Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Oxide Single-Crystal Surfaces: A Playground for Self-assembled Oxide Nanostructures

The different (structural and chemical) properties of oxide single-crystal surfaces that can be exploited for the growth of self-assembled oxide nanostructures are briefly reviewed. A large variety of nanostructures can be obtained, controlled by surface and interface structure and chemistry, which play a predominant role in their formation mechanisms at this nanometer scale. It is reminded that surface atomic order, surface steps, chemical terminations or heteroepitaxial strain can be used to generate various nanostructures such as nanodots, nanowires, nanostripes, with controlled size, morphology and spatial ordering.
Prevention of suicide: aspirations and evidence

The Health of the Nation white paper set a target for 15% reduction in overall suicide rates by the year 2000. If the targets are to be achieved interventions must be identified which are of proved effectiveness. This paper examines the evidence on the available interventions and points of access to the population at risk. No single intervention has been shown in a well conducted randomised controlled trial to reduce suicide. The greatest potential seems to arise from limiting the availability of methods. In particular it is likely that the introduction of the catalytic convertor will lead to reduced lethality of care exhausts and reductions in suicide using this method. General practitioner education programmes, the effectiveness of lithium and maintenance antidepressants, and limits on the quantity of medicines available over the counter or on prescription should all be evaluated. Particular high risk groups include people recently discharged from psychiatric hospitals and those with a history of parasuicide. Many social processes affect suicide rates and these rather than specific interventions may help or hinder the ability to realise the Health of the Nation targets. Well conducted trials are essential to distinguish complex social processes from the effects of specific interventions for suicide prevention. This review of the available evidence offers little support for the aspiration that the posited targets can be achieved on the basis of current knowledge and current policy.
Microbial Control in Renal Support for Acute Kidney Injury

Renal support offers a lifeline for our patients with acute kidney injury but the decision to start it requires a careful evaluation of both its benefits and its risks. Among the latter must be included the threat from microorganisms. The hazards associated with vascular access are real, accepted but also reducible. We discuss the nature of the problem and measures that might reduce the risk. We also discuss a different potential hazard—that of bacterial contamination of the fluids used in our renal therapies. Although a well‐established fact of chronic hemodialysis practice, its scale and relevance in acute renal support has only just started to be defined.
Impact of the CYP2D6 Ultrarapid Metabolizer Genotype on Mirtazapine Pharmacokinetics and Adverse Events in Healthy Volunteers

Introduction: In vitro studies showed that biotransformation of the antidepressant drug mirtazapine is mediated by cytochrome P-450 enzymes CYP1A2, CYP2D6, and CYP3A4 with CYP2D6 contributing about 35% to total mirtazapine biotransformation. We hypothesized that ultrarapid metabolizers (defined as carriers of the CYP2D6 gene duplication plus another functional allele) have a risk for therapeutic failure due to too low tissue concentrations. Methods: Ten healthy male volunteers carrying 1 CYP2D6 duplication allele and 1 wild-type allele, 12 carriers of 2 CYP2D6 wild-type alleles and 3 carriers of 2 functionally inactive alleles received a single dose of 45 mg racemic mirtazapine and plasma concentrations were measured from 0 to 58 hours. Results: Median total clearance of racemic mirtazapine (Cl/F) was 20.1, 39.7, and 49.8 L/h in carriers of 0, 2, and 3 active genes of CYP2D6 (P = 0.002, trend test) and the median maximum plasma concentrations were 129, 159, and 76 μg/L in these 3 groups. The effects on maximal blood concentrations may indicate a contribution of CYP2D6 on mirtazapine first-pass metabolism. A trend with lower concentrations in the high-activity CYP2D6 genotypes was also seen for the active metabolite desmethylmirtazapine, but without any significance. Mirtazapine concentrations showed a significant correlation with diastolic and systolic blood pressure (P = 0.05) and the correlation was even stronger when taking total mirtazapine (mirtazapine plus desmethylmirtazapine, P = 0.03), but neither blood pressure nor heart rate effects were correlated with CYP2D6 genotype. Conclusions: Consistent with the in vitro data, the genetically polymorphic enzyme CYP2D6 contributed to about 25% of total clearance in carriers of only one active allele and up to 55% in the genetically defined ultrarapid metabolizers. But the effect of the CYP2D6 gene duplication was lower than expected and high CYP2D6 activity may only explain a very small fraction of the cases with therapeutic failure in treatment with mirtazapine.
Basins of attraction in a perceptron-like neural network

