Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Understanding the Healthy Thyroid State in 2015

Thyroid hormones (TH) are of crucial importance for the physiological function of almost all organs. In cases of abnormal TH signaling, pathophysiological consequences may arise. The routine assessment of a healthy or diseased thyroid function state is currently based on the determination of serum concentrations of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), and the TH T3 and T4. However, the definition of a ‘normal' TSH range and similarly ‘normal' T3 and T4 concentrations remains the subject of debate in different countries worldwide and has important implications on patient treatment in clinics. Not surprisingly, a significant number of patients whose thyroid function tests are biochemically determined to be within the normal range complain of impaired well-being. The reasons for this are so far not fully understood, but it has been recognized that thyroid function status needs to be ‘individualized' and extended beyond simple TSH measurement. Thus, more precise and reliable parameters are required in order to optimally define the healthy thyroid status of an individual, and as a perspective to employ these in clinical routine. With the recent identification of new key players in TH action, a more accurate assessment of a patient's thyroid status may in the future become possible. Recently described distinct TH derivatives and metabolites, TH transporters, nongenomic TH effects (either through membrane-bound or cytosolic signaling), and classical nuclear TH action allow for insights into molecular and cellular preconditions of a healthy thyroid state. This will be a prerequisite to improve management of thyroid dysfunction, and additionally to prevent and target TH-related nonthyroid disease.
Finding the Needle in a Haystack: Using Treemaps to Analyze Supplier Performance

Supplier evaluation is critical to managing an organization's supply base. Key to that evaluation is portraying the information graphically. Organizations with large supply bases find traditional methods are overwhelmed with large datasets. A tier 1 automotive supplier's quality system tracked eight performance measures for its many divisions and plants within the divisions. Each plant had a multitude of suppliers. Even when pivot tables, and pivot charts were used, the effective representation of that information wasn't accomplished through spreadsheets. Treemapping is a data visualization technology that makes efficient use of space and allows very large hierarchies to be displayed in their entirety. It sorts data using a user-defined hierarchy and displays data to meet the user's needs and decision making style. This paper provides a case study on the use of treemaps as a supplier performance rating system. The system was presented to users of the Excel-based system and their perceptions and evaluations of the treemap system were analyzed. They found the treemap system provided them with better information, made their job easier, and allowed for a full representation of supplier performance. Users were also appreciative of the ability to "drill down" on details of specific suppliers.
Pain and Distress from Bone Marrow Aspirations and Lumbar Punctures

OBJECTIVE To compare the efficacy of 3 different pharmacologic regimens to relieve pain and distress in children with cancer undergoing bone marrow aspirations (BMAs) and lumbar punctures (LPs). DESIGN Retrospective cohort study with crossovers for some patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS The pain and distress ratings of patients undergoing BMAs (n = 73) and LPs (n = 105) were examined in a comparison of 3 different interventions: (1) a topical eutectic mixture of lidocaine and prilocaine (EMLA cream), (2) oral midazolam and EMLA cream, or (3) propofol/fentanyl general anesthesia. The choice of the intervention depended on patient/parent request. A validated faces pain scale was completed by the child or parent following each BMA or LP. The faces pain scale includes ratings of the severity of pain (from 0 = none to 5 = severe) and ratings of how frightened (from 0 = not scared to 5 = scared) the child was prior to each procedure. Comparisons of the pain and distress ratings were made among all patients for their first procedure and also within individual patients who had received >1 of the 3 interventions. Independent comparisons between the first treatments received by each patient were analyzed using Kruskal–Wallis tests. Comparisons of different crossover treatments received by individual patients were analyzed using Wilcoxon tests. RESULTS For all first procedures, mean ± SD pain and distress ratings during LPs were significantly lower when propofol/fentanyl was used (n = 43; 0.4 ± 1.0 and 1.4 ± 1.7) versus either EMLA (n = 29; 2.4 ± 1.7 and 2.9 ± 1.9) or midazolam/EMLA (n = 33; 2.4 ± 1.8 and 2.7 ± 1.8), respectively. Pain and distress ratings during BMAs were also significantly lower with propofol/fentanyl (n = 29; 0.5 ± 1.0 and 1.2 ± 1.7) versus EMLA (n = 21; 3.5 ± 1.6 and 3.3 ± 1.8) or midazolam/EMLA (n = 23; 3.3 ± 1.5 and 3.0 ± 1.9), respectively. When data were analyzed within each patient, these differences were also present. CONCLUSIONS Children receiving propofol/fentanyl general anesthesia experienced significantly less procedure-related pain and distress than did those receiving either EMLA or oral midazolam/EMLA.
Platelets Influence Vascularized Organ Transplants from Start to Finish

