Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Rehabilitation Following Total Knee Replacement, Total Hip Replacement, and Hip Fracture: A Case-Controlled Comparison

Purpose:To determine whether clinical outcomes and reimbursement for care differed between patients with hip fracture, total knee replacement (TKR), and total hip replacement (THR) undergoing an inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF) versus skilled nursing facility (SNF). Method:A total of 541 patients (IRF = 409, SNF = 131) with unilateral hip fracture, TKR, and THR were recruited. The IRF and SNF patients were matched on age, sex, diagnosis, severity index, and ambulation Functional Independence Measure (FIM) score on admission. Comparisons of discharge motor FIM scores, length of stay, discharge ambulation devices, discharge disposition, use of home health services, transfer to acute care, and total reimbursement for the inpatient stay were carried out between matched pair groups. Results:From a sample of 541 patients, 102 matched IRF-SNF pairs were created. The mean length of stay for those receiving care in IRF was 10.7 (4.2) days, compared to 25.5 (16.5) days for those receiving care in SNF (P < .001). Costs of care in the IRF setting were $11,984 ($5254) compared to that in the SNF setting, that is, $10,001 ($7141) (P = .008). As compared to patients receiving care in the SNF setting, those in the IRF were more likely to ambulate independently (87.5% vs 74.0%; P = .019), manage stairs independently (68.4% vs 34.7%; P < .001), require less home care (33.7% vs 76.4%; P < .001), and were less likely to use a walker at discharge (41.7% vs 67.7%; P < .001). There were no differences between settings in terms of transfers to acute care, ability to dress the lower body, toilet transfers, and discharge to home. Conclusion:When patients were matched for age, gender, operative diagnosis, severity index, and admission ambulation FIM score, those who received rehabilitation in the IRF had shorter length of stay and superior functional outcomes than those in the SNF setting. Cost of stay in an IRF was, however, significantly greater.
Effects of AT1 receptor antagonist therapy in patients with severe heart failure pretreated with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors CLINICAL CARDIOLOGY

Effects of AT1 receptor antagonist therapy in patients with severe heart failure pretreated with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors. Exp Clin Cardiol 2003;7(4):193-198. BACKGROUND: The efficacy of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors is well documented in the treatment of chronic severe heart failure. Because pharmacological mechanisms of angiotensin II type 1 (AT1) receptor antagonists differ from the effects of ACE inhibitors, an additional positive effect can be expected by combining these drugs. METHODS: Sixty patients (mean age 68.3±10.0 years) with severe chronic heart failure receiving long term medication with digitalis, diuretics, ACE inhibitors and in part beta-blockers (68.3%) were randomly assigned after clinical recompensation to three groups: additional therapy with eprosartan (477.5±143.7 mg/day), telmisartan (65.9±17.7 mg/day) and control group according to a prospective study design. Hemodynamic measurements by impedance cardiography were performed before and during the observation period (9.6±3.4 days). RESULTS: Additional sartan treatment resulted in an improvement in cardiac output from 2.32±0.69 L/min to 3.12±1.24 L/min (P=0.003) in the eprosartan group and from 2.24±0.59 L/min to 2.76±0.91 L/min (P=0.001) in the telmisartan group; cardiac output in the control group did not increase. Furthermore, a significant decrease in total peripheral resistance was observed during treatment with eprosartan (23%, P=0.002) and telmisartan (18%, P=0.002). In the subgroup receiving combined therapy with beta-blockers, ACE inhibitors and AT1 antagonists, a significant increase in cardiac output was also observed. CONCLUSIONS: The additional treatment with AT1 receptor antagonists resulted in an increase in the cardiac output and a decrease in the peripheral resistance. This beneficial effect may be due to the additional property of sartans to block the interaction of locally and non-ACE-generated angiotensin II with their respective vascular and myocardial AT1 receptors.
Identification and Functional Characterization of microRNAs Involved in the Malignant Progression of Gliomas

