Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
American Society of Transplant Surgeons Transplant Center Outcomes Requirements—A Threat to Innovation

The transplant center regulations recently published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) mandate that observed program‐specific survival outcomes to fall within expected risk‐adjusted outcomes. Meeting these outcomes is essential to continued participation in the Medicare program. Both donor and recipient variables not considered in current risk adjustment models can result in inferior outcomes and therefore may cause an overestimation of transplant center expected performance, precluding participation in the federally funded Medicare program. We reviewed the most recent four reporting periods published by the Scientific Registry for Transplant Recipients on their public website. We identified kidney, liver and heart transplant programs that were flagged for having outcomes statistically lower than expected as well as those that failed to meet CMS criteria. We also analyzed whether center volumes correlated with outcomes in these centers. We highlight the need for mitigating factors that could justify inferior outcomes under specific circumstances. Failure to reach consensus on such a mechanism for appeal may result in risk‐averse behavior by transplant centers with respect to innovation and therefore hamper the ability to advance the field of transplantation. We propose a methodology that may address this emerging dilemma.
Transnasal endoscopy is preferred by transoral endoscopy experienced patients.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Both unsedated transoral endoscopy (TOE) and sedated TOE have some drawbacks in clinical practice. Unsedated transnasal endoscopy (TNE) has been suggested as an alternative to both methods. This study aimed to determine the advantages of TNE in patients who have previously undergone unsedated conventional TOE. METHODS Patients who had received an unsedated TOE in the last 12 months and were scheduled for a second upper endoscopy were included. They were randomized to undergo either unsedated TOE, using a standard endoscope, or unsedated TNE, using an ultrathin endoscope. Post-procedure, patients were asked to complete a questionnaire to assess pain, discomfort and acceptability of the procedure, and to compare the current procedure with their previous unsedated TOE. Endoscope insertion rate, procedure duration, and side-effects were recorded. RESULTS Each group included 50 patients. With the exception of nasal pain, the tolerability and acceptance were significantly greater in the unsedated TNE group. Significantly more TNE patients (82%) found the current endoscopic procedure to be better than their previous TOE when compared with patients who had received a second TOE (12%). A repeat procedure was significantly more acceptable for TNE patients when compared to the TOE group (68% vs.16%). The duration of endoscopy was significantly shorter in TOE than in TNE (p<0.05). Endoscope insertion failed in 4% and mild epistaxis was observed in 4% of TNE patients. CONCLUSION Unsedated TNE was better tolerated in endoscopy experienced patients when compared with unsedated TOE. The majority of patients found TNE more acceptable and preferable to TOE, suggesting that TNE should become a more common practice in clinics when applicable.
Physiological Characterization of Haemophilus influenzae Rd Deficient in Its Glutathione-dependent Peroxidase PGdx*

The chimeric peroxidase PGdx of Haemophilus influenzae Rd belongs to a recently identified family of thiol peroxidases capable of reducing hydrogen peroxide as well as alkylhydroperoxides by means of glutathione redox cycling. In the present study, we constructed a H. influenzae Rd strain, deficient in its PGdx encoding gene (open reading frame HI0572). The mutant was shown by disk inhibition and liquid culture growth assays to exhibit increased susceptibility to organic hydroperoxides. The hampered growth was restored by complementing the interrupted gene on the genome with a replicating plasmid bearing an intact copy of the gene, hereby rejecting the possible influences of polar effects. Elevated levels of hydrogen peroxide scavenging activity, due to the catalase HktE, were measured in the absence of a functional pgdx gene rendering the mutant more resilient against hydrogen peroxide. On the other hand, after initiation of the stationary phase, aerobic cultures of the pgdx mutant were practically devoid of living cells, whereas wild-type counterparts retained viability. This observed feature was alleviated by complementation with the functional gene or with the addition of catalase.
Campylobacter Enteritis—An In-Patient Study

During the first eight months of 1978, 26 patients were admitted to the Communicable Diseases Unit at King's Cross Hospital, Dundee with a diagnosis of campylobacter enteritis. The variety of clinical features encountered is described. Although diarrhoea occurred in all cases, it was preceded or accompanied by abdominal pain in the majority of cases and by fever in over half of the patients. The article emphasises the need to consider campylobacter infection in patients presenting with bloody diarrhoea, acute abdominal pain or pyrexias of unknown origin.
Placental blood as a source of hematopoietic stem cells for transplantation into unrelated recipients.

