Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
[Association of a polymorphic marker C825T of the beta(3) subunit of G-protein with myocardial hypertrophy in patients with hypertensive disease].

AIM To elucidate association of a polymorphic marker C825T of the beta(3)-subunit of G-protein with myocardial hypertrophy in hypertension. MATERIAL AND METHODS Alleles of polymorphic marker C825T of the CNB3 gene were identified by polymerase chain reaction with subsequent cleavage of the product by BseDI restrictase in 135 patients with hypertensive disease (essential hypertension). Left ventricular mass was determined by echocardiography. RESULTS Patients with and without left ventricular hypertrophy had similar frequencies of T allele of the gene studied. Moreover patients with CC, CT and TT genotypes had similar left ventricular mass index (122.3+/-29.8, 118.8+/-29.9, and 115.2+/-18.3 g/m(2), respectively). CONCLUSION No association exists between polymorphic marker C825T of the CNB3 gene and left ventricular hypertrophy in patients with essential hypertension.
Nutrient, Carbon, and Mass Loss during Composting of Beef Cattle Feedlot Manure

Quantification of nutrient and mass loss during composting is needed to understand the composting process, to implement methods for nutrient conservation, and to reduce potential adverse environmental impact. Beef cattle feedlot manure was composted in a windrow on an open concrete area in 1992, 1993, and 1994 to determine the amounts of nutrient, C, and mass loss during composting. The area was enclosed on all sides with a 0.2 m high metal sheet to direct runoff to a fiberglass tank (4000 L) during rainfall. Nutrients in runoff represented combined runoff and leaching losses. Nutrients, C, and mass loss during composting was determined by the difference between the amounts at the beginning and at the end of the composting. Nitrogen loss during composting ranged from 19 to 42% and was related to the initial manure N content. Ammonia volatilization (calculated by difference) accounted for >92% of the N loss whereas combined runoff nitrate and ammonium loss was 6.5% each) 1992 and 1993; they were low (<2% each) in 1994 due to fewer rainfall. Calcium and Mg losses were <6% each year. Nutrient and salt loss during composting resulted in reduced electrical conductivity of the composted manure. Ammonium and P concentrations in runoff would create surface water pollution if runoff was not diluted with fresh water.
Healthcare costs and loss of productivity in patients with trapeziometacarpal osteoarthritis

The objective of this study was to analyse healthcare and productivity costs in patients with trapeziometacarpal osteoarthritis. We included 161 patients who received surgery or steroid injection and calculated their healthcare costs in Euro (€) over 1 year. Patients filled out the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Questionnaire to assess loss of productivity at baseline, and after 3, and 12 months. In the surgical group, loss of productivity among employed patients first increased and then decreased (50%, 64%, and 25% at 0, 3, and 12 months). Productivity was more stable over time in the injection group (52%, 38%, and 48%). In the surgical group, estimated total annual healthcare and productivity costs were €5770 and €5548, respectively. In the injection group, healthcare and productivity costs were €348 and €3503. These findings highlight the need for assessing productivity costs to get a comprehensive view of the costs associated with a treatment. Level of Evidence III
Role of Endothelial Progenitor Cells in Management of Myocardial Infarction Following Total Coronary Occlusion in Dogs

Myocardial infarction caused by ischemic heart disease is a major health problem being the most prevalent cause of premature death in human. Chronic total occlusion (CTO) remains one of the most difficult challenges for coronary interventions. The currently available therapeutics only delay disease progression and mainly aim to enable patients to survive with a heart that is working at a fraction of its original capacity. Recent approaches suggest that the primary goal of cells therapy is to induce neovascularization rather than to replace myocardial tissue. In this paper, twenty dogs were subjected experimentally to CTO; only half were treated with endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs). Clinical, electrocardiographic, echocardiographic, histopathological, biochemical, and immunohistochemistry assessments were performed for 6-months at different time intervals. Results demonstrated improved systolic function. The fractional shortening (FS %) and the ejection fraction (EF) gradually decreased in both groups. In the treated group, the FS% and EF increased gradually until retaining their normal values at 6-months. ECG pattern improved with resolving of abnormal changes. Quantitative gene expression showed high significant difference between expressions on infarcted tissues versus non-infarct tissues. The intracardiac administration of EPCs is shown to be a useful cell therapy as potentially promoting both neovascularization and cardiac regeneration in ischemic heart disease. Large-scale studies should be induced to examine the potential effects of this novel approach on the risk of death and complications in patients with large acute myocardial infarctions and depressed left ventricular contractile function.
The size and the duration of air-carriage of respiratory droplets and droplet-nuclei

