Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dietary salt loading impairs arterial vascular reactivity 1 – 3

Background: Studies of sodium have shown improvements in vascular function and blood pressure (BP). The effect of chronic sodium loading from a low-sodium diet to a Western diet on vascular function and BP has been less well studied. Objective: The objective was to examine the effects of dietary salt intake on vascular function and BP. Design: Thirty-five hypertensive volunteers met the inclusion criteria. After a 2-wk run-in with a low-sodium diet (60 mmol/d), the participants maintained their diets and were randomly assigned to receive sequentially 1 of 3 interventions for 4 wk, with a 2-wk washout between interventions: sodium-free tomato juice (A), tomato juice containing 90 mmol Na (B), and tomato juice containing 140 mmol Na (C). The outcomes were changes in pulse wave velocity (PWV), systolic BP (SBP), and diastolic BP (DBP). Results: The difference in PWV between interventions B and Awas 0.39 m/s (95% CI: 0.18, 0.60 m/s; P 0.001) and between C and A was 0.35 m/s (95% CI: 0.13, 0.57 m/s; P 0.01). Differences in SBP and DBP between interventions B and A were 4.4 mm Hg (95% CI: 1.2, 7.8 mm Hg; P 0.01) and 2.4 mm Hg (95% CI: 0.8, 4.1 mm Hg; P 0.001), respectively, and between interventions C and Awere 5.6 mm Hg (95% CI: 2.7, 8.4 mm Hg; P 0.01) and 3.3 mm Hg (95% CI: 1.5, 5.0 mm Hg; P 0.001), respectively. Changes in PWV correlated with changes in SBP (r = 0.52) and DBP (r = 0.58). Conclusions: Dietary salt loading produced significant increases in PWV and BP in hypertensive volunteers. Correlations between BP and PWV suggest that salt loading may have a BP-independent effect on vascular wall function. This further supports the importance of dietary sodium restriction in the management of hypertension. This trial was registered with the Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry as ACTRN12609000161224. Am J Clin Nutr 2010;91:557–64.
Diagnosis and management of heart failure: implications of the recent European Society of Cardiology Guidelines for the older patient.

The European Society of Cardiology has recently published new guidelines on the diagnosis and management of heart failure [1]. This updates previous guidelines and adds several important new recommendations in the light of signiWcant recent advances in knowledge. A number of the sections in the guidelines are readily extended to the older patient with heart failure, but many of the points highlighted warrant speciWc comment as they have important implications for clinical practice. More data on the epidemiology of heart failure has become available in the last few years. In Europe, the prevalence of symptomatic heart failure ranges from 0.4%–2% [2, 3]. In older patients the presence of left ventricular systolic dysfunction may be as high as 10% [4] when assessed echocardiographically with structural heart disease widespread [5]. Normal systolic function heart failure is encountered frequently in older patients and this may have implications for treatment [6].
Effectiveness of Peer Group and Conventional Method (Dentist) of Oral Health Education Programme Among 12-15 year Old School Children - A Randomized Controlled Trial.

INTRODUCTION Oral Health Education (OHE) in schools is routinely delivered by the dentist. Another approach which can be cost-effective, easily accessible and equally effective is the trained group of peer students. AIM The objective of the present study was to assess and compare the effectiveness of peer-led and conventional method (dentist-led), OHE on oral health status, oral health knowledge, attitude and practices among 12-15 year old government school children in Bengaluru South Zone-I at baseline, 3 months and 6 months. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study population comprised of 450 subjects, 150 each in peer, dentist and control group. At baseline, a pre-tested 14 item questionnaire was used to assess the existing oral health knowledge, attitude and oral hygiene practices of the subjects. Clinical examination included recording of plaque index and gingival index, by a pre-calibrated examiner. OHE was provided by the peer group and dentist (using power-point presentation, chalk and talk presentation, using charts, posters, booklets and tooth brushing demonstration models). Data was analyzed using Kruskal Wallis and Chi-square test. RESULTS Both the peer-led and dentist-led OHE intervention were effective in improving oral health knowledge, attitude, oral hygiene practices and oral health status at three and six months when compared to control group. The adolescents in the peer-led group, however, exhibited statistically better oral health behavior than their counterparts in the dentist-led group and control group. CONCLUSION The two educator-led strategies (peer group and dentist) had a modest effect on the outcome variables included in the study, the results provide some evidence to show that the peer-led strategy may provide a feasible and almost equally effective alternative to the traditional dentist led strategy of oral health education.
Molecular Events that Control the Protein C Anticoagulant Pathway