BACKGROUND Transplantation of bone marrow from unrelated donors is limited by a lack of HLA-matched donors and the risk of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Placental blood from sibling donors can reconstitute hematopoiesis. We report preliminary results of transplantation using partially HLA-mismatched placental blood from unrelated donors. METHODS Twenty-five consecutive patients, primarily children, with a variety of malignant and non-malignant conditions received placental blood from unrelated donors and were evaluated for hematologic and immunologic reconstitution and GVHD. HLA matching was performed before transplantation by serologic typing for class I HLA antigens and low-resolution molecular typing for class II HLA alleles. In donor-recipient pairs who differed by no more than one HLA antigen or allele, high-resolution class II HLA typing was done retrospectively. Fordonor-recipient pairs who were mismatched for two HLA antigens or alleles, high-resolution typing was used prospectively to select the best match for HLA-DRB1. RESULTS Twenty-four of the 25 donor-recipient pairs were discordant for one to three HLA antigens. In 23 of the 25 transplant recipients, the infused hematopoletic stem cells engrafted. Acute grade III GVHD occurred in 2 of the 21 patients who could be evaluated, and 2 patients had chronic GVHD. In vitro proliferative responses of T cells and B cells to plant mitogens were detected 60 days after transplantation. With a median follow-up of 12 1/2 months and a minimal follow-up of 100 days, the overall 100-day survival rate among these patients was 64 percent, and the overall event-free survival was 48 percent. CONCLUSIONS HLA-mismatched placental blood from unrelated donors is an alternative source of stem cells for hematopoietic reconstitution in children.
Natural history of hepatic steatosis: observed outcomes for subsequent liver and cardiovascular complications.

OBJECTIVE Hepatic steatosis is a common incidental finding at radiologic imaging. The natural history of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and its associated risks for cardiovascular complications are not well established in this context. Our purpose was to investigate the clinical outcome of moderate-to-severe hepatic steatosis detected incidentally at CT. MATERIALS AND METHODS Liver attenuation was measured at unenhanced CT in 4412 consecutive adults scanned over a 12-month period. Moderate-to-severe steatosis was diagnosed by liver attenuation less than or equal to 45 HU, which is essentially 100% specific for histologic grading of 30% or more fat content. The control group was defined by a high-normal liver attenuation of 60-65 HU. The main exclusion criteria were preexisting liver disease (beyond asymptomatic NAFLD), alcoholism, or less than 1 year of clinical follow-up. A medical record review assessed for the development of symptomatic liver disease (including nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and cirrhosis) and seminal cardiovascular events (myocardial infarction, cerebrovascular accident, transient ischemic attacks, or coronary bypass or stent). Data for body mass index, diabetes, and liver enzyme levels were also recorded. RESULTS Five hundred three adults (11.4%) had unenhanced CT liver attenuation of 45 HU or less, yielding a final steatosis cohort of 282 patients after exclusions; the control group consisted of 768 patients after exclusions. The mean (± SD) patient age (51.4 ± 14.7 vs 50.8 ± 17.4 years), sex (53.9% vs 54.7% female), and mean follow-up intervals (7.3 ± 3.2 vs 7.7 ± 3.2 years) were similar between groups. No patient in either group had progression of liver disease beyond incidental steatosis. Subsequent cardiovascular events were more common in the steatosis cohort (9.9% vs 5.9%; p = 0.028), but steatosis was not an independent risk factor after controlling for diabetes and body mass index in multiple logistic regression analysis. CONCLUSION This longitudinal study failed to show progression of moderate-to-severe hepatic steatosis to symptomatic forms of fatty liver disease over a 5- to 10-year time horizon. Aggressive workup of hepatic steatosis found incidentally on imaging does not appear to be warranted. Steatosis was a biomarker for subsequent cardiovascular events but not an independent risk factor.
Il contributo della sharing economy allo sviluppo turistico di aree periferiche. Il caso del fenomeno Airbnb nel territorio delle dolomiti venete.

