Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Helicobacter Pylori Diagnosis by Stool Antigen ELISA and Rapid Test

An evaluation of a rapid test for the presence of Helicobacter pylori from stool specimens looking for antigen proceeded for a period of 8 months from March to November 2011. A total of 212 stool samples were collected from 2 different hospitals in Holy Makkah City. Twenty six patients were positive for H. pylori by the ELISA test which was used as the gold standard. The rapid test when compared to the ELISA test, gave discrepant results 10 patients, six of them were false positive, while four were false negative. The sensitivity, specificity of the rapid test was 85% (11/13), 97% (90/93) respectively, while the positive and negative predictive value was 79% (11/14), 98% (90/92) respectively. The total accuracy was 95.3% (202/212). The non-invasive method for antigen detection directly from stool samples can be considered as an alternative test that provides comparable reliability and validity to the histology and rapid urease tests for the detection of H. pylori infections.
Human Papillomavirus Infection: Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviors among Lesbian, Gay Men, and Bisexual in Italy

Background This cross-sectional study assess knowledge, attitudes, and behavior towards the human papillomavirus (HPV) and the vaccination among a random sample of 1000 lesbian, gay men, and bisexual women and men. Methods A face-to-face interview sought information about: socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge about HPV infection, perception of risk towards HPV infection and/or cervical, anal, and oropharyngeal cancers, perception of the benefits of a vaccination to prevent cervical, anal, and oropharyngeal cancers, sexual behaviors, health-promoting behaviors, and willingness to receive the HPV vaccine. Results Only 60.6% had heard about the HPV infection and this knowledge was significantly higher in female, in those being a member of a homosexual association, in those having had the first sexual experience at a younger age, in those having received information about the HPV infection from physicians, and in those having no need of information about HPV infection. A higher perceived risk of contracting HPV infection has been observed in those younger, lesbian and gay men, who have heard of HPV infection and knew the risk factors and its related diseases, who have received information about HPV infection from physicians, and who need information about HPV infection. Only 1.7% have undergone HPV immunization and 73.3% professed intent to obtain it in the future. The significant predictors of the willingness to receive this vaccine were belief that the vaccination is useful, perception to be at higher risk of contracting HPV infection, and perception to be at higher risk of developing cervical, anal, and oropharyngeal cancers. Conclusions Information and interventions are strongly needed in order to overcome the lack of knowledge about HPV infection and its vaccination. Inclusion of boys in the national vaccination program and initiate a catch-up program for men who have sex with men up to 26 years may reduce their burden of HPV-related disease.
Effect of saccade automaticity on perisaccadic space compression

Briefly presented stimuli occurring just before or during a saccadic eye movement are mislocalized, leading to a compression of visual space toward the target of the saccade. In most cases this has been measured in subjects over-trained to perform a stereotyped and unnatural task where saccades are repeatedly driven to the same location, marked by a highly salient abrupt onset. Here, we asked to what extent the pattern of perisaccadic mislocalization depends on this specific context. We addressed this question by studying perisaccadic localization in a set of participants with no prior experience in eye-movement research, measuring localization performance as they practiced the saccade task. Localization was marginally affected by practice over the course of the experiment and it was indistinguishable from the performance of expert observers. The mislocalization also remained similar when the expert observers were tested in a condition leading to less stereotypical saccadic behavior—with no abrupt onset marking the saccade target location. These results indicate that perisaccadic compression is a robust behavior, insensitive to the specific paradigm used to drive saccades and to the level of practice with the saccade task.
Risk Factors for Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole Resistance in Patients with Acute Uncomplicated Cystitis