1. The sizes of the droplets and droplet-nuclei produced by sneezing, by coughing and by speaking, were studied by the microscopic measurement of 12,000 droplet stain-marks found on slides exposed directly to mouth-spray, and of 21,000 stain-containing droplet-nuclei recovered from the air on to oiled slides exposed in the slit sampler. 2. From these measurements it was calculated that the original diameters of the respiratory droplets ranged from 1 to 2000 μ, that 95 % were between 2 and 100 μ and that the most common were between 4 and 8 μ. Similar size distributions were exhibited by the droplets produced in sneezing, in coughing and in speaking, except that, in the case of sneezing, the smaller droplets were relatively more numerous. 3. The respiratory droplet-nuclei were found to range in diameter from ¼ to 42 μ; 97 % had diameters between ½ and 12μ; the commonest diameter was between 1 and 2 μ. 4. The proportion of droplets of each size which will contain bacteria, whether commensal or pathogenic, is determined by the size of the droplets and by the numbers of bacteria in the secretions atomized. Calculations made on the basis of the size distributions obtained in this investigation indicated that few of the smaller droplets, and thus few of the droplet-nuclei, are likely to contain pathogenic organisms. Droplet-spray is unlikely to give rise directly to true airborne infection unless very large numbers of pathogenic organisms are present in the secretions of the anterior mouth. 5. The persistence of droplet-nuclei in the air of a 1700 cu.ft. room and of a 70 cu.ft. chamber was investigated by sampling the air with the slit sampler at intervals following sneezing. 6. When the air was not artificially disturbed by a fan, the time taken for the disappearance from the air of 90% of the bacteria-carrying droplet-nuclei varied from 30 to 60 min.; the nuclei larger than 8 μ in diameter usually disappeared within 20 min., and the nuclei larger than 4 μ within 90 min.; the smaller nuclei, few of which contained bacteria, remained airborne for much longer periods, on one occasion for at least 30 hr. When a fan was run throughout the experiment, the nuclei disappeared from the air much more rapidly.
Dynamic Routing and Resource Assignment Algorithm In sloted optical Networks

All-optical wavelength division multiplexing networks are the most promising candidate for the next generation wideband backbone networks. To improve the utilization of wavelength, time division multiplexing technology is introduced. The routing, wavelength and time-slots assignment problem was studied in such time-space switched networks. Two new dynamic algorithms were proposed which distribute slots of the session request on multiple different wavelengths of single fiber separately based on fixed alternate routing and adaptive routing policy. Especially in LLR-MWLB algorithm, network link weights adjust adaptively with the available time slots of each link and load balancing strategy is adopted. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithms is demonstrated by simulations and results show the better performance. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.11591/telkomnika.v11i4. 2336
Examination of a Clinical Prediction Rule to Identify Patients With Neck Pain Likely to Benefit From Thoracic Spine Thrust Manipulation and a General Cervical Range of Motion Exercise: Multi-Center Randomized Clinical Trial

Background A clinical prediction rule (CPR) purported to identify patients with neck pain who are likely to respond to thoracic spine thrust manipulation has recently been developed, but has yet to be validated. Objective The purpose of this study was to examine the validity of this CPR. Design This was a multi-center randomized clinical trial. Methods One hundred forty patients with a primary report of neck pain were randomly assigned to receive either 5 sessions of stretching and strengthening exercise (exercise-only group) or 2 sessions of thoracic spine manipulation and cervical range of motion exercise followed by 3 sessions of stretching and strengthening exercise (manipulation + exercise group). Data on disability and pain were collected at baseline, 1 week, 4 weeks, and 6 months. The primary aim (treatment group × time × status on the prediction rule) was examined using a linear mixed model with repeated measures. Time, treatment group, and status on the rule, as well as all possible 2-way and 3-way interactions, were modeled as fixed effects, with disability (and pain) as the dependent variable. Effect sizes were calculated for both pain and disability at each follow-up period. Results There was no 3-way interaction for either disability or pain. A 2-way (group × time) interaction existed for both disability and pain. Pair-wise comparisons of disability demonstrated that significant differences existed at each follow-up period between the manipulation + exercise group and the exercise-only group. The patients who received manipulation exhibited lower pain scores at the 1-week follow-up period. The effect sizes were moderate for disability at each follow-up period and were moderate for pain at the 1-week follow-up. Limitations Different exercise approaches may have resulted in a different outcome. Conclusions The results of the current study did not support the validity of the previously developed CPR. However, the results demonstrated that patients with mechanical neck pain who received thoracic spine manipulation and exercise exhibited significantly greater improvements in disability at both the short- and long-term follow-up periods and in pain at the 1-week follow-up compared with patients who received exercise only.
A Degenerate Cohort of Yeast Membrane Trafficking DUBs Mediates Cell Polarity and Survival*

