Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Weight gain during long-term treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder: a prospective comparison between serotonin reuptake inhibitors.

BACKGROUND The effect of extended anti-depressant treatment on weight has been poorly investigated. Also unknown is whether different compounds have differential effects. The aim of the present study was to assess changes in weight in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients treated for 2.5 years with clomipramine or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. METHOD 138 DSM-IV OCD patients who responded to 6-month acute treatment at the Mood and Anxiety Disorders Unit, Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, Italy, were followed-up for 2 years while receiving open-label clomipramine, citalopram, fluoxetine, fluvoxamine, paroxetine, or sertraline. Patients were consecutively recruited and followed from May 1998 to March 2003. The mean percentage change in weight was compared for each group, as was the proportion of patients who had a > or = 7% weight increase from baseline. RESULTS At the end of the 2.5-year study period, patients had gained a mean of 2.5% of their body weight with respect to baseline (1.58 kg); 14.5% of the total sample experienced a significant (> or = 7%) weight increase. Within each but the fluoxetine treatment group, paired t tests showed a significant increase in weight from baseline to final visit. Analysis of variance showed a significant difference between treatment groups (p = .009), with clomipramine being associated with the highest weight increase and fluoxetine and sertraline with the lowest. A higher proportion of clomipramine-treated patients (34.8%) gained > or = 7% in weight as compared with sertraline and fluoxetine, which accounted for the lowest percentage of patients with a significant weight gain (4.5% and 8.7%, respectively), although this difference was not statistically significant. CONCLUSION Risk of weight gain during extended serotonin reuptake inhibitor treatment for OCD differs depending on which compound is used. The differences among antiobsessive drugs may affect compliance with medication and health risks.
When should hypertension be treated? The different perspectives of Canadian family physicians and patients.

BACKGROUND Hypertension guidelines from different organizations often specify different treatment thresholds, and none explicitly state how these thresholds were chosen. This study was undertaken to determine the treatment thresholds of family physicians and hypertensive patients for mild, uncomplicated essential hypertension. A subject's treatment threshold can be determined by eliciting the minimum reduction in cardiovascular risk that he or she feels outweighs the inconvenience, costs and side effects of antihypertensive therapy (the minimal clinically important difference [MCID]). METHODS The study subjects consisted of a random sample of family physicians and a consecutive sample of hypertensive patients without overt cardiovascular disease from Ottawa and Edmonton. To determine participants' MCIDs, we used a survey employing hypothetical scenarios (each depicting a different baseline cardiovascular risk) and a probability trade-off tool. RESULTS Of 94 family physicians and 146 patients approached for the study, 72 and 74 participated respectively. There was marked variability in the MCIDs of both groups. In general, patients were less likely to want antihypertensive therapy than physicians, particularly when baseline cardiovascular risks were low: 49% v. 64% (p = 0.06), 68% v. 92% (p < 0.001) and 86% v. 100% (p = 0.001) for 5-year cardiovascular risks of 2%, 5% and 10% respectively. Moreover, patients expressed larger MCIDs (i.e., wanted greater benefits before accepting therapy) than physicians. However, a subgroup of patients (15% to 26%, depending on the scenario) wanted treatment even if there was no anticipated benefit. Multivariate analysis showed that no sociodemographic factors strongly predicted the MCIDs of either group. INTERPRETATION Guidelines that set treatment thresholds on the basis of physician or expert opinion may not accurately reflect the preferences of hypertensive patients. There is a need for patient decision aids and attention to patient preferences when initiation of antihypertensive therapy is considered for the prevention of cardiovascular disease. Further research is needed to define treatment thresholds for other chronic conditions and in other groups.
An introduction to arrays

DNA microarrays are a new technology that allows the analysis of large numbers of genes at a high resolution by the hybridization of labelled DNA, which may be reverse‐transcribed from mRNA, to a substrate containing thousands of spotted cDNAs or oligonucleotides. The amount of hybridized target is analysed, giving information on gene expression, polymorphisms or mutations present and allowing the gene profiling of different subtypes of disease. This technique has massive implications for the further understanding of the complicated genetic alterations involved in tumourigenesis and other disease processes and also for the generation of accurate prognostic information and optimization of treatment in these situations. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The role of sociodemographic factors in the risk of transition from alcohol use to disorders and remission in singapore.