ABSTRACT Emerging antimicrobial resistance among uropathogens makes the management of acute uncomplicated cystitis increasingly challenging. Few prospective data are available on the risk factors for resistance to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX), the drug of choice in most settings. In order to evaluate this, we prospectively enrolled women 18 to 50 years of age presenting to an urban primary care practice with symptoms of cystitis. Potentially eligible women provided a urine sample for culture and completed a questionnaire regarding putative risk factors for TMP-SMX resistance. Escherichia coli isolates were tested for clonal group A (CGA) membership by a fumC-specific PCR. Of 165 women with cystitis symptoms, 103 had a positive urine culture and were eligible for participation. E. coli was the predominant uropathogen (86%). Fifteen (14.6%) women had a TMP-SMX-resistant (TMP-SMXr) organism (all of which were E. coli). Compared with the women who had a TMP-SMX-susceptible organism, women in the TMP-SMXr group were more likely to have traveled (odds ratio [OR], 15.4; 95% confidence interval [CI], 4.4 to 54.3; P < 0.001) and to be Asian (OR, 6.1; 95% CI, 1.0 to 36.4; P = 0.048). CGA was also independently associated with TMP-SMX resistance (OR, 105; 95% CI, 6.3 to 1,777.6; P = 0.001). No association with TMP-SMX resistance was demonstrated for the use of either TMP-SMX or another antibiotic in the past 3 months or with having a child in day care. Among these women with acute uncomplicated cystitis, Asian race and recent travel were independently associated with TMP-SMX resistance. TMP-SMXr isolates were more likely to belong to CGA. Knowledge of these risk factors for TMP-SMX resistance could facilitate the accurate selection of empirical therapy.
Re-evaluating the Efficacy of Frequency Transposition

Patients with a precipitous high-frequency hearing loss pose a unique challenge for dispensing audiologists. Hearing aids rarely provide sufficient high-frequency gain without over-amplifying the lower frequencies, which results in poor sound quality or significant sound distortions. The occlusion effect and upward spread of masking may also occur. For these patients, the high frequencies are not easily reachable.
β‐synemin localizes to regions of high stress in human skeletal myofibers

Synemin is an intermediate filament protein shown previously to interact with α‐dystrobrevin and desmin. Immunoblot analysis detects a β‐synemin protein of 170 kDa in human skeletal muscle and an α‐synemin protein of 225 kDa in monkey brain. Low‐resolution immunohistochemical analysis localizes β‐synemin within muscle along the sarcolemma, whereas confocal microscopic analysis further refines localization to the costamere and muscle Z‐lines. In addition to these locations, β‐synemin is also enriched at the neuromuscular and myotendinous junctions, other regions that undergo high stress during myofiber contraction. Based on its localization and its expression pattern, it is proposed that β‐synemin functions as a structural protein involved in maintaining muscle integrity through its interactions with α‐dystrobrevin, desmin, and other structural proteins. Muscle Nerve 30: 337–346, 2004
The role of the dorsal root ganglion in the development of neuropathic pain.

BACKGROUND The dorsal root ganglion (DRG), in the not too distant past, had been thought of as a passive organ not involved in the development of abnormal aberrent neuropathic pain (NP), but merely metabolically "supporting" physiologic functions between the peripheral nervous system (PNS) and the central nervous system (CNS). New information regarding metabolic change within the DRG has dispelled this supportive passive role and suggests that the DRG is an active, not a passive, organ, in the process of the development of chronic pain. METHODS A review of the anatomic and physiologic literature utilizing PubMed and Google Scholar was performed to create a review of the anatomic and physiologic foundations for the development of NP after peripheral afferent fiber injury. CONCLUSIONS The DRG is as involved in the process of generating NP as is the nociceptor and the dorsal horn of the spinal cord.
Gromov‐Hausdorff Stable Signatures for Shapes using Persistence

We introduce a family of signatures for finite metric spaces, possibly endowed with real valued functions, based on the persistence diagrams of suitable filtrations built on top of these spaces. We prove the stability of our signatures under Gromov‐Hausdorff perturbations of the spaces. We also extend these results to metric spaces equipped with measures. Our signatures are well‐suited for the study of unstructured point cloud data, which we illustrate through an application in shape classification.
An Introduction to Health Psychology

