Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Measurement Error Corrected Sodium and Potassium Intake Estimation Using 24-Hour Urinary Excretion

&NA;Epidemiological studies of the association of sodium and potassium intake with cardiovascular disease risk have almost exclusively relied on self-reported dietary data. Here, 24-hour urinary excretion assessments are used to correct the dietary self-report data for measurement error under the assumption that 24-hour urine recovery provides a biomarker that differs from usual intake according to a classical measurement model. Under this assumption, dietary self-reports underestimate sodium by 0% to 15%, overestimate potassium by 8% to 15%, and underestimate sodium/potassium ratio by ≈20% using food frequency questionnaires, 4-day food records, or three 24-hour dietary recalls in Women’s Health Initiative studies. Calibration equations are developed by linear regression of log-transformed 24-hour urine assessments on corresponding log-transformed self-report assessments and several study subject characteristics. For each self-report method, the calibration equations turned out to depend on race and age and strongly on body mass index. After adjustment for temporal variation, calibration equations using food records or recalls explained 45% to 50% of the variation in (log-transformed) 24-hour urine assessments for sodium, 60% to 70% of the variation for potassium, and 55% to 60% of the variation for sodium/potassium ratio. These equations may be suitable for use in epidemiological disease association studies among postmenopausal women. The corresponding signals from food frequency questionnaire data were weak, but calibration equations for the ratios of sodium and potassium/total energy explained ≈35%, 50%, and 45% of log-biomarker variation for sodium, potassium, and their ratio, respectively, after the adjustment for temporal biomarker variation and may be suitable for cautious use in epidemiological studies. Clinical Trial Registration—URL: www.clinicaltrials. gov. Unique identifier: NCT00000611.
Effects of tributyltin on metamorphosis and gonadal differentiation of Xenopus laevis at environmentally relevant concentrations

Tributyltin (TBT), a well known endocrine disruptor, has high teratogenicity to embryos of amphibian (Xenopus tropicalis). An amphibian metamorphosis assay (AMA) and a complete AMA (CAMA) were conducted for TBT. In AMA, the body weight, the snout-to-vent length and the hind limb length of X. laevis tadpoles were decreased in tributyltin chloride (TBTCl; 12.5–200 ng/L) treatment groups after 7 days exposure. TBT greatly retarded the development of tadpoles, decreased the number of follicle and induced thyroid follicle cell hyperplasia after 19 days exposure. In CAMA, 10 and 100 ng/L TBTCl led to various malformations of gonad, including intersex, segmental aplasia and multiple ovary cavities of X. laevis following exposure from stages 46 to stage 66. The sex ratio was male-biased in TBT treatment groups. These results suggest that TBT delayed the metamorphosis, inhibited the growth of tadpoles and disrupted the gonadal differentiation of X. laevis at environmentally relevant concentrations.
Men's and Women's Responses to Two-Sided Health News Coverage: A Moderated Mediation Model

This study explores how audiences respond to news coverage of food and nutrition topics when that coverage provides either 2-sided (positive and negative) information or 1-sided, unanimously positive information. A moderated mediation model helps clarify the different impacts of 2- and 1-sided news coverage and the psychological processes they elicit. Specifically, gender moderates the relative effects of 1- and 2-sided news stories; ambivalent feelings play a mediating role in the process. The findings confirm the model predictions: When reading 2-sided as opposed to 1-sided news, men experience more ambivalent feelings, less favorable attitudes toward the health issues, and lower intentions to adopt the advocated behaviors, whereas women do not exhibit such differences. Moreover, the ambivalent feelings mediate the interaction between gender and news presentation (i.e., 1- or 2-sided) on attitudes toward health issues and behavioral intentions to adopt advocated health behaviors.
Five-year retrospective review of safety, injected volumes, and longevity of the hyaluronic acid Belotero Basic for facial treatments in 317 patients.