Despite its rather recent identification, the protein C activation system has afforded many investigators with unique opportunities to probe the molecular basis by which cofactors function. Thrombomodulin clearly exerts its specificity switch both by interacting directly with the fibrinogen binding site on thrombin (exosite 1) and by altering the conformation within the enzyme center. At least in the case of thrombomodulin, these conformational changes appear to overcome repulsive interactions between acidic residues in the substrate and the enzyme. To determine whether the models derived from attempts at the molecular analysis of the protein C activation complex are at all relevant to the other coagulation complexes will require further examination, but the concept that residues near the cleavage site contact residues in the free enzyme in an unfavorable fashion, and that the cofactors overcome these inhibitory interactions is a hypothesis that is directly testable for all of the complexes. The availability of crystal structures for the coagulation enzymes, coupled with the capacity to mutagenize both the substrate and the enzyme, promises to provide new insights into molecular events that control coagulation.
Design of a Permanent Magnet Linear Generator

This paper present our experience in the design of a permanent magnet generator. The generator has a long translator and a permanent magnet mover as magnetic field source. It generates a three phase electrical current. The generator is proposed to be operated using a dual chamber free piston internal combustion linear engine. The finished product is to be placed in a hybrid electric vehicle to generate electricity to run the motors and to charge the batteries. The machine design is performed using a 2D finite element analysis. The generator produces a three phase voltage and the power output is 7 kW. This paper also presents the fabrication of the prototype.
Minimax Gaussian Classification & Clustering

We present minimax bounds for classification and clustering error in the setting where covariates are drawn from a mixture of two isotropic Gaussian distributions. Here, we define clustering error in a discriminative fashion, demonstrating fundamental connections between classification (supervised) and clustering (unsupervised). For both classification and clustering, our lower bounds show that without enough samples, the best any classifier or clustering rule can do is close to random guessing. For classification, as part of our upper bound analysis, we show that Fisher’s linear discriminant achieves a fast minimax rate Θ(1/n) with enough samples n. For clustering, as part of our upper bound analysis, we show that a clustering rule constructed using principal component analysis achieves the minimax rate with enough samples. We also provide lower and upper bounds for the high-dimensional sparse setting where the dimensionality of the covariates p is potentially larger than the number of samples n, but where the difference between the Gaussian means is sparse.
Left Ventricular Velocity of Propagation: A Useful Non-Invasive Measurement When Assessing Hemodynamic Alterations in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Background Left ventricular (LV) velocity of propagation (Vp) has been shown to be inversely related to the LV relaxation time constant. We sought to examine Vp from a group of chronic pulmonary hypertension (cPH) patients and compare these values to Vp obtained in normal individuals and patients with known LV diastolic dysfunction (LVDD). Methods Echo-Doppler data and Vp measurements were retrospectively collected from all patients. The studied population was divided into four groups. Group I comprised of 15 patients with normal LV diastole, group II included 27 patients with stage 1 LVDD, group III was made up of 27 patients with stage 2 LVDD, and group IV included 66 patients with cPH. Results In the cPH population studied, patients had smaller end-diastolic LV cavities with the highest Vp values but their early mitral inflow to Vp ratios were not different from healthy controls. In addition, Vp values and pulmonary wedge capillary pressures were significantly associated in patients with LV dysfunction or pulmonary hypertension (P < 0.01). Conclusions LVVp might be a useful non-invasive measurement to be routinely obtained in cPH patients as it probably not only reflects the compressive forces being exerted on the LV, known to increase Vp, but also might be quite useful for the non-invasive assessment of pulmonary capillary wedge pressures in these patients.
Routine inclusion of long-term functional and patient-reported outcomes into trauma registries: The FORTE project

