Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Consumption Patterns and Perception Analyses of Hangwa

Hangwa is a traditional food, corresponding to the current consumption trend, in need of marketing strategies to extend its consumption. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to analyze consumers’ consumption patterns and perception of Hangwa to increase consumption in the market. A questionnaire was sent to 250 consumers by e-mail from Oct 8∼23, 2009 and the data from 231 persons were analyzed in this study. Statistical, descriptive, paired samples t-test, and importance-performance analyses were conducted using SPSS WIN 17.0. According to the results, Hangwa was purchased mainly ‘for present’ (39.8%) and the main reasons for buying it were ‘traditional image’ (33.3%) and ‘taste’ (22.5%). When importance and performance of attributes considered in purchasing Hangwa were evaluated, performance was assessed to be lower than importance for all attributes. The attributes in the first quadrant with a high importance and a high performance were ‘a sanitary process’, ‘a rigorous quality mark’ and ‘taste’, which were related with quality of the products. In addition, those with a high importance but a low performance were ‘popularization through advertisement’, ‘promotion through mass media’, ‘conversion of thought on traditional foods’, ‘a reasonable price’ and ‘a wide range of price’. In conclusion, Hangwa manufacturers need to diversify products and extend the expiration date based on technologies to promote its consumption. In terms of price, Hangwa should become more available by lowering the price barrier for consumers who are sensitive to price.
Risk assessment of heavy metal toxicity through contaminated vegetables from waste water irrigated area of Varanasi, India

In certain areas of Varanasi city, waste water from Dinapur sewage treatment plant is used for irrigating vegetable plots. We quantified the concentrations of heavy metals, viz. Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn in soil, vegetables and the waste water used for irrigation. The waste water used for irrigation had the highest concentration of Zn followed by Pb, Cr, Ni, Cu and Cd. Continuous application of waste water for more than 20 years has led to accumulation of heavy metals in the soil. Consequently, concentrations of Cd, Pb and Ni have crossed the safe limits for human consumption in all the vegetables. Percent contribution of fruit vegetables to daily human intake for Cu, Ni, Pb and Cr was higher than that of leafy vegetables, while the reverse was true for Cd and Zn. Target hazard quotient showed health risk to the local population associated with Cd, Pb and Ni contamination of vegetables. Therefore, to reduce the health risk and the extent of heavy metal contamination, steps must be taken for efficient treatment of sewage. Regular monitoring of heavy metals in the vegetables grown in waste water irrigated areas is also necessary.
Comparison of one commercial and two in‐house TaqMan multiplex real‐time PCR assays for detection of enteropathogenic, enterotoxigenic and enteroaggregative Escherichia coli

Enteropathogenic, enterotoxigenic and enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EPEC, ETEC, EAEC) are among the most frequent causes of diarrhoea during travel or on military deployments. Cost‐efficient and reliable real‐time multiplex PCR (mPCR) assays are desirable for surveillance or point prevalence studies in remote and resource‐limited tropical settings. We compared one commercial PCR kit and two in‐house assays without using a gold standard to estimate sensitivity and specificity of each assay.
Muscular pre-conditioning using light-emitting diode therapy (LEDT) for high-intensity exercise: a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial with a single elite runner

Abstract Recently, low-level laser (light) therapy (LLLT) has been used to improve muscle performance. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of near-infrared light-emitting diode therapy (LEDT) and its mechanisms of action to improve muscle performance in an elite athlete. The kinetics of oxygen uptake (VO2), blood and urine markers of muscle damage (creatine kinase – CK and alanine), and fatigue (lactate) were analyzed. Additionally, some metabolic parameters were assessed in urine using proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H NMR). A LED cluster with 50 LEDs (λ = 850 nm; 50 mW 15 s; 37.5 J) was applied on legs, arms and trunk muscles of a single runner athlete 5 min before a high-intense constant workload running exercise on treadmill. The athlete received either Placebo-1-LEDT; Placebo-2-LEDT; or Effective-LEDT in a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial with washout period of 7 d between each test. LEDT improved the speed of the muscular VO2 adaptation (∼−9 s), decreased O2 deficit (∼−10 L), increased the VO2 from the slow component phase (∼+348 ml min−1), and increased the time limit of exercise (∼+589 s). LEDT decreased blood and urine markers of muscle damage and fatigue (CK, alanine and lactate levels). The results suggest that a muscular pre-conditioning regimen using LEDT before intense exercises could modulate metabolic and renal function to achieve better performance.
A Simulation Tool to Analyse the TETRA Transceiver Performance in Adverse Propagation Conditions