An introduction to health psychology is a new and stimulating European textbook providing a valuable and engaging introduction to the field of health psychology. Health psychology is a challenging subject that is, increasingly, a core area of psychology teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate level. This book covers all mainstream health psychology topics, including health behaviours such as smoking, exercise, unsafe sexual practices, stress and its effects, symptom perception and response, the impact of illness, pain, and quality of life.
Invariant dielectric strength upon addition of low amounts of HDPE to LDPE

Blending of polyethylenes permits to combine the superior mechanical properties of high-density material with the higher purity that is associated with low-density resins. Mixing different polyethylene architectures offers a lot of advantages, but for electrical applications it is important that there is no detrimental effect on the resulting dielectric strength. Here, the nanostructure of crosslinked blends that comprise low- and high-density polyethylene (LDPE and HDPE) is explored. Despite the presence of higher-melting lamellae the formation of electrical trees under alternating current (AC) conditions is found to be invariant for the investigated HDPE content of 1 to 10 wt%. This observation suggests that the use of polyethylene blends is feasible for AC electrical applications.
How might religion and spirituality help to reintegrate those convicted of sexual offending and how do practitioners respond

This mixed method study, aims to first, explore the meaning, role, and purpose of religion and spirituality for people convicted of sexual offending. Exploration of their religious and spiritual experiences during periods of offending, incarceration, and desistance from offending, were examined through qualitative in-depth interviews and analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Participants were drawn from prison and community populations. The second phase of the study examined the official risk management process of people convicted of sexual offending. In an effort to understand the extent to which criminal-justice practitioners utilised religious and spiritual communities during the risk-management process; 217 risk management plans were analysed. Results from the first phase of the research suggest that engaging and being affiliated with a religious or spiritual group might: foster the conditions needed to assist the desistance process; provide a context and language for developing non-offending identities; assist with a sense of belonging; help develop hope and manage negative emotions. Unexpectedly, findings from the second phase of the research demonstrated little evidence of practitioners using community groups or religious or spiritual activities as protective factors or supportive mechanisms in the formal risk-management process.
Strategies to increase the donor pool and access to kidney transplantation: an international perspective

In this position article, DESCARTES (Developing Education Science and Care for Renal Transplantation in European States) board members describe the current strategies aimed at expanding living and deceased donor kidney pools. The article focuses on the recent progress in desensitization and kidney paired exchange programmes and on the expanded criteria for the use of donor kidneys and organs from donors after circulatory death. It also highlights differences in policies and practices across different regions with special regard to European Union countries. Living donor kidney paired exchange, the deceased donor Acceptable Mismatch Programme and kidneys from donors after circulatory death are probably the most promising innovations for expanding kidney transplantation in Europe over the coming decade. To maximize success, an effort is needed to standardize transplant strategies, policies and legislation across European countries.
Acute Response of Well-Trained Sprinters to a 100-m Race: Higher Sprinting Velocity Achieved With Increased Step Rate Compared With Speed Training

Abstract Otsuka, M, Kawahara, T, and Isaka, T. Acute response of well-trained sprinters to a 100-m race: higher sprinting velocity achieved with increased step rate compared with speed training. J Strength Cond Res 30(3): 635–642, 2016—This study aimed to clarify the contribution of differences in step length and step rate to sprinting velocity in an athletic race compared with speed training. Nineteen well-trained male and female sprinters volunteered to participate in this study. Sprinting motions were recorded for each sprinter during both 100-m races and speed training (60-, 80-, and 100-m dash from a block start) for 14 days before the race. Repeated-measures analysis of covariance was used to compare the step characteristics and sprinting velocity between race and speed training, adjusted for covariates including race-training differences in the coefficients of restitution of the all-weather track, wind speed, air temperature, and sex. The average sprinting velocity to the 50-m mark was significantly greater in the race than in speed training (8.26 ± 0.22 m·s−1 vs. 8.00 ± 0.70 m·s−1, p < 0.01). Although no significant difference was seen in the average step length to the 50-m mark between the race and speed training (1.81 ± 0.09 m vs. 1.80 ± 0.09 m, p = 0.065), the average step rate was significantly greater in the race than in speed training (4.56 ± 0.17 Hz vs. 4.46 ± 0.13 Hz, p < 0.01). These findings suggest that sprinters achieve higher sprinting velocity and can run with higher exercise intensity and more rapid motion during a race than during speed training, even if speed training was performed at perceived high intensity.
Influence of cavity type and size of composite restorations on cuspal flexure.

