Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Associations between socio-economic status measures and functional change among older people in Taiwan

The major purpose of this study was to examine the effects of socio-economic status (SES) on changes in functional abilities, as measured by Activities of Daily Living (ADL) scales, among older people in Taiwan. A prospective longitudinal study design was used. A panel of 874 community-dwelling older people were followed over four years (1994 to 1998). Three SES indicators, education, having ‘extra’ money (more than required for basic necessities), and principal lifetime occupation were included in separate multiple logistic regression models of functional change in physical ADL (PADL) and in instrumental ADL (IADL). Over the four years, the study cohort experienced greater decreases in IADL functioning than in PADL functioning. Having ‘extra’ money was significantly and negatively associated with PADL decline, while level of education had a strong positive relationship with IADL functioning. In addition to SES, age was significantly associated with PADL and IADL functioning change. The paper also reports a comparison of similar findings from several eastern and western countries. This has established that among the available SES indicators, the level of education has most consistently been shown in both eastern and western population studies to be related to health and health change, and that self-perceived economic resource is also related to older people's health in Asian populations.
Pathogens involved in lower respiratory tract infections in general practice.

BACKGROUND There are few investigations into the aetiology of lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) in general practice. AIM To describe the aetiology of LRTI among adult patients in general practice in The Netherlands. DESIGN OF STUDY Prospective observational study. SETTING General practices in the Leiden region, The Netherlands. METHOD Adult patients with a defined LRTI were included. Standard medical history and physical examination were performed. Sputum, blood and throat swabs were collected for diagnostic tests. Aetiological diagnosis, categorised as definite or possible, was based on the results of bacterial and viral cultures, serological techniques, and on polymerase chain reaction. Proportions of pathogens causing LRTI were assessed in relation to chest X-ray findings. RESULTS A bacterial cause was established in 43 (30%), and a viral cause in 57 (39%) of the 145 patients with a LRTI. Influenza virus A was the most frequently diagnosed microorganism, followed by Haemophilus influenzae, and Mycoplasma pneumoniae. Streptococcus pneumoniae was found in 6% of the patients. CONCLUSIONS Pathogens were found in two-thirds of the patients. In half of these patients there was a viral cause. Influenza virus A was the most frequently found pathogen. The treatment with antibiotics of at least one-third of the patients with LRTI was superfluous. This observation should result in changes in the prescription of antibiotics in LRTI.
Heart rate variability during Pulse Photoplethysmography decreased Amplitude fluctuations and its correlation with apneic episodes

In this study the heart rate variability (HRV) during decreases in the amplitude fluctuations of pulse photople-tysmography signal (PPG) events (DAP) was analyzed for evaluating the possible relations and involvements of the autonomic nervous system, mainly in presence of apneas. The study uses 45 fragments containing a DAP event and being free of artifacts or other physiologic events which were classified as apneic and non-apneic. A HRV signal processing was carried out in order to obtain several time and frequency indexes. The smooth pseudo Wigner-Ville distribution was used for the analysis of HRV. One way ANOVA tests for repeated measures and t-tests were carried out in order to analyze the parameter time evolution and differences between groups. The results show an increase in sympathetic activity during DAP which is deeper for apneic events. Several indexes have shown statistical difference between groups so HRV seems to improve the usefulness of PPG in sleep studies.
Clinical, radiographic and hematological characteristics of Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia.

OBJECTIVE To describe the clinical, hematological and radiographic characteristics of children hospitalized for Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia. METHOD The study population consisted of 190 children between 3 months and 16 years old, hospitalized for radiographically confirmed pneumonia. Patients were divided into two groups, to wit: 95 children with Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia, as diagnosed using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method; and 95 children with pneumonia caused by other etiologic agents. Using a validated scoring system, the clinical, hematological and radiographic findings of both groups were compared to differentiate Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (group 1) from pneumonia caused by other etiologic agents (group 2), itself divided into two groups, bacterial (n = 75) and viral (n = 20). RESULTS Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia was found most often in girls (p < 0.01), older children (p < 0.01), and patients with dry cough (p < 0.01) and extrapulmonary manifestations (p < 0.01). The clinical, hematological and radiographic variables of Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (mean score = 6.95) scored between those found in bacterial (mean score = 8.27) and viral pneumonia (mean score = 0.90). CONCLUSION Results suggest that the scoring system can contribute to the presumptive diagnosis of Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia and help differentiate pneumonic status caused by other etiologic agents.
Pegylated interferon alpha-2a monotherapy in a peritoneal dialysis patient with chronic hepatitis C