With growing demand for digital wireless communica tion systems, simulation tools are increasingly impor tant as means for fast, accurate prediction of system performance. The development of a software simula tion tool to analyse the performance of emerging stan dard Trans European Trunked Radio is described. It estimates the average Bit Error Rate of the communi cation link in a variety of propagation conditions, while incorporating different component subsystems in the chain. The modelling process of various components of the transceiver chain and the propagation channel is discussed; the resulting implementation is demon strated. To show the tool's use, the BER performance of TETRA with post-detection diversity under several propagation conditions has been evaluated, with an improvement in the range of 5 to 11.5 dB. System per formance is reported under Simulcast conditions, a transmission strategy that enables coverage of large, low-traffic areas. A model is incorporated using a novel approach that considers the effect of the multipath channel. A significant increase of the expected error floor is anticipated for normal operating conditions. Finally, the RMS simulcast channel delay spread was identified as a suitable parameter to characterise the most critical spots of the area covered.
Protective Role of Oligomycin Against Intestinal Epithelial Barrier Dysfunction Caused by IFN-γ and TNF-α

Although the precise mechanisms involved in intestinal barrier dysfunction induced by proinflammatory cytokines are incompletely understood, pharmacological restoration of barrier function is very important to the management of intestinal disease. This study was aimed to investigate the protective role of HIF-1α inhibitor oligomycin against intestinal epithelial barrier dysfunction induced by proinflammatory cytokines IFN-γ and TNF-α, and the underlying mechanisms. To induce barrier dysfunction, Caco-2 monolayers were treated with IFN-γ and TNF-α simultaneously. The cytokinestreated Caco-2 monolayers in the absence and in the presence of oligomycin were used for physiological, morphological, and biochemical analyses. The results showed that at the concentration of blocking HIF-1α activation, oligomycin significantly ameliorated TER reduction and paracellular permeability increase in Caco-2 monolayers challenged with IFN-γ and TNF-α. Oligomycin also largely attenuated the IFN-γ and TNF-α-related relocalization of tight junction proteins ZO-1 and occludin. Western blot analysis revealed that oligomycin abolished the increases of both MLC phosphorylation and MLCK protein expression induced by IFN-γ and TNF-α challenge. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis showed that oligomycin inhibited the IFN-γ and TNF-α-induced up-regulation of MLCK mRNA. It is concluded that oligomycin is able to attenuate intestinal epithelial barrier dysfunction induced by proinflammatory cytokines IFN-γ and TNF-α. The mechanism by which oligomycin protects intestinal barrier function may, at least in part, be attributed to block the up-regulated MLCK transcription and protein expression induced by IFN-γ and TNF-α.
Season of birth and disordered eating in a population-based sample of young U.S. females.

OBJECTIVE We used data from a population-based study of 9,039 adolescent and young adult females, followed prospectively since 1996 as part of the Growing Up Today Study (GUTS), to examine the relationship between season of birth and disordered eating in the U.S. METHOD We tested whether the distribution of birth season and month differed for participants who had ever reported both underweight and dieting/weight concern symptoms (n = 134) or both frequent bingeing and purging symptoms (n = 77) compared with other GUTS participants. RESULTS The two disordered-eating groups had relative birth peaks in the fall and relative birth troughs in the summer compared with other GUTS participants, but only the fall peak was consistently statistically significant. DISCUSSION It appears that U.S. females born in the fall are more likely to develop disordered eating and that age relative to the rest of their school-year cohort may account for some of this phenomenon.
Correlation between prostate needle biopsies and radical prostatectomy specimens: can we predict pathological outcome?