In the last few years sharing economy and collaborative economy represents a new business opportunity for different economic sectors. Tourism is one of the most effected business sectors, especially regarding accommodation and mobility. Airbnb platform offers a great opportunity to visit a destination promoting a different style of experience it, developing the concept of “live like a local”, a now a day very popular way of travelling. If the impacts on urban level have been studied from many researchers, the effects on this phenomenon on a vast and mixed (urban and rural area). territory still need to be investigated. The analysis of spatial autocorrelation is a fundamental tool for the understanding of all the physical as well as anthropological processes which naturally take place within the geographical space, and which cannot be studied independently from it. In this paper the spatial autocorrelation has been applied to a Airbnb lodging dataset regarding the tourism destination of Dolomiti, in Veneto region. The results represent clusters of lodgings that represent the characteristics of the accommodation system represented by the sharing economy. Furthermore, giving a management and governance perspective to those clusters is possible to identify niche of tourism offer, features of the destinations and measures to monitoring the performance of this large territory.
Socioeconomic inequalities in skilled birth attendance and child stunting in selected low and middle income countries: Wealth quintiles or deciles?

Background Wealth quintiles derived from household asset indices are routinely used for measuring socioeconomic inequalities in the health of women and children in low and middle-income countries. We explore whether the use of wealth deciles rather than quintiles may be advantageous. Methods We selected 46 countries with available national surveys carried out between 2003 and 2013 and with a sample size of at least 3000 children. The outcomes were prevalence of under-five stunting and delivery by a skilled birth attendant (SBA). Differences and ratios between extreme groups for deciles (D1 and D10) and quintiles (Q1 and Q5) were calculated, as well as two summary measures: the slope index of inequality (SII) and concentration index (CIX). Results In virtually all countries, stunting prevalence was highest among the poor, and there were larger differences between D1 and D10 than between Q1 and Q5. SBA coverage showed pro-rich patterns in all countries; in four countries the gap was greater than 80 pct points. With one exception, differences between extreme deciles were larger than between quintiles. Similar patterns emerged when using ratios instead of differences. The two summary measures provide very similar results for quintiles and deciles. Patterns of top or bottom inequality varied with national coverage levels. Conclusion Researchers and policymakers should consider breakdowns by wealth deciles, when sample sizes allow. Use of deciles may contribute to advocacy efforts, monitoring inequalities over time, and targeting health interventions. Summary indices of inequalities were unaffected by the use of quintiles or deciles in their calculation.
Schrödinger's equation as Newton's law of motion