BACKGROUND The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine) recently recommended inclusion of postdischarge health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and patient-reported outcomes (PROs) metrics to benchmark the quality of trauma care. Currently, these measures are not routinely collected at most trauma centers. We sought to determine the feasibility and value of adding such long-term outcome measures to trauma registries. METHODS As part of the FORTE (Functional Outcomes and Recovery after Trauma Emergencies) project, we included patients with an Injury Severity Score of 9 or greater, admitted to the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA, who were identified retrospectively using the institutional trauma registry and contacted 6 or 12 months after injury to participate in a telephone survey evaluating HRQoL (Short Form 12 [SF-12]), PROs (Trauma Quality of Life), posttraumatic stress disorder, return to work, residential status, and health care utilization. RESULTS Data were collected for 171 of 394 eligible patients: 85/189 (45%) at 6 months and 86/205 (42%) at 12 months; 25%/29% (6/12 months) patients could not be contacted, 15%/16% (6/12 months) declined to participate, and 15%/13% (6/12 months) were interested in participating at another time but were not reached again. Approximately 20% patients screened positive for posttraumatic stress disorder, and half had not yet returned to work. There were significant reductions in SF-12 physical composite scores relative to population norms (mean, 50 [SD, 10]) at 6 months (mean, 44; 95% confidence interval [CI], 41–47) and 12 months (45; 95% CI, 42–47); no difference was noted in the SF-12 mental composite scores (6 months: 51 [95% CI, 48–54]; 12 months: 50 [95% CI, 46–53]). CONCLUSIONS Trauma patients reported considerable impairment 6 and 12 months after injury. Routine collection of PROs and HRQoL provides important data regarding trauma outcomes beyond mortality and will enable the development of quality improvement metrics that better reflect patients’ postinjury experiences. Improved and alternate methods for collection of these data need to be developed to enhance response rates before widespread adoption across trauma centers in the United States. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Prognostic/epidemiologic, level II; Therapeutic, level III.
Opposite effects of mu and kappa opiate agonists on dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens and in the dorsal caudate of freely moving rats.

We studied the effect of opiates acting preferentially on mu receptors, like morphine, methadone and fentanyl (mu agonists) and on kappa receptors, like U50,488, bremazocine and tifluadom (kappa agonists) on the release of dopamine (DA) and of its metabolites, dihydroxyphenylacetic acid and homovanillic acid, from the nucleus accumbens and from the dorsal caudate of freely moving rats using brain dialysis coupled to high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. Spontaneous behavior was videotaped and analyzed by estimating the percentage of time spent by the animals in performing certain specific behavioral items. Mu agonists stimulated DA-release and metabolism in the accumbens at lower doses than in the caudate. Maximal stimulation of DA release did not exceed 100% except after high doses of methadone (10 mg/kg) which stimulated DA release in the accumbens by more than 300%, possibly as a result of hypoxia. Stimulation of DA release was associated to stimulation of behavior at low doses and to a biphasic inhibitory-stimulatory syndrome after higher doses of the opiates. Pretreatment with low doses of naloxone (0.1 mg/kg s.c.) or with the irreversible mu antagonist beta-funaltrexamine (10 nmol i.c.v.) increased the ED50 for the stimulation of DA release by the three opiates. In contrast with mu agonists, agonists of kappa receptors like U50,488, bremazocine and tifluadom decreased DA release in the accumbens and in the caudate and reduced motor activity. These effects were antagonized only by rather high doses of naloxone (2.5 mg/kg s.c.) and were not affected by pretreatment with beta-funaltrexamine (10 nmol i.c.v.). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
The Validity of Claims Made in Orthopaedic Print Advertisements

