Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Safety of switching from vitamin K antagonists to dabigatran or rivaroxaban in daily care--results from the Dresden NOAC registry.

AIM Vitamin-K antagonists (VKA) and non-vitamin-K dependent oral anticoagulants (NOAC) have been approved for anticoagulation in venous thromboembolism (VTE) and atrial fibrillation and patients previously treated with VKA are switched to NOAC therapy. Safety data for this switching are urgently needed. METHODS Using data from a large regional prospective registry of daily care NOAC patients, we evaluated the safety of switching anticoagulation from VKA to dabigatran or rivaroxaban. Switching procedures and cardiovascular and bleeding events occurring within 30 days after switching were centrally adjudicated. RESULTS Between 1 October 2011 and 18 June 2013, 2231 patients were enrolled. Of these, 716 patients were switched from VKA to NOAC. Only 410 of the 546 evaluable patients (75.1%) had a recorded INR measurement within the 10 days preceding or following the end of VKA treatment (mean INR 2.4). As of day 30, major bleeding complications were rare (0.3%; 95% CI 0.0, 1.0) with an overall bleeding rate of 12.2% (95% CI 9.8, 14.8). Major cardiovascular events occurred in 0.8% (95% CI 0.3, 1.8). There was no significant difference in outcome event rates between the subgroups of patients with or without INR testing. CONCLUSION In daily care, only 75% of VKA patients have an INR measurement documented before NOAC are started. On average, NOAC are started within 2 to 5 days after the last intake of VKA. However, at 30 days follow-up cardiovascular events or major bleedings were rare both in patients with and without INR testing. However, switching procedures need to be further evaluated in larger cohorts of patients.
Effect of Cytomegalovirus Prophylaxis with Acyclovir on Renal Transplant Survival

It is recognized that cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection in transplant recipients may lead to graft loss. Prophylaxis with acyclovir has therefore gained widespread acceptance, but the debate on whether this intervention improves long term graft survival continues. All patients who received renal grafts at the National Renal Transplant Centre, Dublin, between January 1992 and December 1999 were retrospectively analyzed. During this time period, patients who were CMV positive and/or had received grafts from CMV-positive donors were administered prophylactic oral acyclovir 800 mg thrice daily, adjusted for calculated creatinine clearance, from the first day post-transplantation. This treatment was continued for three months unless the graft failed or the patient developed CMV disease or died. Graft and patient outcomes were compared in recipients who received acyclovir with those who did not. Over the study period, 935 patients received renal transplants in our center, of whom 487 were administered acyclovir. The incidence of CMV disease was 3.3 cases per 100 patients per annum in those who required prophylaxis. Despite prophylaxis, graft outcomes were found to be significantly worse (p value < 0.001) in the group that qualified for acyclovir. We conclude that acyclovir provides incomplete protection from the negative impact of CMV on graft survival.
Using Videos to Teach Children Inhaler Technique: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

D Carpenter, C Lee, S Blalock. J Asthma. 2015;52(1):81–87 To determine if watching a brief video at pediatric office visits would improve metered-dose inhaler (MDI) technique in children with asthma. Children with persistent asthma ( n = 91) from 2 pediatric practices in North Carolina completed the study. The children were 7 to 17 years old, used an MDI, and had missed or incorrectly performed at least 1 step on an inhaler technique assessment. Participants were randomized immediately after a medical visit to the experiment or control group. The intervention group watched a brief 3-minute video in either English or Spanish. Separate videos were available for use …
MERALI at SemEval-2017 Task 2 Subtask 1: a Cognitively Inspired approach

In this paper we report on the participation of the MERALI system to the SemEval Task 2 Subtask 1. The MERALI system approaches conceptual similarity through a simple, cognitively inspired, heuristics; it builds on a linguistic resource, the TTCS-e, that relies on BabelNet, NASARI and ConceptNet. The linguistic resource in fact contains a novel mixture of common-sense and encyclopedic knowledge. The obtained results point out that there is ample room for improvement, so that they are used to elaborate on present limitations and on future steps.
Twitter rhetoric ? Argumentation in a Twitter debate : a case study

