Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Acetylcholine regulation of synoviocyte cytokine expression by the alpha7 nicotinic receptor.

OBJECTIVE The central nervous system can regulate peripheral inflammation, but the efferent neuronal routes and the mediators remain poorly defined. One candidate is the cholinergic pathway, which releases acetylcholine (ACh). This neurotransmitter can bind to the alpha7 cholinergic receptor (alpha7R) expressed by nonneuronal cells and reduce inflammation. To test this possibility, we evaluated the expression of alpha7R and its potential role as a target in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS The expression of alpha7R in human synovium and fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) was determined using immunohistochemical, Western blot, and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analyses. The effects of ACh in vitro were determined in interleukin-1 (IL-1)-stimulated FLS using immunoassays for protein, quantitative PCR for messenger RNA (mRNA), luciferase reporter constructs for IL-6 and NF-kappaB promoter activity, and electrophoretic mobility shift assays. Expression of alpha7R was knocked down with small interfering RNA (siRNA) or was inhibited with the selective alpha7R antagonist methyllycaconitine (MLA). RESULTS Protein and mRNA for alpha7R were demonstrated in RA and osteoarthritis synovium and cultured synoviocytes. Expression in synovium was mainly in the intimal lining. ACh significantly reduced the production of IL-6, CXCL8, CCL2, CCL3, CCL5, and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor by IL-1-stimulated FLS. This effect was blocked by the alpha7R antagonist MLA or by using alpha7R siRNA to knock down receptor expression. The selective alpha7R agonist PNU-282,987 decreased the production of IL-6 by IL-1-stimulated FLS. ACh did not reduce IL-6 transcription, but it decreased IL-6 mRNA half-life and reduced IL-6 mRNA steady-state levels. CONCLUSION The alpha7 receptor is expressed in the synovium and by synoviocytes. Receptor ligation inhibits cytokine expression in FLS through a posttranscriptional mechanism. Therefore, alpha7R is a potential therapeutic target for inflammatory diseases.
Classifying periodontitis among adolescents: implications for epidemiological research.

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the performance of four clinical classification systems proposed for periodontitis in young subjects when applied to epidemiological data on clinical attachment loss. We assess the extent to which the use of different case definition systems may influence the outcome of descriptive and analytical epidemiological studies. METHODS The data originate in a screening examination for periodontitis carried out among 9162 high school students. Each of four previously published classification systems was applied to the data. The prevalence of cases according to each system was estimated and the association between case status, as defined by each system, and a set of candidate determinant variables was assessed using multivariable logistic regression analyses. RESULTS The four classification systems yielded rather different prevalence estimates. For localized periodontitis the estimates varied by a factor of 10, and for generalized periodontitis, these varied by a factor of 30. The results of the logistic regression analyses using the different case-definitions essentially confirmed the results of a population-based analysis. However, the precision of the estimates decreased with decreasing numbers of cases identified by the classification systems. CONCLUSIONS From an epidemiological point of view there is little justification for the use of the complicated classification systems. An approach based on the simple definition of a case as a person with clinical attachment loss, e.g. >/=3 mm, is preferable.
Sea-Level Fingerprinting as a Direct Test for the Source of Global Meltwater Pulse IA

The ice reservoir that served as the source for the meltwater pulse IA remains enigmatic and controversial. We show that each of the melting scenarios that have been proposed for the event produces a distinct variation, or fingerprint, in the global distribution of meltwater. We compare sea-level fingerprints associated with various melting scenarios to existing sea-level records from Barbados and the Sunda Shelf and conclude that the southern Laurentide Ice Sheet could not have been the sole source of the meltwater pulse, whereas a substantial contribution from the Antarctic Ice Sheet is consistent with these records.
Even Small Decreases in Blood Pressure during Conscious Sedation Affect Clinical Outcome after Stroke Thrombectomy: An Analysis of Hemodynamic Thresholds