OBJECTIVES The present study examines the influence of cavity type, and size of composite restorations on cuspal flexure due to polymerization shrinkage. METHODS Thirty healthy premolars were selected and divided into two experimental groups. Group 1: Mesial, mesio-distal, and MOD cavities were successively prepared in each tooth by means of the SONICSYS approx system (KaVo) using a n 2 (small) diamond tip. Group 2: The same cavity preparation sequence was followed but a n 3 (medium) tip was used. Cavity preparations were performed and afterwards restored using the same adhesive system and resin composite. Cuspal displacement was measured 15 min after completion of each type of restoration. RESULTS Under the experimental conditions used, polymerization shrinkage of composite restorations resulted in an inward deflection of the cusps in all the situations evaluated. The Friedman global test found significant differences according to the cavity type and size (p<0.05). The Wilcoxon test revealed that deflection was significantly affected by the amount of dental tissue lost, since practically no movement was observed in the case of mesial cavities but extensive displacements were recorded for MOD restorations (p<0.05). However, no influence of bucco-lingual width on cuspal flexure was detected by the Student s t test (p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS The present study demonstrates that significantly higher cuspal deflection is observed in MOD restorations, showing that the degree of dental removal influences the cuspal flexure from polymerization shrinkage of composite restorations.
Reducing Environmental Tobacco Smoke Exposure of Preschool Children: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Class-Based Health Education and Smoking Cessation Counseling for Caregivers

Objectives: To assess counseling to caregivers and classroom health education interventions to reduce environmental tobacco smoke exposure of children aged 5–6 years in China. Methods: In a randomized controlled trial in two preschools in Changsha, China, 65 children aged 5–6 years old and their smoker caregivers (65) were randomly assigned to intervention (n = 33) and control (no intervention) groups (n = 32). In the intervention group, caregivers received self-help materials and smoking cessation counseling from a trained counselor, while their children were given classroom-based participatory health education. Children’s urinary cotinine level and the point prevalence of caregiver quitting were measured at baseline and after 6 months. Results: At the 6-month follow-up, children’s urinary cotinine was significantly lower (Z = –3.136; p = 0.002) and caregivers’ 7-day quit rate was significantly higher (34.4% versus 0%) (p < 0.001; adjusted OR = 1.13; 95% CI: 1.02–1.26) in the intervention than control group. Conclusions: Helping caregivers quitting smoke combined with classroom-based health education was effective in reducing children’s environmental tobacco smoke exposure. Larger-scale trials are warranted.
Parental Stressor Scale: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

This article is a report of the development of the Parental Stressor Scale: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (PSS:NICU), which is designed to measure parental perception of stressors arising from the physical and psychosocial environment of the neonatal intensive care unit. Stress theory, literature reviews, expert consultation, and parent interviews guided instrument development and refinement and established the content validity of the instrument. Construct validity is supported by links with theory, correlation with anxiety measures, and factor analytic results. Alpha coefficients support the tool's internal consistency. Three scales were identified: Parental Role Alterations, Sights and Sounds of the Unit, and Infant Behavior and Appearance. Available metrics allow scoring for stress occurrence levels, overall stress levels, and number of stressors experienced. The PSS:NICU can serve as a research or clinical measure to evaluate stressors experienced by parents with infants in a NICU.
Emotion as stance

