Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reconstituted Botulinum Toxin Type A Does Not Lose Potency in Humans If It Is Refrozen or Refrigerated for 2 Weeks Before Use

Botulinum toxin type A (BTX-A) (Botox, Allergan, Irvine, CA) labeling recommends its use within 4 hours of reconstitution. Since BTX-A is available only in 100-unit vials, a substantial quantity is often discarded. Using eight volunteers, we measured the percent decline in extensor digitorum brevis (EDB) M-wave amplitude (percent paralysis) following injection of freshly reconstituted BTX (right EDB) and compared this with the decline following injection of BTX that was refrozen (-20 degrees C) or refrigerated (+4 degrees C) for 2 weeks (left EDB) after reconstitution. When analyzed as paired data, there was essentially no difference in the muscle paralysis resulting from fresh BTX compared with refrozen or refrigerated BTX, and no statistical difference between groups was noted. Reconstituted BTX-A that is subsequently refrigerated or refrozen for 2 weeks does not lose potency in humans. NEUROLOGY 1997;48: 249-253
Isolation and identification of atrazine-degrading bacteria from corn field soil in Fars province of Iran.

In this study several agricultural fields with a long history of atrazine application in Fars province of Iran have been explored for their potential of atrazine biodegradation. After several subculturing for a period of 300 days acclimation, leads to an enhancement of atrazine biodegradation rate. A successful enrichment culture with a high capability for atrazine degradation was obtained (88%). A combination of enrichment culture technique, in a basal salt medium containing atrazine and carbon sources under nitrogen limitation and plating on indicator atrazine agar, have permitted the isolation of bacterial consortium with high capability of using atrazine as a nitrogen source. Seven gram-negative and one gram-positive bacterial strain, which were able to use this herbicide as a sole source of nitrogen, were isolated from Darehasalouie Kavar corn field soil. Based on physiological, biochemical and nutritional characteristics, the isolated bacteria were identified as Pseudomonas alcaligenes, Acidovorax sp. , Pseudomonas putida, Ralstonia eutrophus, Pseudomonas syiringe, Erwinia tracheiphila, Entrobacter agglomerans and Micrococcus varians. Therefore, the bacterial consortium in liquid culture containing carbon sources and atrazine as a sole source of nitrogen, degrade added atrazine more than 80%.
Dissociation of gemcitabine chemosensitization by CHK1 inhibition from cell cycle checkpoint abrogation and aberrant mitotic entry

ABSTRACT In order to determine the relative contribution of checkpoint abrogation and subsequent aberrant mitotic entry to gemcitabine chemosensitization by CHK1 inhibition, we established a model utilizing the CDK inhibitors roscovitine or purvalanol A to re-establish cell cycle arrest and prevent aberrant mitotic entry in pancreatic cancer cells treated with gemcitabine and the CHK inhibitor AZD7762. In this study, we report that the extent of aberrant mitotic entry, as determined by flow cytometry for the mitotic marker phospho-Histone H3 (Ser10), did not reflect the relative sensitivities of pancreatic cancer cell lines to gemcitabine chemosensitization by AZD7762. In addition, re-establishing gemcitabine-induced cell cycle arrest either pharmacologically, with roscovitine or purvalanol A, or genetically, with cyclin B1 siRNA, did not inhibit chemosensitization uniformly across the cell lines. Furthermore, we found that AZD7762 augmented high-intensity γH2AX signaling in gemcitabine-treated cells, suggesting the presence of replication stress when CHK1 is inhibited. Finally, the ability of roscovitine to prevent chemosensitization correlated with its ability to inhibit AZD7762-induced high-intensity γH2AX, but not aberrant pHH3, suggesting that the effects of AZD7762 on DNA replication or repair rather than aberrant mitotic entry determine gemcitabine chemosensitization in pancreatic cancer cells.
Correlation of Measures of Patient Acuity With Measures of Crowding in a Pediatric Emergency Department