Purpose: Orthopaedic surgeons are frequently presented with advertisements for orthopaedic and medical products in which companies make claims of clinical and scientific fact. This study was designed to evaluate the statements made in orthopaedic print advertisements and determine whether they are supported by scientific data. Methods: Fifty statements from fifty advertisements were chosen at random from six peer-reviewed orthopaedic journals. The companies that placed the advertisements were contacted to provide supporting data for the statement of clinical or scientific fact. Three senior orthopaedic surgeons evaluated the data for quality and support. A high-quality study was defined as a study that could be published in the peer-reviewed literature. A well-supported statement was defined as a statement with enough supporting evidence to be used in clinical practice. The evaluating surgeons were blinded to product and company identification. Results: The supporting data were from a published source for eighteen claims (36%), from a presentation at a public forum or a scientific meeting for twelve claims (24%), or were "data on file" only at the company for twelve claims (24%). Interobserver agreement among the surgeons evaluating the advertisements for quality and support was good (the average intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.72). Of the fifty claims, twenty-two were considered unsupported by scientific data, seventeen were classified as possibly supported, seven were well supported, and four were from companies that did not respond despite three requests. Claims that were supported by published data were significantly more likely to be rated as well supported (p < 0.001). All twelve claims that were supported purely by "data on file" at the company were considered to be poorly supported. Conclusions: Orthopaedic surgeons should interpret claims made in orthopaedic print advertisements with caution. Approximately half of the claims are not supported by enough data to be used in a clinical decision-making process.
Human cytomegalovirus induces a direct inhibitory effect on antigen presentation by monocyte‐derived immature dendritic cells

Summary. The hypothesis that productive infection of monocyte‐derived immature dendritic cells (DCs) by the human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is associated with decreased immunostimulatory capacity was tested in this study. DCs were infected with 60–80% efficiency by HCMV strain TB40/E. Infected versus uninfected cells were analysed by fluorescence‐activated cell sorting and by immunocytochemistry for surface expression of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) and co‐stimulatory molecules as well as cytokine secretion during the 3 d after infection. The immunostimulatory capacity of these cells was measured by mixed leucocyte reaction. In spite of the fact that HCMV infection of DCs induced an increased release of tumour necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α) and a decreased interleukin 10 (IL‐10) production, expression of MHC class I and II, as well as CD40 and CD80 molecules, were downregulated on infected DCs. The mixed leucocyte reaction showed significantly reduced immunostimulatory capacity of infected DC cultures. Simultaneous detection of MHC antigens and virus antigens by double immunofluorescence revealed that downregulation occurred only on infected cells, but not on uninfected bystander cells. These findings demonstrate on a single cell level, together with the marked downregulation of MHC and co‐stimulatory molecules in the presence of high TNF‐α and low IL‐10 levels, a direct inhibitory effect of HCMV on antigen presentation by immature DCs independent of soluble mediators.
Están los países del Mercado Común Centroamericano preparados para una mayor integración regional

El presente articulo analiza algunos criterios y variables descritas en la literatura sobre Areas Monetarias Optimas, con el fin de evaluar el grado de preparacion de los paises del Mercado Comun Centroamericano (MCCA) para profundizar en su proceso de integracion regional. Analizando el comportamiento de distintos criterios y variables macroeconomicas vinculadas con la estructura productiva, el sector financiero o el sector exterior, se valorara el nivel de optimalidad del MCCA como area monetaria. Los resultados sugieren que el MCCA funciona como una Union Aduanera pero no cumple los requisitos para convertirse, en un futuro inmediato, en una union monetaria
Immortalized olfactory ensheathing glia promote axonal regeneration of rat retinal ganglion neurons