Diffuse astrocytoma of World Health Organization (WHO) grade II has an inherent tendency to spontaneously progress to anaplastic astrocytoma WHO grade III or secondary glioblastoma WHO grade IV. We explored the role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in glioma progression by investigating the expression profiles of 157 miRNAs in four patients with primary WHO grade II gliomas that spontaneously progressed to WHO grade IV secondary glioblastomas. Thereby, we identified 12 miRNAs (miR‐9, miR‐15a, miR‐16, miR‐17, miR‐19a, miR‐20a, miR‐21, miR‐25, miR‐28, miR‐130b, miR‐140 and miR‐210) showing increased expression, and two miRNAs (miR‐184 and miR‐328) showing reduced expression upon progression. Validation experiments on independent series of primary low‐grade and secondary high‐grade astrocytomas confirmed miR‐17 and miR‐184 as promising candidates, which were selected for functional analyses. These studies revealed miRNA‐specific influences on the viability, proliferation, apoptosis and invasive growth properties of A172 and T98G glioma cells in vitro. Using mRNA and protein expression profiling, we identified distinct sets of transcripts and proteins that were differentially expressed after inhibition of miR‐17 or overexpression of miR‐184 in glioma cells. Taken together, our results support an important role of altered miRNA expression in gliomas, and suggest miR‐17 and miR‐184 as interesting candidates contributing to glioma progression.
The Effect of Urine Testing in Evaluations of the Sensitivity of the Gen-Probe APTIMA®Combo 2 Assay on Endocervical Swabs for Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae: The Infected Patient Standard Reduces Sensitivity of Single Site Evaluation

Background: The Gen-Probe APTIMA Combo 2 (AC2) assay is a second-generation transcription-mediated amplification assay for the detection of Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG). Goal: The goal of this study was to evaluate AC2 performance of endocervical (cx) swabs for the detection of CT and NG using either a specimen or an infected patient standard. Study Design: In a multicenter clinical study, we compared AC2 with Abbott’s ligase chain reaction (LCR) and Roche’s polymerase chain reaction (PCR; Amplicor or COBAS) for CT, and we compared AC2 with Abbott’s LCR and culture for NG. A total of 1569 females were enrolled in the study; we collected cx and first-catch urine (FCU) specimens. Results: CT prevalence was 13.3% for cx specimens and 13.7% for FCU specimens. NG prevalence was 8.7% and 7.9% for cx and FCU specimens, respectively. When based only on cx specimens, AC2, LCR, and PCR sensitivities for CT were 99.4%, 95.6%, and 95.6%, respectively. However, cx sensitivity for CT was reduced to 92.1%, 86.6%, and 87.1% for each respective assay when based on both cx and FCU specimen results (infected patient standard). NG sensitivities for AC2, LCR, and culture based solely on cx specimen results were 99.2%, 96.1%, and 85.9%, respectively. Based on infected patient standard, the sensitivities of each respective assay were 98.5%, 93.9%, and 84.0%. Conclusions: The infected patient standard reduces the sensitivity of the endocervical evaluation because some infected patients are positive only with FCU. The reduction in sensitivity is greater when testing for CT. Specificities improved slightly, because some unique cx positives, initially classified as false-positive were confirmed by a positive FCU result. Sensitivity of AC2 was higher than LCR, PCR, and culture. Specificity was slightly lower, but discrepant analysis (using alternate TMA targets) of apparent AC2 false-positives showed that 75% to 80% were true-positives.
PML nuclear bodies: dynamic sensors of DNA damage and cellular stress

Promyelocytic leukaemia nuclear bodies (PML NBs) are generally present in all mammalian cells, and their integrity correlates with normal differentiation of promyelocytes. Mice that lack PML NBs have impaired immune function, exhibit chromosome instability and are sensitive to carcinogens. Although their direct role in nuclear activity is unclear, PML NBs are implicated in the regulation of transcription, apoptosis, tumour suppression and the anti‐viral response. An emerging view is that they represent sites where multi‐subunit complexes form and where post‐translational modification of regulatory factors, such as p53, occurs in response to cellular stress. Following DNA damage, several repair factors transit through PML NBs in a temporally regulated manner implicating these bodies in DNA repair. We propose that PML NBs are dynamic sensors of cellular stress, which rapidly disassemble following DNA damage into large supramolecular complexes, dispersing associated repair factors to sites of damage. The dramatically increased total surface area available would enhance interactions between PML‐associated factors regulating DNA repair and apoptosis. BioEssays 26:963–977, 2004. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Identification of epitopes in the nucleocapsid protein of Nipah virus using a linear phage‐displayed random peptide library