This review relates the basic functions of platelets to specific aspects of organ allograft rejection. Platelet activation can occur in the donor or recipient before transplantation as well as during antibody‐ and cell‐mediated rejection. Biopsies taken during organ procurement from cadaver donors have documented that activated platelets are attached to vascular endothelial cells or leukocytes. In addition, many patients waiting for transplants have activated platelets due to the diseases that lead to organ failure or as a result of interventions used to support patients before and during transplantation. The contribution of platelets to hyperacute rejection of both allografts and xenografts is well recognized. Intravascular aggregates of platelets can also be prominent in experimental and clinical transplants that undergo acute antibody or cell‐mediated rejection. In acute rejection, platelets can recruit mononuclear cells by secretion of chemokines. After contact, monocytes, macrophages and T cells interact with platelets through receptor/ligand pairs, including P‐selectin/PSGL‐1 and CD40/CD154. There is a potential for therapy to inhibit platelet mediated immune stimulation, but it is counterbalanced by the need to maintain coagulation in the perioperative period.
Cardiovascular risk factors are not treated to target in hypertensive patients in primary care

Abstract The awareness and control of cardiovascular risk factors other than blood pressure in hypertensive subjects in primary healthcare is not well described. This was examined by data extraction from electronic records from a random sample (115 women and 85 men) corresponding to two-thirds of all hypertensive subjects within a well-defined geographic area in Sweden. Target blood pressure (<140/90 mmHg, <130/80 mmHg if diabetes or kidney disease) was achieved in 27%, and lipid levels (total and LDL-cholesterol <5 and <3.0 mmol/l, respectively) in 42%. Beta-blockers were the most common antihypertensive drug class; 39% were given lipid lowering drugs. The distributions of antihypertensive and lipid lowering drugs were similar across gender and age groups. Patient records often contained information on body mass index, lipid levels, diabetes, left ventricular hypertrophy, microalbuminuria, and smoking habits (reported in 89%, 89%, 73%, 67%, 62% and 61%), but rarely on physical exercise, family history, concurrent cardiovascular disease or alcohol habits (reported in 47%, 46%, 39% and 18%). In conclusion, hypertensive patients in primary healthcare do not have well controlled blood pressure and lipids. The awareness and documentation of several cardiovascular risk factors is low. Improvement in risk assessment and treatment may have substantial effects on prognosis.
Trichuris vulpis Recovered from a Patient with Chronic Diarrhea and Five Dogs

ABSTRACT We report a case of human infection with the whipworm of dogs, Trichuris vulpis, in a woman with duodenal ulcer disease, chronic diarrhea, and close contact with dogs. Morphologically, T. vulpis ova resemble those of the human whipworm (T. trichiura) but are nearly twice their size.
Free radicals in the 1900's: from in vitro to in vivo

Remarkable progress has been achieved in the past 100 years in the field of free radical chemistry, biology and medicine since the discovery of free radicals in 1900. Free radical-mediated processes play a major role in the present industrial chemistry, but they also cause deleterious effects on rubber, plastics, oil products and foods. The importance of free radicals in vivo has been recognized increasingly from both positive and negative sides. Free radicals play an important role in phagocytosis, the production of some biologically essential compounds and possibly cell signaling. At the same time, they may cause oxidative modification of biological molecules, which leads to oxidative damage and eventually to various diseases, cancer and aging. The role and beneficial effects of antioxidants against such oxidative stress support this view. Furthermore, novel issues have been continuously found in this fascinating and yet controversial field of free radicals in biology. In this short article, the past work, present problems and future perspectives of free radicals in life science will be briefly discussed.
Probing the two-metal ion mechanism in the restriction endonuclease BamHI.