We st udy the perfor mance of a neu ral net work of the per­ cept ron typ e. We isolate two important set s of pa rameters which ren ­ der t he network fau lt tolerant (existence of large basins of attraction ) in both hetero-as sociative and auto-associative systems and study t he size of the bas ins of attraction (the maximal allowable noise level still ens uring recognition ) for sets of random patterns. The releva nce of ou r result s to t he pe rcept ron's ability t o gene ralize are pointed out, as is t he role of diagonal couplings in t he fully connected Hopfield model.
International standardization of diagnostic criteria for vasospastic angina

The Coronary Vasomotion Disorders International Study Group (COVADIS) was established to develop international standards for the diagnostic criteria of coronary vasomotor disorders. The first symposium held on the 4-5 September 2013 addressed the criteria for vasospastic angina, which included the following (i) nitrate-responsive angina, (ii) transient ischaemic electrocardiogram changes, and (iii) documented coronary artery spasm. Adoption of these diagnostic criteria will improve the clinical diagnosis of this condition and facilitate research in this field.
Enzyme polymorphism in Endotrypanum and numerical analysis of isoenzyme data

SUMMARY In this study, we have analysed enzyme polymorphism among a group of protozoan parasites of the genus Endotrypanum (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatidae). Seventeen stocks of Endotrypanum spp. isolated from sloths (Choloepus didactylus and C. juruanus) in the Amazon Region of Brazil were analysed by enzyme electrophoresis, and their electromorphic profiles were compared with reference strains reported previously. The 16 enzymic loci were analysed, and the strains were classified into zymodemes, each representing parasites with unique enzyme profiles. Each zymodeme was considered as an elementary taxon, and using numerical analyses (cladistic, agglomerative hierarchical and ordination techniques) the genus was shown to be monophyletic and the 12 zymodemes characterized could be divided into 3 groups (A, B, C). The heterogeneous population (which may represent a complex of parasite species or strains variants) showed, however, no correlation with the origin (i.e. host species involved or geographic area of isolation) of Endotrypanum stocks. Eight isolates of Endotrypanum sp. from Rondonia State (Brazil) and a parasite strain from Panama were clustered together into a zymodeme, which was phenetically closely related to the E. monterogeii from Costa Rica. The data indicate that E. schaudinni is a species complex.
Effect of Exercise on Parotid Fluid Corticosteroids and Electrolytes

It has been demonstrated that the functional status of the human adrenal cortex, as measured by serum corticosteroid levels, also may be determined from similar measurements in parotid fluid.1-5 The parallel is such that parotid fluid steroid levels may be substituted for serum determinations in the diagnosis of adrenocortical disease.67 It also has been reported that adrenocortical insufficiency results in an increased salivary Na/K ratio. Salminen and Konttinen9 recently reported a significant increase in the Na/K ratio of freely flowing mixed saliva during exercise, based primarily on an 87 percent increase in sodium concentration. The present study was designed to ascertain if such a change in electrolyte concentration represented an alteration in adrenocortical function brought about by exercise. It explores the effects of forced-march exercise on body weight, pulse rate, parotid flow rate, and the levels of free 1 7-hydroxycorticosteroids (17-OHCS), sodium, potassium, and chloride in parotid fluid.
Load Balanced Clustering With MIMO Uploading Technique for Mobile Data Gathering in Wireless Sensor Networks