Objective: Emergency department (ED) crowding is an increasingly common problem in the United States. Crowding can lead to ED closure and diversion, poor patient satisfaction, and patient safety issues. The purpose of this study was to examine measures of ED census and measures of crowding to determine if a correlation exists in a pediatric ED setting. Methods: Arkansas Children's Hospital is a major pediatric referral center. Measures of ED acuity (including total census, admission rate, total number of admissions, and proportion of triage category nonurgent patients) and measures of throughput (left-without-being-seen [LWBS] rate and ED length of stay [LOS]) data for 11 years (1996-2006) were plotted, and correlation coefficients were calculated. Results: Annual ED census varied between 35,415 and 40,711 during the 11-year study period. The total number of admissions increased from 4179 in 1996 to 6539 in 2006. When total census was plotted against LWBS rate and ED LOS, a poor correlation was found (R2 = 0.007 for total census vs LWBS rate). However, a strong correlation was found when the relationship between the total number of admissions and LWBS rate was examined (R2 = 0.89). Similarly, a strong relationship between the admission rate and LWBS rate was seen (R2 = 0.75). In addition, a strong correlation was seen between admissions (total and percentage) versus ED LOS. Conclusions: There is a strong correlation between the number of patients admitted and measures of overcrowding in this pediatric ED, but there is a poor correlation between the total census and overcrowding measures. Targeting process improvement on hospital-wide patient flow may help reduce ED crowding.
Vitamin D status and mortality risk in CKD: a meta-analysis of prospective studies.

BACKGROUND Vitamin D deficiency, assessed as low 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) level, is highly prevalent in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and is associated with various adverse health outcomes. Whether low 25(OH)D levels in patients with CKD are an independent risk factor for mortality remains to be studied in detail, and this was the objective of our work. STUDY DESIGN A systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective observational studies. SETTING & POPULATION Patients with CKD. CKD was diagnosed mainly as decreased estimated glomerular filtration rate. SELECTION CRITERIA FOR STUDIES We performed a systematic literature search in MEDLINE, ISI, and EMBASE to identify prospective studies reporting on 25(OH)D levels and mortality. PREDICTOR 25(OH)D serum concentrations. OUTCOME All-cause mortality. RESULTS 10 studies with an overall sample of 6,853 patients with CKD were included. Relative risk of mortality per 10-ng/mL (25-nmol/L) increase in 25(OH)D level was 0.86 (95% CI, 0.82-0.91), with no indication of publication bias or significant heterogeneity (I(2) =15%; P = 0.3). Summary estimates for CKD cohorts with and without dialysis treatment showed homogeneous results (P = 0.9). LIMITATIONS Results may be limited by heterogeneity, unconsidered confounders, and the observational design of the studies. Furthermore, publication bias by unpublished null findings on the association of 25(OH)D level and mortality cannot be ruled out and ascertainment of CKD was based largely on estimated glomerular filtration rate. CONCLUSIONS Higher 25(OH)D levels are associated with significantly improved survival in patients with CKD. Whether treatment of low 25(OH)D level using natural vitamin D supplementation improves survival in patients with CKD remains to be elucidated in randomized controlled trials.
Does ‘grief work’ work?

This article challenges the long-standing belief in the necessity of "grief work" for adjustment to bereavement. Evidence is offered from a prospective study of 30 widows and 30 widowers that indicates that grief work is not always as essential for adjustment to bereavement as theorists and clinicians have claimed. Widows who avoided confronting their loss did not differ in their depression scores from widows who worked through their grief. However, for widowers, performance of grief work was associated with better adjustment over an 18-month period. The implications of these findings for the grief work hypothesis are considered.
Neurohormonal Regulation of Cardiac Ion Channels in Chronic Heart Failure