Background: Although pegylated interferon (PEG-IFN) is now the standard treatment for chronic hepatitis C, there are few reports targeting dialysis patients and treatment protocol for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection has not been determined, particularly in patients on peritoneal dialysis. Case: A 34-year-old woman with chronic hepatitis C started peritoneal dialysis because of progressive renal disease 2 years after peripheral blood stem cell transplantation for aplastic anaemia. The regimen was a single 6-h dwell of 2L glucose dialysate. Considering that her HCV genotype was 2a and that she was a candidate for cadaveric kidney transplant, we decided to treat her with PEG-IFN alpha-2a monotherapy 1 year after the beginning of peritoneal dialysis. We adopted a dose escalation strategy to minimize the total amount of PEG-IFN administration, thereby reducing the risk of adverse effects. Her HCV-RNA disappeared at the 17th week and sustained virus response was achieved thereafter. Only minor side effects were observed including flu-like symptoms and mild anaemia, and residual renal function remained stable during the treatment of 48 weeks (renal Kt/V; from 1.28 to 1.26). Conclusion: PEG-IFN monotherapy with dose modification may be a safe and effective treatment for HCV infection in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis.
The influences of medial-diencephalic lesions on hippocampal and cortical function and plasticity

Medial diencephalon, comprising the mammillary bodies and anterior thalamic nuclei, is important for memory in both humans and animals. However, there is still uncertainty regarding how this region supports memory processes. The mammillary bodies and anterior thalamic nuclei form part of the Papez circuit, a network of brain regions important for episodic memory. Lesions within the medial diencephalon cause distal hypofunctionality in the rest of the Papez circuit, and most consistently in the retrosplenial/posterior cingulate cortex. Patients with diencephalic amnesia often exhibit glucose hypometabolism in the posterior cingulate cortex and animals with medial diencephalic lesions dramatically reduce immediate early gene expression in the retrosplenial cortex. It is still unknown whether these distal effects contribute to the memory impairments. This body of work investigated the distal hypofunctionality following lesions of the mammillothalamic tract in rats, a white matter bundle that connects the mammillary bodies to the anterior thalamic nuclei within the medial diencephalon. Mammillothalamic tract lesions were found to reduce expression levels of the immediate early gene zif268 in the retrosplenial cortex. However, no significant changes were found in the fine dendritic microstructure of the small pyramidal neurones located in the superficial layers of the rostral granular retrosplenial cortex, which receive the anterior thalamic nuclei input. To determine whether the reduced immediate early gene expression contributes to the spatial memory impairments associated with mammillothalamic tract lesions, antisense oligodeoxynucleotides were infused into either the retrosplenial cortex or the dorsal hippocampus. These infusions had no effect on spatial memory performance; however, it was not possible to verify that they were effective in knocking-down zif268 or c-fos at the molecular level. This work expands our understanding of the distal effects of mammillothalamic tract lesions but further studies are needed to determine whether they contribute to the memory impairments observed.
Relationships between Organizational Justice and Coaches' Attitudinal Outcomes in Intercollegiate Sports