A three-layer framework is proposed for mobile data collection in wireless sensor networks, which contains the sensor layer, cluster head layer, and mobile collector (called SenCar) layer. The framework works distributed load balanced clustering and multiple data uploading, which is called as LBC-MIMO. The objective is to achieve good scalability, long network lifetime and low data collection latency. At the sensor layer, a distributed load balanced clustering (LBC) algorithm is proposed for sensors to self-organize themselves into clusters. In contrast to existing clustering methods, our scheme generates multiple cluster heads in each cluster to balance the work load and facilitate dual data uploading. At the cluster head layer, the intercluster transmission range is carefully chosen to guarantee the connectivity among the clusters. Multiple cluster heads within a cluster cooperate with each other to perform energy-saving inter-cluster communications. Through inter-cluster transmissions, cluster head information is forwarded to SenCar for its moving trajectory planning. At the mobile collector layer, SenCar is equipped with two antennas, which enables two cluster heads to concurrently upload data to SenCar in each time by using multi-user multiple-input and multiple-output (MU-MIMO) technique. The trajectory planning for SenCar is optimized to fully use dual data uploading capability by properly choosing polling points in each cluster. By visiting each selected polling point, SenCar can efficiently gather data from cluster heads and transport the data to the static data sink. Extensive simulations are conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed LBC-MIMO scheme. The results show that when each cluster has at most two cluster heads, LBC-MIMOachieves over 50 percent energy-saving per node and 60 percent energy saving on cluster heads comparing with data collection through multi-hop relay to the static data sink, and 20 percent shorter data collection time compared to modern mobile data gathering.
Response to Marchese et al.

TO THE EDITOR: We read with great interest a randomized controlled trial by Sotoudehmanesh et al. (1) titled “Indomethacin May Reduce the Incidence and Severity of Acute Pancreatitis After ERCP” that has been published in the recent issue of the Journal. The authors concluded that rectal indomethacin given right before endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) can reduce the incidence and severity of post-ERCP pancreatitis (PEP). However, before incorporating this inexpensive, easily available nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) into our clinical practice for PEP prevention, several issues need further clarification: (a) It had been pointed out from a prospective large sample study that only individuals with serum amylase levels fivefold the normal upper limits and persistent pancreaticlike pain for 24 h after ERCP strongly suggest possibility of PEP (2); however, the authors stated that besides the 2-h measurement, serum amylase was repeated the next morning, and it is not clear what the exact time interval was. This may cast some doubt on the accuracy of the diagnosis of PEP in this study. (b) In the Methods section, the authors claimed subgroup analysis was used to evaluate the effect of indomethacin related to different variables. Notwithstanding, due to the lack of relevant information, it is not clear whether these subgroup analyses were ad hoc or post hoc. If these subgroup analyses were performed retrospectively, it should be considered as “fishing” for positive results, and the results from subgroup analyses should be treated with caution (3). (c) No explanation was provided as to why none of the sphincter of Oddi dysfunction (SOD) patients developed PEP, which is contrary to most other reported trials, with PEP incidence of up to 24% for patients with suspicious SOD (4). (d) They found that pancreatic duct injection, pancreatic duct cannulation more than once, and age less than 60 yr were significant risk factors for developing PEP. Certainly, it is convenient to perform a univariate analysis for exploration of each variable’s influence on the primary outcome; nonetheless, up to now, available evidence suggests that the incidence of PEP was not determined by any single factor. Thus, a multivariate statistical analysis with logistic regression allowing estimation of the influence of covariates on the incidence of PEP seems more appropriate. To summarize, this study suggests indomethacin may be an attractive pharmacotherapy for the prevention of PEP because it is inexpensive, universally available, and relatively safe. Clarification on some raised concerns will better our understanding of the mystery of PEP and its pharmacotherapy prevention. Yu Bai, M.D. Duowu Zou, M.D. Zhaoshen Li, M.D.
Birth weight and risk of cardiovascular disease in a cohort of women followed up since 1976