BACKGROUND Hyaluronic acids (HA) fillers abound in the European community, many with different names in different countries. One such HA is Belotero Basic, recently approved by the FDA in the United States. OBJECTIVE The objective of this article is to report on use of this HA in a German clinic, over a period of 5+ years, in 317 patients (668 treatments). METHODS AND MATERIALS Authors retrospectively examined patient charts of 317 patients (312 females), aged 24 to 87 years. Chart review showed areas treated, range of volumes per area, and mean volumes. Patient satisfaction data was collected anecdotally over the five years. RESULTS Volumes of the HA injected ranged from 0.2 mL to 3.0 mL, depending on the area being treated. No serious adverse events were noted in the chart review, nor was any Tyndall effect observed in the treated areas. Anecdotal information suggests high patient satisfaction with results, based on the return of these patients to the clinic for other treatments over the more than five years. CONCLUSION Belotero Basic provides aesthetically pleasing results for treatment of facial defects, without carrying a risk of serious adverse events. North American physicians now have a new HA to consider as part of their treatment protocols.
Exploring computer-based multilingual negotiation support for English – Chinese dyads: can we negotiate in our native languages?

The increasing number of international negotiations involving multiple languages has triggered a growing reliance on computer-based multilingual support. Whereas empirical studies on negotiation support systems (NSS) have shown that NSS generally improve negotiation performance, very few NSS exist that cater for multilingual negotiations. With multilingual support, international negotiators of different language backgrounds are expected to address communication barriers and problems. This study involves the development of an NSS prototype with multilingual support as well as a laboratory experiment to examine the efficacy of such support on six important negotiation outcome variables (individual outcome, joint outcome, equality of outcome, time to settlement, satisfaction with process and satisfaction with outcome). Findings suggested significant effects of NSS support on individual outcome and joint outcome. Multilingual support helped to improve equality of outcome (under qualified conditions), but the time taken was significantly longer. The paper underlines the possibility and significance of computer-based multilingual support to address diverse linguistic groups in global negotiation context.
New Variants of Nav1.5/SCN5A Encode Na+ Channels in the Brain

Exon6A of Nav1.5/SCN5A was first found in the cloning of Nav1.5 from the human neuroblastoma cell line NB-1 (Ou et al., 16), but its expression in brain and non-brain tissue had not been identified. In this study, we have further investigated this new exon and compared it with exon6 of Nav1.5/SCN5A. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and sequence analysis both confirmed that it is exon6A that encodes Nav1.5 in brain tissue, and it is exon6 that encodes Nav1.5 in non-brain tissue. The expression of exon6A in different parts of the brain is different, with expression levels in the order of hippocampus > cerebral cortex > brain stem > cerebellum. Different expression levels of exon6 in different tissues of Wistar rats were also found. These results suggest that exon6A is unique in encoding the Nav1.5 channels in the central nervous system. In addition, novel alternative splicing of Nav1.5/SCN5A, lacking exon24, was first found in our study. This alternative splicing was also found in other tissues, such as heart, lung and testis. However, the ratio of the two variants changed differently in different types of tissues in developing rats. These results suggest that Nav1.5/SCN5A has a newly identified alternative splicing, and the Nav1.5 channels in the brain are encoded by new variants of Nav1.5/SCN5A.
LOCATION OF ACTIVE CONTACTS IN PATIENTS WITH PRIMARY DYSTONIA TREATED WITH GLOBUS PALLIDUS DEEP BRAIN STIMULATION

OBJECTIVE Deep brain stimulation of the globus pallidus internus has been used for the treatment of various forms of dystonia, but the factors influencing postoperative outcomes remain unknown. We compared the location of the contacts being used for stimulation (active contacts) in patients with cervical dystonia, generalized dystonia, and Parkinson's disease and correlated the results with clinical outcome. METHODS Postoperative magnetic resonance scans of 13 patients with cervical dystonia, six patients with generalized dystonia, and five patients with Parkinson's disease who underwent globus pallidus internus deep brain stimulation were analyzed. We assessed the location of the active contacts relative to the midcommisural point and in relation to the anteroposterior and mediolateral boundaries of the pallidum. Postoperative outcome was measured with the Toronto Western Spasmodic Torticollis Rating Scale (for cervical dystonia) and the Burke-Fahn-Marsden Dystonia Rating Scale (for generalized dystonia) during the last follow-up. RESULTS We found that the location of the active contacts relative to the midcommisural point and the internal boundaries of the pallidum was similar across the groups. In our series, the contacts used for stimulation were clustered in the posterolateral region of the pallidum. Within that region, we found no correlation between the location of the contacts and postoperative outcome. CONCLUSION The location of the active contacts used for globus pallidus internus deep brain stimulation was similar in patients with cervical dystonia, generalized dystonia, and Parkinson's disease.
Deactivation of Norepinephrine by Peroxynitrite as a New Pathogenesis in the Hypotension of Septic Shock