The importance of emotion in everyday interactions has become a central topic of research in a wide variety of disciplines, including linguistics, sociology, social psychology, anthropology, and communication. Emotion in Interaction offers a collection of original studies that explore emotion in naturally occurring spoken interaction. The articles examine both the verbal and non-verbal resources for expressing emotional stance (lexicon, syntax, prosody, laughter, crying, facial expression), the emotional aspects of action sequences (e.g. news delivery and conflicts), and the role of emotions in institutional interaction (medical consultations, psychotherapy, health visiting and helpline calls). What unites the articles is an understanding of the expression of emotion and the construction of emotional stances as a process that both shapes and is shaped by the interactional context.
Power Quality Analysis for Modular Structured Multilevel Inverter with Bipolar Variable Amplitude Multicarrier Pulse Width Modulation Techniques

MultiLevel Inverter (MLI) is used in applications that need high voltage and high current especially for Flexible AC Transmission System (FACTS) controllers. The topologies of multilevel inverter have several advantages such as lower Total Harmonic Distortion (THD), lower ElectroMagnetic Interference (EMI) generation and high output voltage. The main feature of Modular Structured Multilevel Inverter (MSMI) is the ability to reduce the voltage stress on each power device due to the utilization of multilevel on the DC bus. The advent of multilevel inverter topologies has caused variety of pulse width modulation strategies. In this paper, multi carrier pulse width modulation techniques are proposed which can minimize the total harmonic distortion and enhance the output voltage for five level cascaded MLI. Methodologies adopting the Constant Switching Frequency (CSF) and Control Freedom Degree (CFD) concepts are proposed in this paper. To validate the developed technique, simulations are carried out through MATLAB/SIMULINK for the chosen five level inverter. Harmonic analysis and evaluation of performance measures for various modulation indices have been carried out. The above methodologies are divided into two types of techniques like (I) phase disposition pulse width modulation which minimizes total harmonic distortion and (II) Carrier Overlapping Pulse Width Modulation (COPWM) which enhances the output voltage and higher DC bus utilization than non-overlapping PWM methods. The results also indicate that appropriate PWM strategies are to be employed depending on the performance measure required in a particular application of MLI based on the criteria of output voltage quality (peak value of the fundamental and dominant harmonic components).
Selection of CHO host cell subclones with increased specific antibody production rates by repeated cycles of transient transfection and cell sorting

Optimization of host cell lines both for transient and stable protein production is typically hampered by the inherent heterogeneity of cells within a population. This heterogeneity is caused not only by “hard fact” gene mutations, but also by subtle differences in the cellular network of regulation, which may include epigenetic variations. Taking advantage of this heterogeneity, we sorted for naturally occurring variants of CHO‐K1 and CHO‐S host cells that possess an improved cellular machinery for transient antibody production. The long‐term goal of this study was both to identify host cells that yield recombinant cell lines with on average higher productivity, but also to study the molecular differences that characterize such cells, independent of the site of gene integration or gene amplification. To identify such cells we optimized the procedure for transient transfection by electroporation to a degree that gave uniform transfer of plasmid DNA into nearly 100% of the cells and resulted in reproducible average productivities, with a standard deviation of 16% between independent experiments. Using this optimized protocol, the 1% of cells with the highest specific productivity was sorted and subcloned with a cold capture secretion assay. Upon re‐transfection, the resulting subclones showed the same specific productivity as their respective parental cell line. To enrich for cells with potentially stable improved properties, the 1% highest producers were sorted three times, 2 days after transient transfection each, and the enriched population was again sorted into microtiter plates for subcloning. For each of the two parental cell lines tested, three subclones were obtained that had a threefold higher specific productivity after transient transfection. This property was stable for approximately 3 months, indicating that the changes in productivity were regulatory and not mutational. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2011;108: 386–394. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.