The primary purpose of this study was to examine direct and indirect relationships between organizational justice and coaches' attitudinal outcomes (job satisfaction, affective organizational commitment toward organization and supervisor) through the mediating effects of social exchange variables. Head and assistant coaches (n = 260) at National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divisions I, II, and III institutions in the United States participated in a survey. The results indicated full mediating effects of perceived organizational support (POS) between procedural justice and job satisfaction, but the results indicated no mediating effects of leader-member exchange (LMX) between procedural justice and job satisfaction. In addition, the results indicated full mediating effects of POS between procedural justice and affective commitment toward the athletic department as well as full mediating effects of LMX between procedural justice and affective commitment toward the athletic director. Practical applications of the findings are presented, and future research suggestions are proposed.
Time Pressure Promotes Work Engagement Test of Illegitimate Tasks as Boundary Condition

Based on activation theory and appraisal theory, this study examines the curvilinear relationship between time pressure and work engagement. Further, we argue that this curvilinear relation holds only if time pressure is not induced by unreasonable or unnecessary tasks. We tested our hypotheses in a heterogeneous sample of 191 employees. Results of moderated hierarchical multiple regression analyses provide evidence for an inverted U-shape relation between time pressure and work engagement. Our findings show that the motivating effect of a moderate level of time pressure holds only when employees are assigned to tasks with a low unreasonability rating. Our findings have implications for research on antecedents of work engagement and the job demands-resources model.
E-virtual reality exposure therapy in acrophobia: A pilot study

Virtual reality therapy is already used for anxiety disorders as an alternative to in vivo and in imagino exposure. To our knowledge, however, no one has yet proposed using remote virtual reality (e-virtual reality). The aim of the present study was to assess e-virtual reality in an acrophobic population. Six individuals with acrophobia each underwent six sessions (two sessions per week) of virtual reality exposure therapy. The first three were remote sessions, while the last three were traditional sessions in the physical presence of the therapist. Anxiety (STAI form Y-A, visual analog scale, heart rate), presence, technical difficulties and therapeutic alliance (Working Alliance Inventory) were measured. In order to control the conditions in which these measures were made, all the sessions were conducted in hospital. None of the participants dropped out. The remote sessions were well accepted. None of the participants verbalized reluctance. No major technical problems were reported. None of the sessions were cancelled or interrupted because of software incidents. Measures (anxiety, presence, therapeutic alliance) were comparable across the two conditions. e-Virtual reality can therefore be used to treat acrophobic disorders. However, control studies are needed to assess online feasibility, therapeutic effects and the mechanisms behind online presence.
The Early 1990s Change in ENSO–PSA–SAM Relationships and Its Impact on Southern Hemisphere Climate

AbstractThis study uncovers an early 1990s change in the relationships between El Nino–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and two leading modes of the Southern Hemisphere (SH) atmospheric variability: the southern annular mode (SAM) and the Pacific–South American (PSA) pattern. During austral spring, while the PSA maintained a strong correlation with ENSO throughout the period 1948–2014, the SAM–ENSO correlation changed from being weak before the early 1990s to being strong afterward. Through the ENSO connection, PSA and SAM became more in-phase correlated after the early 1990s. The early 1990s is also the time when ENSO changed from being dominated by the eastern Pacific (EP) type to being dominated by the central Pacific (CP) type. Analyses show that, while the EP ENSO can excite only the PSA, the CP ENSO can excite both the SAM and PSA through tropospheric and stratospheric pathway mechanisms. The more in-phase relationship between SAM and PSA impacted the post-1990s Antarctic climate in at least two aspects:.
Diffusion-weighted Magnetic Resonance Enterography for Evaluating Bowel Inflammation in Crohn's Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Background:To systematically determine the performance of diffusion-weighted imaging magnetic resonance enterography (DWI-MRE) for evaluating bowel inflammation in Crohn's disease and sources of heterogeneity between reported results. Methods:We identified research studies that investigated DWI-MRE to diagnose bowel inflammation (present versus absent) or to assess bowel inflammatory severity in Crohn's disease by performing a systematic search of PubMed MEDLINE and EMBASE (until March 31, 2015). Study quality was assessed using QUADAS-2. For studies reporting dichotomous diagnosis of bowel inflammation, study heterogeneity and threshold effect were analyzed, summary sensitivity and specificity were estimated, and meta-regression analysis was performed to further explore study heterogeneity. For studies reporting assessment of inflammatory severity, a qualitative summary was performed. Results:Of 159 articles screened, we found 12 studies (1515 bowel segments) reporting a diagnosis of bowel inflammation and 6 studies (1066 bowel segments) reporting assessment of inflammatory severity. The summary sensitivity and specificity were 92.9% (95% CI, 85.8%–96.6%; I2 = 87.9%) and 91% (95% CI, 79.7%–96.3%; I2 = 95.1%), respectively. Sensitivity and false-positive rate were inversely correlated (r = −0.650; P = 0.022). Lack of blinding to contrast-enhanced MRE when interpreting DWI-MRE (P = 0.01) and use of contrast-enhanced MRE as a reference standard (P < 0.01) in some studies were significant factors for study heterogeneity and likely caused overestimation of DWI-MRE accuracy. There was rather clear correlation between diffusion-related parameters and bowel inflammation severity, although the strengths were heterogeneous (correlation coefficient, 0.39–0.98). Conclusions:DWI-MRE accuracy was very heterogeneous between studies and was likely overestimated in some studies. Despite rather clear correlation between diffusion-related parameters and bowel inflammatory severity, its strength was variable.
Monocytes/macrophages in hypertension

