Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A hard road: finding ways to reduce teen tobacco use

In 1986, when Surgeon General C Everett Koop challenged the nation to create a smoke free society by the turn of the century, the focus was on creating a “smoke free class of 2000”—children who would go from first grade to high school without ever smoking a cigarette.1 In 1990, when the African American community opposed the introduction of Uptown Cigarettes, a brand that RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company had designed for African Americans, the battle cry was that the tobacco company was coming after black kids. That threat galvanised the African American community.2 In the mid 1990s when David Kessler, head of the US Food and Drug Administration, began his quest for approval to regulate nicotine in cigarettes, he marshalled support by calling smoking a “pediatric disease” because smoking typically begins in late childhood or early adolescence.3 The recent FDA effort to curb teen smoking has been called “ . the most important public health initiative of our generation”. 4 It is easy to garner public support for youth focused anti-smoking projects. No one wants kids to smoke. Polls show that smokers support programmes to keep children and teens from getting hooked on cigarettes and other tobacco products.5 Even tobacco companies have climbed on the bandwagon, spending millions in anti-smoking advertising campaigns, allegedly directed at dissuading youth.6 Yet, for an issue that has such support, the scorecard is quite dismal. In 1998, more than one third of high school seniors surveyed said they had smoked a cigarette in the previous 30 days.7 In many ways, the dreams of a “smoke free class of 2000” have gone up in smoke. What happened? The easy answer is that the tobacco companies, for all their rhetoric, kept targeting children. A 1994 report found that 86% of …
Antimicrobial resistance of Streptococcus pneumoniae recovered from outpatients in the United States during the winter months of 1994 to 1995: results of a 30-center national surveillance study

A total of 1,527 clinically significant outpatient isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae were prospectively collected in 30 different U.S. medical centers between November 1994 and April 1995. Overall, 23.6% of strains were not susceptible to penicillin, with 14.1% intermediate and 9.5% high-level resistant. The frequencies of recovery of intermediate and high-level resistant strains varied considerably between different medical centers and in different geographic areas. In general, intermediate and high-level penicillin resistance was most common with isolates of S. pneumoniae recovered from pediatric patients. The in vitro activities of 22 other antimicrobial agents were assessed against this collection of isolates. Ampicillin was consistently 1 twofold dilution less active than penicillin. Amoxicillin and amoxicillin-clavulanate were essentially equivalent to penicillin in activity. The rank order of activity for cephalosporins was cefotaxime = ceftriaxone > or = cefpodoxime > or = cefuroxime > cefprozil > or = cefixime > cefaclor = loracarbef > cefadroxil = cephalexin. The National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards [Performance Standards for Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing, Sixth Information Supplement (M100-S6), 1995] has established MIC breakpoints for resistance (i.e., > or = 2 micrograms/ml) with three cephalosporins versus S. pneumoniae, namely, cefotaxime, ceftriaxone, and cefuroxime. The overall percentages of strains resistant to these three antimicrobial agents were 3, 5, and 12, respectively. The overall frequency of resistance was 10% with all three macrolides examined in this study, clarithromycin, erythromycin, and azithromycin. The overall percentages of chloramphenicol, tetracycline, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole resistance were 4.3, 7.5, and 18, respectively. The resistance percentages among the cephalosporins, macrolides, chloramphenicol, tetracycline, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole were consistently higher among penicillin-intermediate strains than among susceptible isolates and even higher still among organisms expressing high-level penicillin resistance. Multiply resistant strains represented 9.1% of the organisms examined in this study. Finally, rifampin resistance was uncommon (i.e., 0.5%), and vancomycin resistance was not detected. The quinopristin-dalfopristin combination was consistently active at concentrations of 0.25 to 4 micrograms/ml, but rates of resistance could not be determined in the absence of established interpretive criteria for MIC results.
Congenital Thrombocytopenia with Giant Platelets: a Defect in the Platelet Membrane