Aims: Prostate needle biopsy findings provide important information when considering treatment options. We examine the correlation between needle biopsy and radical prostatectomy pathology to predict patients at high risk of harbouring adverse pathological findings. Methods: We reviewed data from 100 consecutive patients who underwent radical prostatectomy between 1 January 2003 and 31 January 2005 at the Singapore General Hospital. Pre‐operative clinical findings and needle biopsy pathological data were prospectively collected and compared with the final histology. Results: The mean pre‐biopsy PSA level was 9.4 ± 5.1 µg/L. Median maximum percent of tumour in any core was 50% (range 5–100) and mean percentage of positive cores was 34.5 ± 23%. There was under‐grading of the final tumour score in 27 (27%) patients on biopsy as compared with the radical prostatectomy, while over‐grading occurred in eight (8%) patients. On stratifying patients pre‐operatively into low risk and high risk groups, patients in the high risk group had a significantly higher chance of having adverse radical prostatectomy histology such as extraprostatic extension, positive surgical margins or tumour volume >3.0 mL (p = 0.041, OR = 3.96, 95%CI 1.13–13.86). Conclusions: Our results demonstrated good pathological correlation between prostate needle biopsies and their radical prostatectomies. Patients with Gleason scores of 7 or more, maximum percent of tumour in any core >50%, or percent of positive cores of >50% on needle biopsy had a higher risk of having adverse pathological findings at radical prostatectomy. The converse, however, is not necessarily true, as a result of sampling error during the biopsy.
Clinical effects of icodextrin in peritoneal dialysis

Objective. This study reviews the relevant publications on the clinical effects of icodextrin in peritoneal dialysis (PD). Design. The study provides a systematic review of the literature (MEDLINE search with icodextrin as the keyword). Results. Icodextrin induces sustained transcapillary ultrafiltration during long dwell periods. It also stimulates increased removal of sodium by the peritoneal membrane, reduction of extracellular water (ECW) and total body water (TBW). Effects of icodextrin on blood pressure control and residual renal function are discrepant. Icodextrin induces a reduction in the formation of advanced glycation end-products, while the longitudinal changes in the peritoneal membrane transport are less prominent. Conclusions. Use of icodextrin in PD improves the sodium and fluid balance. Icodextrin is potentially more biocompatible, when compared with the conventional glucose solutions. The side effects are rare.
Extending agent-based land-use/-cover change models to tropical deforestation: a focus on farm-based decision making in tropical subsistence farming

Subsistence agriculture continues to be the mainstay activity in most tropical regions, and opinions on how it impacts tropical deforestation vary significantly. The sparse literature available on subsistence farm-based models highlights the existing methodological gap in the ability of present-day agent-based models (ABMs) to simulate the impact of subsistence production on frontier tropical deforestation. Though issues concerning agent specification and its variability have been successfully dealt with, gaps exist in the explicit incorporation and articulation of linkages of subsistence production and consumption theories on the one hand and frontier tropical deforestation on the other hand. This demands explicit determination of the decision-making process and the objective functions for subsistence farmers. Once simulated, the trajectories of deforestation and its trigger mechanisms can be understood. Overall, farm-based ABMs have the potential to allow insightful understanding of the small and slow individual homogeneous subsistence practices that have resulted in massive deforestation in the tropics.
Altered Gut Microbiota Promotes Colitis-Associated Cancer in IL-1 Receptor–Associated Kinase M–Deficient Mice