Deubiquitinating enzymes (DUBs), cysteine or metallo- proteases that cleave ubiquitin chains or protein conjugates, are present in nearly every cellular compartment, with overlapping protein domain structure, localization, and functions. We discovered a cohort of DUBs that are involved in membrane trafficking (ubp4, ubp5, ubp9, ubp15, and sst2) and found that loss of all five of these DUBs but not loss of any combination of four, significantly impacted cell viability in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe (1). Here, we delineate the collective and individual functions and activities of these five conserved DUBs using comparative proteomics, biochemistry, and microscopy. We find these five DUBs are degenerate rather than redundant at the levels of cell morphology, substrate selectivity, ubiquitin chain specificity, and cell viability under stress. These studies reveal the complexity of interplay among these enzymes, providing a foundation for understanding DUB biology and providing another example of how cells utilize degeneracy to improve survival.
Bayesian Optimization Algorithm for learning structure of dynamic bayesian networks from incomplete data

An algorithm based on Bayesian optimization algorithm (BOA), BOA-DBN, is proposed to learn the structure of DBN from incomplete databases. The algorithm takes fitness function based on expectation, which can convert incomplete data into complete data utilizing current best learned dynamic Bayesian network in evolutionary process. BOA generates a population of strings for the next generation, which tends to develop according to the optimization direction under the fitness function. Thus DBNs can be learned by using two Bayesian networks, prior network and transition network, to reduce the computational complexity. Encoding is presented, and genetic operators which provides guarantee of convergence are designed. Experimental results show that, given a missing data set, this algorithm can learn a DBN very close to the generative model and at the same time, enjoy the tend to converge at global optima due to BOA.
Predicting overfishing and extinction threats in multispecies fisheries

Significance Threats to species from commercial fishing are rarely identified until species have suffered large population declines, by which time recovery can require costly remedial actions, such as fishery closures. We present a mechanistic approach to predicting the threats of future extinction or severe depletion posed by current multispecies fishing practices to a given population. We show that severe depletions recently experienced by four Pacific tuna and billfish populations could have been predicted in the 1950s, using our approach. Our results demonstrate that threatened species can be identified long before they experience severe population declines, providing time for preventative adjustments in fishing practices before consequences become severe and fishery closures or other socioeconomically disruptive interventions are required to protect species. Threats to species from commercial fishing are rarely identified until species have suffered large population declines, by which time remedial actions can have severe economic consequences, such as closure of fisheries. Many of the species most threatened by fishing are caught in multispecies fisheries, which can remain profitable even as populations of some species collapse. Here we show for multispecies fisheries that the biological and socioeconomic conditions that would eventually cause species to be severely depleted or even driven extinct can be identified decades before those species experience high harvest rates or marked population declines. Because fishing effort imposes a common source of mortality on all species in a fishery, the long-term impact of a fishery on a species is predicted by measuring its loss rate relative to that of species that influence the fishery’s maximal effort. We tested our approach on eight Pacific tuna and billfish populations, four of which have been identified recently as in decline and threatened with overfishing. The severe depletion of all four populations could have been predicted in the 1950s, using our approach. Our results demonstrate that species threatened by human harvesting can be identified much earlier, providing time for adjustments in harvesting practices before consequences become severe and fishery closures or other socioeconomically disruptive interventions are required to protect species.
The future of rehabilitation

Healthcare delivery continues to focus on acute illness and the threat of death, but contact with healthcare systems is dominated by people with chronic conditions. In the United States they account for nearly 50% of those in contact with healthcare but nearly 80% of healthcare costs.1 Neurological damage accounts for about 40% of those people most severely disabled, who require daily help, and the majority of people with complex disabilities resulting from a combination of physical, cognitive, and behavioural impairments. 2 3 In the United Kingdom until recently the involvement of neurologists in these patients' rehabilitation, was not obviously encouraged. However, there are positive signs of change, and combined therapies and restorative neurology are likely to attract more neurologists to the challenges of rehabilitation. In the past senior representatives of rehabilitation medicine apparently considered it possible for doctors with little or no previous neurological exposure to manage such patients after 12 months' training in neurological rehabilitation. Dual accreditation in rehabilitation medicine and neurology was effectively discouraged, as it took eight and a half years compared with four in …
Effect of Folate and Vitamin B 12 on Tau Phosphorylation in Aged Rat Brain