Background Vascular hyporeactivity to catecholamines limits successful treatment of hypotension in septic shock. Large amounts of nitric oxide (NO) and superoxide anion (O2−1·) are produced in response to bacterial endotoxins and/or inflammatory cytokines. NO reacts with O2−1· to form the potentially toxic NO metabolite, peroxynitrite (ONOO−1). The purpose of this study was to investigate whether ONOO−1 decreases the vasocontractile activity of norepinephrine. Methods Norepinephrine was treated with ONOO−1 or 3-morpholinosydonimine-N-ethyl-carbamine (SIN-1; an ONOO−1 producer) in a 5 × 10−2 m sodium phosphate buffer solution at pH 7.4, and absorbance of the product was measured spectrophotometrically at 295 and 370 nm. Norepinephrine pretreated with ONOO−1 was administered to isolated rat thoracic aortas to observe contractions in functional experiments. The rate constant between norepinephrine and ONOO−1 was determined via a competition assay with cysteine in functional experiments. Norepinephrine pretreated with ONOO−1 was injected intravenously into anesthetized rats to measure blood pressure. Results Norepinephrine pretreated with ONOO−1 was confirmed spectrally as oxidized norepinephrine. Norepinephrine pretreated with ONOO−1 decreased its vasocontractile force in an ONOO−1 (10−6, up to 3 × 10−4 m) concentration–dependent manner (EC50 = 5.1 × 10−5 m). The decrease in its force was lower at pretreatment with ONOO−1 in a lower pH buffer. A rate constant for the ONOO−1–norepinephrine reaction was 6 × 102 m/s. Norepinephrine (10−7 m) incubated with SIN-1 (10−3 m) decreased its vasocontractile force in an incubation time–dependent manner. Administration of norepinephrine pretreated with ONOO−1 to anesthetized rats caused no significant change in arterial blood pressure. Conclusions These results indicate that norepinephrine was oxidized and deactivated by ONOO−1. This deactivation may, at least in part, account for the hyporeactivities of vasocontraction to norepinephrine in septic shock.
The effect of long-term intravenous high dose B-complex vitamins with or without folic acid on serum homocysteine in hemodialysis patients.

BACKGROUND Many regimens using different doses of folic acid (FA) alone or with supplementation of B-complex vitamins (BCV) have been tested for the reduction of total homocysteine (tHcy) levels in hemodialysis (HD) patients. BCV are usually administered orally and for a short period. In the present study, we assessed the effect of long-term intravenous (IV) BCV on serum tHCy levels in HD patients, and the effect produced by moderate oral supplementation with FA. METHODS In a cohort of 37 patients under chronic HD treatment for a mean of 50.2 +/- 46.7 months, serum concentrations of tHcy, folate and vitamin B12 were determined at the end of four sequential periods: (A) three months without any FA supplementation, (B) three months with oral supplementation of 5 mg of FA three times weekly, (C) six months without FA supplementation, and (D) three months without BVC or FA supplementation. From the start of HD treatment and throughout the study until the beginning of period D, patients received a standard IV dose of BCV (B1 250 mg + B6 250 mg + B12 1.5 mg) three times per week, post-dialysis. RESULTS At the end of period B, mean serum tHcy levels were significantly lower than in periods A and C (13.7 +/- 3.6 micromol/L vs 19.6 +/- 10.8 micromol/L and 21.3 +/- 9.4 micromol/L, respectively, p < 0.001) and mean serum folate levels were significantly higher (20.7 +/- 7.4 ng/mL vs 5.0 +/- 2.8 ng/mL and 4.5 +/- 1.4 ng/mL, respectively, p < 0.01). At the end of period D, mean serum tHcy levels were significantly higher than in all the previons periods (29.3 +/- 13.5 micromol/L, p < 0.001). Twenty-six of the 37 patients (70.2%) had normal (< 15 micromol/L) serum tHcy levels at the end of period B and only one (2.7%) had normal tHcy at the end of period D. Mean serum vitamin B12 levels at the end of periods A, B and C were 100 times the usual normal values. At the end of period D, although significantly lowered (p < 0.001), they remained above the normal range. CONCLUSIONS Long-term high-dose BCV IV three times a week post-dialysis reduced serum tHcy levels only when combined with oral FA supplementation.
Generation and characterization of a tamoxifen‐inducible EomesCreER mouse line

