Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation patients in Poland and other European countries: insights from the GARFIELD-AF registry.

BACKGROUND Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common clinically-significant arrhythmia in the adult population, and it is a strong independent risk factor for cerebrovascular accidents. Patients with non-valvular AF are five times more likely to suffer a stroke. Despite the clear recommendations for anticoagulant therapy, many clinicians are still reluctant to provide routine oral anticoagulation to patients with AF, despite the potential clinical benefits. AIM To compare Polish and European populations of patients with AF and the every-day practice of stroke prevention in Poland and in the rest of Europe. METHODS We analysed the baseline data from the two first cohorts of patients enrolled in the GARFIELD-AF registry (an ongoing prospective, multicentre, international registry of patients newly diagnosed with AF) in Poland and in the rest of Europe. RESULTS Polish AF patients are generally younger (median age 67 years in both cohorts vs. 73 in cohort 1 in the rest of Europe and 72 in cohort 2), but they carry a burden of more concomitant diseases. There are some noticeable differences in stroke prevention between Poland and the rest of Europe. The use of vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) is generally higher in other European countries in both cohorts (in Poland 41.7% in cohort 1 and 36.9% in cohort 2 vs. 55.5% in cohort 1 and 41.9% in cohort 2 in the rest of Europe). Meanwhile, it is generally more common in Poland to treat patients with both VKAs and antiplatelets (in cohort 1 20.4% of patients in Poland received vs. 12.0% in the rest of Europe). A total of 5.6% of patients in cohort 1 in Poland receive no antithrombotic treatment (it means: no VKA, oral factor Xa or thrombin inhibitors, antiplatelets), meanwhile in other countries it amounts to 8.5%. The usage of non-vitamin K oral anticoagulants is growing in Poland similarly to the other European countries. CONCLUSIONS The GARFIELD-AF registry data shows how distant everyday clinical practice is from the guidelines. It shows that still in Poland, as well as in the rest of Europe, too many patients with low stroke risk are treated with anticoagulants, while too frequently patients at high stroke risk are left with no stroke prevention. Although the tendency to use non-vitamin K oral anticoagulants is growing comparably in Poland and in the rest of Europe, the proportion of patients with intermediate and high stroke risk is not growing and more patients at low stroke risk are treated with anticoagulants.
Learning-Assisted Intelligent Scheduling System

This paper addresses the developing of Learning-Assisted Intelligent Scheduling Systems that uses active learning by accumulation and interpretation of scheduling experience or even by observation of expert's decisions. The design of intelligent systems (IS) that learn with experts is a very hard and challenging domain because current systems are becoming more and more complex and subject to rapid changes. The model for the proposed system will be presented.
Protection against Fatty Liver but Normal Adipogenesis in Mice Lacking Adipose Differentiation-Related Protein

ABSTRACT Adipose differentiation-related protein (ADFP; also known as ADRP or adipophilin), is a lipid droplet (LD) protein found in most cells and tissues. ADFP expression is strongly induced in cells with increased lipid load. We have inactivated the Adfp gene in mice to better understand its role in lipid accumulation. The Adfp-deficient mice have unaltered adipose differentiation or lipolysis in vitro or in vivo. Importantly, they display a 60% reduction in hepatic triglyceride (TG) and are resistant to diet-induced fatty liver. To determine the mechanism for the reduced hepatic TG content, we measured hepatic lipogenesis, very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) secretion, and lipid uptake and utilization, all of which parameters were shown to be similar between mutant and wild-type mice. The finding of similar VLDL output in the presence of a reduction in total TG in the Adfp-deficient liver is explained by the retention of TG in the microsomes where VLDL is assembled. Given that lipid droplets are thought to form from the outer leaflet of the microsomal membrane, the reduction of TG in the cytosol with concomitant accumulation of TG in the microsome of Adfp−/− cells suggests that ADFP may facilitate the formation of new LDs. In the absence of ADFP, impairment of LD formation is associated with the accumulation of microsomal TG but a reduction in TG in other subcellular compartments.
A prospective ten-year clinical trial of porcelain veneers.