Three patients with congenital macrothrombocytic thrombocytopenia are described. The platelets had a reduced electrophoretic mobility, and the content of sialic acid was also abnormally low, suggesting a defect in the platelet membrane. Platelets were rapidly removed from the circulation, possibly because the platelet membrane defect was associated with reduced electrostatic repulsive forces.
Genetics of anxiety disorders: the complex road from DSM to DNA

Anxiety disorders are among the most common psychiatric disorders, affecting one in four individuals over a lifetime. Although our understanding of the etiology of these disorders is incomplete, familial and genetic factors are established risk factors. However, identifying the specific casual genes has been difficult. Within the past several years, advances in molecular and statistical genetic methods have made the genetic dissection of complex disorders a feasible project. Here we provide an overview of these developments, with a focus on their implications for genetic studies of anxiety disorders. Although the genetic and phenotypic complexity of the anxiety disorders present formidable challenges, advances in neuroimaging and experimental animal models of anxiety and fear offer important opportunities for discovery. Real progress in identifying the genetic basis of anxiety disorders will require integrative approaches that make use of these biologic tools as well as larger‐scale genomic studies. If successful, such efforts may yield novel and more effective approaches for the prevention and treatment of these common and costly disorders. Depression and Anxiety, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Genome Sequence of Pasteurella multocida subsp. gallicida Anand1_poultry

ABSTRACT We report the finished and annotated genome sequence of Pasteurella multocida gallicida strain Anand1_poultry, which was isolated from the liver of a diseased adult female chicken. The strain causes a disease called “fowl cholera,” which is a contagious disease in birds. We compared it with the published genome sequence of Pasteurella multocida Pm70.
The effect of sildenafil citrate administration on selected physiological parameters of exercising Thoroughbred horses.

REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDY Sildenafil, a phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitor vasodilator, increases cGMP concentrations by inhibiting enzymatic degradation. Marketed to treat erectile dysfunction in men, it also reduces pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP). Because it reduces PAP, sildenafil may enhance performance and/or prevent exercise induced-pulmonary haemorrhage (EIPH). OBJECTIVE To determine if sildenafil citrate administration altered commonly measured indices of performance or reduced EIPH in exercised horses. METHODS Thirteen athletically conditioned Thoroughbred horses (2 mares and 11 geldings, age 3-12 years) were administered sildenafil citrate or placebo in 2 crossover design exercise testing studies. In a step-wise test to exhaustion, inspired/expired gas analysis, blood lactate, heart rate, runtime and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cytology were measured. In a 13 m/s test to exhaustion, blood lactate, heart rate, runtime, BAL cytology and pulmonary arterial pressure were measured. Data were analysed with paired and unpaired t tests, one-way ANOVA and Tukey's pair-wise multiple comparison and Friedman repeated measure analysis of variance on ranks. RESULTS The administration of sildenafil did not alter mean inspired/expired gas measurements, plasma lactate concentrations or acute pulmonary haemorrhage in either exercise test or pulmonary arterial pressure measurement in the 13 m/s trial. Heart rates in both stress tests were significantly different at submaximal speeds and during the early recovery period. Run time was not affected by sildenafil administration in the step-wise trial (P = 0.622) or in the 13 m/s trial (P = 0.059). CONCLUSIONS Sildenafil did not alleviate pulmonary haemorrhage or enhance performance-related indices in these trials. Sildenafil administration altered cardiovascular adaptation to intense exercise as evidenced by altered heart rates at submaximal speeds and post exercise. The effect of these alterations on other performance perimeters was not evident.
Superfluidité et localisation quantique dans les condensats de Bose-Einstein unidimensionnels