In ̄ammatory mechanisms in hypertensive target organ damage The role of various in ̄ammatory mechanisms, including mononuclear leukocyte in®ltration, for the development of vascular damage in atherosclerosis has been increasingly acknowledged during recent years [1]. These observations have also stimulated research on the role of vascular in ̄ammation for hypertensive target organ damage. The overall contribution of in̄ammation to vascular damage in patients with hypertension is still far from being clear, but research during the last decade has shed light on some aspects of this question. For example, in experimental animals, several forms of hypertension induce in®ltration of monocytes/ macrophages into the vessel wall [2] and in target organs, such as the kidney [3] and the heart [4]. Moreover, the organ protection afforded by inhibitors of the formation, or action, of angiotensin II appears to be due at least in part to the reduction of macrophage in®ltration [5±7].
Precoded BICM Design for MIMO Transmit Beamforming and Associated Low-Complexity Algebraic Receivers

In this paper, we design bit interleaved coded modulations including a partial algebraic precoder in order to transmit several spatial streams with full diversity over a transmit beamformed MIMO channel. The achievable diversity orders with the coded modulation are derived, and allow for efficiently choosing the system parameters for optimizing the performance. Additionally, a very efficient low complexity soft output detector based on algebraic reduction is presented. With a low complexity at the receiver, the precoded BICM system allows achieving high performance at very high efficiencies, e.g., 12 bits per second per hertz.
A Theory for Long-Memory in Supply and Demand

Recent empirical studies have demonstrated long-memory in the signs of orders to buy or sell in financial markets [J.-P. Bouchaud, Y. Gefen, M. Potters, and M. Wyart, Quant. Finance 4, 176 (2004); F. Lillo and J. D. Farmer Dyn. Syst. Appl. 8, 3 (2004)]. We show how this can be caused by delays in market clearing. Under the common practice of order splitting, large orders are broken up into pieces and executed incrementally. If the size of such large orders is power-law distributed, this gives rise to power-law decaying autocorrelations in the signs of executed orders. More specifically, we show that if the cumulative distribution of large orders of volume v is proportional to v(-alpha) and the size of executed orders is constant, the autocorrelation of order signs as a function of the lag tau is asymptotically proportional to tau(-(alpha-1)). This is a long-memory process when alpha < 2. With a few caveats, this gives a good match to the data. A version of the model also shows long-memory fluctuations in order execution rates, which may be relevant for explaining the long memory of price diffusion rates.
Dietary calcium and magnesium supplements in spontaneously hypertensive rats and isolated arterial reactivity