The choreography of restriction endonuclease catalysis is a long-standing paradigm in molecular biology. Bivalent metal ions are required almost for all PD.D/ExK type enzymes, but the number of cofactors essential for the DNA backbone scission remained ambiguous. On the basis of crystal structures and biochemical data for various restriction enzymes, three models have been developed that assign critical roles for one, two, or three metal ions during the phosphodiester hydrolysis. To resolve this apparent controversy, we investigated the mechanism of BamHI catalysis using quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical simulation techniques and determined the activation barriers of three possible pathways that involve a Glu-113 or a neighboring water molecule as a general base or an external nucleophile that penetrated from bulk solution. The extrinsic mechanism was found to be the most favorable with an activation free energy of 23.4 kcal/mol, in reasonable agreement with the experimental data. On the basis of the effect of the individual metal ions on the activation barrier, metal ion A was concluded to be pivotal for the reaction, while the enzyme lacking metal ion B still has moderate efficiency. Thus, we propose that the catalytic scheme of BamHI does not involve a general base for nucleophile generation and requires one obligatory metal ion for catalysis that stabilizes the attacking nucleophile and coordinates it throughout the nucleophilic attack. Such a model may also explain the variation in the number of metal ions in the crystal structures and thus could serve as a framework for a unified catalytic scheme of type II restriction endonucleases.
Effect of a 902 MHz electromagnetic field emitted by mobile phones on human cognitive function: A replication study

Our study was a replication and extension with methodological improvements to a previous study on effects of the electromagnetic field (EMF) emitted by a 902 MHz mobile phone on human cognitive functioning. Improvements on the previous study included multicentre testing and a double blind design. A total of 64 subjects (32 men and 32 women) in two independent laboratories performed a battery of 9 cognitive tasks twice: while the EMF was on and while it was off. Reaction times (RTs) and accuracy were recorded. The order of exposure and tasks was counterbalanced across subjects and gender. There were no statistically significant differences in performance between genders or laboratories. Although the RTs and the accuracy of answers were very similar to those of our previous study, our previous results were not replicated. We concluded that EMF had no effect on RTs or on the accuracy of the subjects' answers. Further, our results indicate that our EMF had no immediate effect on human cognitive functioning or that such effects are so small that they are observed on behavior only occasionally. Bioelectromagnetics 24:283–288, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Appropriateness Criteria for Surgery Improve Clinical Outcomes in Patients With Low Back Pain and/or Sciatica