On the 20th June 2008, “#pdfdebate”, the first presidential campaign debate to be held on Twitter, was launched. For five days, a representative of each of the two major candidates to the US presidential election used their Twitter account to engage in a debate on technology and government, moderated by a famous political blogger. This initiative of Personal Democracy Media, a private foundation dedicated to the study of new technologies in politics, has had no real posterity to this day and was generally considered as a failure. Commentators, both in the press and on Twitter, mostly blamed this failure on the fact that Twitter and its interface are not really suitable for an extended conversation such as a debate. The moderator herself says after a few tweets that “multithread format is making [her] head hurt”. However, it was deliberately conceived as a “freewheeling” experiment, meant to try and see what debating on Twitter would be like. This tentative political debate may then prove to be a good starting point to see what a political debate on Twitter can be like. With discourse analysis and computer-mediated discourse analysis (such as initiated by American linguist Susan Herring) as a frame, it also enables to take a closer look at rhetoric (in its original meaning of “art of public speaking”) on Twitter. Looking at how language is used by the debaters and technics of argumentation used within the notoriously limiting format of the tweet (140 characters), the question is ultimately whether there is such a thing as “Twitter rhetoric”. Since this debate is now seven years old and Twitter has changed quite a bit, the study will also include more recent features added over the years.
Alexithymia and repression: contrasting emotion‐focused coping styles.

&NA; A number of conceptually similar emotion‐focused coping styles have been related to physical well‐being. We assessed the relationship between two of these constructs, alexithymia and repressive coping, on the basis of both psychometric and psychophysiological comparisons. Questionnaires were used to classify 86 healthy female subjects as low anxious, high anxious, or repressors. These subjects then completed a self‐report measure of alexithymia and participated in a stressful laboratory task in which they delivered a self‐disclosing speech. Emotional response patterning was assessed by comparing self‐reported negative affect to heart rate responses elicited during the stressful speech task. Results indicated that the alexithymia scores of high anxious subjects were significantly greater than those of repressors. Consistent with the psychometric data, high alexithymics exhibited an emotional response pattern characteristic of high anxious subjects (self‐reported negative affect greater than heart rate), whereas low alexithymics exhibited a response pattern characteristic of repressors (heart rate greater than self‐reported negative affect). The results suggest that alexithymia and repressive coping are quite distinct, with repression being more similar to low alexithymia than to high alexithymia.
Biological Role of the N-Formyl Peptide Receptors

Ligation of N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fMLP) to its specific cell surface receptors triggers different cascades of biochemical events, eventually leading to cellular activation. The formyl peptide receptors (FPRs) are members of the seven-transmembrane, G-protein coupled receptors superfamily, expressed at high levels on polymorphonuclear and mononuclear phagocytes. The main responses elicited upon ligation of formylated peptides, referred to as cellular activation, are those of morphological polarization, locomotion, production of reactive-oxygen species and release of proteolytic enzymes. FPRs have in recent years been shown to be expressed also in several non myelocytic populations, suggesting other unidentified functions for this receptor family, independent of the inflammatory response. Finally, a number of ligands acting as exogenous or host-derived agonists for FPRs, as well as ligands acting as FPRs antagonists, have been described, indicating that these receptors may be differentially modulated by distinct molecules.
Distribution of Benefits and Losses From Roadpricing Illustrated in a Microsimulation Scenario

This report describes the MATSim simulations performed to illustrate distribution of benefits in a road pricing context with trip-dependent varying preferences. The main hypothesis of the project Surprice is illustrated, that the inequality between income groups, induced by road pricing, in some cases might be smaller if intra-personal variation is also considered in the model rather than if only inter-personal variation is included in the calculation.
Frequency of endometriosis among infertile women and association of clinical signs and symptoms with the laparoscopic staging of endometriosis.