Cette these presente une etude theorique des proprietes de transport d'un condensat unidimensionnel en presence de desordre. La coherence de phase, le desordre et les interactions induisent une competition entre le caractere superfluide d'un condensat et la suppression du transport par effets d'interferences destructives. En premier lieu, nous avons etudie une configuration experimentalement pertinente, a savoir les oscillations dipolaires d'un condensat en presence d'impuretes. L'amortissement de celles-ci s'avere n'avoir aucune relation avec la localisation d'Anderson et s'explique en terme d'emission d'excitations elementaires. Des comparaisons avec des experiences recentes appuient ce scenario general. Ensuite, nous avons etudie la vitesse critique d'un superfluide en presence d'un potentiel desordonne. Un lien explicite avec des problemes de statistiques de valeurs extremes est donne, permettant ainsi de determiner la distribution de probabilite de la vitesse critique, en accord quantitatif avec des simulations numeriques. Nous avons montre d'autre part que la localisation d'Anderson n'est possible que dans un certain regime de parametres. La longueur de localisation y est affectee par les interactions et les correlations du potentiel aleatoire. Enfin, nous avons etudie la localisation par un potentiel bichromatique et explique celle-ci de maniere semi-classique. Nous a vons ainsi montre la difference profonde entre cette derniere et celle induite par un potentiel purement aleatoire.
Hypomelanosis of Ito and Moyamoya Disease

Moyamoya disease is a cerebrovascular disease characterized by stenosis and occlusion of the arteries of the circle of Willis, with abnormal telangiectatic collateral circulation at the base of the brain. An association between moyamoya disease and neurofibromatosis 1, a neurocutanoeus disorder, is well established in the literature. However, its association with other neurocutaneous syndromes is infrequently reported. Hypomelanosis of Ito, another neurocutaneous syndrome, is characterized by macular hypopigmented skin whorls and variable neurologic involvement. Only one case study of an association between hypomelanosis of Ito and moyamoya disease has been reported in the English literature. We report a 17-year-old girl with both hypomelanosis of Ito and angiographic moyamoya disease. She presented with intractable seizures, progressive left hemiparesis, and skin manifestations of hypomelanosis of Ito. Although one might consider a coincidental association, this second case points to an association between the two disorders. Detailed neuroimaging, in particular angiography, should be considered in children with hypomelanosis of Ito and abnormal neurologic findings. ( J Child Neurol 2005;20:924—926).
CSF drains directly from the subarachnoid space into nasal lymphatics in the rat. Anatomy, histology and immunological significance

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) drainage pathways from the rat brain were investigated by the injection of 50 μl Indian ink into the cisterna magna. The distribution of the ink, as it escaped from the cranial CSF space, was documented in 2 mm thick slices of brain and skull cleared in cedar wood oil and in decalcified paraffin sections. Following injection of the ink, deep cervical lymph nodes were selectively blackened within 30 min and lumbar para‐aortic nodes within 6 h. Within the cranial cavity, carbon particles accumulated in the basal cisterns but were also distributed in the paravascular spaces around the middle cerebral arteries and the nasal‐olfactory artery. Carbon particles in the subarachnoid space beneath the olfactory bulbs drained directly into discrete channels which passed through the cribriform plate and into lymphatics in the nasal submucosa. Although ink was distributed along the subarachnoid space of the optic nerves and entered the cochlea, the nasal route was the only direct connection between cranial CSF and lymphatics. Arachnoid villi associated with superior and inferior sagittal sinuses were identified and a minor amount of drainage of ink into dural lymphatics was also observed. This study demonstrates the direct drainage of cerebrospinal fluid through the cribriform plate in anatomically defined channels which connect with the nasal lymphatics. Such a pathway is compatible with the observed rapidity of the bulk flow drainage of CSF in the rat, accords with the known specificity of immunological reactions to antigens injected into brain tissue, and may also serve as a route for drainage for lymphocytes and macrophages from the brain to the regional cervical lymph nodes.
CEDRE : un modèle pour une représentation multi-points de vue dans les bases d'objets. (CEDAR: a model for a multi-viewpoints representation in object bases)