A random peptide library of heptamers displayed on the surface of M13 bacteriophage was used to identify specific epitopes of antibodies in pooled sera of swine naturally infected by Nipah virus. The selected heptapeptides were aligned with protein sequences of Nipah virus and several putative epitopes were identified within the nucleocapsid protein. A total of 41 of 60 (68%) selected phage clones had inserts resembling a region with the sequence SNRTQGE, located at the C‐terminal end (amino acids 503–509) of the nucleocapsid protein. The binding of antibodies in the swine and human antisera to the phage clone was inhibited by a synthetic peptide corresponding to this region. Epitopes identified by phage display are consistent with the predicted antigenic sites for the Nipah virus nucleocapsid protein. The selected phage clone used as a coating antigen discriminated swine and human Nipah virus sera‐positive from sera‐negative samples exhibiting characteristics, which might be attractive for diagnostic tests. J. Med. Virol. 75:147–152, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Introducing the model of cognitive-communication competence: A model to guide evidence-based communication interventions after brain injury

ABSTRACT Primary objective: Communication impairments associated with acquired brain injury (ABI) are devastating in their impact on family, community, social, academic, and vocational participation. Despite international evidence-based guidelines for communication interventions, evidence practice gaps include under identification of communication deficits, infrequent referrals, and inadequate treatment to realize functional communication outcomes. Evidence-informed communication intervention requires synthesis of abundant interdisciplinary research. This study describes the development of the model of cognitive-communication competence, a new model that summarizes a complex array of influences on communication to provide a holistic view of communication competence after ABI. Research design: A knowledge synthesis approach was employed to integrate interdisciplinary evidence relevant to communication competence. Methods and procedures: Development of the model included review of the incidence of communication impairments, practice guidelines, and factors relevant to communication competence guided by three key questions. This was followed by expert consultation with researchers, clinicians, and individuals with ABI. Main outcomes and results: The resulting model comprises 7 domains, 7 competencies, and 47 factors related to communication functioning and intervention. Conclusion: This model could bridge evidence to practice by promoting a comprehensive and consistent view of communication competence for evidence synthesis, clinical decision-making, outcome measurement, and interprofessional collaboration.
Effect of quercetin on formation of choroidal neovascularization (CNV) in age-related macular degeneration(AMD).

PURPOSE Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) as a disease entity is "dry" at early stage and made up of two main components at late stage: atrophic AMD and exudative AMD. Quercetin acts as an anti-oxidant to protect retinal pigment epithelial cells (RPE) from damaged by oxidative stress, but its effect on formation of choroidal neovascularization (CNV) in AMD is unclear. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of quercetin on the formation of CNV in AMD. METHODS The development of CNV induced by laser was detected by fluorescein angiography (FA). Colored microsphere technique was used to determine the choroidal blood flow in ocular hypertensive rabbit eyes. In in vitro studies, HUVECs were treated with NaIO3, H2O2 and NaN3 to induce oxidative cell damages. The effect of quercetin on various oxidations-induced injuries in HUVECs was measured by MTT assay. HUVECs migration was assessed using a wound healing assay. RESULTS Quercetin significantly inhibited the formation of laser-induced CNV. The choroidal blood flow in rabbit eyes was significantly increased after quercetin instillation. In vitro results showed quercetin enhanced various oxidations-induced injuries in HUVECs and inhibited migration of HUVECs during wound healing. CONCLUSION Quercetin inhibited the formation of CNV both in vivo and in vitro and increased choroidal blood flow. It could become a promising candidate for the treatment of AMD.
Abundant and Diverse Fungal Microbiota in the Murine Intestine

