Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A U‐shaped association of body mass index and all‐cause mortality in heart failure patients: A dose‐response meta‐analysis of prospective cohort studies

BACKGROUND AND AIMS The role of body mass index (BMI) for the prognosis of heart failure (HF) patients remains to be a great interest for a long time. However, the precise effect of dose-response for BMI and mortality risk in patients with HF is still unclear. We conducted a dose-response meta-analysis to quantitatively assess the effect of BMI on all-cause mortality in subjects with HF. METHODS Fourteen prospective cohort studies included 13 508 death cases identified among 46 794 patients with HF. RESULTS The summary HR per 5 units increase in BMI was 0.95 (95% CI=0.92-0.97) with evidence of high heterogeneity (I2 =90.10%, Pheterogeneity <.00001), and an U-shaped nonlinear relationship of BMI and risk of mortality from all-causes was revealed (Pnonlinearity =.0025). When stratified analyses were conducted, the heterogeneity in patients with HF aged more than 60 years decreased. CONCLUSION Heart failure patients with higher BMI (>28 kg/m2 ) have a better survival, whereas underweight and those with severe obesity (eg, BMI>37 kg/m2 ) have a higher mortality.
Photoperiod and food restriction differentially affect reproductive and immune responses in Siberian hamsters Phodopus sungorus

Summary 1. Organisms must contend with seasonal fluctuations in energy availability. To maintain a positive energy balance year-round, a number of adaptations have evolved including seasonal changes in reproduction, energetics and immunity. Photoperiod is the primary environmental signal most animals use to predict seasonal events. Despite the established link between energetics and immune function, little is known regarding how changes in energy availability affect immunity. 2. The goal of the present study was to determine the effects of food restriction on photoperiodic changes in reproduction and immune function in the Siberian hamster (Phodopus sungorus). Adult hamsters were housed in long or short days and were food restricted or fed ad libitum. Immune responses were quantified by measuring specific antibody production and bacterial killing capacity. 3. Food restriction decreased body and relative reproductive masses in long-day animals. Antibody responses, but not bacterial killing ability, were enhanced in food restricted short-day animals as compared with ad libitum fed controls. We also found differential effects of body fat on immune responses depending on the immune measure. 4. The effects of food restriction on immune function appear to vary based on the restriction regimen, the response measured, and the physiological state of the organism including energy balance, metabolic rate and reproductive status. 5. In conclusion, these results suggest that a wide range of factors can differentially affect immune function. In addition, these effects may vary based on the specific response examined. Future studies should include a variety of measurements to provide a more integrative and accurate picture of reproductive, energetic, and photoperiodic effects on immune function.
Urinary free cortisol secretion in habitually violent offenders

ABSTRACT– Male violent offenders (n= 90) and residivious arsonists (n= 10) were investigated by urinary (24 h) free cortisol measurements at mental examination on a psychiatric department. The measurements were made with competitive protein‐binding radioassay. Only among the habitually violent offenders with antisocial personality were the values low when compared with other violent offenders, antisocial personality without the habitually violent tendency, and male clinic personnel. Poor motivation already in school, truancy, attention deficit and undersocialized aggressive conduct disorder problems seemed to be connected with the low cortisol levels.
Determine the Impact of the Related Party on the Financial Reporting Quality Using Factor Analysis - Case Study of Algerian Institutions -

This study analyses the relationship between the financial reporting and related party using factor analysis method. We find that accounting and auditing increase the quality of information and this contributes to protecting companies from fraud and manipulation. We argue that governance has a lower impact on the financial reporting in Algerian institutions. The survey conducted on a group of accountants and auditors confirm this argument. Overall, our results indicate that accounting and auditing can lead to better financial reporting via their impact on the quality of information.
Faster OMP computations by sensing matrix column reduction

Compressed sensing is an emerging technique that allows to reconstruct sparse signals sampled at sub-Nyquist rates. However, it requires high computational effort to reconstruct the compressively sampled signal, which makes real-time application of it very hard. We therefore, present a novel, generic method that decreases the computational complexity of Orthogonal Matehing Pursuit (OMP) like reconstruction algorithms that exploit the correlation of columns of a dictionary (sensing matrix). The proposed method reduces the column number of the dictionary in a systematic manner to speed up the correlation calculations. Simulation results show that in sparse scenarios, reconstruction speed increases significantiy with a negligible decrease in the reconstruction accuracy.
Nucleoside transporter expression and function in cultured mouse astrocytes