In der vorliegenden Arbeit „Schrodinger's Equation as Newtons's Law of Motion“ werden neuere Ergebnisse aus dem Gebiet der Transporttheorie vorgestellt und gezeigt wie die wohl bekannteste Gleichung der Quantenmechanik, die Schrodingergleichung als Newtonsche Gleichung geschrieben werden kann. Also als eine klassische Bewegungsgleichung. Zu Beginn werden die fur die Arbeit wichtigsten Ergebnisse der Transporttheorie behandelt. Die Existenz einer optimalen Transportstrategie im Sinne von Kantorovich steht ganz zu Beginn. Es folgen die Definition einer Metrik auf dem Raum der Wahrscheinlichkeitsmase und wichtige Eigenschaften dieser Metrik (z.B.: Metrisierung der schwachen Topologie). Danach wird aus der Existenz einer Losung des Transportproblems im Sinne von Kantorovich die Existenz einer optimalen Transportabbildung hergeleitet. Eine solche Transportabbildung wird auch Losung des Mongeproblems genannt. Die Herleitung dieser optimalen Abbildung erfolgt nur fur den speziellen Fall der fur die Arbeit wichtigen Kostenfunktion (die Distanzfunktion des Grundraums zum Quadrat). Mit Hilfe dieser Abbildung werden dann die wichtigsten Resultate fur die angestrebte Geometrisierung des Raumes der Wahrscheinlichkeitsmase gezeigt. Zuerst wird mittels der Transportabbildung eine ganze Familie von Transportabbildungen definiert. Diese Familie von Abbildungen erlaubt es dann Geodaten auf dem Raum der Wahrscheinlichkeitsmase zu definieren. In Abschnitt 6 werden diesen Geodaten Vektorfelder zugeordnet und mittels dieser Vektorfelder auch Geschwindigkeitsvektoren. In Abschnitt 7 wird dann mit Hilfe der Benamou-Brenier-Formel eine Norm (bzw. inneres Produkt) von Geschwindigkeitsvektoren definiert. Dieses innere Produkt ist von zentralem Interesse. Mit Hilfe dieses Produktes wird dann (formal) eine differenzierbare Struktur, im Sinne der Riemannschen Geometrie, auf dem Raum der Wahrscheinlichkeitsmase definiert. Die Notation fur diese Geometrie wird in Abschnitt 9 festgelegt. Danach folgen einige Beispiele. Es werden die Gradienten verschiedener Funktionale berechnet. Eines dieser Beispiele (die Fisherinformation) ist auch fur den weiteren Teil der Arbeit von hochstem Interesse. Um eine Verbindung der Schrodinger Gleichung zu der von uns angestrebten Newtonschen Gleichung herzustellen ist ein Zwischenschritt erforderlich. In Abschnitt 11 wird ein auf Erwin Madelung zuruckgehendes Resultat vorgestellt. Es zeigt, dass die Schrodinger Gleichung in ein System von Gleichungen (eine Hamiltion -Jacobi und eine Kontinuitatsgleichung) umgeschrieben werden kann. Die zentrale Aussage erfolgt dann in Theorem 16. Es wird gezeigt, dass eine Newtonsche Gleichung auf deren rechten Seite ein spezielles Potential steht zu den Madelunggleichungen aquivalent ist. Das angesprochene Potential besteht aus einem klassischen Potential und der sogenannten Fisherinformation. Im letzten Teil der Arbeit wird die Aquivalenz der Gleichungen mittels der Methoden der symplektischen Geometrie gezeigt, um die Aussage in aller Allgemeinheit dar zu stellen.
Effects of deformation on transmural dispersion of repolarization using in silico models of human left ventricular wedge

Mechanical deformation affects the electrical activity of the heart through multiple feedback loops. The purpose of this work is to study the effect of deformation on transmural dispersion of repolarization and on surface electrograms using an in silico human ventricular wedge. To achieve this purpose, we developed a strongly coupled electromechanical cell model by coupling a human left ventricle electrophysiology model and an active contraction model reparameterized for human cells. This model was then embedded in tissue simulations on the basis of bidomain equations and nonlinear solid mechanics. The coupled model was used to evaluate effects of mechanical deformation on important features of repolarization and electrograms. Our results indicate an increase in the T‐wave amplitude of the surface electrograms in simulations that account for the effects of cardiac deformation. This increased T‐wave amplitude can be explained by changes to the coupling between neighboring myocytes, also known as electrotonic effect. The thickening of the ventricular wall during repolarization contributes to the decoupling of cells in the transmural direction, enhancing action potential heterogeneity and increasing both transmural repolarization dispersion and T‐wave amplitude of surface electrograms. The simulations suggest that a considerable percentage of the T‐wave amplitude (15%) may be related to cardiac deformation. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Hemodynamic, Vascular, and Reproductive Impact of FMS-Like Tyrosine Kinase 1 (FLT1) Blockade on the Uteroplacental Circulation During Normal Mouse Pregnancy1

ABSTRACT To investigate the role of FMS-like tyrosine kinase 1 (FLT1, also known as VEGFR1) signaling during pregnancy, mice were injected with anti-FLT1 neutralizing antibody (Ab) beginning on Gestational Day 8 or 12 and every other day thereafter until Day 18; vehicle-only injected mice served as controls. Uterine artery blood flow was measured with ultrasound on Days 13 and 18, and morphometric measurements of the uterine arcade were carried out on Day 19 to provide a measure of gestational vascular remodeling; reproductive performance was evaluated by determining litter size, resorption rates, and pup and placental weights. Ab injections beginning on Day 8 or Day 12 resulted in significant reductions of uterine artery peak systolic and diastolic flows at Days 13 and 18. In addition, normal reproductive function was compromised, as evidenced by a significant reduction in average number of viable pups along with enhanced resorption rates. Reproductive performance was also significantly compromised in this group, although less severely. There was no evidence of a reduction in main uterine artery diameters, though arterial distensibility was reduced, and the diameter of the main uterine vein was significantly smaller in the Ab-injected mice. Significant reductions in main uterine artery and segmental artery length were also noted. Placental and pup weights were similar in all the groups. FLT1 inhibition during murine pregnancy impaired blood flow to the fetal-placental unit, compromised several indices of vascular remodeling, reduced fecundity, and increased fetal reabsorptions. The effects of FLT1 inhibition are most pronounced when targeted during early pregnancy.
In vitro activity of U-57930E, a new clindamycin analog, against aerobic gram-positive bacteria