Olfactory bulb ensheathing glia (OEG) have attracted special attention during the last few years because of their unique properties in promoting regeneration of adult mammalian central nervous system (CNS) components. However the molecular and cellular characteristics responsible for this capacity remain to be revealed. Such studies are presently hindered by the lack of a plentiful source of homogenous OEG. Thus the availability of immortalized OEG lines maintaining the regenerative characteristics of the primary cultures would represent an unlimited source of OEG for use not only in biochemical analyses of neuroregenerative mechanisms but also to characterize their regenerative properties in models in culture and in vivo. We have immortalized primary rat OEG using the SV40 large T antigen expressed from a constitutive cellular promotor, and report here the isolation and characterization of clonal lines. These OEG clonal lines were comparable to primary OEG and Schwann cells in the promotion of axonal regeneration of mature rat retinal ganglion neurons (RGN) but, significantly, this culture assay system more closely reflects the in vivo reparative properties of OEG on transected nerves than other assays of neuritogenesis in that it revealed OEG cells to promote the growth of a larger number of long axons than Schwann cells. Using this assay we were able to grade our OEG lines for their neuroregenerative capacity, opening the possibility of identifying molecules with correlative expression levels in these cells. Our preliminary characterization revealed that the expression level of a classical OEG marker, the p75‐NGF receptor, does not correlate with neuroregenerative capacity.
Development of the Emergency Medical Services Role Identity Scale (EMS-RIS)

This article describes the development and validation of the theoretically grounded Emergency Medical Services Role Identity Scale (EMS-RIS), which measures four domains of EMS role identity. The EMS-RIS was developed using a mixed methods approach. Key informants informed item development and the scale was validated using a representative probability sample of EMS personnel. Factor analyses revealed a conceptually consistent, four-factor solution with sound psychometric properties as well as evidence of convergent and discriminant validities. Social workers work with EMS professionals in crisis settings and as their counselors when they are distressed. The EMS-RIS provides useful information for the assessment of and intervention with distressed EMS professionals, as well as how role identity may influence occupational stress.
Diagnostic Ability of Wide-field Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Maps Using Swept-Source Optical Coherence Tomography for Detection of Preperimetric and Early Perimetric Glaucoma

Purpose: To evaluate the diagnostic ability of wide-field retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) maps with swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) for detection of preperimetric (PPG) and early perimetric glaucoma (EG). Methods: One hundred eighty-four eyes, including 67 healthy eyes, 43 eyes with PPG, and 74 eyes with EG, were analyzed. Patients underwent a comprehensive ocular examination including red-free RNFL photography, visual field testing and wide-field SS-OCT scanning (DRI-OCT-1 Atlantis; Topcon, Tokyo, Japan). SS-OCT provides a wide-field RNFL thickness map and a SuperPixel map, which are composed of the RNFL deviation map of the peripapillary area and the deviation map of the composition of the ganglion cell layer with the inner plexiform layer and RNFL (GC-IPL+RNFL) in the macular area. The ability to discriminate PPG and EG from healthy eyes was assessed using sensitivity, specificity, and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) for all parameters and criteria provided by the wide-field SS-OCT scan. Results: The wide-field RNFL thickness map using SS-OCT showed the highest sensitivity of PPG-diagnostic and EG-diagnostic performance compared with the other SS-OCT criteria based on the internal normative base (93.0 and 97.3%, respectively). Among the SS-OCT continuous parameters, the RFNL thickness of the 7 clock-hour, inferior and inferotemporal macular ganglion cell analyses showed the largest AUC of PPG-diagnostic and EG-diagnostic performance (AUC=0.809 to 0.865). Conclusions: The wide-field RNFL thickness map using SS-OCT performed well in distinguishing eyes with PPG and EG from healthy eyes. In the clinical setting, wide-field RNFL maps of SS-OCT can be useful tools for detection of early-stage glaucoma.