Background:Microbial sensing by Toll-like receptors (TLR) and its negative regulation have an important role in the pathogenesis of inflammation-related cancer. In this study, we investigated the role of negative regulation of Toll-like receptors signaling and gut microbiota in the development of colitis-associated cancer in mouse model. Methods:Colitis-associated cancer was induced by azoxymethane and dextran sodium sulfate in wild-type and in interleukin-1 receptor–associated kinase M (IRAK-M)–deficient mice with or without antibiotic (ATB) treatment. Local cytokine production was analyzed by multiplex cytokine assay or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and regulatory T cells were analyzed by flow cytometry. Changes in microbiota composition during tumorigenesis were analyzed by pyrosequencing, and &bgr;-glucuronidase activity was measured in intestinal content by fluorescence assay. Results:ATB treatment of wild-type mice reduced the incidence and severity of tumors. Compared with nontreated mice, ATB-treated mice had significantly lower numbers of regulatory T cells in colon, altered gut microbiota composition, and decreased &bgr;-glucuronidase activity. However, the &bgr;-glucuronidase activity was not as low as in germ-free mice. IRAK-M–deficient mice not only developed invasive tumors, but ATB-induced decrease in &bgr;-glucuronidase activity did not rescue them from severe carcinogenesis phenotype. Furthermore, IRAK-M–deficient mice had significantly increased levels of proinflammatory cytokines in the tumor tissue. Conclusions:We conclude that gut microbiota promotes tumorigenesis by increasing the exposure of gut epithelium to carcinogens and that IRAK-M–negative regulation is essential for colon cancer resistance even in conditions of altered microbiota. Therefore, gut microbiota and its metabolic activity could be potential targets for colitis-associated cancer therapy.
Effects of Silymarin, Glycyrrhizin, and Oxymatrine on the Pharmacokinetics of Ribavirin and Its Major Metabolite in Rats

The herb‐derived compounds silymarin, glycyrrhizin, and oxymatrine are widely used to treat chronic hepatitis C virus infections in China. They are often prescribed in combination with ribavirin, which has a narrow therapeutic index. We investigated the influence of these compounds on ribavirin pharmacokinetics following concurrent administration at the human dose in rats. Pharmacokinetic parameters were determined in rats following oral (PO) administration of ribavirin (30 mg/kg) with or without silymarin (40 mg/kg, PO), glycyrrhizin (15 mg/kg, intraperitoneal [IP]), or oxymatrine (60 mg/kg, PO). Compared with the animals in ribavirin group, silymarin significantly decreased the area under the plasma concentration‐time curve (AUC0–t) and the peak plasma concentration (Cmax) of ribavirin and ribavirin base by 31.2–44.5% and 48.9–50.0%, respectively. Glycyrrhizin significantly decreased the Cmax and AUC0–t of both ribavirin and its metabolite by 35.3–37.6% and 38.6–39.8%, respectively. However, silymarin or glycyrrhizin did not change the ribavirin metabolite/parent ratios of the AUC and Cmax. Oxymatrine did not induce significant changes in ribavirin concentration, but it significantly decreased the Cmax (26.6%) and AUC (21.8%) of the metabolite. This study indicates that the therapeutic efficacy of ribavirin may be compromised by the concurrent administration of herbal medicines/dietary supplements containing silymarin, glycyrrhizin, or oxymatrine. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Coronary optical frequency domain imaging (OFDI) for in vivo evaluation of stent healing: comparison with light and electron microscopy