The in vitro activity of U-57930E, a new clindamycin analog, against aerobic gram-positive cocci was studied by microdilution broth susceptibility tests and compared with the activities of clindamycin, vancomycin, oxacillin, and ampicillin. U-57930E inhibited methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus agalactiae, and Streptococcus viridans at concentrations of less than or equal to 1 microgram/ml. This degree of activity was generally slightly less than that of the other antimicrobial agents tested. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, coagulase-negative staphylococci, penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae, and enterococci were resistant to U-57930E. At the concentrations used, U-57930E exhibited bactericidal activity against most susceptible organisms, and a minimal effect of inoculum size was noted.
Fat / Hippo pathway regulates the progress of neural differentiation signaling in the Drosophila optic lobe

A large number of neural and glial cell species differentiate from neuronal precursor cells during nervous system development. Two types of Drosophila optic lobe neurons, lamina and medulla neurons, are derived from the neuroepithelial (NE) cells of the outer optic anlagen. During larval development, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)/Ras signaling sweeps the NE field from the medial edge and drives medulla neuroblast (NB) formation. This signal drives the transient expression of a proneural gene, lethal of scute, and we refer to its signal array as the “proneural wave,” as it is the marker of the EGFR/Ras signaling front. In this study, we show that the atypical cadherin Fat and the downstream Hippo pathways regulate the transduction of EGFR/Ras signaling along the NE field and, thus, ensure the progress of NB differentiation. Fat/Hippo pathway mutation also disrupts the pattern formation of the medulla structure, which is associated with the regulation of neurogenesis. A candidate for the Fat ligand, Dachsous is expressed in the posterior optic lobe, and its mutation was observed to cause a similar phenotype as fat mutation, although in a regionally restricted manner. We also show that Dachsous functions as the ligand in this pathway and genetically interacts with Fat in the optic lobe. These findings provide new insights into the function of the Fat/Hippo pathway, which regulates the ordered progression of neurogenesis in the complex nervous system.
Preclinical assessment of anti-cancer drugs by using RP215 monoclonal antibody

RP215 monoclonal antibody was originally generated against OC-3-VGH ovarian cancer cells. It was shown to recognize specifically a carbohydrate-associated epitope(s) of cancer cell-expressed immunoglobulin heavy chains designated as CA215. Previous studies suggest that CA215 is expressed by all human cancer cell lines and tissues in both membrane bound and secreted forms. It may be an ideal target for therapeutic treatments of human cancers with humanized RP215-related antibodies. Based on the results of large scale immunohistochemical studies (50-100 cases each), the following types of cancers revealed high percentage(s) of positive staining with RP215: esophagus (76%), stomach (50%), colon (44%), ovary (64%), breast (32%), lung (31%), cervix (84%) and endometrium (78%). Nude mouse experiments were performed to determine if RP215 has any inhibitory effect on the growth of cancer cells in vivo. Following injections of a single dose (10 mg/kg) of I131-labeled RP215 (specific activity, 12.5 µCi/mg), the tumor size (OC-3-VGH ovarian cancer cells) was reduced to 30% of the untreated control within two weeks. By injecting the same dose, the unlabeled RP215 also reduced the tumor size to 50% of the control during the same period. The antibody treatments were found to have little effect on the body weight as well as apparent toxicity of these animals. To proceed with clinical trial studies of RP215-based anti-cancer drugs, chimeric form of this monoclonal antibody was generated and characterized. Through our effort, the “proof of concept” of anti-cancer drugs development was clearly established for the next stages of clinical trial studies.