Study Design. Prospective, controlled, observational outcome study using clinical, radiographic, and patient/physician-based questionnaire data, with patient outcomes at 12 months follow-up. Objective. To validate appropriateness criteria for low back surgery. Summary of Background Data. Most surgical treatment failures are attributed to poor patient selection, but no widely accepted consensus exists on detailed indications for appropriate surgery. Methods. Appropriateness criteria for low back surgery have been developed by a multispecialty panel using the RAND appropriateness method. Based on panel criteria, a prospective study compared outcomes of patients appropriately and inappropriately treated at a single institution with 12 months follow-up assessment. Included were patients with low back pain and/or sciatica referred to the neurosurgical department. Information about symptoms, neurologic signs, the health-related quality of life (SF-36), disability status (Roland-Morris), and pain intensity (VAS) was assessed at baseline, at 6 months, and at 12 months follow-up. The appropriateness criteria were administered prospectively to each clinical situation and outside of the clinical setting, with the surgeon and patients blinded to the results of the panel decision. The patients were further stratified into 2 groups: appropriate treatment group (ATG) and inappropriate treatment group (ITG). Results. Overall, 398 patients completed all forms at 12 months. Treatment was considered appropriate for 365 participants and inappropriate for 33 participants. The mean improvement in the SF-36 physical component score at 12 months was significantly higher in the ATG (mean: 12.3 points) than in the ITG (mean: 6.8 points) (P = 0.01), as well as the mean improvement in the SF-36 mental component score (ATG mean: 5.0 points; ITG mean: −0.5 points) (P = 0.02). Improvement was also significantly higher in the ATG for the mean VAS back pain (ATG mean: 2.3 points; ITG mean: 0.8 points; P = 0.02) and Roland-Morris disability score (ATG mean: 7.7 points; ITG mean: 4.2 points; P = 0.004). The ATG also had a higher improvement in mean VAS for sciatica (4.0 points) than the ITG (2.8 points), but the difference was not significant (P = 0.08). The SF-36 General Health score declined in both groups after 12 months, however, the decline was worse in the ITG (mean decline: 8.2 points) than in the ATG (mean decline: 1.2 points) (P = 0.04). Overall, in comparison to ITG patients, ATG patients had significantly higher improvement at 12 months, both statistically and clinically. Conclusion. In comparison to previously reported literature, our study is the first to assess the utility of appropriateness criteria for low back surgery at 1-year follow-up with multiple outcome dimensions. Our results confirm the hypothesis that application of appropriateness criteria can significantly improve patient outcomes.
External Morphology of Lophiosilurus alexandri Steindachner, 1876 during Early Stages of Development, and Its Implications for the Evolution of Pseudopimelodidae (Siluriformes)

Pseudopimelodidae are Neotropical catfishes characterized by having slightly to strongly depressed body in fully developed specimens. The largest species of the family with 500 mm SL, Lophiosilurus alexandri, experiences impressive changes in body shape during development, becoming extremely depressed when fully developed. Accordingly, Lophiosilurus alexandri is an ideal species to observe the morphological changes during ontogeny, and to seek solid interpretations on the polarity of characters. Specimens of distinct larval periods (yolk sac, flexion and postflexion; n = 186 specimens) and juvenile stages (n = 20) were analyzed. Changes in body shape, position of mouth and eye, morphology of fins and pigmentation were observed during the development of Lophiosilurus. Larvae (5.7–11.2 mm standard length) had pigmentation concentrated on the head and parts of body, eyes small and pigmented, short barbels, and well-developed finfold. Juveniles (15.9–28.1 mm standard length) had body shape similar to adult, with head depressed and bearing bony ridges, large mouth, dorsally-oriented eyes, small barbels and well-developed shoulder bulges (cleithral width). The greatest morphological changes in the development of L. alexandri occurred during the postflexion larval stage. Relative to standard length, measurements of snout length, head depth and body depth are smaller in juveniles than in larvae, but body width is larger. New interpretations on the phylogenetic characters related to these changes are provided in view of the two alternative hypotheses of the evolution of Pseudopimelodidae.
Status and diet in precontact highland Ecuador.

Excavation at the Ecuadorian highland site of La Florida in suburban Quito revealed six deep shaft tombs yielding high-status individuals (n = 9) as well as apparent sacrifices and other low-status individuals (n = 23). Determination of sex and age at death of the recovered skeletal remains resulted in a sample of 32 individuals aged from approximately 7 to 50 years of age. The sample of 18 individuals over the age of 18 years included 14 females and 4 males. Temporally, the remains are assigned to the Chaupicruz Phase (circa 100 to 450 AD) of the Regional Developmental Period. In this study, we analyze stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen from human bone in order to compare the diets of the high- and low-status individuals. Stable carbon isotope analyses were carried out on preserved protein and biological apatite (bioapatite), and stable nitrogen isotope analyses were carried out on preserved protein. There is a statistically significant difference in delta 13C between the two groups for both protein and mineral sources of carbon with evidence for the greater consumption of maize in the high-status group. There is no significant difference in delta 15N between the two groups, nor is there a significant difference in the spacing between protein and mineral delta 13C values between the two groups. Ethnohistorical evidence for the 16th century AD provides the expectation that the only dietary difference was the higher consumption of animal protein by the elite. There is no evidence for this based on the bone chemistry data from La Florida. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Serotypes and genotypes of Streptococcus pneumoniae causing pneumonia and acute exacerbations in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