Cette these s'inscrit dans le domaine des modeles a objets pour les bases de donnees. Notre etude est inspiree de travaux en representation de connaissances et des mecanismes de vues dans les systemes de gestion de bases de donnees. Notre but est de rendre le schema d'une base, une specification qui tienne compte de plusieurs points de vue. Le schema d'une base est alors une representation multiple du domaine de discours. Dans ce cadre, nous proposons le modele de donnees CEDRE, ou la representation multiple consiste a conferer a un meme phenomene, d'une part, une representation de base qui est le referentiel et d'autre part, des representations partielles telles que chacune est relative a un point de vue. Ayant le souci de permettre une liberte de specification des differentes representations d'une meme entite, nous avons rendu la representation multiple decentralisee. Cette decentralisation consiste a repartir les differentes representations dans des morceaux, qu'on appelle des entites-vue. Afin de permettre une visibilite entre les representations partielles, nous avons defini des relations qui permettent le partage d'informations entre des points de vue. Nous proposons egalement une etude de la coherence de la representation multiple. A l'issue de cette etude, nous proposons une typologie des contraintes ainsi qu'un langage d'expressions de contraintes, propre a un modele a objets avec points de vue, tel que CEDRE. Nous distinguons entre deux types de contraintes : les contraintes intra-points de vue qui expriment une coherence au sein d'une representation et independamment des autres, et les contraintes inter-points de vue qui expriment une compatibilite et une interaction entre deux ou plusieurs representations. Le prototype realise sous Smalltalk-80 integre l'ensemble des fonctionnalites evoquees ci-dessus, et valide notre proposition sur une application de CAO en architecture.
Mycophenolic acid attenuates the tumour necrosis factor‐α‐mediated proinflammatory response in endothelial cells by blocking the MAPK/NF‐κB and ROS pathways

Mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) has beneficial effects in cardiac transplant patients beyond the suppression of tissue rejection. Moreover, mycophenolic acid (MPA), its active metabolite, has been associated with positive effects on atherosclerosis in animal models. The attachment of leukocytes to the vascular endothelium and the subsequent migration of these cells into the vessel wall are early events in inflammation and atherosclerosis. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of MPA on tumour necrosis‐α (TNF‐α)‐induced, endothelial cell proinflammatory responses and the underlying mechanisms.
High Efficiency Solar Cells via Tuned Superlattice Structures: Beyond 42.2%

Modern PV devices are a direct outcome of solid state devices theory and applications of the last forty years. They are devices made of crystalline structures and basically, when illuminated with solar light, they convert solar photons into electric current. In the following a quick explanation of how this happens is presented. What is a solar cell? What is the basic function behind a cell’s operation? Typically, in an illuminated p-n junction, photons are absorbed and electron-hole pairs are generated. These carriers diffuse in opposite directions (separated by the existing electrostatic field at the junction), and within their respective diffusion lengths. Electrons at the p-side diffuse through the junction potential and holes (similarly) get to the opposite directions. Under open-circuit conditions, the voltage across the cell is given by the following formula:
Vector Precoding Scheme for Multi-User MIMO Systems

In this paper, the performance of vector precoding in multiple input multiple output broadcast channels (MIMO BC) is investigated and compared with other channel decomposition techniques utilized for implementing zero forcing (ZF) preceding. It is a known result that ZF precoding requires pseudo inversion of the channel matrix, where this operation is only optimum when the transmitter power is unconstrained. The problem when the transmitter is subject to average or maximum power constraints is well known, where results published have indicated that ZF precoding approaches the maximum capacity bound if the dimensionality of the system is greater than the number of transmitter antennas. A vector precoding technique for MIMO BC channels is investigated in this paper where pseudo inversion is circumvented by employing joint co-operation between transmitter and receiver for all users. This technique adopts a time scheduling approach to service the users which facilitates decentralized multi-user detection at the receiver. This approach yields an improvement to the bit error rate probability by approximately an order of magnitude as compared to the ZF approach utilizing other channel decomposition techniques. The scheme also enables an increase in the capacity of the MIMO BC, with less computational complexity as compared to the techniques employing Moore-Penrose pseudo inverse.
Elevated factor VIII in hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT): Association with venous thromboembolism