Abstract Objective: To examine the association between birth weight and non-fatal adult cardiovascular disease while controlling for potential confounders such as socioeconomic group and adult lifestyle. Design: Retrospective self report of birth weight in an ongoing longitudinal cohort of nurses followed up by postal questionnaire every two years. Setting: Nurses' health study, a cohort of 121 700 women followed up since 1976. Main outcome measures: Non-fatal cardiovascular disease, including myocardial infarction, coronary revascularisation, and stroke. Results: Among the 70 297 women free of cardiovascular disease at baseline who reported birth weight in the 1992 questionnaire there were 1309 first cases of non-fatal cardiovascular disease. Increasing birth weight was associated with decreasing risk of non-fatal cardiovascular disease. There were 1216 first cases of non-fatal cardiovascular disease among women who were singletons and had been born full term; their relative risks adjusted for several cardiovascular risk factors were 1.49 (95% confidence interval 1.05 to 2.10) for birth weight <2268 g (<5 lb 0 oz); 1.25 (0.98 to 1.61) for birth weight 2268-2495 g (5 lb 0 oz to 5 lb 8 oz); 1.12 (0.98 to 1.27) for birth weight >2495-3175 g (>5 lb 8 oz to 7 lb 0 oz); 1.00 (referent) for birth weight >3175-3856 g (>7 lb 0 oz to 8 lb 8 oz); 0.96 (0.80 to 1.15) for birth weight >3856-4536 g (>8 lb 8 oz to 10 lb 0 oz); and 0.68 (0.46 to 1.00) for birth weight >4536 g (>10 lb 0 oz) (P value for trend=0.0004). The inverse trend was apparent for both coronary heart disease and stroke. Conclusions: These data provide strong evidence of an association between birth weight and adult coronary heart disease and stroke. Key messages Birth weight and mortality from cardiovascular disease are inversely associated in adult women This study found that birth weight and the risk of non-fatal cardiovascular disease is also inversely associated in adult women for both coronary heart disease and stroke This association is driven by the 13% of women born at the extremes of birth weight It seems to be largely independent of established cardiovascular risk factors also associated with birth weight: adult body weight, hypertension, and diabetes It is not weakened by controlling for childhood socioeconomic group or adjusting for adult lifestyle
Diastolic Ventricular Dysfunction in Noncomplicated Acute Myocardial Infarction: The Influence of Gallopamil

The goal of this study was to assess the effect of gallopamil on left ventricular (LV) diastolic function early after acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Gallopamil was compared with placebo and atenolol in two different groups of patients. Study patients, 2 days after experiencing their first AMI, in Killip class I and stable sinus rhythm, were randomized in a crossover, double-blind sequence to receive (a) gallopamil (50 (μg/kg over 5 min) or placebo (i.v. 10-ml bolus, with a time interval of 90 min); and (b) gallopamil (50 μg/kg over 5 min) or atenolol (5 mg over 5 min), with a time interval of 24 h. Group I and group II consisted of 28 patients (26 men and 2 women; mean age 55 ± 9 years) and of 14 patients (13 men and 1 woman; mean age 56 ± 10 years), respectively. All the patients were treated with thrombolysis within 6 h from the onset of symptoms. Doppler echocardio-graphic examinations were performed as follows: at baseline (B) and 15 min after administration of gallopamil bolus and placebo bolus, in group I; at baseline before gallopamil (BG) and atenolol (BA), and 15 min after each bolus in group II. The following echo-Doppler parameters were calculated, at each examination: the early and late transmitral peak velocity ratio (E/A), the early and late velocity integral ratio (Ei/Ai), the peak filling rate normalized to mitral stroke volume (nMPFR), and the LV is ovolumic relaxation time (IVRT), which was normalized to an 800-ms R-R cycle length in the patients in group II. Mean blood pressure (MBP) and heart rate (HR) were also measured. No patients developed electrical or mechanical complications, but two patients in group I, in whom first and second Mobitz first-degree atrioventricular block lasted only a few minutes were observed. These two patients were excluded from the study. Expressing data as mean ± SEM, E/A, Ei/Ai, and nMPFR increased after gallopamil, when compared with values for placebo in group I (1.1 ± 0.1 vs. 0.8 ± 0.1, 1.5 ± 0.1 vs. 1.1 ± 0.1, 3.9 ± 0.2 vs. 3.2 ± 0.1, respectively, p < 0.001), and with BG values in group II (1.2 ± 0.1 vs. 0.9 ± 0.1, 1.8 ± 0.2 vs. 1.3 ± 0.2, 3.9 ± 0.3 vs. 3.5 ± 0.3, respectively, p < 0.01). IVRT was shortened by gallopamil in both groups (97 ± 3 vs. 116 ± 3, in group I; 89 ± 4 vs. 116 ± 4, in group II, p < 0.001). Atenolol was associated with only a slight increase of E/A. However, the magnitude of the change of E/A induced by atenolol was much smaller than that observed after administration of gallopamil (11.8% vs. 27.8%, p < 0.01). MBP and HR showed only a slight decrease after administration of gallopamil. A greater decrease of HR was observed after atenolol administration. In conclusion, our data suggest that gallopamil administration improves echo-Doppler LV filling parameters, with only trivial changes of loading conditions, in patients with noncomplicated AMI, suggesting a possible favorable effect on LV diastolic function. On the other hand, atenolol appears to have slight or no influences on LV diastole.
Functional zonation of the adrenal cortex: site of ACTH action.