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The adverse effects of general anesthesia in stroke thrombectomy have been attributed to intraprocedural hypotension, yet optimal hemodynamic targets remain elusive. Identifying hemodynamic thresholds from patients without exposure to general anesthesia may help separate the effect of hypotension from the effect of anesthesia in thrombectomy outcomes. Therefore, we investigated which hemodynamic parameters and targets best correlate with outcome in patients treated under sedation with monitored anesthesia care. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of a prospectively collected data base of patients with anterior circulation stroke who were successfully reperfused (modified TICI ≥ 2b) under monitored anesthesia care sedation from 2010 to 2015. Receiver operating characteristic curves were generated for the lowest mean arterial pressure before reperfusion, both as absolute values and relative changes from baseline. Cutoffs were tested in binary logistic regression models of poor outcome (90-day mRS > 2). RESULTS: Two-hundred fifty-six of 714 patients met the inclusion criteria. In a multivariable model, a ≥10% mean arterial pressure decrease from baseline had an OR for poor outcome of 4.38 (95% CI, 1.53–12.56; P < .01). Other models revealed that any mean pressure of <85 mm Hg before reperfusion had an OR for poor outcome of 2.22 (95% CI, 1.09–4.55; P = .03) and that every 10-mm Hg drop in mean arterial pressure below 100 mm Hg had an OR of 1.28 (95% CI, 1.01–1.62; P = .04). CONCLUSIONS: A ≥10% mean arterial pressure drop from baseline is a strong risk factor for poor outcome in a homogeneous population of patients with stroke undergoing thrombectomy under sedation. This threshold could guide hemodynamic management of patients during sedation and general anesthesia.
Health outcomes and quality of life of residents of shared-housing arrangements compared to residents of special care units - results of the Berlin DeWeGE-study.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES To compare different health outcomes as well as quality of life (QoL) between people with dementia living in shared-housing arrangements (SHA) and special care units (SCU) in nursing homes. BACKGROUND Often situated in large apartments in mostly urban settings, SHA are a specific German kind of small-scale living facilities for older care-dependent persons, predominantly suffering from dementia. SHA are completely disconnected from traditional nursing homes. DESIGN In a longitudinal design, all new residents of SHA and SCU suffering with dementia in Berlin were surveyed for one year. They were assessed when they moved into the SHA or SCU and again 6 and 12 months later. METHODS We surveyed physical and psychological health outcomes including ADL-functioning (Barthel), neuropsychiatric symptoms of dementia (NPI) and challenging behaviour (Cohen-Mansfield agitation inventory) as well as QoL (Qualidem). RESULTS Fifty-six persons (43 women, 13 men) were recruited into the longitudinal study. The average age was 82·5 years at admission, participants mostly had a moderate level of cognitive impairment (mean Mini Mental State Examination = 13·3), prevalence of neuropsychiatric symptoms was high. During the one-year follow-up, analyses show a significant decrease in cognitive abilities but also of neuropsychiatric symptoms in both groups. In SHA, QoL increases on average during the one-year study period. CONCLUSIONS Both types of facilities attract slightly different populations according to our data. Comparison of SHA residents to SCU residents documented no significant beneficial effects of settings in terms of health outcomes. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE As no clear advantage of either SHA or SCU in nursing homes can be demonstrated for residents with dementia who move in newly, it is impossible to give a clear evidence-based recommendation and the decision for one setting or the other can be made according solely to personal preference of the resident.
Markers of mucus secretion and DNA levels in induced sputum from asthmatic and from healthy subjects.