~ Abstract:Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the cause of one of the most common types of dementia. In AD brain, abnormal hyperphosphorylated tau composed the major protein of neurofibrillary tangles (NITs), one of the two neuropathological hallmarks of AD. To prevent and relieve the tau protein abnormal hyperphosphorylation in AD patients' brain is thought to be the key point of therapy. Recent study suggested that there is some relationship between folates, vitamin B12 and AD. In our study we aim to investigate the possible mechanism of AD especially the correlation between folates, vitamin B12 and tau phosphoiylation. We examined tau protein phosphorylation state in rats' hippocampus of different age stages: two and forty months old by phosphorylation dependent and independent tau antibodies. We found that tau phosphorylation in aged rats' brain showed significant high level than these two months old. And we also found that folates plus vitamin B12 can decrease the level of tau phosphorylation in aged rats' brain. It sugge. <;tsfolates and vitamin B12 may play an important role in preventing the neurodegenerative change by influencing tau phosphorylation in brain. [Life Science Journal. 2006; 3 (3) : 35 40] (ISSN: 10978135) .
Acquisition and retention of cross-cultural interaction skills through self-confrontation.

Abstract : An experiment was conducted to assess relative effectiveness of two techniques for training United States Air Force military advisors in cross- cultural communicative skills. Retention of skills over time and effects of attitude on learning were also studied. A scenario required subjects to play the role of an Air Force Captain who had to interact in specified ways with a 'foreign counterpart,' a role played by a confederate of the experimenters. Subjects were to perform 57 distinct behaviors appropriate to the situation and to the fictitious cultural description, which gave either a positive, negative, or neutral impression of the culture. Sixty-six male subjects were divided into two groups and taught the desired behaviors either by extensive reading of training manuals followed by three role-playing sessions or by less reading but with self-confrontation by a videotape replay between successive role-play trials. Subjects returned and performed the same role again either 1 day, 1 week, or 2 weeks following initial training. Self-confrontation proved superior to manual reading in training the desired behaviors. Subjects with positive attitudes toward the culture learned fastest. Retention of skills learned through self-confrontation was high. A discussion of planned future research on cross-cultural training techniques and programs is given.
Study of elasticized dacron as arterial prosthesis; experimental comparison with other plastics, homologous arteries, and autogenous veins.

Despite the widespread development of peripheral vascular shunt grafting for atherosclerosis of the femoropopliteal system, there is still no general agreement as to the best replacement material. Early enthusiasm for homologous arterial replacement appears to be waning as reports of degenerative changes in these grafts increase. 10,41 Difficulties in procurement of large numbers of arterial homografts have also proved to be a disadvantage as increasing numbers of patients seek operation. Autogenous vein grafts for peripheral vascular shunts have not developed wide surgical popularity, although recently there appears to be increasing approval of this material. The reluctant acceptance of veins may be due to the somewhat more difficult technique associated with their use and to some misunderstanding of the incidence of aneurysmal dilatation. This appears to be minimal when small peripheral veins are used as vascular replacements. 23 Aortic largevessel replacement often results in aneurysm formation. A large number of synthetic
A comparison of acetylcholine and stable depolarizing agents

The method of brief ionophoretic application was used to compare the time course of action of acetylcholine and of stable depolarizing substances. The drugs were discharged from twin micropipettes, allowing a quick comparison of two substances, applied from virtually the same point source. With pulse application at close range, the time course of an acetylcholine potential is faster than those produced by other drugs. Comparing half-times of decay, if that of the acetylcholine potential is taken as unity, carbaminoylcholine is slower by a factor of about 2, nicotine and succinylcholine by 2 to 3, and decamethonium by approximately 10. After treating the muscle with prostigmine, the average difference in time course between acetylcholine and carbachol effects becomes insignificant. Different processes are discussed whose kinetics influence the shape of the observed drug potentials.
Nutritional Neuropathies

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE This article reviews the etiologies, presentations, and management of neuropathies related to nutritional deficiencies. LATEST DEVELOPMENTS Peripheral neuropathy can be the predominant or only manifestation of certain nutrient deficiencies. Cognitive difficulties or involvement of other parts of the central nervous system, such as the optic nerve and spinal cord, may accompany nutritional peripheral neuropathies. In most patients, the nutritional deficiency may have a single predominant cause, but in some cases, multiple causes may coexist. Obesity, for unclear reasons, can be associated with nutrient deficiencies. The rising rates of bariatric surgery and the incidence of nutrient deficiencies following bariatric surgery make this a particularly relevant topic for neurologists. ESSENTIAL POINTS Neuropathies caused by nutrient deficiencies are preventable with appropriate supplementation in high-risk situations. Early recognition and prompt treatment are essential to ensure an optimal outcome and minimize neurologic morbidity.