Alteration of neurohormonal homeostasis is a hallmark of the pathophysiology of chronic heart failure (CHF). In particular, overactivation of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system and the sympathetic catecholaminergic system is consistently observed. Chronic overactivation of these hormonal pathways leads to a detrimental arrhythmogenic remodeling of cardiac tissue due to dysregulation of cardiac ion channels. Sudden cardiac death resulting from ventricular arrhythmias is a major cause of mortality in patients with CHF. All the drug classes known to reduce mortality in patients with CHF are neurohormonal blockers. The aim of this review was to provide an overview of how cardiac ion channels are regulated by hormones known to play a central role in the pathogenesis of CHF.
Floral nectaries, nectar production dynamics and chemical composition in six ipomoea species (convolvulaceae) in relation to pollinators.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Floral nectaries and nectar features were compared between six Argentinian Ipomoea species with differences in their pollinator guilds: I. alba, I. rubriflora, I. cairica, I. hieronymi var. hieronymi, I. indica, and I. purpurea. METHODS Pollinators were recorded in natural populations. The morpho-anatomical study was carried out through scanning electron and light microscopy. Nectar sugars were identified via gas chromatography. Nectar production and the effect of its removal on total nectar sugar amount were determined by using sets of bagged flowers. KEY RESULTS Hymenopterans were visitors of most species, while hummingbirds visited I. rubriflora and sphingids I. alba. All the species had a vascularized discoidal nectary surrounding the ovary base with numerous open stomata with a species-specific distribution. All nectar samples contained amino acids and sugars. Most species had sucrose-dominant nectars. Flowers lasted a few hours. Mean nectar sugar concentration throughout the lifetime of the flower ranged from 34.28 to 39.42 %, except for I. cairica (49.25 %) and I. rubriflora (25.18 %). Ipomoea alba had the highest nectar volume secreted per flower (50.12 microL), while in the other taxa it ranged from 2.42 to 12.00 microL. Nectar secretion began as soon as the flowers opened and lasted for a few hours (in I. purpurea, I. rubriflora) or it was continuous during the lifetime of the flower (in the remaining species). There was an increase of total sugar production after removals in I. cairica, I. indica and I. purpurea, whereas in I. alba and I. rubriflora removals had no effect, and in I. hieronymi there was a decrease in total sugar production. CONCLUSIONS The chemical composition, production dynamics and removal effects of nectar could not be related to the pollinator guild of these species. Flower length was correlated with nectary size and total volume of nectar secreted, suggesting that structural constraints may play a major role in the determination of nectar traits of these species.
Insider Trading Regulation and the Distribution of Securities Market Profit

Investor's trading strategy and the securities market's profit distribution will be affected by insider trading regulation. This paper builds a quantitative financial model to analyze the change of the trading strategy and the market profit distribution. Except the insider trading regulation, market liquidity, insider's type, information veracity and stock price volatility will also affect the trading strategy and market profit distribution.
Technically Speaking: Social-isms

Conservatives, curmudgeons, and schoolteachers with too-tight hair buns all predicted that the Internet would produce societal breakdown and individual meltdown, but a funny thing happened on the road to ruination: nothing much. Society as a whole remains intact, and a few cases of Internet addiction notwithstanding, online users seem no worse off.
Normalization of Lactulose Breath Testing Correlates With Symptom Improvement in Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Study

OBJECTIVE:We have recently found an association between abnormal lactulose breath test (LBT) findings and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The current study was designed to test the effect of antibiotic treatment for IBS in a double-blind fashion.METHODS:Consecutive IBS subjects underwent an LBT with the results blinded. All subjects were subsequently randomized into two treatment groups (neomycin or placebo). The prevalence of abnormal LBT was compared with a gender-matched control group. Seven days after completion of treatment, subjects returned for repeat LBT. A symptom questionnaire was administered on both days.RESULTS:After exclusion criteria were met, 111 IBS subjects (55 neomycin, 56 placebo) entered the study, with 84% having an abnormal LBT, compared with 20% in healthy controls (p < 0.01). In an intention-to-treat analysis of all 111 subjects, neomycin resulted in a 35.0% improvement in a composite score, compared with 11.4% for placebo (p < 0.05). Additionally, patients reported a percent bowel normalization of 35.3% after neomycin, compared with 13.9% for placebo (p < 0.001). There was a graded response to treatment, such that the best outcome was observed if neomycin was successful in normalizing the LBT (75% improvement) (one-way ANOVA, p < 0.0001). LBT gas production was associated with IBS subgroup, such that methane excretion was 100% associated with constipation-predominant IBS. Methane excretors had a mean constipation severity of 4.1, compared with 2.3 in all other subjects (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS:An abnormal LBT is common in subjects with IBS. Normalization of LBT with neomycin leads to a significant reduction in IBS symptoms. The type of gas seen on LBT is also associated with IBS subgroup.
Component-oriented design and interaction semantics description of hybrid control system