AIMS The aim of the study was to define predictors of transition from alcohol use to disorders, and their remission, among adults residing in Singapore. METHODS The Singapore Mental Health Study was a cross-sectional survey conducted from December 2009 to December 2010. Information on alcohol use, regular use, DSM-IV criteria for abuse and dependence, and remission among 6616 respondents was obtained with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. RESULTS The prevalence of lifetime alcohol use (drinking at least once in the lifetime) and regular use (ever drinking at least 12 drinks in a 12-month period) was 66.6 and 32%, respectively. Of the regular drinkers, 10.1% progressed into alcohol abuse; 6.9% of abusers turned to alcohol dependence and 16.6 and 7.1% of those with history of alcohol abuse and/or dependence subsequently reported remission defined as cessation of alcohol use and the absence of any symptoms for at least 2 years before interview. Transitions to regular use and to dependence were associated with younger age, Indian ethnicity and an early age of onset of drinking, and women had a higher risk than men of transition from abuse to dependence. Remissions were associated with older age, Malay ethnicity and late age of onset. CONCLUSION The rates of alcohol use and transition to disorders were lower than in other developing countries that have been studied. Sociodemographic predictors include younger age of onset of drinking, something that intervention programs and preventive strategies in Singapore should note.
Improving mid-infrared supercontinuum generation efficiency by pumping a fluoride fiber directly into the anomalous regime at 1995 nm

Supercontinuum sources in the mid-infrared may found many potential applications to spectroscopy and material caracterization. Supercontinuum light extending up to 4000 nm has been efficiently generated in fluorozirconate glasses (ZBLAN) with 10.5 W power using an amplified nanosecond pulsed laser diode at 1550 nm [1]. As the dispersion wavelength of the fiber is closed to 1700 nm, pumping at 1550 nm does not directly allow generation of solitons. A first approach is thus to pump a piece of SMF fiber in the anomalous dispersion regime to generate the solitons and shift them to the anomalous dispersion regime of the ZBLAN fiber [1,2]. Another approach is to use a high power femtosecond laser at 1600 nm [3]. In that case, the pulse broadens through self phase modulation up to overlap with the ZBLAN anomalous dispersion regime. In both cases, the pump wavelength is very closed to the zero dispersion wavelength of the fiber to maximize the spectrum broadening. However, a limited amount of power is generated beyond 2500 nm (30%) which is the relevant spectral window for many applications. Here we report on what we believe to be the first demonstration of direct pumping of ZBLAN in the anomalous dispersion regime at 2 µm to generate a supercontinuum extending up to 3800 nm.
The power of size. 1. Rate constants and equilibrium ratios for accumulation of organic substances related to octanol‐water partition ratio and species weight

Most of the thousands of substances and species that risk assessment has to deal with are not investigated empirically because of financial, practical, and ethical constraints. To facilitate extrapolation, we have developed a model for accumulation kinetics of organic substances as a function of the octanol‐water partition ratio (Kow) of the chemical and the weight, lipid content, and trophic level of the species. The ecological parameters were obtained from a previous review on allometric regressions. The chemical parameters, that is, resistances that substances encounter in water and lipid layers of organisms, were calibrated on 1,939 rate constants for absorption from water for assimilation from food and for elimination. Their ratio was validated on 37 laboratory bioconcentration and biomagnification regressions and on 2,700 field bioaccumulation data. The rate constant for absorption increased with the hydrophobicity of the substances with a Kow up to about 1,000 and then leveled off, decreasing with the weight of the species. About 39% of the variation was explained by the model, while deviations of more than a factor of 5 were noted for labile, large, and less hydrophobic molecules as well as for algae, mollusks, and arthropods. The efficiency for assimilation of contaminants from food was determined mainly by the food digestibility and thus by the trophic level of the species. A distinction was made between substances that are stable, that is, with a minimum elimination only, and those that are labile, that is, with an excess elimination probably largely due to biotransformation. The rate constant for minimum elimination decreased with the hydrophobicity of the substance and the weight of the species. About 70% of the variation was explained by the model, while deviations of more than a factor of 5 were noted for algae, terrestrial plants, and benthic animals. Labile substances were eliminated faster than isolipophilic stable compounds, but differences in laboratory elimination and accumulation were small compared with those in field accumulation. Excess elimination by vertebrates was faster than by invertebrates. Differences between terrestrial and aquatic species were attributed to water turnover rates, whereas differences between trophic levels were due to the food digestibility. Food web accumulation, expressed as organism‐organic solids and organism‐food concentrations ratios could be largely explained by ecological variables only. The model is believed to facilitate various types of scientific interpretation as well as environmental risk assessment.
Overview of known non-human primate pathogens with potential to affect colonies used for toxicity testing