Aims Coronary late stent thrombosis, a rare but devastating complication, remains an important concern in particular with the increasing use of drug-eluting stents. Notably, pathological studies have indicated that the proportion of uncovered coronary stent struts represents the best morphometric predictor of late stent thrombosis. Intracoronary optical frequency domain imaging (OFDI), a novel second-generation optical coherence tomography (OCT)-derived imaging method, may allow rapid imaging for the detection of coronary stent strut coverage with a markedly higher precision when compared with intravascular ultrasound, due to a microscopic resolution (axial ∼10–20 µm), and at a substantially increased speed of image acquisition when compared with first-generation time-domain OCT. However, a histological validation of coronary OFDI for the evaluation of stent strut coverage in vivo is urgently needed. Hence, the present study was designed to evaluate the capacity of coronary OFDI by electron (SEM) and light microscopy (LM) analysis to detect and evaluate stent strut coverage in a porcine model. Methods and results Twenty stents were implanted into 10 pigs and coronary OFDI was performed after 1, 3, 10, 14, and 28 days. Neointimal thickness as detected by OFDI correlated closely with neointimal thickness as measured by LM (r = 0.90, P < 0.01). The comparison of stent strut coverage as detected by OFDI and SEM analysis revealed an excellent agreement (r = 0.96, P < 0.01). In particular, stents completely covered by OFDI analysis were also completely covered by SEM analysis. All incompletely covered stents by OFDI were also incompletely covered by SEM. Analyses of fibrin-covered stent struts suggested that these may rarely be detected as uncovered stent struts by OFDI. Importantly, optical density measurements revealed a significant difference between fibrin- and neointima-covered coronary stent struts [0.395 (0.35–0.43) vs. 0.53 (0.47–0.57); P < 0.001], suggesting that differences in optical density provide information on the type of stent strut coverage. The sensitivity and specificity for detection of fibrin vs. neointimal coverage was evaluated using receiver-operating characteristic analysis. Conclusion The present study demonstrates that OFDI is a highly promising tool for accurate evaluation of coronary stent strut coverage, as supported by a high agreement between OFDI and light and electron microscopic analysis. Furthermore, our data indicate that optical density measurements can provide additional information with respect to the type of stent strut coverage, i.e. fibrin vs. neointimal coverage. Therefore, coronary OFDI analysis will provide important information on the biocompatibility of coronary stents.
Measuring mechanical motion using light confined at the nanoscale

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Compromised verbal episodic memory with intact visual and procedural memory during pregnancy

This study investigated episodic and procedural memory performance in early and late pregnancy. Twenty-six women in the third trimester of pregnancy, 20 women in the first trimester of pregnancy, and 24 nonpregnant controls were administered a battery of verbal and visual episodic memory tasks and two procedural memory tasks. Results indicated that compared to controls, both pregnant groups had reduced scores on immediate and delayed verbal episodic memory tasks, but were unimpaired on visual and procedural memory tasks. Verbal memory differences could not be accounted for by mood state or attention; however, progesterone level accounted for a small amount of the variation. Although memory differences were minor, the perception of memory problems may have implications for everyday living for pregnant women.
Implementation of Enhanced Recovery Programme for Colorectal Surgery from the Economical Perspective

Aim: To confirm the applicability of fast-track program in patients undergoing laparoscopic colorectal surgery and to analyze the economic impact. Methods: Laparoscopic surgery and the implementation of the "fast track" program have radically changed patient management during the last 20 years. In a time of limited financial resources and health expenditure control, the importance of a cost-effectiveness evaluation cannot be ignored when considering new protocols. A comparative, non-blinded prospective evaluation of two cohorts of patients undergoing elective colorectal surgery has been carried out at the General Surgery Department of "Carlo Urbani" Hospital in Jesi, running over 12 months. 118 patients were analyzed and divided in two groups, 67 cases managed with fast track protocol and 51 with traditional treatment. The data were processed with the Chi-Squared test, Student's t test and Mann-Whitney test. Hospitalization costs were classified according to the full costing technique and activity based costing. Results: In the 118 patients enrolled, 55 were males (46.6%) and 63 were females (53.4%); 90 (76%) patients had comorbidities. Interestingly, no differences in overall morbidity and mortality rates were found between the two groups. In particular, patients subjected to fast track treatment did not experience a higher rate of surgical complications while the patients managed with traditional protocol showed a higher number of medical complications. Moreover, the mean length of hospital stay of the fast-track group was 2.37 days shorter than the one of the control group and there was no difference in the 30-day readmission rate. Remarkably, the total cost per patient was significantly lower in the fast track group with respect to the control group (fast-track: 7027 ± 1275 euros vs. control: 7855 ± 1165 euros; p-value < 0.001) and the decrease in hospitalization unit costs was the main factor contributing to the cost reduction. On the contrary, the cost of the operating room and the type of surgical excision did not affect the cost difference between the two groups of patients. Conclusion: The fast track program is applicable and safe in a district hospital. Shorter hospitalization duration is associated with a significant reduction of the hospitalization cost.