Transgenic mouse lines expressing inducible forms of Cre‐recombinase in a tissue‐specific manner are powerful genetic tools for studying aspects of development and various processes in the adult. The T‐box transcription factor eomesodermin (Eomes) plays critical roles for maintenance and differentiation of different pools of stem and progenitor cells from early embryonic stages to adulthood. These include trophoblast stem cells, epiblast cells during the generation of the primary germ layers, neurogenic intermediate progenitor cells in embryonic and adult cortical neurogenesis, and maturing natural killer and T cells. Here, we report on the generation and analysis of an EomesCreER‐targeted allele by placing the tamoxifen‐activatable Cre‐recombinase (CreER) under the control of the Eomes genomic locus. We demonstrate that CreER expression recapitulates endogenous Eomes transcription within different progenitor cell populations. Tamoxifen administration specifically labels Eomes‐expressing cells and their progeny as demonstrated by crossing EomesCreER animals to different Cre‐inducible reporter strains. In summary, this novel EomesCreER allele can be used as elegant genetic tool that allows to follow the fate of Eomes‐positive cells and to genetically manipulate them in a temporal specific manner. genesis 51:725–733. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
From GRAFCET to Equivalent Graph for synthesis control of discrete events systems

This paper presents an approach to convert a GRAFCET specification into an Equivalent Graph which can be used in Supervisory Control Theory by a synthesis algorithm. The paper makes the semantics links between a normalized tool and an automaton structure. From this transformation, a synthesis control method is used for Supervisory Control Theory (SCT). This final aim is to obtain a deterministic and non-blocking automaton which satisfies safety and liveness specifications. Automaton representing a controller to implement into Programmable Logic Controller (PLC). A manufacturing system comes illustrate the paper.
Wild game in Texas.

The basic reference for this article was "Texas Plants—a checklist and ecological summary," by F.W. Gould, 1975 revision of MP-585, published by Texas Agricultural Experiment Station. Additional species are provided by the Introduction in the "Manual of the Vascular Plants of Texas," by D.S. Correll and M.C. Johnston, published In 1970 by Texas Research Foundation, Renner, Texas. References on vegetation of Texas are summarized in "Natural Vegetation of Texas and Adjacent Areas—1675-1975 A Bibliography" by F.E. Smeins and R.B. Shaw published as MP-1399 in 1978 by the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station. Soils and related information is available In "General Soil Map of Texas 1973" compiled by G.L. Godfrey, G.S. Mckee and Harvey Oakes, published by the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station in cooperation with the Soil Conservation Service. Summaries of land resource areas of Texas are included in "land Resource Regions and Major Land Resource Areas of the United Stations," Agriculture Handbook 296 revised December1981, by the United States Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. Grasses are well covered in "The Grasses of Texas" by F.W. Gould published in 1975 by Texas A&M University Press, College Station. The Land Resource Areas in Figure 1 are modified from Godfrey's 1973 publication by Fred Smeins and David Diamond, pp. 381-394 In "Wilderness and Natural Areas in Eastern United States: A Management Challenge," edited by David L. Kuihavey and Richard N. Conner in 1986 and published by the Center for Applied Studies, School of Forestry, Steven F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches.
Association of phenotypic and genotypic characteristics of invasive Streptococcus pyogenes isolates with clinical components of streptococcal toxic shock syndrome