The increased demand for non-human primates (NHPs) in biomedical research has resulted in alternative sources of animals being used, which has allowed for importation of animals with varying background incidences of bacterial, viral, parasitic, and fungal pathogens. This can be of minimal consequence when animals from different sources are kept isolated. However, when NHPs from different sources with varying incidences of primary and opportunistic pathogens are mixed, there can be a rapid spread of these pathogens and an increase in the seroconversion of susceptible animals. If this process occurs during the conduct of a study, interpretation of that study can be confounded. Furthermore, NHPs imported from areas enzootic for pathogens such as Plasmodium or with high incidences of human diseases such as measles and tuberculosis can introduce diseases that can be a threat to colony health, have zoonotic risk, and can severely impact study outcome. Thus, knowledge of the common primary and opportunistic NHP infections, as well as reemerging pathogens, enables the toxicologist to use information on disease status for pre-study animal selection and intelligent study design. This is particularly important when immunomodulatory compounds are being investigated. Moreover, the toxicologic pathologist well versed in the common spontaneous infections, opportunistic pathogens, and background lesions in NHPs is able to assess possible drug-related effects in drug safety studies. This review identifies the common primary and opportunistic pathogens, as well as newly emerging infections of NHPs, that can directly or indirectly affect colony health and the interpretation of drug safety studies.
Overexpression and topology of the Shigella flexneri O‐antigen polymerase (Rfc/Wzy)

Lipopolysaccharides (LPS), particularly the O‐antigen component, are one of many virulence determinants necessary for Shigella flexneri pathogenesis. O‐antigen biosynthesis is determined mostly by genes located in the rfb region of the chromosome. The rfc/wzy gene encodes the O‐antigen polymerase, an integral membrane protein, which polymerizes the O‐antigen repeat units of the LPS. The wild‐type rfc/wzy gene has no detectable ribosome‐binding site (RBS) and four rare codons in the translation initiation region (TIR). Site‐directed mutagenesis of the rare codons at positions 4, 9 and 23 to those corresponding to more abundant tRNAs and introduction of a RBS allowed detection of the rfc/wzy gene product via a T7 promoter/polymerase expression assay. Complementation studies using the rfc/wzy constructs allowed visualization of a novel LPS with unregulated O‐antigen chain length distribution, and a modal chain length could be restored by supplying the gene for the O‐antigen chain length regulator (Rol/Wzz) on a low‐copy‐number plasmid. This suggests that the O‐antigen chain length distribution is determined by both Rfc/Wzy and Rol/Wzz proteins. The effect on translation of mutating the rare codons was determined using an Rfc::PhoA fusion protein as a reporter. Alkaline phosphatase enzyme assays showed an approximately twofold increase in expression when three of the rare codons were mutated. Analysis of the Rfc/Wzy amino acid sequence using TM‐PREDICT indicated that Rfc/Wzy had 10–13 transmembrane segments. The computer prediction models were tested by genetically fusing C‐terminal deletions of Rfc/Wzy to alkaline phosphatase and β‐galactosidase. Rfc::PhoA fusion proteins near the amino‐terminal end were detected by Coomassie blue staining and Western blotting using anti‐PhoA serum. The enzyme activities of cells with the rfc/wzy fusions and the location of the fusions in rfc/wzy indicated that Rfc/Wzy has 12 transmembrane segments with two large periplasmic domains, and that the amino‐ and carboxy‐termini are located on the cytoplasmic face of the membrane.
Enhancement of thermal conduction of polyimide/boron nitride nanocomposites