ABSTRACT Enteric microbiota play a variety of roles in intestinal health and disease. While bacteria in the intestine have been broadly characterized, little is known about the abundance or diversity of enteric fungi. This study utilized a culture-independent method termed oligonucleotide fingerprinting of rRNA genes (OFRG) to describe the compositions of fungal and bacterial rRNA genes from small and large intestines (tissue and luminal contents) of restricted-flora and specific-pathogen-free mice. OFRG analysis identified rRNA genes from all four major fungal phyla: Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, Chytridiomycota, and Zygomycota. The largest assemblages of fungal rRNA sequences were related to the genera Acremonium, Monilinia, Fusarium, Cryptococcus/Filobasidium, Scleroderma, Catenomyces, Spizellomyces, Neocallimastix, Powellomyces, Entophlyctis, Mortierella, and Smittium and the order Mucorales. The majority of bacterial rRNA gene clones were affiliated with the taxa Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, Acinetobacter, and Lactobacillus. Sequence-selective PCR analyses also detected several of these bacterial and fungal rRNA genes in the mouse chow. Fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis with a fungal small-subunit rRNA probe revealed morphologically diverse microorganisms resident in the mucus biofilm adjacent to the cecal and proximal colonic epithelium. Hybridizing organisms comprised about 2% of the DAPI (4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole, dihydrochloride)-positive organisms in the mucus biofilm, but their abundance in fecal material may be much lower. These data indicate that diverse fungal taxa are present in the intestinal microbial community. Their abundance suggests that they may play significant roles in enteric microbial functions.
Considerations for targeting malignant stem cells in leukemia.

BACKGROUND Malignant stem cells have been identified in acute myelogenous leukemia, chronic myeloid leukemia, and some types of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Like normal stem cells, these leukemic stem cells (LSCs) are able to self-renew, differentiate, and proliferate extensively. Evidence suggests that LSCs are critical for the initiation and perpetuation of leukemic disease. METHODS We reviewed the literature describing the characteristic features of LSCs in various leukemias and the novel molecular approaches being used to specifically ablate the LSC population. RESULTS Studies have demonstrated the potential importance of ablating LSCs when treating leukemia. The unique characteristics of LSCs that differentiate them from their normal counterparts can be exploited to specifically target the malignant population. CONCLUSIONS Current therapeutic strategies may not effectively ablate the LSC, leaving the potential for disease progression or relapse. A better understanding of LSC cell and molecular biology will allow the design of more effective therapies.
Epidemiology of hepatitis B virus infection among recyclable waste collectors in central Brazil.

INTRODUCTION The collection of recyclable waste materials is a widespread activity among the urban poor. Today, this occupation attracts an increasingly large number of individuals. Despite its economic and environmental importance, this activity is associated with unsafe and unhealthy working conditions. The aim of this study was to investigate the seroepidemiological profile of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in a population of recyclable waste collectors in central Brazil. METHODS Recyclable waste collectors from all 15 recycling cooperatives in Goiânia City were invited to participate in the study. The participants (n = 431) were interviewed and screened for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and antibodies against HBsAg (anti-HBs) and hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). HBsAg- and anti-HBc-positive samples were tested for HBV DNA and genotyped. RESULTS The overall prevalence of HBV infection (HBsAg- and/or anti-HBc-positive) was 12.8%. An age over 40 years and illicit drug use were associated with HBV infection. HBV DNA was detected in 2/3 HBsAg-positive samples and in 1/52 anti-HBc-positive/HBsAg-negative samples (an occult HBV infection rate of 1.9%), in which the genotypes/subgenotypes A/A1, D/D3 and F/F2 were identified. Only 12.3% of the recyclable waste collectors had serological evidence of previous HBV vaccination. CONCLUSIONS These findings highlight the vulnerability of recyclable waste collectors to HBV infection and reinforce the importance of public health policies that address the health and safety of this socially vulnerable population.
Hardware Accelerated Cloud Data Store for Data Mining over Big Spatio-Temporal Data