Uptake of purine and pyrimidine nucleosides in astrocytes is important for several reasons: (1) uptake of nucleosides contributes to nucleic acid synthesis; (2) astrocytes synthesize AMP, ADP, and ATP from adenosine and GTP from guanosine; and (3) adenosine and guanosine function as neuromodulators, whose effects are partly terminated by cellular uptake. It has previously been shown that adenosine is rapidly accumulated by active uptake in astrocytes (Hertz and Matz, Neurochem Res 14:755–760, 1989 ), but the ratio between active uptake and metabolism‐driven uptake of adenosine is unknown, as are uptake characteristics for guanosine. The present study therefore aims at providing detailed information of nucleoside transport and transporters in primary cultures of mouse astrocytes. Reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction identified the two equilibrative nucleoside transporters, ENT1 and ENT2, together with the concentrative nucleoside transporter CNT2, whereas CNT3 was absent, and CNT1 expression could not be investigated. Uptake studies of tritiated thymidine, formycin B, guanosine, and adenosine (3‐s uptakes at 1–4°C to study diffusional uptake and 1–60‐min uptakes at 37°C to study concentrative uptake) demonstrated a fast diffusional uptake of all four nucleosides, a small, Na+‐independent and probably metabolism‐driven uptake of thymidine (consistent with DNA synthesis), larger metabolism‐driven uptakes of guanosine (consistent with synthesis of DNA, RNA, and GTP) and especially of adenosine (consistent with rapid nucleotide synthesis), and Na+‐dependent uptakes of adenosine (consistent with its concentrative uptake) and guanosine, rendering neuromodulator uptake independent of nucleoside metabolism. Astrocytes are accordingly well suited for both intense nucleoside metabolism and metabolism‐independent uptake to terminate neuromodulator effects of adenosine and guanosine. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Policy on Medically-Necessary Care.

Methods This document was developed by the Council on Clinical Affairs and adopted in 2007. This document is an update of the last revision from 2015. It includes an electronic search with Scopus® and PubMed®/MEDLINE using the terms: medically-necessary care, systemic disease AND oral disease, dentistry as medically-necessary care, periodontal disease AND cardiovascular disease, oral health AND pregnancy, oral health AND respiratory illness, oral health AND quality of life, pediatric dentistry, general anesthesia, and nutritional deficiency cognitive development; fields: all; limits: within the last 15 years, human, English. The reviewers agreed upon the inclusion of 76 articles that met the defined criteria.
"Somatostatinoma": a somatostatin-containing tumor of the endocrine pancreas.

We studied the pancreatic and enteric hormone profile of a 46-year-old woman who had hyperglycemia and a pancreatic tumor. Before operation, there was no evidence of overproduction of glucagon or insulin. The tumor's ultrastructure had a distinctive endocrine morphology, resembling D cells. Prompted by the recent demonstration of somatostatin in D cells of pancreatic islets, we analyzed the tumor and found a large quantity of immunoreactive somatostatin (301 ng per milligram of tissue). Insulin, glucagon, gastrin, vasoactive intestinal polypeptide and human pancreatic polypeptide were present in only trace quantities. The tumor cells were cultured in monolayers, which remained viable up to 51 days and released somatostatin into the culture medium. In seven insulinomas and two glucagonomas, we found the somatostatin content either much lower (less than 0.6 ng per milligram of tissue) or undetectable. After complete resection of the tumor, our patient became euglycemic and has remained so for the past 20 months.
Isolation and characterization of two cDNA clones encoding ATP-sulfurylases from potato by complementation of a yeast mutant.