PURPOSE The aim of this in vivo study was to evaluate the clinical performance of porcelain veneers after 5 and 10 years of clinical service. MATERIALS AND METHODS A single operator placed porcelain laminates on 87 maxillary anterior teeth in 25 patients. All restorations were recalled at 5 years and 93% of the restorations at 10 years. Clinical performance was assessed in terms of esthetics, marginal integrity, retention, clinical microleakage, caries recurrence, fracture, vitality, and patient satisfaction. Failures were recorded either as "clinically unacceptable but repairable" or as "clinically unacceptable with replacement needed". RESULTS Porcelain veneers maintained their esthetic appearance after 10 years of clinical service. None of the veneers were lost. The percentage of restorations that remained "clinically acceptable" (without need for intervention) significantly decreased from an average of 92% (95 CI: 90% to 94%) at 5 years to 64% (95 CI: 51% to 77%) at 10 years. Fractures of porcelain (11%) and large marginal defects (20%) were the main reason for failure. Marginal defects were especially noticed at locations where the veneer ended in an existing composite filling. At such vulnerable locations, severe marginal discoloration (19%) and caries recurrence (10%) were frequently observed. Most of the restorations that present one or more "clinically unacceptable" problems (28%) were repairable. Only 4% of the restorations needed to be replaced at the 10-year recall. CONCLUSION It was concluded that labial porcelain veneers represent a reliable, effective procedure for conservative treatment of unesthetic anterior teeth. Occlusion, preparation design, presence of composite fillings, and the adhesive used to bond veneers to tooth substrate are covariables that contribute to the clinical outcome of these restorations in the long-term.
Fiber architecture and histochemistry in the cat neck muscle, biventer cervicis.

1. Biventer cervicis (BC) is an anatomically complex muscle that is divided by tendinous inscriptions into five in-series compartments of motor units. We have analyzed the fiber architecture and fiber-type composition of these different compartments using microdissection and histochemical methods. 2. BC narrows as it runs rostrally, but its in-series compartments have similar cross-sectional areas. The tapered shape of BC comes about because tendinous inscriptions and the tendon of insertion are oriented obliquely and muscle fibers attach in a progressively offset fashion from the medial to the lateral muscle edge. 3. Individual compartments of BC differ from one another in their architecture. The rostral two compartments (1 and 2) contain fibers of similar length that run between two plates of tendinous tissue. Compartments 3 and 4 are divided into two or three in-parallel subvolumes whose fiber bundles differ in their lengths and sites of attachment. Compartment 5 is the most variable in its structure. In some cats it is separated from compartment 4 by a tendinous inscription, but in other cats, it blends with a dorsomedial part of compartment 4 to form a single subvolume. 4. The relative lengths of fibers in different compartments were analyzed when the head and neck were held in different postures. Fibers in rostromedial regions were stretched more effectively when the head was flexed at suboccipital joints, and appeared to be less sensitive to movements at lower cervical joints. Movements across lower cervical joints produced substantial length changes in caudolateral parts of BC. 5. Muscle fibers of different histochemical types were not distributed evenly within each muscle compartment. Slow, oxidative (SO) fibers accounted for the majority of fibers near the nuchal midline but for only 30%-45% of fibers in lateral muscle regions. Proportions of fast, glycolytic (FG) fibers were greatest in lateral regions. Fast, oxidative-glycolytic (FOG) fibers were distributed quite uniformly throughout each compartment. 6. The specialized architecture of BC may shape its physiological capabilities. The complex internal structures of different compartments may alter the length-tension properties of BC. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
POSTER: A Comprehensive Study of Forged Certificates in the Wild