Two kinds of polyimide-boron nitride (PI-BN) nanocomposite have been manufactured by the direct blending process using two different kinds and sizes of BN nanoparticles, referred as BN-1 and BN-2. A high power ultrasonic probe has been used to achieve the dispersion of BN nanoparticles within the polyimide precursor solution. Thermal conductivity has been evaluated for filler volume content up to 29.1% vol. for PI-BN-1 and 57.3% vol. for PI-BN-2. Thermal conductivity has been measured using a pulsed photo-thermal technique developed for determining the thermal properties of solid thin-films and coatings. The use of BN nanoparticles allows thermal conductivity to be increased but the observed increase depends strongly on the nanoparticle diameter. Thermal conductivity increases from 0.21 W/mK for the neat polyimide (PI) to 0.56 W/mK for the PI-BN-1 (29.1% vol.) However, when using lower size BN nanoparticles the thermal conductivity only increases up to 0.25 W/mK for the PI-BN-2 for higher volume content (57.3% vol.).
A Randomized Trial of a Low-Fat Diet Intervention on Blood Pressure and Hypertension: Tertiary Analysis of the WHI Dietary Modification Trial.

BACKGROUND This post hoc analysis determined if the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) Diet Modification intervention (DM-I) resulted in a significantly different rate of incident hypertension (HTN), as well as longitudinal changes in blood pressure. METHODS Participants were 48,835 postmenopausal women aged 50-79 years who were randomly assigned to either the intervention or comparison group. HTN was defined as self-report of treated HTN collected semiannually or blood pressure ≥140/90mm Hg at one of the annual follow-up clinic visits. RESULTS After a mean follow-up of 8.3 years, and among those who did not have HTN at baseline (n = 31,146), there were 16,174 (51.9%) HTN cases and those assigned to the intervention group had a 4% lower overall risk of developing incident HTN (hazard ratio (HR): 0.96, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.93-0.99). Although the risk of HTN was lower in the DM-I group in the first few years, the HR became greater than 1 after year 5 (P-trend < 0.01). Similarly, randomization to the DM-I arm resulted in a small but significantly lower average systolic blood pressure (SBP) at 1 year of follow-up (-0.66mm Hg, 0.44-0.89) that increased over the following 8 years (0.16mm Hg/year, 0.11-0.21), such that any early benefit was eliminated by year 5 and a minimal deleterious effect emerged by year 7. CONCLUSION Randomization to an intensive behavioral dietary modification program aimed at a lower total fat intake is not associated with sustained reductions in blood pressure or risk of HTN in postmenopausal women. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION url http://www.clinicaltrials. gov, unique identifier nct00000611.
Initial testing of a monoclonal antibody (IMC‐A12) against IGF‐1R by the pediatric preclinical testing program

Many childhood malignancies including sarcomas, neuroblastoma, and Wilms tumor show the presence of both, active, type‐1‐insulin‐like growth factor receptor (IGF‐1R), and the autocrine production of its ligands IGF‐1/IGF‐2. IMC‐A12 is a fully human IgG1 antibody that prevents ligand binding to the IGF‐1R.
Job Rotation: Fases en el desarrollo personal