Sulfur plays an important role in plants, being used for the biosynthesis of amino acids, sulfolipids and secondary metabolites. After uptake sulfate is activated and subsequently reduced to sulfide or serves as donor for sulfurylation reactions. The first step in the activation of sulfate in all cases studied so far is catalyzed by the enzyme ATP-sulfurylase (E.C. 2.7.7.4.) which catalyzes the formation of adenosine-5'-phosphosulfate (APS). Two cDNA clones from potato encoding ATP-sulfurylases were identified following transformation of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutant deficient in ATP-sulfurylase activity with a cDNA library from potato source leaf poly(A)+ RNA cloned in a yeast expression vector. Several transformants were able to grow on a medium with sulfate as the only sulfur source, this ability being strictly linked to the presence of two classes of cDNAs. The clones StMet3-1 and StMet3-2 were further analyzed. DNA analysis revealed an open reading frame encoding a protein with a molecular mass of 48 kDa in the case of StMet3-1 and 52 kDa for StMet3-2. The deduced polypeptides are 88% identical at the amino acid level. The clone StMet3-2 has a 48 amino acid N-terminal extension which shows common features of a chloroplast transit peptide. Sequence comparison of the ATP-sulfurylase Met3 from Saccharomyces cerevisiae with the cDNA StMet3-1 (StMet3-2) reveals 31% (30%) identity at the amino acid level. Protein extracts from the yeast mutant transformed with the clone StMet3-1 displayed ATP-sulfurylase activity. RNA blot analysis demonstrated the expression of both genes in potato leaves, root and stem, but not in tubers. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Is the Adenosine Receptor Modulation of Histamine‐Induced Accumulation of Inositol Phosphates in Cerebral Cortical Slices Mediated by Effects on Calcium Ion Fluxes?

Abstract: In this report, we show that under conditions designed to provide an initially uniform incorporation of [3H]inositol into mouse and guinea pig cerebral cortical slices prior to agonist stimulation, the accumulation of 3H‐inositol phosphates (3H‐InsPx, x = 1–4) induced by histamine in mouse and guinea pig cerebral cortical slices increased in a quasilinear manner with increasing added calcium. Raising the ambient calcium ion concentration failed to reduce the adenosine receptor‐mediated inhibition of the histamine‐induced 3H‐InsPx response in mouse cerebral cortical slices. Similarly, the potentiation of the histamine response by adenosine receptor activation in guinea pig cerebral cortical slices was unaffected by lowering the added calcium ion concentration. The presence of the calcium ionophore A23187 (33 μM) produced 3H‐InsPx responses in both mouse and guinea pig cerebral cortical slices, which were not affected by the presence of the stable adenosine analogue 2‐chloroadenosine. A23187 also potentiated the accumulation of 3H‐InsPx induced by histamine in both species. Both the inhibitory and potentiatory modulations of the histamine response by 2‐chloroadenosine in mouse and guinea pig, respectively, were still apparent in the presence of A23187. These results indicate that the histamine‐induced 3H‐InsPx accumulations in both mouse and guinea pig cerebral cortical slices are sensitive to variations in calcium ion concentrations. However, the adenosine receptor modulations of the histamine responses are relatively insensitive to fluctuations in either extra‐or intracellular calcium ion concentrations, and thus cannot be mediated by effects on calcium ion movements.
Review of the Conflict Between Migratory Birds and Electricity Power Grids in the African-Eurasian Region

Pursuant to the recommendation of the 37 Meeting of the Standing Committee, the AEWA and CMS Secretariats commissioned Bureau Waardenburg to undertake a review of the conflict between migratory birds and electricity power grids in the African-Eurasian region, as well as of available mitigation measures and their effectiveness. Their report is presented in this information document and an executive summary is also provided as document UNEP/CMS/Conf.10. 29. A Resolution on power lines and migratory birds is also tabled for COP as UNEP/CMS/Resolution10.11. CMS
Solution‐Crystallized Organic Field‐Effect Transistors with Charge‐Acceptor Layers: High‐Mobility and Low‐Threshold‐Voltage Operation in Air

