Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Interleukin-6 genetic variability and adiposity: associations in two prospective cohorts and systematic review in 26,944 individuals.

CONTEXT IL-6 (IL6) is an immune-modulating cytokine associated with obesity in humans. OBJECTIVE Our objective was to assess the associations between the genetic variability of IL6 gene and adiposity and long-term changes. DESIGN AND SUBJECTS We determined the linkage disequilibrium-tagging single-nucleotide polymorphisms of IL6 gene in 2255 healthy women and 980 healthy men from two prospective cohorts. We also conducted a metaanalysis on the associations between polymorphism -174G>C (rs1800795) and adiposity. RESULTS IL6 haplotype 222211 (possessing rs2069827, rs1800797, rs1800795, rs1554606, rs2069861, and rs1818879; 1 codes the common and 2 codes the minor alleles) was consistently and significantly associated with greater waist circumference (P = 0.009 in men; P = 0.0003 in women) and baseline body mass index (BMI) (P = 0.01 in men; P = 0.046 in women) compared with the most common haplotype 111112. Haplotype 222211 was also associated with significantly higher early-adulthood BMI in women (P = 0.007). The haplotype-associated difference in BMI persisted significantly during the follow-up. A 5' promoter polymorphism, rs2069827, was consistently associated with significantly higher early-adulthood BMI, baseline BMI, and waist circumference in men (carriers vs. noncarriers, P = 0.01, 0.007, and 0.008) and women (P = 0.01, 0.10, and 0.0016). The data from this study and a metaanalysis of 26,944 individuals did not support substantial relations between the best-studied polymorphism, -174G>C, and adiposity. CONCLUSIONS Our data from two independent cohorts indicate that the variability of the IL6 gene is significantly associated with adiposity. Such associations are less likely to be caused by polymorphism -174G>C.
Effect of coating the wells of a polystyrene microtiter plate with xanthorrhizol on the biofilm formation of Streptococcus mutans

Colonization on the surface of tooth by Streptococcus mutans is an important step in the initiation of dental plaque. Polystyrene microtiter plates have been employed to study bacterial colonization and biofilm formation of periodontal bacteria. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of coating the wells of a polystyrene microtiter plate with xanthorrhizol isolated from java turmeric (Curcuma xanthorrhiza Roxb.) on Strep. mutans biofilm formation. Our studies demonstrated that coating of a polystyrene microtiter plate with 5 µg/ml of xanthorrhizol resulted in significant (up to 60%) reduction of adherent cells compared to that of cells in uncoated wells. This result suggests that xanthorrhizol displays potent activity in preventing Strep. mutans biofilm formation. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
SNAPPS: A Learner-centered Model for Outpatient Education

The unique character of medical education in the outpatient setting has created challenges in teaching and learning that cannot be solved by the adaptation of traditional inpatient approaches. Previous work and the authors’ own observational study describe a relatively passive learner focused on reporting history and physical examination data to the preceptor. Based on the work of Bordage in cognitive learning, and that of Osterman and Kottkamp on reflective practice for educators, the authors have developed a collaborative model for case presentations in the outpatient setting that links learner initiation and preceptor facilitation in an active learning conversation. This learner-centered model for case presentations to the preceptor follows a mnemonic called SNAPPS consisting of six steps: (1) Summarize briefly the history and findings; (2) Narrow the differential to two or three relevant possibilities; (3) Analyze the differential by comparing and contrasting the possibilities; (4) Probe the preceptor by asking questions about uncertainties, difficulties, or alternative approaches; (5) Plan management for the patient’s medical issues; and (6) Select a case-related issue for self-directed learning. The authors conducted a pilot study of SNAPPS, introducing the model to both third-year medical students and their preceptors. Feedback was enthusiastic and underscored the importance of the paired approach. SNAPPS represents a paradigm shift in ambulatory education that engages the learner and creates a collaborative learning conversation in the context of patient care.
[Relationship between objective data and health-related quality of life in COPD patients].

INTRODUCTION In chronic diseases take special importance their influence in patient s daily life, in other words, on its quality of life. The Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is one of the most important chronic diseases in our country, as much by its prevalence as by its economic impact. For the assessment of the life quality in these patients, we have specific questionnaires like the SGRQ, which can help us to better know the disease and its influence on patient s life. In our work the relationship of SGRQ with age, tobacco consumption, gasometrical data and severity of the disease are studied. METHODS 51 patients with COPD and without significant comorbidities were selected and the SGRQ was administered to them by a trained interviewer; for every patient we also recovered the gasometrical values, the spirometric data, and their tobacco consumption background. RESULTS The average score in each one of SGRQ scales were: global scale 40.49 +/- 18.98, symptoms scale 34.76 +/- 16.31, activity scale 56.68 +/- 23.72 and in the impact scale 32.86 +/- 19.96. We have found weak but significant correlations between the SGRQ results and the patient s age and the FEV1, but not with the gasometrical data or with the accumulated tobacco consumption. CONCLUSION We can conclude that, in our work, the parameters that better correlates objective data with health-related quality of life of COPD patients are the age and the severity of the obstruction.
Monitoring of Freeze-Thaw Cycles in Concrete Using Embedded Sensors and Ultrasonic Imaging