With the widespread use of SSL, many issues have been exposed as well. Forged certificates used for MITM attacks or proxies can make SSL encryption useless easily, leading to privacy disclosure and property loss of careless victims. In this paper, we implement a large scale of passive measurement of SSL/TLS and analyze the forged certificates in the wild comprehensively. We measured SSL/TLS connection for 16 months on two large research networks, which provided a total of 100 Gbps bandwidth. We gathered nearly 135 million leaf certificates and studied the forged ones. Our findings reveal main reasons of signing forged certificates, and show the preference of them. Finally, we find out several suspicious servers that might be used for MITM.
Cardiac ATP‐sensitive K+ channel associates with the glycolytic enzyme complex

Being gated by high‐energy nucleotides, cardiac ATP‐sensitive potassium (KATP) channels are exquisitely sensitive to changes in cellular energy metabolism. An emerging view is that proteins associated with the KATP channel provide an additional layer of regulation. Using putative sulfonylurea receptor (SUR) coiled‐coil domains as baits in a 2‐hybrid screen against a rat cardiac cDNA library, we identified glycolytic enzymes (GAPDH and aldolase A) as putative interacting proteins. Interaction between aldolase and SUR was confirmed using GST pulldown assays and coimmunoprecipitation assays. Mass spectrometry of proteins from KATP channel immunoprecipitates of rat cardiac membranes identified glycolysis as the most enriched biological process. Coimmunoprecipitation assays confirmed interaction for several glycolytic enzymes throughout the glycolytic pathway. Immunocytochemistry colocalized many of these enzymes with KATP channel subunits in rat cardiac myocytes. The catalytic activities of aldolase and pyruvate kinase functionally modulate KATP channels in patch‐clamp experiments, whereas D‐glucose was without effect. Overall, our data demonstrate close physical association and functional interaction of the glycolytic process (particularly the distal ATP‐generating steps) with cardiac KATP channels. —Hong, M. , Kefaloyianni, E. , Bao, L. , Malester, B. , Delaroche, D. , Neubert, T. A. , Coetzee, W. A. Cardiac ATP‐sensitive K+ channel associates with the glycolytic enzyme complex. FASEB J. 25, 2456–2467 (2011). www.fasebj. org
Surface analysis of failed oral titanium implants.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the surface topography, composition, and oxide thickness of consecutively failed, oral Brånemark implants in order to determine possible causes for failure. The failure criterion was lack of osseointegration manifested as implant mobility. Ten implants were retrieved before loading (early failures) and 12 during a period of function up to 8 years (late failures). At retrieval, early losses did not display any clinical sign of infection. All late failures were radiographically characterized by peri-implant radiolucency and did not show infectious signs with one exception. No implant seemed to be lost due to peri-implantitis (plaque-induced progressive marginal bone loss). Twelve implants were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), and depth profiling using a blind protocol. Two pristine fixtures, which underwent the same preparation as the failed implants, were used as controls. In the SEM, control samples were essentially free from macroscopic contamination, whereas failed implants contained varying amounts of tissue residues. AES showed that all surfaces consisted of Ti oxide and varying amounts of additional elements, with C dominating in most cases. Nitrogen and sometimes Na, Ca, P, Cl, S, and Si were detected. The Si contamination was most likely due to ion leaching from the glass vials used for storage. Depth profiles showed a typical oxide thickness of 5-8 nm for all samples. In conclusion, no significant changes in the oxide layer composition or thickness as a result of implantation were observed. The results do not indicate any material-related cause for the failures of these implants. Possible reasons for these failures were impaired healing, asymptomatic infection, and overload.
Presynaptically silent synapses: spontaneously active terminals without stimulus-evoked release demonstrated in cortical autapses.