For the development of low-cost fl exible electronic devices organic fi eld-effect transistors (OFETs) are highly anticipated for use in fundamental switching components because OFETs allow easy production routes from solution at low temperatures, which do not damage the plastic substrates. Processes such as the spin-coating of polymers or polycrystalline thin fi lms are indeed very advantageous because they allow mass production on large-area plastic backplanes. However, the typical performance of solution-coated organic thin-fi lm transistors is not yet satisfactory for their expected use in common applications such as active matrices in large-area fl exible displays. Though mobility of more than 10 cm 2 V − 1 s − 1 is achieved for devices based on vapor-grown organic single crystals, [ 1–3 ] these “hand-made” devices are not suitable for industrial production. In addition, an equally important requirement for their practical usage is stable operation in ambient atmosphere. Here, we report high-mobility organic single-crystal transistors of air-stable compound 2,7-dioctyl[1]benzothieno[3,2b ][1]benzothiophene (C 8 -BTBT) treated with a 2,3,5,6-tetrafl uoro-7,7,8,8tetracyanoquinodimethane (F 4 -TCNQ) solution. A method of oriented growth is employed to provide fully single-crystal domains of the C 8 -BTBT main channels, regulating crystallographic direction during the fi lm growth. Charge mobility as high as 3.5–6 cm 2 V − 1 s − 1 is achieved in the saturation regime, owing to the almost perfectly periodic crystal packing that allows effective intermolecular exchange of π electrons. Excellent air stability due to the high ionization potential is reported for C 8 -BTBT, [ 4 ] though it had the drawback of a relatively high
EFFECTS OF RAPAMYCIN ON GROWTH FACTOR‐STIMULATED VASCULAR SMOOTH MUSCLE CELL DNA SYNTHESIS INHIBITION OF BASIC FIBROBLAST GROWTH FACTOR AND PLATELET‐DERIVED GROWTH FACTOR ACTION AND ANTAGONISM OF RAPAMYCIN BY FK506

Rapamycin (RPM) is a potent and effective immuno-suppressant which we have shown previously to inhibit intimai thickening in rat allograft and balloon-injured arteries. In this report, we have examined the effects of RPM on growth factor-induced vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) DNA synthesis. RPM potently inhibited platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) (IC50=5×10-9 M) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) (IC50=8×10-10 M)-induced VSMC DNA synthesis. In contrast, only the highest concentrations of FK506 and CsA significantly altered PDGF- or bFGF-induced VSMC DNA synthesis. Addition of RPM (10-9 M) at as late as 46 hr after growth factor addition still effectively suppressed bFGF- or PDGF-induced DNA synthesis by 76% and 54%, respectively. The extent of the antagonism of RPM's inhibition of bFGF-induced VSMC DNA synthesis by FK506 was inversely proportional to RPM concentration and directly proportional to FK506 concentration.
Nocardia Infections in Solid Organ Transplantation

Nocardia species are ubiquitous saprophytic gram-positive bacteria in the ‘aerobic actinomycetes’ group (1), which also includes Corynebacterium, Rhodococcus, Gordonia, Tsukamurella, Actinomadura and Mycobacterium (2–4). More than 30 of the 80 Nocardia species characterized have been associated with disease (2,5,6). The most important causes of infection in transplant recipients are Nocardia asteroides sensu stricto (1), N. farcinica, N. nova, N. brasiliensis, N. otitidiscaviarum and the N. transvalensis complex (4,6–9). Molecular methods have now identified many new species which cause infection (2,6,10), including N. veterana (11), N. abscessus (12), N. paucivorans (13), and N. wallacei and N. blacklockiae of the N. transvalensis complex (9). Nocardia cyriacigeorgica is becoming a commonly identified human pathogen (2,5,14–19). From 1995 to 2004, the most common Nocardia species of 765 United States (US) isolates were N. nova (28%), N. brasiliensis (14%), N. farcinica (14%) and N. cyriacigeorgica (13%) (19).
Research on Oversight Mechanisms of Online Car-Hailing Platforms Based on Three-Party Game

Online car-hailing has become a very popular travel mode in China in recent years. In order to provide decision support for government so that the car-hailing industry can develop better, the present paper built a mathematical model among the government, online car-hailing platforms and consumers based on game theory. After analyzing the eight strategies of Nash equilibrium and mixed strategy Nash equilibrium, it has been found that the government is supposed to make safety codes, conduct rewards and punishment system, define responsibility for both platforms and consumers clearly and enhance publicity to keep the industry developing steadily.
An Assessment of Group Support Systems Experimental Research: Methodology and Results