To determine whether markers of mucus secretion can be quantified in airway lining fluid from asthmatic and from healthy subjects, we measured levels of a mucin-like glycoprotein (MLG) and lactoferrin in sputum induced by inhalation of hypertonic (3%) saline in 18 asthmatic and in 10 healthy subjects. Because DNA, like mucin, contributes to the viscosity of airway secretions, we also measured DNA levels in the induced sputum samples. To control for the presence of saliva in sputum, we also analyzed saliva samples from all subjects. The entire sputum sample and the saliva sample were reduced using dithiotreitol, and biochemical analysis was performed on supernatants obtained after centrifugation. We found that induced sputum from asthmatic subjects had higher levels of MLG [2,574.4 +/- 907.8 (mean +/- SEM) versus 562.2 +/- 90.5 micrograms/ml, p < 0.007] and DNA (7.1 +/- 1.6 versus 3.6 +/- 0.6 micrograms/ml, p < 0.05), but the difference in lactoferrin levels failed to reach statistical significance. However, in the subgroup of asthmatic subjects who gave a history of sputum production (n = 9), lactoferrin levels were higher than in the healthy control subjects (118.9 +/- 46.3 versus 35.2 +/- 6.5 micrograms/ml, p < 0.05). The very low levels of MLG, DNA, and lactoferrin measured in saliva were not significantly different in asthmatic subjects from those in healthy subjects. We conclude that measurement of markers of mucus secretion in induced sputum is feasible in asthmatic and healthy subjects, and it reveals abnormally high markers of mucus secretion in subjects with stable asthma. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
A Small-Scale Event and a Big Impact—Is This Relationship Possible in the World of Sport? The Meaning of Heritage Sporting Events for Sustainable Development of Tourism—Experiences from Poland

The theoretical part of this article presents the meaning of sporting events for the tourism industry and the importance of sporting events at a small scale, as well as heritage sporting events for sustainable development of tourist destinations. The literature review shows that there is a clear research gap with respect to the analysis of economic and social impacts of small-scale events. The empirical research was conducted by the method of a diagnostic survey during three sporting events of different rank, which took place in Poland and represented various sports disciplines—running, horse riding, and swimming. A total of 2098 respondents took part in the study, including sports tourists and resident-hosts who took part in the studied events. The aim of the study was to examine whether there is a link between the rank of a sporting event, the development of tourism, and the impact on the host city’s image. The results of the study showed that the highest additional tourism activity in the city on the occasion of participation in an event as an athlete or supporter was undertaken by the participants of the lowest ranked sporting event (Half-Marathon). They also gave the highest rating of the positive impact of a sporting event on the host city’s image. The hosts also rated the highest social impact from the Half-Marathon (i.e., increased sense of pride, social integration, and local identity). Events related to the heritage of the sport of a given region and other smaller-scale sporting events, including mass sports and recreation events (e.g., marathons and other running events), provide an alternative to homogenized, commercial, and very expensive sporting events in the world and may contribute to the sustainable development of tourist regions. The research results show that big social potential lies in the organization of small-scale sports events. The reflections contained in this article may inspire the organization of small-scale sporting events and the continued care for sporting events related to the cultural heritage of a given region. Events of this kind successfully impact tourist revival and improvement of the regions’ image.
Recognizing military vehicles in social media images using deep learning

This paper presents a system that uses machine learning to recognize military vehicles in social media images. To do so, the system draws on recent advances in applying deep neural networks to computer vision tasks, while also making extensive use of openly available libraries, models and data. Training a vehicle recognition system over three classes, the paper reports on two experiments that use different architectures and strategies to overcome the challenges of working with limited training data: data augmentation and transfer learning. The results show that transfer learning outperforms data augmentation, achieving an average accuracy of 95.18% using 10-fold cross-validation, while also generalizing well on a separate testing set consisting of social media content.
The surface of virulent Treponema pallidum: resistance to antibody binding in the absence of complement and surface association of recombinant antigen 4D