The recent proliferation of devices that are capable of sending information about their location over time, e.g., GPS-equipped smartphones, has turned big spatio-temporal data processing into a mainstream and highly relevant class of applications. Recent literature in the area of big data has focused on how to exploit recent hardware trends/mechanism to accelerate big data processing. In this thesis, I will focus on how to exploit Transactional Memory (TM) to accelerate applications that target big spatio-temporal data. Transactional Memory has emerged as a promising abstraction for parallel programming, which aims at enhancing performance and simplify programming of concurrent applications. More in detail, I plan to study how to integrate TM as a synchronization alternative to conventional locking for indexing data structures with spatio-temporal data.
Antibody reactivity to the HRES-1 endogenous retroviral element identifies a subset of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and overlap syndromes. Correlation with antinuclear antibodies and HLA class II alleles.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the correlation between the presence of antibodies to an endogenous retroviral element-encoded nuclear protein autoantigen, HRES-1, and the presence of other antinuclear antibodies and HLA class II alleles in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and overlap syndromes. METHODS Antibody reactivities to native and recombinant proteins and synthetic peptides were assessed by counterimmunoelectrophoresis, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and Western blotting. HLA class II alleles were determined by oligonucleotide typing. RESULTS Forty-eight percent of the 153 patients with autoimmune disease, and 52% of the subgroup with SLE, had HRES-1 antibodies. In contrast, 3.6% of 111 normal donors, and none of 42 patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome or 50 asymptomatic human immunodeficiency virus 1-infected patients, had HRES-1 antibodies. Chi-square analyses revealed a significant association between anti-HRES-1 and anti-RNP and an inverse correlation between HRES-1 and Ro/La autoantibodies in patients with SLE or overlap syndromes. Antigenic epitopes of HRES-1 and the retroviral gag-related region of the 70-kd protein component of U1 small nuclear RNP, which share 3 consecutive highly charged amino acids (Arg-Arg-Glu), an additional Arg, and functionally similar Arg/Lys residues, represent cross-reactive epitopes between the two proteins. Selective removal of HRES-1 antibodies from sera of HRES-1-seropositive/RNP-seropositive patients by absorption on recombinant HRES-1/glutathione-S-transferase-conjugated agarose beads had no effect on anti-RNP reactivities. A comparative multivariate analysis of HLA class II genes revealed a differential segregation of DQB1 alleles in HRES-1-seropositive versus HRES-1-seronegative patients (P = 0.04). While a relative increase of DQB1*0402 among HRES-1-seropositive patients was noted across ethnic groups (P = 0.02), a decrease of DQB1*0201 and DQB1*0301 was found in white HRES-1-seropositive patients (P = 0.04). CONCLUSION Autoantibodies to HRES-1 are detectable in a distinct subset of patients with autoimmune disease, primarily in those who do not have antibodies to Ro and La. Anti-HRES-1 and anti-RNP reactivities are mediated by cross-reactive but separate antibody molecules. HLA-DQB genes, rather than HLA-DRB or DQA genes, may have a more significant influence on generation of these antinuclear autoantibodies.
Estilos de liderazgo en equipos de fútbol juveniles (16-18 años) de la provincia de Granada y su relación con los climas motivacionales generados por los entrenadores

Se estudian los estilos de liderazgo de los entrenadores de futbol juvenil federado en los equipos de la Provincia de Granada (Espana) y su relacion con los climas motivacionales y las variables de resultado esfuerzo extra, satisfaccion y eficacia percibida del lider. Para ello se administro el MLQ-5X y el PMCSQ-2 a 625 jugadores varones, con edades entre los 16 y los 18 anos (M = 16.87; D. T. = .81) y sus 50 entrenadores varones, con edades entre los 20 y 59 anos (M = 38.76; D. T. = 9.39) con una muestra representativa del universo de referencia. Se encuentran relaciones de prediccion positiva desde los estilos transformacional y transaccional activo sobre el clima motivacional de implicacion en la tarea y a traves del clima hacia las variables de resultado, y por otro lado, los climas de implicacion en el ego se predijeron en sentido negativo desde los estilos transformacional y transaccional activo. Se sugiere que el MLQ-5X no es un instrumento adecuado para evaluar el liderazgo pasivo en el contexto del futbol cuando las muestras estan compuestas por adolescentes. Se discuten resultados e implicaciones practicas para la investigacion, la intervencion y la formacion de los entrenadores.