Hybrid control system is heterogeneous and difficult to design and modeling. This paper presents a component-oriented design methodology that reduces complexity by separating computational parts from interaction among components. We introduce a concept of supervisor to discuss how to aggregate individual component's computation into a coarse-grained composite component from a view of interaction semantics denotational framework. A simplified component-oriented hierarchically hybrid control system is simulated to prove the feasibility and flexibility of our methodology.
Effect of stress on serum lipid levels in lady health visitors and housewives

Objective: To study the effects of stress among lady health visitors and housewives in regard to their serum total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Methods: The study was performed at the Institute of Biochemistry, University of Sindh, Jamshoro, Pakistan during the years 2003 to 2005. Seventy lady health visitor and housewives aged between 25-40 years participated in this study and were selected from Hyderabad and its adjoining areas. Environmental, psychological and physiological stress levels were measured with likert scale. Total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and HDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels were measured. Results: Environmental, psychological and physiological stresses were significantly higher in housewives as compared to lady health visitors. A low level of HDL cholesterol was observed in housewives as compared to lady health visitors. The levels of total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglyceride were found higher in housewives than lady health visitors. Conclusions: Housewives are under more stress than lady health visitors. The levels of total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglyceride increases but HDL cholesterol decrease with stress. (Rawal Med J 2007;32:41-44)
Evidence of glycemia‐lowering effect by a Cynara scolymus L. extract in normal and obese rats

Several recent preliminary clinical studies have suggested that artichoke (Cynara scolymus L., Asteraceae family) preparations may be capable of lowering post‐prandial glycemia. The present study was designed to test this hypothesis in laboratory rats. To this aim, non‐selected Wistar and genetically obese Zucker rats were treated acutely with a purified extract of Cynara scolymus flowering heads (500–1500 mg/kg by gavage) immediately prior to 1 h access to a fixed amount of food. Glycemia was recorded 60, 120 and 360 min after food presentation. Treatment with Cynara scolymus flowering head extract resulted in a significant decrease of post‐prandial glycemia in both rat strains. The lack of any fiber content in this Cynara scolymus flowering head extract excludes the involvement of dietary fibers in glycemia reduction. The results obtained constitute the first evidence of a hypoglycemic effect of an artichoke preparation in laboratory rodents and confirm previous observations made in humans. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
SpoIIAA governs the release of the cell-type specific transcription factor sigma F from its anti-sigma factor SpoIIAB.

The Bacillus subtilis transcription factor sigma F is a cell-type specific regulatory protein whose activity is governed by SpoIIAB and SpoIIAA and the nucleotides ATP and ADP. SpoIIAB is an anti-sigma factor that binds to sigma F in a manner that is stimulated by ATP, thereby trapping sigma F in an inactive complex. Alternatively, SpoIIAB binds to SpoIIAA in a manner that is stimulated by ADP to form a SpoIIAB.SpoIIAA complex in which SpoIIAB is sequestered from sigma F. SpoIIAB is also a protein kinase that uses ATP to phosphorylate, and thereby inactivate, SpoIIAA. Thus, ATP inhibits sigma F activity both by promoting formation of the SpoIIAB.sigma F complex and by phosphorylation of SpoIIAA. In extension of previous results, we use affinity chromatography to show that SpoIIAB is capable of forming long-lived complexes with sigma F and SpoIIAA and that the formation of these complexes is dependent on ATP and ADP, respectively. Using a DNA template lacking adenosine residues on the non-transcribed strand, we demonstrate that ATP is required for SpoIIAB-mediated inhibition of sigma F-directed RNA synthesis and that this inhibition is prevented by SpoIIAA in a manner that is stimulated by ADP. We show that ADP acts by protecting SpoIIAA from phosphorylation by SpoIIAB and that a mutant protein bearing an amino acid substitution at the site of phosphorylation in SpoIIAA is capable of preventing the inhibition of sigma F in a manner that does not depend on ADP. A principal finding from the investigation is that SpoIIAA restores activity to sigma F that had previously been inhibited by SpoIIAB. This is demonstrated both by the capacity of SpoIIAA to reverse SpoIIAB-mediated inhibition of sigma F-directed RNA synthesis and by its capacity to interact with and disrupt the SpoIIAB. sigma F complex. The results are consistent with a model in which sigma F is controlled by the cellular concentration of unphosphorylated SpoIIAA.
Branched-chain amino acid transport regulation in mutants blocked in tRNA maturation and transcriptional termination