This study addresses the question of whether synapses that are capable of releasing transmitters spontaneously can also release them in an excitation-dependent manner. For this purpose, whole cell patch recordings were performed for a total of 48 excitatory solitary neurons in a microisland culture to observe excitatory autaptic currents elicited by spontaneous transmitter release as well as by somatic excitation. A somatic Na+-spike, induced in response to a short voltage step, evoked excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) of various amplitudes through the autapses; in some cases, no response was noticeable. To make sure that the recorded autaptic spontaneous EPSCs (sEPSCs) under a voltage clamp resulted from independent release of transmitters and were not associated with action potentials, sEPSCS in the presence and absence of tetrodotoxin (TTX) were compared in six cells. In the presence of TTX the evoked EPSCs were completely eliminated, whereas the sEPSCs were still observed and the amplitude distribution histograms were statistically not different from those recorded in the absence of TTX. A quantitative analysis of the sEPSCs (presumably miniature EPSCs) showed that the amplitude of stimulus-evoked EPSCs did not correlate with either the frequency or median amplitudes of the sEPSCs or the age of the culture. To identify whether the absence of stimulus-evoked response was caused either by conduction failure of excitation along the axons or by impairment of the release machinery that links the terminal depolarization to vesicle exocytosis, we examined whether high K+ and hypertonic solutions could facilitate the spontaneous release of transmitters. Although the hypertonic solution increased the spontaneous release in all cells tested (n = 18), the high K+ solution had a differential effect in increasing spontaneous release, i.e., the cells with larger evoked responses were more readily facilitated by the high K+ solution. Because the high K+ solution induced depolarization of presynaptic terminals, the present results indicated that the smaller evoked responses were due to the larger number of impaired or "silent" presynaptic terminals that were unable to link presynaptic depolarization to transmitter release. In summary, the present experiments provided evidence that at least some of the presynaptic terminals are silent in response to stimuli, while remaining spontaneously active at the same time. Because this phenomenon is due to the lack of sensitivity to depolarization at the terminals, these synaptic terminals seem incapable of linking terminal depolarization to transmitter release.
Bacillus minimum genome factory: effective utilization of microbial genome information

In 1997, the complete genomic DNA sequence of Bacillus subtilis (4.2 Mbp) was determined and 4100 genes were identified [Kunst, Ogasawara, Moszer, Albertini, Alloni, Azevedo, Bertero, Bessieres, Bolotin, Borchert, S. et al. (1997) Nature 90, 249–256]. In addition, B. subtilis, which shows an excellent ability to secrete proteins (enzymes) and antibiotics in large quantities outside the cell, plays an important role in industrial and medical fields. It is necessary to clarify the genes involved in the production of compounds by understanding the network of these 4100 genes and the proceeding analysis of genes of unknown functions. In promoting such a study, it is expected that the regulatory system of B. subtilis can be simplified by the creation of a Bacillus strain with a reduced genome by discriminating genes unnecessary for the production of proteins from essential genes, and deleting as many of these unnecessary genes as possible, which may help to understand this complex network of genes. We have previously distinguished essential and non‐essential genes by evaluating the growth and enzyme‐producing properties of strains of B. subtilis in which about 3000 genes (except 271 essential genes) have been disrupted or deleted singly, and have successfully utilized the findings from these studies in creating the MG1M strain with an approx. 1 Mbp deletion by serially deleting 17 unnecessary regions from the genome. This strain showed slightly reduced growth in enzyme‐production medium, but no marked morphological changes. Moreover, we confirmed that the MG1M strain had cellulase and protease productivity comparable with that of the B. subtilis 168 strain, thus demonstrating that genome reduction does not contribute to a negative influence on enzyme productivity.
Modification of Polyglutamic Acid with Silanol Groups and Calcium Salts to Induce Calcification in a Simulated Body Fluid

The formation of hydroxyapatite is important for artificial materials to show high biological affinities for bone tissue. The present study focused on the synthesis of hydrogels capable of showing apatite formation, through modification of polyglutamic acid (PGA) with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES), followed by treatment with calcium chloride solution. A transparent bulk hydrogel was obtained at a molar ratio of PGA/APTES of 0.5. Prior soaking of the PGA hydrogel in calcium chloride solution accelerated the formation of bone-like apatite in a simulated body fluid. The modified PGA hydrogel is a candidate material for a biodegradable scaffold for bone regeneration.
Do Oil Prices Directly Affect the Stock Market