OBJECTIVE The study aimed to determine the frequency of endometriosis in women who underwent diagnostic laparoscopy for evaluation of infertility and the association of clinical, ultrasonographic and laparoscopic findings of endometriosis with the laparoscopic stages of the disease. METHOD It was a retrospective study of women presenting to gynaecologic clinics of the Aga Khan University Hospital from January 1999 to December 2005 with primary complaint of primary or secondary infertility and were diagnosed with endometriosis through laparoscopy. Relevant demographic and clinical information was entered and analyzed in SPSS version 14.0. RESULTS The frequency of endometriosis in women with primary compliant of infertility was found to be 16.8%. Statistically significant associations was found between staging of the disease and thin built (p=0.007) and restricted uterine mobility on pelvic examination (p=0.035). The patients' ultrasound and laparoscopic examination showed significant association with staging of the disease with the presence of cysts on ultrasound (p-value < 0.0001) and adhesions on laparoscopy (p value <0.00001). CONCLUSION The variability of the definition and inconsistency in diagnostic methods makes the prevalence of endometriosis difficult to determine and we might underestimate the true burden of the disease. Most of the signs and symptoms of endometriosis do not correlate with the severity (staging) of the disease. Hence, Laparoscopy remains the gold standard for diagnosis as well as staging of endometriosis.
Regulation of Mitochondrial Biogenesis in Skeletal Muscle by CaMK

Endurance exercise training promotes mitochondrial biogenesis in skeletal muscle and enhances muscle oxidative capacity, but the signaling mechanisms involved are poorly understood. To investigate this adaptive process, we generated transgenic mice that selectively express in skeletal muscle a constitutively active form of calcium/calmodulin–dependent protein kinase IV (CaMKIV*). Skeletal muscles from these mice showed augmented mitochondrial DNA replication and mitochondrial biogenesis, up-regulation of mitochondrial enzymes involved in fatty acid metabolism and electron transport, and reduced susceptibility to fatigue during repetitive contractions. CaMK induced expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator 1 (PGC-1), a master regulator of mitochondrial biogenesis in vivo, and activated the PGC-1 gene promoter in cultured myocytes. Thus, a calcium-regulated signaling pathway controls mitochondrial biogenesis in mammalian cells.
Platelet activation induced by an antiplatelet autoantibody against CD9 antigen and its inhibition by another autoantibody in immune thrombocytopenic purpura

Summary. In a patient with immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), we found a novel platelet‐activating IgG (act‐IgG) and an inhibitory IgG (inhi‐IgG) that prevented activation induced by both CD9 monoclonal antibody (mAb) and the act‐IgG. Purified IgG from the patient plasma caused a rise in [Ca2+]i and the aggregation of normal platelets, and bound to a 24 kD membrane protein. This aggregation was inhibited by aspirin, staurosporine, an inhibitor of protein kinase C, and F(ab′)2 fragments of MALL13, a CD9 mAb. When the platelet count of this patient rose to normal range, the act‐IgG disappeared. About 2 weeks later, the relapse of thrombocytopenia was observed. The purified IgG obtained in this period did not activate platelets but inhibited both the rise in [Ca2+]i and platelet aggregation stimulated by NNKY 1–19, a CD9 mAb, as well as the act‐IgG, and bound to a 40 kD membrane protein. The inhi‐IgG prevented the binding of IV‐3, a mAb against Fcγ receptor II (FcγRII), but did not prevent the binding of NNKY 1–19 to its antigen. We suggest that the activating autoantibody recognized CD9 antigen and activated both the thromboxane‐ and phospholipase C‐dependent pathways, while the inhibitory autoantibody recognized the FcγRII and inhibited CD9 antibody‐induced platelet activation mediated via this receptor.
Molecular Epidemiology, Spatiotemporal Analysis, and Ecology of Sporadic Human Cryptosporidiosis in Australia

ABSTRACT Parasites from the Cryptosporidium genus are the most common cause of waterborne disease around the world. Successful management and prevention of this emerging disease requires knowledge of the diversity of species causing human disease and their zoonotic sources. This study employed a spatiotemporal approach to investigate sporadic human cryptosporidiosis in New South Wales, Australia, between January 2008 and December 2010. Analysis of 261 human fecal samples showed that sporadic human cryptosporidiosis is caused by four species; C. hominis, C. parvum, C. andersoni, and C. fayeri. Sequence analysis of the gp60 gene identified 5 subtype families and 31 subtypes. Cryptosporidium hominis IbA10G2 and C. parvum IIaA18G3R1 were the most frequent causes of human cryptosporidiosis in New South Wales, with 59% and 16% of infections, respectively, attributed to them. The results showed that infections were most prevalent in 0- to 4-year-olds. No gender bias or regional segregation was observed between the distribution of C. hominis and C. parvum infections. To determine the role of cattle in sporadic human infections in New South Wales, 205 cattle fecal samples were analyzed. Four Cryptosporidium species were identified, C. hominis, C. parvum, C. bovis, and C. ryanae. C. parvum subtype IIaA18G3R1 was the most common cause of cryptosporidiosis in cattle, with 47% of infections attributed to it. C. hominis subtype IbA10G2 was also identified in cattle isolates.
The Schultz‐Dale response of the longitudinal muscle strip preparation of guinea‐pig ileum