The regulation of branched-chain amino acid transport and binding protein biosynthesis was studied in Escherichia coli strains containing hisT (the structural gene for pseudouridine synthetase) and rho (the structural gene for the mRNA transcriptional termination factor rho) mutations. The results indicate that the hisT strain cannot be fully derepressed for transport and that the hisT rho double mutant is partially derepressed under excess leucine conditions, but cannot be further derepressed by leucine deprivation. These data are consistent with a model in which fully mature tRNALeu is required for derepression and in which rho interacts with tRNALeu in regulating transport by terminating transcription, especially in excess-leucine growth conditions.
Immunoenhanced enteral nutrition formulas in head and neck cancer surgery: a prospective, randomized clinical trial.

INTRODUCTION Significant malnutrition exists in a high percentage of patients with head and neck cancer. Malnutrition is associated with defects in immune function that may impair the host response to malignancy. Malnutrition and immunosupression make patients highly susceptible to postoperative infections and complications. OBJECTIVES Compare two immunoenhanced enteral nutritions with a control diet, and evaluate the effect in postoperative infections, length of stay and inflammatory markers. PATIENTS A population of 44 patients with oral and laryngeal cancer was enrolled in a randomized trial. At surgery, patients were randomly allocated to three groups: (group I); patients receiving an arginine-enhanced formula (group II); patients receiving a standard polymeric formula, and (group III) patients receiving an arginine, RNA and omega-3 fatty acids enhanced formula, in an isonitrogenous way. RESULTS The duration of enteral nutrition in the three groups was similar with an average duration of 14,5 +/- 8 days. The length of postoperative stay was similar, with an average of 19,8 +/- 8,5 days. Wound infections and general infections were more frequent in the control group. Fistula rates were not improved in the enhanced diet groups. No significant intergroup differences in the trend of the two plasma proteins (albumin, transferrin), lymphocytes, weight, IL-6, CPR and TNFalpha were detected. The control group showed the highest levels of TNFalpha at the fourteenth postoperative day. Gastrointestinal tolerance and diarrhoea rate were similar in all the patients. CONCLUSIONS Immunoenhanced enteral nutrition formulas improved the infection rate in the postoperative of head and neck cancer patients. In the fistula rates, we observed that technical problems and nutritional status might have played an equally important role, and therefore the positive effect of immunonutrition in this parameter might have been overestimated.
Prehistoric deforestation at Chaco Canyon?

Ancient societies are often used to illustrate the potential problems stemming from unsustainable land-use practices because the past seems rife with examples of sociopolitical “collapse” associated with the exhaustion of finite resources. Just as frequently, and typically in response to such presentations, archaeologists and other specialists caution against seeking simple cause-and effect-relationships in the complex data that comprise the archaeological record. In this study we examine the famous case of Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, during the Bonito Phase (ca. AD 860–1140), which has become a prominent popular illustration of ecological and social catastrophe attributed to deforestation. We conclude that there is no substantive evidence for deforestation at Chaco and no obvious indications that the depopulation of the canyon in the 13th century was caused by any specific cultural practices or natural events. Clearly there was a reason why these farming people eventually moved elsewhere, but the archaeological record has not yet produced compelling empirical evidence for what that reason might have been. Until such evidence appears, the legacy of Ancestral Pueblo society in Chaco should not be used as a cautionary story about socioeconomic failures in the modern world.