1 High calcium diet attenuates the development of hypertension but an associated undesirable effect is that Mg2+ loss to the urine is enhanced. Therefore, we studied the effects of high calcium diet alone and in combination with increased magnesium intake on blood pressure and arterial function. 2 Forty‐eight young spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) were allocated into four groups, the dietary contents of Ca2+ and Mg2+ being: 1.1%, 0.2% (SHR); 2.5%, 0.2% (Ca‐SHR); 2.5%, 0.8% (CaMg‐SHR); and 1.1%, 0.8% (Mg‐SHR), respectively. Development of hypertension was followed for 13 weeks, whereafter electrolyte balance, lymphocyte intracellular free calcium ([Ca2+]i), and mesenteric arterial responses in vitro were examined. Forty normotensive Wistar‐Kyoto (WKY) rats were investigated in a similar manner. 3 Calcium supplementation comparably attenuated the development of hypertension during normal and high magnesium intake in SHR, with an associated reduced lymphocyte [Ca2+]i and increased Mg2+ loss to the urine. 4 Endothelium‐dependent arterial relaxation to acetylcholine was augmented in Ca‐SHR and CaMg‐SHR, while the relaxations to isoprenaline and the nitric oxide donor SIN‐1 were similar in all SHR groups. Relaxation responses induced by the return of K+ to the organ bath upon precontractions in K+‐free solution were used to evaluate the function of arterial Na+, K+‐ATPase. The rate of potassium relaxation was similar in Ca‐SHR and CaMg‐SHR and faster than in untreated SHR. 5 Contractile responses to high concentrations of potassium and noradrenaline, and the ability of vascular smooth muscle to sequester Ca2+, which was evaluated by eliciting responses to caffeine or noradrenaline after loading periods in different Ca2+ concentrations, were comparable in all SHR groups. In SHR with increased magnesium intake, and in WKY rats with calcium or magnesium supplementation, no detectable effects on blood pressure and arterial function were observed. 6 In conclusion, high calcium diet attenuated the development of hypertension in SHR, with an associated augmented endothelium‐dependent relaxation, promoted recovery rate of ionic gradients across the cell membrane via Na+, K+‐ATPase, and reduced basal [Ca2+]i. Dietary magnesium supplementation, whether combined with normal or high calcium intake, had no beneficial effects on blood pressure or arterial function.
LEARNING STRATEGIES PROFILES IN READING SKILL OF JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL

This article aims at describing learning strategies used by of Junior High School students in Malang in reading skill. Descriptive statistic research design was used in this study. 257 Junior High School students in Malang were asked to accomplish a set of questionnaire adopted from Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) (Oxford, 1990) in their regular English classroom. The questionnaire consists of 62 items, and the items are about learning strategies in reading skill. Descriptive statistic revealed that junior High School students are medium users of learning strategies when they read English composition. They tend to employ compensation strategies when they read English written text. In the contrary, they almost never use cognitive strategies when they learn to read English composition. Two-way ANOVA demonstrates that there was no main effect of level of grade on the use of learning strategies in reading skill between grade 7 and grade 8. In term of gender, the result shows that there is a significant different between male and female students in employing overall learning strategies on their reading skill. The finding also demonstrate that there is no significant difference in the effect of both level of grade and gender on learning strategies whether for the grade 7 and grade 8 or males and females students.
The design of continuous curvature waveguides

A procedure for the design of continuous curvature waveguide bends, for use in integrated photonic circuits, is presented. The design employs the scalar finite element method and a technique for drawing waveguide bends based on their curvature. Waveguides designed by this new method exhibit a transition loss forty times lower than that of a standard waveguide bend. The transition loss of a waveguide designed by this method is independent of the length of the waveguide.
Effect of Some Antidepressants on Glycaemia and Insulin Levels of Normoglycaemic and Alloxan‐induced Hyperglycaemic Mice

Depression is an important problem among diabetic patients. We have investigated the effect of some antidepressant drugs on plasma glucose and insulin levels in normoglycaemic and alloxan‐induced diabetic mice. For this purpose the effects of nortryptiline (as an example of a tricyclic antidepressant) and fluoxetine and sertraline (as examples of selective 5‐HT re‐uptake inhibitors) were examined on plasma glucose and insulin levels.