La rotacion de puestos de trabajo tiene su mejor lugar en el grupo de los veinte a treinta anos, mientras que en el grupo de las personas entre 40 y 50 anos debe producirse menos la rotacion y mas el enriquecimiento del puesto de trabajo. Esta seria la secuencia logica de una carrera profesional, en la que el equilibrio que aporta la experiencia juega un papel fundamental, ya que las personas necesitan tiempo para desarrollarse y un minimo de continuidad, para conocer sus fortalezas y desarrollarlas. La rotacion de puestos de trabajo se sigue considerando como instrumento optimo, moderno y progresivo para el desarrollo personal y profesional de los cuadros de mando, y como metodo de motivacion. A juicio del autor, lo mejor es una planificacion de carrera profesional, en base a decadas definidas. Se debe tener en cuenta que en cada decada necesita la persona una clase de objetivos a desarrollar. Si se quiere evitar el fallo de privar a empresas y personas de sus resultados, entonces la rotacion de puestos de trabajo solo debera realizarse con precaucion, y solo en determinadas fases del desarrollo profesional de una persona. Las personas necesitan tiempo para desarrollarse y un minimo de continuidad, para conocer sus fortalezas y desarrollarlas. El que intente probar hoy con el salto de longitud , manana con el lanzamiento de jabalina y pasado manana con la natacion, solo podra estar seguro de una cosa: de que no conseguira en ninguna de las tres especialidades resultados optimos
Comparison of Ultrasound Biomicroscopic Changes After Glaucoma Triple Procedure and Trabeculectomy in Eyes With Primary Angle Closure Glaucoma

PurposeTo evaluate ultrasound biomicroscopy changes in the anterior chamber angle (ACA) configuration after glaucoma triple procedure (GTP), compared with those seen after trabeculectomy, in eyes with primary angle closure glaucoma (PACG). MethodsTwenty-nine PACG eyes that underwent GTP were compared with 27 eyes that underwent trabeculectomy only, using ultrasound biomicroscopy. Anterior segment parameters such as anterior chamber depth, angle opening distance (AOD500), trabecular ciliary process distance, trabecular iris angle, iris ciliary process distance, iris thickness along the trabecular ciliary process distance line (ID1), scleral ciliary process angle, scleral iris angle, and angle recess area were measured preoperatively and at 3 months postoperatively; these parameters were then compared between the procedures. ResultsAmong the anterior segment parameters, postoperative increases in the anterior chamber depth, AOD500, and angle recess area were statistically significant in the eyes that underwent trabeculectomy. For the eyes that underwent GTP, all parameters except the iris ciliary process distance and ID1 were significantly increased after the operation. ConclusionsFor the eyes that underwent GTP, the ciliary body process was posteriorly positioned and the ACA was significantly increased after the operation, as compared with the eyes that underwent trabeculectomy. The posterior shift of the ciliary process only after GTP was indirect evidence that the lens plays an important role in ACA configuration in eyes with PACG.
Balanced Search Space Partitioning for Distributed Media Redundant Indexing

This paper addresses the problem of balanced, redundant indexing of media information. Our goal is to partition and distribute the search index, taking advantage of the distributed systems properties: balanced load across nodes, redundancy on node down and efficient node usage under concurrent querying. We follow an information compression approach to solve this problem and propose to represent data with overcomplete codebooks, where each document is represented by only a few codewords and an indexing node is responsible for several codewords. Quantization algorithms are designed to fit the original data as best as possible, leading to bias towards codewords that fit the principal directions of data. In this paper, we propose the balanced KSVD (B-KSVD) algorithm, that distributes the allocation of data across a balanced number of codewords, according to the global distribution of data. Indexing experiments showed that B-KSVD can achieve 38% 1-recall by inspecting only 1% of the full index, distributed over 10 partitions. Traditional methods based on k-means need to either use larger codebooks or to inspect a larger portion of the index to achieve the same retrieval performance.
No correlation between prolactin levels and clinical activity in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

OBJECTIVE To assess the frequency of hyperprolactinemia and its possible clinical significance in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). METHODS Concentrations of prolactin (PRL) were determined in 63 consecutive patients with SLE by an immunoradiometric assay. Antinuclear antibodies, anti-DNA, ribonucleoprotein, Sm, Ro, La, and anticardiolipin antibodies were determined by standard techniques. PRL concentrations were correlated with SLE clinical and serological activity. RESULTS Elevated serum concentration of PRL (> 20 ng/ml) were found in 10 of 63 (15.9%) patients [21 to 57 ng/ml, mean (SD) 35.6 (13.4)]. No direct correlation between PRL levels and clinical disease activity of SLE was found (Pearson correlation r = -0.186, NS). In addition, hyperprolactinemia was not associated with serological activity. CONCLUSION Mild hyperprolactinemia is present in a subset of patients with SLE but its clinical significance is still uncertain.