The binding of immunoglobulin G present in syphilitic immune rabbit serum, syphilitic human serum, and rabbit antiserum to purified recombinant Treponema pallidum antigen 4D by T. pallidum, Nichols strain, was studied by immunoelectron microscopy. Treponemes were incubated with antiserum under the conditions of the T. pallidum immobilization test, in which T. pallidum-specific antibody renders the organism nonmotile and avirulent only in the presence of complement after a 16-h incubation period in an anaerobic environment. Antibody was not demonstrable on the surface of T. pallidum incubated with nonimmune rabbit serum or normal human serum in the presence of complement. Similarly, in the absence of complement, little or no antibody was found on the treponemal surface after incubation with syphilitic immune rabbit serum, syphilitic human serum, or rabbit antiserum directed against the recombinant 4D antigen. The addition of complement to syphilitic immune rabbit serum, syphilitic human serum, and anti-4D antibody resulted in immobilization and the deposition of antibody on the entire surface of the immobilized organisms. These results corroborate earlier work by other investigators demonstrating the resistance of freshly isolated T. pallidum to antibody binding in a variety of serological tests. Detection of 4D antigen on the surface of immobilized T. pallidum strongly implies that the use of T. pallidum immobilization test conditions provides a means to demonstrate the association of individual surface antigens on virulent T. pallidum. The resistance of T. pallidum to antibody binding may be relevant to the pathogenesis of syphilis.
Factors Affecting Flutter Kicking Speed in Women Who Are Competitive and Recreational Swimmers

McCullough, AS, Kraemer, WJ, Volek, JS, Solomon-Hill, GF Jr, Hatfield, DL, Vingren, JL, Ho, JY, Fragala, MS, Thomas, GA, Häkkinen, K, and Maresh, CM. Factors affecting flutter kicking speed in women who are competitive and recreational swimmers. J Strength Cond Res 23(7): 2130-2136, 2009-The purpose of this study was to determine the relationships between possible predictive measures of a 50 m front crawl swimming and a 22.86 m flutter kicking speed. Ten women who were National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I collegiate swimmers and 10 women who were recreational swimmers (mean ± SD = 20.6 ± 1.6 years; 66.7 ± 10.3 kg; 166.7 ± 8.8 cm) volunteered for the study. Anthropometric measures were obtained including height, leg length, lower leg length, and foot length. Ankle flexibility was assessed by measuring ankle plantar flexion and ankle inversion. Lower body power was measured using a vertical jump. Swimming and kicking speed were measured as the time to complete a 50 m front crawl and a 22.86 m flutter kick, respectively. Significant moderate correlations were demonstrated between ankle plantar flexion and flutter kicking speed (r = 0.509); age and 22.86 m kick time (r = 0.608); age and 50 m swim time (r = 0.476); and 50 m swim time and 22.86 m kick time (r = 0.790). No significant correlations were observed between any of the anthropometric measurements or vertical jump power with either kicking or swimming speed. As anecdotally noted by swim coaches over the years, this study provides some actual data showing that ankle flexibility significantly influences flutter kick capability. Surprisingly, vertical jump power and body size were not strong predictors of kicking or swimming speed in this group of subjects. Strength and conditioning coaches, swim coaches, and athletes should evaluate and carefully develop ankle flexibility to positively contribute to kicking capabilities.
Information system for the management and visualization of multisensorial contents

Humans sense the surrounding environment through five senses: sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch. This is valid not only for real life but also when one is exposed to virtual environments. It already exists systems that exploit the sensorial stimulation of more than one sense, however there are no available low-cost solutions that allow creative professionals to create and visualize multisensory contents. On this paper it is presented a solution for the creation and delivery of multisensory contents that allow users to create their own multisensory experiments. An evaluation of the developed solution that shows the potential of these new contents is also described.
A Study on the Impact of Large-Scale Complex Shopping Center on
 Apartment Prices - Case of Starfield Hanam -

This study analyzes the effects of a large-scale complex shopping center on surrounding apartment prices. This study investigated Starfield Hanam, a large-scale complex shopping center located in Hanam City. Starfield Hanam has a total floor area of ​​ 460,000 square meters, and is a combination of department stores, discount stores and leisure facilities. For the analysis, the Hedonic price function was used. Apartment price was used as a dependent variable; and residential characteristics, complex characteristics, area characteristics were used as explanatory variables. The results of analysis show that the opening of a large complex shopping center positively affected the price of nearby apartments. According as the distance from the complex shopping center increased by 1m, the price of apartment per 3.3㎡ was reduced by 0.028 million won. The distance range affecting apartment price is estimated to be about
Clinical and bacteriological efficacy and safety of 5 and 7 day regimens of telithromycin once daily compared with a 10 day regimen of clarithromycin twice daily in patients with mild to moderate community-acquired pneumonia.