OBJECTIVES This study aimed to compare the antibiotic susceptibilities, serotypes and genotypes of pneumococci causing pneumonia or acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) in patients with COPD. METHODS A total of 611 pneumococci collected from 487 COPD patients with pneumonia (n = 255, 94 bacteraemic pneumonia) or AECOPD episodes (n = 356), from 2001 to 2008, were analysed. Antibiotic susceptibility was studied by microdilution. Serotypes (PCR or Quellung) and genotypes (PFGE and multilocus sequence typing) were determined. RESULTS Pneumococci isolated from AECOPD episodes were significantly more resistant to co-trimoxazole and chloramphenicol than those isolated from pneumonia episodes (39.0% versus 29.7% and 13.8% versus 8.2%, respectively, P < 0.05). Comparing serotypes of isolates causing bacteraemic pneumonia, non-bacteraemic pneumonia and AECOPD, serotypes 4, 5 and 8 were associated with bacteraemic pneumonia (P < 0.05), serotypes 1 and 3 were associated with bacteraemic and non-bacteraemic pneumonia (P < 0.05) and serotypes 16F and 11A and non-typeable pneumococci were associated with AECOPD episodes (P < 0.05). The genotypes related to serotypes 3 (Netherlands(3)-ST180 and ST260(3)), 1 (Sweden(1)-ST306), 5 (Colombia(5)-ST289) and 8 (Netherlands(8)-ST53) were isolated more frequently in pneumonia episodes (P < 0.05), whereas genotype ST30(16F) (serotype 16F) was more frequently recovered from AECOPD episodes. CONCLUSIONS In our experience, serotype 3 pneumococci (Netherlands(3)-ST180 and ST260(3) genotypes) commonly cause pneumonia and acute exacerbations in COPD patients. Pneumococci of serotypes 1 (Sweden(1)-ST306), 4 (ST247(4)), 5 (Colombia(5)-ST289) and 8 (Netherlands(8)-ST53) were more often associated with pneumonia. Non-typeable pneumococci may play an important role in acute exacerbations.
Simulation of Urban Expansion and Farmland Loss in China by Integrating Cellular Automata and Random Forest

China has encountered serious land loss problems along with urban expansion due to rapid urbanization. Without considering complicated spatiotemporal heterogeneity, previous studies could not extract urban transition rules at large scale well. This study proposed a random forest algorithm (RFA) based cellular automata (CA) model to simulate China's urban expansion and farmland loss in a fine scale from 2000 to 2030. The objectives of this study are to 1) mine urban conversion rules in different homogeneous economic development regions, and 2) simulate China's urban expansion process and farmland loss at high spatial resolution (30 meters). Firstly, we clustered several homogeneous economic development regions among China according to official statistical data. Secondly, we constructed a RFA-based CA model to mine complex urban conversion rules and carried out simulation of urban expansion and farmland loss at each homo-region. The proposed model was implemented on Tianhe-1 supercomputer located in Guangzhou, China. The accuracy evaluation demonstrates that the simulation result of proposed RFA-based CA model is more in agreement with actual land use change. This study proves that the primary factor of farmland loss in China is rapid urbanization from 2000, and the farmland loss rate is expected to slow down gradually and will stabilize from 2010 to 2030. It shows that China is able to preserve the 1.20 million km farmland without crossing the "red line" within the next 20 years, but the situation remains severe.