1 The mast‐cell distribution in the various layers of the ileum has been described. 2 Histamine‐content, anaphylactic histamine‐release and the anaphylactic dose‐response curve of the full‐thickness ileum and of the longitudinal muscle strip have been measured and compared. 3 Tetrodotoxin 10−7 g/ml had no obvious effect on the anaphylactic dose‐response curve of either preparation. This suggests that the plexus is not of any great importance in the Schultz‐Dale reaction. 4 Exposure of the longitudinal muscle strip to octylamine 10−3 g/ml for 1 min reduced the mast cell content by 95–100%. After this treatment the dose‐response curve to antigen was eliminated, although the muscle still responded to small doses of histamine and to anaphylactic mediators. Pre‐treatment of antibody with octylamine did not impair passive sensitization and subsequent response to antigenic challenge. This suggests that the classical Schultz‐Dale reaction in the strip is mediated mainly by mast cells, and possibly other cells, and is probably not due to a direct effect of the antigen‐antibody reaction on the smooth muscle. 5 The typical three‐phase anaphylactic response (quick contraction, quick relaxation, slow contraction) of full‐thickness ileum is discussed and compared with the predominantly two‐phase response of the longitudinal muscle strip. No evidence was found for the release of a relaxation‐factor. It is suggested that the initial fast phase may be due to mediators released from mast cells among the longitudinal muscle fibres, and the sustained contraction to a second wave of mediators reaching the longitudinal muscle from deeper layers of the ileum.
Impact of primary prophylaxis with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor on febrile neutropenia and mortality in adult cancer patients receiving chemotherapy: a systematic review.

PURPOSE Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of prophylactic granulocyte colony-stimulating factors (G-CSF) have demonstrated a significant reduction in febrile neutropenia (FN) after systemic chemotherapy. Several RCTs have been published recently that investigate the impact of G-CSF on mortality and relative dose-intensity (RDI). METHODS A comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis of all reported RCTs comparing primary prophylactic G-CSF with placebo or untreated controls in adult solid tumor and malignant lymphoma patients was undertaken without language restrictions, using electronic databases, conference proceedings, and hand-searching techniques. Two reviewers extracted data independently. Summary estimates of relative risk (RR) with 95% CIs were estimated based on the method of Mantel-Haenszel and DerSimonian and Laird. RESULTS Seventeen RCTs were identified including 3,493 patients. For infection-related mortality, RR reduction with G-CSF compared with controls was 45% (RR = 0.55; 95% CI, 0.33 to 0.90; P = .018); for early mortality (all-cause mortality during chemotherapy period), it was 40% (RR = 0.60; 95% CI, 0.43 to 0.83; P = .002); and for FN, it was 46% (RR = 0.54; 95% CI, 0.43 to 0.67; P < .001). Average RDI was significantly higher in patients who received G-CSF compared with control patients (P < .001). Bone or musculoskeletal pain was reported in 10.4% of controls and 19.6% of G-CSF patients (RR = 4.03; 95% CI, 2.15 to 7.52; P < .001). Significant reductions in FN with G-CSF were observed in studies allowing secondary G-CSF prophylaxis in controls and in the three trials with concurrent prophylactic antibiotics in both treatment arms. CONCLUSION Prophylactic G-CSF reduces the risk of FN and early deaths, including infection-related mortality, while increasing RDI and musculoskeletal pain. There are insufficient data to assess the impact of G-CSF on disease-free and overall survival.
[Clinicopathological significance and function of miR-135b in the occurrence and development of gastric cancer].