Market commentators and journalists like to draw direct lines between the behavior of crude oil prices and market behavior on a given day, with such headlines as “Oil Spike Pummels Stock Market” (Wall Street Journal) or “U.S. Stocks Rally as Oil Prices Fall”(Financial Times). But does a change in oil prices affect the overall stock market in any predictable, meaningful way? Might a hike in crude foretell a weak day on the Street?
Role of protein kinase C (PKC) in agonist-induced mu-opioid receptor down-regulation: II. Activation and involvement of the alpha, epsilon, and zeta isoforms of PKC.

Phosphorylation of specific amino acid residues is believed to be crucial for the agonist-induced regulation of several G protein-coupled receptors. This is especially true for the three types of opioid receptors (mu, delta, and kappa), which contain consensus sites for phosphorylation by numerous protein kinases. Protein kinase C (PKC) has been shown to catalyze the in vitro phosphorylation of mu- and delta-opioid receptors and to potentiate agonist-induced receptor desensitization. In this series of experiments, we continue our investigation of how opioid-activated PKC contributes to homologous receptor down-regulation and then expand our focus to include the exploration of the mechanism(s) by which mu-opioids produce PKC translocation in SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells. [D-Ala2,N-Me-Phe4,Gly-ol]enkephalin (DAMGO)-induced PKC translocation follows a time-dependent and biphasic pattern beginning 2 h after opioid addition, when a pronounced translocation of PKC to the plasma membrane occurs. When opioid exposure is lengthened to >12 h, both cytosolic and particulate PKC levels drop significantly below those of control-treated cells in a process we termed "reverse translocation. " The opioid receptor antagonist naloxone, the PKC inhibitor chelerythrine, and the L-type calcium channel antagonist nimodipine attenuated opioid-mediated effects on PKC and mu-receptor down-regulation, suggesting that this is a process partially regulated by Ca2+-dependent PKC isoforms. However, chronic exposure to phorbol ester, which depletes the cells of diacylglycerol (DAG) and Ca2+-sensitive PKC isoforms, before DAMGO exposure, had no effect on opioid receptor down-regulation. In addition to expressing conventional (PKC-alpha) and novel (PKC-epsilon) isoforms, SH-SY5Y cells also contain a DAG- and Ca2+-independent, atypical PKC isozyme (PKC-zeta), which does not decrease in expression after prolonged DAMGO or phorbol ester treatment. This led us to investigate whether PKC-zeta is similarly sensitive to activation by mu-opioids. PKC-zeta translocates from the cytosol to the membrane with kinetics similar to those of PKC-alpha and epsilon in response to DAMGO but does not undergo reverse translocation after longer exposure times. Our evidence suggests that direct PKC activation by mu-opioid agonists is involved in the processes that result in mu-receptor down-regulation in human neuroblastoma cells and that conventional, novel, and atypical PKC isozymes are involved.
An isotopic study of nasal mucociliary transport in newborns: Preliminary investigation

The diagnosis of primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) depends on electron microscopic examination of cilia obtained from mucosal biopsies of the nasal turbinates or the trachea. This is an invasive, time‐consuming, and expensive technique. The low incidence of this abnormality, the large number of infants and children with suggestive symptoms, and the lack of a reliable screening test make the decision to proceed with diagnostic biopsy a common problem in recurrent or chronic respiratory pediatric conditions. To improve this situation early in infancy, nasal mucociliary transport was evaluated in 10 normal newborns using the Tc‐99m‐labeled seroalbumin technique, and the results obtained were compared with those corresponding to a newborn with Kartagener's syndrome. Transport velocity in normal newborns was similar to that observed in older children and in adults, in contrast to the tracer immobility seen in the affected newborn. This technique is simple, safe, objective, and well tolerated in this age group and might be used as an early screening test to ruling out PCD. Pediatr Pulmonol. 1993; 16:167–169. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.