When ACTH or corticotropin-peptides were added to the incubation media of beef adrenal slices composed chiefly of glomerulosa tissue they did not significantly affect the total production of corticosteroids nor that of aldosterone. The same corticotropin preparations markedly increased the production of total corticosteroids and of hydrocortisone in the incubation media of slices composed of fasciculata-reticularis cells. In the presence of fasciculata-reticularis slices, ACTH promoted the conversion of cholesterol to hydrocortisone. In the presence of glomerulosa slices, ACTH neither promoted the conversion of cholesterol to aldosterone nor did it increase the conversion of 21-hydroxypregnenolone and progesterone to aldosterone.
Pharmacokinetics and safety of oral administration of meloxicam to foals.

BACKGROUND The pharmacokinetics, efficacy, and safety of meloxicam have been evaluated in adult horses, but not foals. Physiologic differences between neonates and adults might alter drug pharmacokinetics and therapeutic index. HYPOTHESES The pharmacokinetics of meloxicam will be different in foals compared with adult horses, and foals could be at increased risk for adverse drug effects. ANIMALS Twenty lightbreed foals less than 6 weeks of age at commencement of the study. METHODS Single and repeated oral dose pharmacokinetics were determined for meloxicam (0.6 mg/kg) in 10 foals. The safety of the drug was further evaluated in a 2nd group of 10 foals in a randomized blinded prospective study. RESULTS Plasma concentrations after a single oral dose of meloxicam (0.6 mg/kg) and time to maximum plasma concentration were similar to adult horses. However, drug clearance was much more rapid in foals (elimination half-life 2.48 ± 0.25 hours). Administration of 0.6 mg/kg every 12 hours was well tolerated by foals for up to 3 weeks, with no evidence of drug accumulation in plasma. Adverse effects observed in adult horses at higher dose rates were not observed in foals given 1.8 mg/kg twice daily for 7 days. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE Meloxicam at an oral dose rate of 0.6 mg/kg every 12 hours provided plasma concentrations likely to be therapeutic. In contrast to findings for other NSAIDs, foals appeared more resilient to the adverse effects of this drug than was observed in adult horses.
Structure and Function of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Sir3 BAH Domain

ABSTRACT Previous work has shown that the N terminus of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Sir3 protein is crucial for the function of Sir3 in transcriptional silencing. Here, we show that overexpression of N-terminal fragments of Sir3 in strains lacking the full-length protein can lead to some silencing of HML and HMR. Sir3 contains a BAH (bromo-adjacent homology) domain at its N terminus. Overexpression of this domain alone can lead to silencing as long as Sir1 is overexpressed and Sir2 and Sir4 are present. Overexpression of the closely related Orc1 BAH domain can also silence in the absence of any Sir3 protein. A previously characterized hypermorphic sir3 mutation, D205N, greatly improves silencing by the Sir3 BAH domain and allows it to bind to DNA and oligonucleosomes in vitro. A previously uncharacterized region in the Sir1 N terminus is required for silencing by both the Sir3 and Orc1 BAH domains. The structure of the Sir3 BAH domain has been determined. In the crystal, the molecule multimerizes in the form of a left-handed superhelix. This superhelix may be relevant to the function of the BAH domain of Sir3 in silencing.
Severe Asthma: Moving from Phenotype to Endotype Classification with Updates on Treatment

Asthma has classically been categorized into several phenotypes to address the complexities of this disease. However, phenotypes only cover the clinically relevant aspects of the disease, but do not address the relationship between the disease and its etiology and pathophysiology. This led to the development of the term “endotypes” which links key pathogenic mechanisms with asthma phenotypes, and ultimately leads to better selection of treatment resulting in improved response. Although the exact pathogenesis of asthma is still under investigation, targeted-therapy based on asthma phenotypes and endotypes has shown some success, and the future appears promising for patients suffering from severe asthma since treatment is being tailored according to individual biology. We review in this manuscript the best evidence and updates currently available in the classification and treatment recommendations for severe asthma.