OBJECTIVE To explore the function and clinicopathological significance of miR-135b in the occurrence and development of gastric cancer. METHODS Seventy-two pairs of fresh gastric cancer tissues and corresponding normal gastric epithelium were collected at our department from September 2007 to March 2011. Six of them were randomly selected and miRNA microarray was applied to study the miRNA expression profiles of gastric cancer. Quantitative real-time PCR was used to validate the reliability of microarray and detect miR-135b expression in the above clinical samples, as well as cell lines GES-1, BGC-823 and SGC-7901. The methods of cell transfection, thiazolyl blue tetrazolium bromide (MTT) and flow cytometry were used to study the impact of miR-135 on cell proliferation, cell cycle and apoptosis of gastric cancer cells. Real-time quantitative PCR and Western blot were used to explore the relationship between miR-135b and adenomatous polyposis coli (APC). RESULTS Compared with normal gastric tissues, 7 miRNA were significantly up-regulated and 9 miRNA significantly down-regulated for over 2 folds in gastric cancer tissues (P < 0.05). The results of microarray were verified by quantitative real-time PCR. MiR-135b expression was up-regulated in most clinical samples compared with their corresponding epithelium (n = 66, 91.67%). The average expression level of miR-135b in gastric cancer tissues was significantly higher than normal epithelium (3.42 ± 2.62 vs 1.00 ± 0.07, P < 0.05). MiR-135b was related to Laurén classification, tumor differentiation, invasion and pathologic tumor-node-metastasis (pTNM) stage of gastric cancer (all P < 0.05). The worse differentiation degree of gastric cell lines, the higher miR-135b expression level (P < 0.05). MiR-135b promoted gastric cancer cell proliferation, inhibited its apoptosis and directly regulated the expression of APC in gastric cancer cell. CONCLUSIONS Special miRNA expression profiles of gastric cancer are found. MiR-135b is closely correlated with the biological behavior of human gastric cancer. And its regulation of APC may be one of the pathogenic mechanisms of gastric cancer.
The Role of Aerosolized Colistin in the Treatment of Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia: A Systematic Review and Metaanalysis*

Objectives:The present meta-analysis and systematic review evaluated the efficacy and safety of aerosolized colistin as adjunctive therapy to IV antimicrobials or as monotherapy in the treatment of ventilator-associated pneumonia. Design:The databases of MEDLINE and Cochrane Library up to June 2013 and all reference lists of the included studies and relevant reviews were searched. Studies were eligible if the efficacy and safety of aerosolized colistin in the treatment of ventilator-associated pneumonia was evaluated. An overall effect estimate for all dichotomous data as an odds ratio with 95% CI was calculated by the Mantel-Haenszel or the DerSimonian and Laird method depending on the statistical heterogeneity. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation approach was used to interpret the findings. Interventions:None. Measurements and Main Results:Sixteen studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria: eight were comparing adjunctive aerosolized versus IV colistin (seven observational cohort or case-control studies and one randomized trial) and were meta-analyzed, and eight were single arm and were only systematically reviewed. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation approach showed limitations of the study design and presence of inconsistency in most of the outcomes, but no obvious indirectness or imprecision of results reporting. Based on the above assessments, the quality of evidence presented for each outcome ranged from “very low” to “low. ” A significant improvement in clinical response (odds ratio, 1.57; 95% CI, 1.14–2.15; p = 0.006; I2 = 37%), microbiological eradication (odds ratio, 1.61; 95% CI, 1.11–2.35; p = 0.01; I2 = 0%), and infection-related mortality (odds ratio, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.34–0.96; p = 0.04; I2 = 46%) was observed with the addition of aerosolized colistin to IV treatment, whereas the addition of aerosolized colistin did not affect overall mortality (odds ratio, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.54–1.01; p = 0.06; I2 = 25%) or nephrotoxicity (odds ratio, 1.18; 95% CI, 0.76–1.83; p = 0.45; I2 = 0%). Conclusion:Based on the present results and awaiting further evidence from randomized trials, aerosolized colistin is associated with improved outcome in the treatment of ventilator-associated pneumonia although the level of evidence was low.