Sixty-two invasive Streptococcus pyogenes strains, including 32 strains isolated from patients with streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS), were analyzed for the following phenotypic and genotypic characteristics: M-protein type, serum opacity factor production, protease production, the presence of streptococcal pyrogenic exotoxin (Spe) genes A, B, and C, and in vitro production of SpeA and SpeB. These characteristics were analyzed for possible associations with each other as well as with clinical components of STSS. M-type 1, the most commonly isolated M-type, was significantly associated with protease production. Protease activity was significantly associated with the clinical sign of soft tissue necrosis. M-type 1 and 3 strains from STSS patients were significantly associated with the clinical signs of shock and organ involvement as well as with SpeA production in vitro. Finally, the production of SpeA was significantly associated with the clinical component of shock and organ involvement as well as with rash. These data suggest that STSS does not make up a single syndrome but, rather, that the multiple STSS clinical criteria probably reflect different phenotypic characteristics of individual S. pyogenes isolates.
Non-crystallization and enhancement of field emission of cupric oxide nanowires induced by low-energy Ar Ion bombardment

The effect of Ar ion bombardment on field emission properties of CuO nanowires was investigated. A Kauffmann ion source was used to produce the Ar ion and bombard the CuO nanowires at the energy of 115, 215, and 415 eV. Non-crystallization and improvement of field emission properties of cupric oxide nanowires were observed. Lowest threshold field was obtained from nanowires after 215 eV Ar ion bombardment. The increase of field enhancement factor and decrease of work function may contribute to the enhanced field emission.
PPARγ coactivator-1α contributes to exercise-induced regulation of intramuscular lipid droplet programming in mice and humans

Intramuscular accumulation of triacylglycerol, in the form of lipid droplets (LD), has gained widespread attention as a hallmark of metabolic disease and insulin resistance. Paradoxically, LDs also amass in muscles of highly trained endurance athletes who are exquisitely insulin sensitive. Understanding the molecular mechanisms that mediate the expansion and appropriate metabolic control of LDs in the context of habitual physical activity could lead to new therapeutic opportunities. Herein, we show that acute exercise elicits robust upregulation of a broad program of genes involved in regulating LD assembly, morphology, localization, and mobilization. Prominent among these was perilipin-5, a scaffolding protein that affects the spatial and metabolic interactions between LD and their surrounding mitochondrial reticulum. Studies in transgenic mice and primary human skeletal myocytes established a key role for the exercise-responsive transcriptional coactivator PGC-1α in coordinating intramuscular LD programming with mitochondrial remodeling. Moreover, translational studies comparing physically active versus inactive humans identified a remarkably strong association between expression of intramuscular LD genes and enhanced insulin action in exercise-trained subjects. These results reveal an intimate molecular connection between intramuscular LD biology and mitochondrial metabolism that could prove relevant to the etiology and treatment of insulin resistance and other disorders of lipid imbalance.
Benefit of thrombolytic therapy is sustained throughout five years and is related to TIMI perfusion grade 3 but not grade 2 flow at discharge. The European Cooperative Study Group.

BACKGROUND Long-term follow-up in patients treated with thrombolysis for acute myocardial infarction thus far has been reported in a few studies only, and no long-term follow-up is available for patients who underwent additional percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA). This report describes 5-year survival as collected in patients who received placebo, recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rTPA), or rTPA with additional immediate PTCA in two European Cooperative Study Group trials. Determinants for long-term survival were assessed in 1043 patients discharged alive. METHODS AND RESULTS Five-year follow-up information on mortality was collected. Hospital mortality was lower after rTPA than placebo (2.5% versus 5.7%, P = .04) and higher after rTPA with immediate PTCA compared with rTPA without additional intervention (6.0% versus 2.2%, P = .07). Of the 1043 hospital survivors, data were available for 923 patients, of whom 109 died. In the placebo group, mortality after hospital discharge was 10.7% versus 11.0% in the comparative rTPA group. The patients treated with rTPA and immediate PTCA had a mortality rate of 10.5% versus 8.9% in the rTPA group without PTCA (all P = NS). Significant determinants of mortality in multivariate proportional hazards analysis were enzymatic infarct size, indicators of residual left ventricular function, number of diseased vessels and TIMI perfusion grade at discharge. Patients with TIMI grade 2 flow had mortality rates similar to those with TIMI flow grades 0 and 1, while prognosis was better in patients with TIMI flow grade 3. CONCLUSIONS The initial in-hospital benefit of thrombolysis with intravenous rTPA is maintained throughout 5 years, with no early or late beneficial effect of systematic immediate PTCA. Enzymatic infarct size, left ventricular function, and extent of coronary artery disease are predictors for long-term survival. TIMI perfusion grade 2 at discharge should be considered as an inadequate result of therapy.