Summary Hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) causes chronic nasal and gastrointestinal haemorrhage. Prothrombotic agents are commonly used for severe haemorrhage. Thrombotic risks have not been defined. In order to identify prothrombotic variables in HHT patients, and assess their potential functional significance, a pilot ELISA-based study comparing plasma proteins in healthy individuals with HHT to age/sex-matched non-HHT controls was validated in a full study of 309 consecutive HHTaffected individuals. In the pilot study, factor VIII (FVIII) and von Willebrand factor antigen concentrations were elevated in the HHT group compared to non-HHT controls (p<0.0013, Mann- Whitney). Service laboratory measurements confirmed high FVIII:Ag in 125 HHT-affected individuals with no recent illhealth, intervention or venous thromboemboli. FVIII:Ag levels increased with age. Logistic regression also suggested an age-independent association with HHT-associated pulmonary arteriovenous malformations (AVMs). No association was demonstrated between FVIII:Ag and acute phase response, disseminated intravascular coagulation, ABO group, pulmonary artery pressure, or markers of HHT haemorrhage. Elevated FVIII:Ag were associated with shortened activated partial thromboplastin times (APTTs), andVTE:VTE affected 20/309 (6.5%) HHT-affected individuals, at median age 61(36–71) years. Four VTE occurred in factorV Leiden heterozygotes in the months following PAVM-associated brain abscess. The strongest association with VTE was with log-transformed FVIII:Ag measured 10–132 months from VTE (odds ratio 2.41, 95% confidence intervals 1.254, 4.612, p=0.008). Age made no additional contribution to VTE risk once adjusted for FVIII:Ag. In conclusion, HHT-related elevation of FVIII:Ag levels may influence thrombotic risk in HHT. Individualised risk-benefit considerations may be helpful in HHT management.
The Impact of the Yogyakarta Idiosyncrasy Fund on the Tourism Sector in Yogyakarta

The Law Number 13 issued in 2012 (known as the Yogyakarta Idiosyncrasy Law) stated that Yogyakarta has special authorities that differ from other provinces in Indonesia. To maintain those specialties, according to the law, the Government of the Republic of Indonesia has to allocate special budget (known as the Idiosyncrasy Fund) as a part of the national budget. Initially assigned for developing the cultural sector as the uniqueness of Yogyakarta, other sectors having appropriate relation to cultural development could access the fund as well, including the tourism sector. This study aims to evaluate the impact of the fund on the tourism sector in Yogyakarta which is proxied by the hotel occupancy rate. For evaluating the impact, the difference in differences (DID) approach was utilized in this study along with the panel data of 22 provinces in Indonesia. The findings suggested that the Idiosyncrasy Fund impacts the tourism sector in Yogyakarta positively significantly. Indeed, this study is not without limitations, and further studies are necessary to reveal more specific and accurate results.
Neurocognitive outcomes: the year in review

Purpose of review This review is a survey of the recent literature investigating the etiology and the relative incidence of postoperative neurological and cognitive dysfunction after cardiac surgery. Recent findings Several studies reviewed here have employed transcranial Doppler for detection of cerebral emboli and compared results between patients undergoing beating-heart versus conventional cardiopulmonary bypass. A transcranial Doppler device ostensibly discriminating between particulate and gaseous emboli has additionally been employed, yet despite a consistently lower incidence of cerebral emboli associated with avoidance of cardiopulmonary bypass, several groups have reported similar incidences of cognitive dysfunction across these procedures, suggesting other, potentially more important, factors. Two recent studies have focused on the hazards associated with perioperative anemia in both infants and older patients, and which can result in developmental delay or profound changes in cerebral blood flow. A further study has identified an adverse interaction with postoperative hypoxia. The use of intraortic filtration for capture and removal of particulate macroemboli has been associated with a reduction in the incidence of clinically apparent central-nervous-system injury and should be further investigated. Several other studies identify pre-existing levels of central-nervous-system impairment prior to surgery, underscoring the confounding issues introduced by the failure to include a non-surgical comparator group. Summary While further evidence of cerebral embolization continues to accrue, several studies suggest that other factors may be of equal or greater importance in cognitive dysfunction. Further investigations into the role of perioperative anemia, co-incident hypoxemia and other aspects of perioperative care, e.g. hyperglycemia and postoperative hyperthermia, are warranted. Abbreviations CABG: coronary artery bypass graft; CNS: central nervous system; SjvO2: jugular venous oxygen saturation.