By mid-1998, approximately 200 different controlled experiments had been published in 230 articles in refereed journals or major conference proceedings, which examined processes and outcomes in computer-supported group decision making. This paper is a concise overview of what has been studied and how: the systems, independent, intervening, adaptation, and dependent variables, manipulated or measured, and experimental procedures employed. Part I categorizes the contextual and intervening factors. Part II analyzes 1,582 hypotheses resulting from pairings of independent and dependent variables. The results show that the modal outcome for GSS systems compared with face-to-face (FtF) methods is "no difference," while the overall percentage of positive effects for hypotheses that compare GSS with FtF is a disappointing 16.6 percent. Experiments with seven to ten groups per treatment condition working on idea-generation tasks and using GSS technology show an improvement up to 29.0 percent. These results are moderated by technology, process structure, communication mode, group factors, task type, the number of experimental groups per treatment condition, and the type of dependent variable measured. The purpose of this paper is to aid the GSS researcher by presenting detailed results of what has been studied and found in previous experiments, along with a discussion of what needs to be studied.
An Analysis of Academic and Institutional Factors Affecting Graduation Among Engineering Students at a South African University

The study investigated the relationship between timely graduation and academic and institutional factors for a cohort of Engineering students at a South African university. The sample was restricted to 1595 incoming students beginning during 2009–2011 who were tracked to 2016, allowing for an eight-year graduation period for the initial cohort. Both descriptive statistics and regression models were employed in the analysis. The results demonstrate that the characteristic profile of a student graduating on time in the Engineering programme is likely to be non-African, have high admission point scores (above 40), pass more than 75% of their credits in the first year, have financial aid and make regular use of Supplemental Instruction. In other words, students who have financial and prior academic advantages are the most likely graduates. These results suggest that universities should give serious consideration to academic support and financial aid provision.
Mecanismos moleculares de las estatinas sobre el cáncer

Las estatinas son inhibidores de la 3-hidroxi-3-metilglutaril coenzima A reductasa, enzima involucrada en el paso limitante de velocidad de la sintesis del colesterol, al reducir la 3-hidroxi-3-metilgluatril coenzima A a mevalonato. Desde su descubrimiento como metabolitos de varias especies de hongos, las estatinas se han empleado en el tratamiento de la hipercolesterolemia y otras enfermedades cardiovasculares. En anos recientes, se recopilo abundante informacion en la investigacion acerca de la accion molecular de las estatinas, sugiriendo que tienen un efecto en celulas de cancer in vitro e in vivo. La frecuencia de uso de estos medicamentos ha hecho que multiples estudios alrededor del mundo exploren su potencial en el tratamiento contra el cancer. A pesar del creciente numero de publicaciones al respecto, el mecanismo molecular de las estatinas en el cancer no esta del todo elucidado y cada vez se encuentran mas genes y proteinas involucradas. En este trabajo se exploro el efecto de la simvastatina en la viabilidad, migracion, e invasion de las celulas de osteosarcoma de rata UMR-106. Los hallazgos aqui consignados muestran que la simvastatina disminuye la viabilidad celular de las lineas celulares MCF-7 de cancer de mama, LNCaP de cancer de prostata, UMR-106 de osteosarcoma de rata y BRL-4 de hepatocitos de rata de una forma dependiente de la dosis. Adicionalmente, se determino que la simvastatina tambien disminuye la proliferacion, migracion e invasion celular de forma dependiente de la dosis en las celulas UMR-106. Asimismo, la via de senalizacion JAK/STAT se ha reportado como una de las vias que frecuentemente se encuentra desregulada en el cancer, razon por la que se evaluaron los efectos de la simvastatina en su activacion y regulacion. Se encontro que la simvastatina induce la expresion de SOCS-2, SOCS-3 y CIS, reguladores negativos de la via JAK/STAT, ademas de disminuir la actividad transcripcional de STAT1 y STAT5 inducida por suero fetal bovino (SFB) y hormona de crecimiento (GH). Estos resultados muestran el potencial de la simvastatina como medicamento en el tratamiento del cancer y su selectividad lo hace un fuerte candidato como terapia contra el osteosarcoma. / Abstract. Statins are inhibitors of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase, which is involved in the rate-limiting step of cholesterol synthesis, when reducing 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A to mevalonato. Since their discovery as metabolites in several fungi species, statins have been used in the treatment of hypercholesterolemia and other cardiovascular diseases. In recent years, overflowing information in the research of molecular action of statins, suggesting that they have an effect in cancer cells both in vitro and in vivo. Recurrent use of these medications has caused that multiple studies around the world have explored their potential as anti-cancer agents. Despite the increasing number of publications on the subject, the molecular mechanisms of statins on cancer are not entirely elucidated and more proteins and…