derived materials may play an important role in regulating nerve cell behavior and that topographic modification can be utilized for the applications of chitosan and chitosan-derived materials in nerve or other tissue regeneration.
Patient Safety Versus Negligence

Nursing is a profession of art and science that requires not only instructive training, but also perseverance and commitment towards clients and the organization to be served, which means to hold on all approved standards of care that are according to the professional code of conduct. However, most of the time nurses are accused for negligent act in clinical setting. Negligence is the failure to take the care that a reasonable nurse in similar circumstances would have taken ultimately results in harm. To avoid such claims, a nurse should value the legal principles of altruism, beneficence and non-malfeasance and should incorporate these codes into nursing practices. In Pakistan and other developing countries of Asia, the concepts of reporting misconducts are not much developed because of illiteracy and unawareness of such medico-legal issues in the population. An interesting case of such nursing misconduct is stated in this report.
Text mining comorbidity codes in the analysis of cardiopulmonary rehabilitation data.

TEXT MINING COMORBIDITY CODES IN THE ANALYSIS OF CARDIOPULMONARY REHABILITATION DATA Jennifer Ferrell Advisor: Dr. Caryn Thompson May 13, 2006 The purpose of this paper is to examine the process of text mining and using the results to show the possible benefits of cardiopulmonary rehabilitation. The 555 patients enrolled in the study were receiving inpatient cardiopulmonary rehabilitation. Each patient had comorbidity codes associated with them. These codes are secondary diagnoses to the cardiac or pulmonary event that resulted in their hospitalization. The patients had secondary conditions ranging in number from 1 to 10. The patients were assessed at admission and discharge for functional independence. Since there are numerous comorbidity codes for each patient, it would be difficult to analyze each one. Therefore, we can text mine these codes to create meaningful clusters to help in the analysis. This paper explains the process and theory of text mining and clustering. We use these results to perform statistical analysis to examine the benefits of cardiopulmonary rehabilitation.
An ecological approach to normativity

It is argued that normativity is an embodied and situated skill that resists explanation in terms of rule-following. Norms are dynamic and negotiable, and are understood in practice by engaging with others. Rules are a subclass of norms and have pragmatic functions, e.g., to impose norms and elucidate implicit normativity. The propositional articulation of norms is secondary to normativity. Norms can be explained within the framework of ecological psychology as a particular kind of affordance that enables actions to be directly understood as correct. This view entails that the niche of human beings is inherently normative. Finally, the ecological account of normativity is used to elucidate the notion of rulefollowing.
OMBMDID: A Preliminary Attempt at Automatic Utilization of Knowledge Contained in Mechanical Design Documents

Studies show that, in engineering design, above 70% of designer’s working time is spent on the searching of design documents and the execution of simple but repeating design tasks like looking up table, calculation, simple reasoning, etc. Can we develop a kind of intelligent design document to make these simple tasks done by computers instead of designers? For this purpose, by borrowing idea from the Semantic Web vision and employing ontology and multi-agent system (MAS) technologies, an architecture of Ontologyand MAS-Based Mechanical Design Intelligent Documents (OMBMDID), which can enable intelligent agents to locate needed document segments oriented by their content, grasp the knowledge contained in documents and put it into use automatically, is proposed. First, similar works are reviewed. Then, aiming at knowledge contained in mechanical design documents, semantic annotation granularity and semantic annotation categories are analyzed. On the basis of above works, the architecture of OMBMDID is proposed. In the end, by studying a case about a piece of shaft design document, the feasibility of this architecture is proved.
Virtual 3D World for Physics Experiments in Higher Education

E-learning software has the ability to enhance students performance significantly. The improvements in hardand software over the last decade enables developers to implement extendible real-time simulations to increase the learning effect. Not only e-learning software does benefit from the advancement of technology but also virtual worlds. Especially high-speed internet which is broadly available nowadays helps to build virtual 3D worlds with complex functionalities. Over the last view years e-learning research has discovered the potential of virtual worlds for its purpose. Within the teaching field it has several advantages over conventional “real-world” teaching. Stundents can connect to a teaching session from all over the world and use the provided virtual world functionality over long time periods. Time slots for groups of students can be used if a class with many students uses e-learning software within a virtual world. MIT’s TealSim physics simulation software aims to improve the students performance of well-visited courses as well. It does so by providing a wide range of simulations the students can study prior to the classes. Teachers can adopt the software by defining simulations specifically for their courses without sophisticated software development skills. To combine the advantages of the TealSim software and virtual worlds this work focuses on putting TealSim into such a 3D virtual world. This creates a collaborative learning environment with the potential to improve the students performance and to lower the teaching effort for teaching personal. During the implementation process the TealSim software was also improved by the means of software design to fit into the Open Wonderland virtual world.
Children's quality of life assessments: A review of generic and health related quality of life measures completed by children and adolescents

In recent years Quality of Life (QOL) measures for children and adolescents have been developed, initially for children with specific chronic illnesses, but more recently generic and Health-Related QOL (HRQOL) measures have been developed. This paper reviews the development of the concept of QOL and other related concepts. Problems in assessing QOL in children and young people are discussed. Six criteria by which the QOL measures for children and adolescents can be evaluated are given. Eight generic or HRQOL measures completed by children or adolescents are evaluated in some detail. Although psychometrically sound several measures do not have a good standardization sample to date, although many include child-generated questions. Environmental aspects of QOL and qualitative aspects are often missing. Many of the European measures have an English translation and most are in the process of being further developed to include different forms for different age groups and to include disease-specific sections. There is scope for the development of a new measure which covers all the criteria. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.