OBJECTIVES This study was conducted to investigate the potential equivalence in clinical efficacy and assess safety of a 5 or 7 day regimen of oral telithromycin (800 mg once daily) and a 10 day regimen of oral clarithromycin (500 mg twice daily) in treating community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Bacteriological efficacy was also compared. METHODS This was a multicentre, randomized, double-blind, active-controlled study. Patients with mild to moderate CAP received telithromycin 800 mg once a day for 5 (n=193) or 7 (n=195) days or clarithromycin 500 mg twice a day for 10 days (n=187). In these groups, 159, 161 and 146 patients, respectively, completed the study. RESULTS At the post-therapy/test-of-cure evaluation, clinical cure rates (per-protocol clinical population) were 89.3% (5 days) and 88.8% (7 days) for telithromycin, and 91.8% for clarithromycin 10 days. Satisfactory bacteriological outcome rates (per-protocol bacteriological population) were 87.7% and 80.0% for 5 and 7 days of telithromycin, respectively, and 83.3% for 10 days of clarithromycin. Bacteriological eradication rates in the respective treatment groups were, for Streptococcus pneumoniae, 95.8% (23/24), 96.7% (29/30) and 88.5% (23/26); for Haemophilus influenzae, 88.0% (22/25), 84.0% (21/25) and 88.2% (15/17) and for Moraxella catarrhalis, 1/1, 4/5 and 3/4. Both telithromycin regimens demonstrated clinical efficacy against pneumococcal bacteraemia (19/19), atypical pathogens (9/9) and erythromycin-resistant S. pneumoniae isolates (5/5). Most treatment-emergent adverse events were mild to moderate in intensity with most commonly reported adverse events involving the gastrointestinal system. CONCLUSIONS Telithromycin 800 mg administered once a day for 5 or 7 days was as effective and safe as clarithromycin 500 mg administered twice a day for 10 days in treating patients with CAP caused by common respiratory pathogens, including macrolide-resistant isolates, and pneumococcal bacteraemia.
Recent advances in elucidating the pathogenesis of preterm delivery, the detection of patients at risk, and preventative therapies

Preterm deliveries (PTDs) are a leading cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality in the world. Efforts to prevent PTD have been hampered by a poor understanding of the underlying pathophysiology, inadequate diagnostic tools, and generally ineffective therapies. There is increasing clinical and laboratory evidence that many PTDs result from premature activation of cells in the cervix, decidua, and fetal membranes in response to local mediators of maternal or fetal stress, ascending genital tract infection, and/or decidual hemorrhage. Putative mediators include peptide hormones (e.g. corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH)) and/or inflammatory-cytokines (e.g. interleukin-1, −6, and −8 (IL-1, −6 and −8)) which promote the production of oxytotic factors (e.g. prostanoids and endothelin) capable of eliciting uterine contractions and enhancing expression of proteases capable of initiating cervical change and/or membrane rupture. The identification of cervical, decidual, and/or chorionic extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins (e.g. collagen fragments and fetal fibronectin) and ECM-degrading proteases (e.g. collagenases and granulocyte elastase) in maternal serum and cervicovaginal secretions may provide new approaches to the detection of patients at high risk for PTD. In addition, our growing understanding of the pathogenic processes preceding PTD have led to new therapeutic approaches including antibiotic, anticytokine, and antiprotease treatments.