This paper deals with the study of damage produced during freeze-thaw (F-T) cycles using two non-destructive measurement approaches—the first approach devoted to continuous monitoring using embedded sensors during the cycles, and the second one, performing ultrasonic imaging before and after the cycles. Both methodologies have been tested in two different types of concrete specimens, with and without air-entraining agents. Using the first measurement approach, the size and distribution of pores were estimated using a thermoporometrical model and continuous measurements of temperature and ultrasonic velocity along cycles. These estimates have been compared with the results obtained using mercury porosimetry testing. In the second approach, the damage due to F-T cycles has been evaluated by automated ultrasonic transmission and pulse-echo inspections made before and after the cycles. With these inspections the variations in the dimensions, velocity and attenuation caused by the accelerated F-T cycles were determined.
Monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS)-31 year follow up of a community study.

BACKGROUND When unselected healthy adults in the community have their serum screened by cellulose acetate or paper electrophoresis, monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) may be found in 0.5-1%. AIM To report upon a 31 year follow up of MGUS in a New Zealand community. METHODS Serum from 2,192 subjects (82% of the adult population) of a New Zealand town was collected in 1967 and subsequently screened by cellulose acetate electrophoresis. Eleven of the 2,192 (0.5%) were found to have MGUS. Clinical correlation was sought in 1970 and subsequently to elucidate the underlying cause. RESULTS Seven of the 11 patients have developed a haematological malignancy. Two have been diagnosed as having Waldenstrom's macroglobulinaemia, one malignant lymphoma and acute myelomonocytic leukaemia and four developed myeloma. Myeloma developed at one, nine, 23 and 25 years after the original screening. One myeloma patient and one patient with MGUS are currently alive and well, 31 years after discovery of their gammopathy. CONCLUSIONS The incidence of MGUS in this community is only half that detected in a comparable study. The association with haematological malignancy in this study (64%) is considerably higher than that found in the Swedish study (6%), possibly because of the longer follow up in New Zealand. MGUS should not only be studied in depth at the time of its discovery, but needs very long term follow up as the underlying disease may not surface until the third decade.
The Search for an Input-coding Scheme: Transposed-letter Priming in Arabic

research has shown that a transposed-letter stimulus like jugde is very similar, perceptually, to judge (e.g., faster recognition of jugde–judge than of jupte–judge; The robustness of transposed-letter priming, which is an obvious problem for any model of visual word recognition using a slot-base coding scheme, has led to the appearance of more flexible input-coding schemes (e., the representation of a letter is normally distributed across ordinal positions in the letter string: In a five-letter pseudoword like jugde, the letter d is associated with Position 3, but also, to a lesser degree, with Positions 2 and 4 and even with Positions 1 and 5. This way, jugde and its base word, judge, are perceptually very close. Here, we tackle the question of whether or not these input-coding schemes are universal to all orthographies (see Perea & Pérez, 2009, and Lee & Taft, 2009, for evidence of transposition effects in Japanese and Korean, respectively). To do that, we employed a transposed-letter manipulation in a non-concatenative morphology: Arabic. As in other Semitic languages (e.g., Hebrew), the root of a word in Arabic—which tends to be triconsonantal (e.g., the sequence s.b.H ‫ﺳﺑﺢ‬ [to swim])—has a key role in lexical access (see Frost, Kugler, Deutsch, & Forster, 2005, for evidence in Hebrew and Arabic; see also Boudelaa & Marslen-Wilson, 2005). Keep in mind that the meaning of an Arabic word is based exclusively on the consonants of the root, whereas the other letters—which form the word pattern—are used to create the desired inflection of meaning (see, for a review of orthographic and morphological processes in Arabic). In Semitic languages, each set of root letters, together with the word pattern, can lead to a vast number of words, mostly predictable in form and all related to the basic meaning of the root letters. For instance, the Arabic root k.t. b has the meaning of marking/writing; ‫ﻛﺎﺗﺐ‬ (" kAtib " 5 writer) and ‫ " (ﻛﺗﺐ‬katab " 5 books) are just a few instances of the use of this root. 1 Note that the letters of the root and the word pattern in Semitic languages may be intertwined: The root and the word pattern form two abstract discontinu-ous morphemes (see Boudelaa & Marslen-Wilson, 2005). Importantly, many roots share the same set of three letters, but in a different order; for example, the root s.b. H ‫ﺳﺑﺢ‬ (" to swim ") can be altered to produce the roots H.s.b ‫ﺣﺴﺐ‬ …
A one-step roll-to-roll process of stable AgNW/PEDOT:PSS solution using imidazole as a mild base for highly conductive and transparent films: optimizations and mechanisms

A recent increase in the demand for transparent electrodes has led to shortage in supply and an increase in the price of indium tin oxide (ITO) films deposited by sputter coating owing to coating speed limitations. Furthermore, flexibility has become one of the essential properties of transparent electrodes, accounting for the rapidly changing trend in electronics. These problems can be overcome by AgNW-based films suitable for flexible and stable conductive electrodes by using wet-coating-processable material and roll-to-roll coating. In this work, we developed an effective method to fabricate a highly conductive, transparent, and stable AgNW/PEDOT:PSS film using roll-to-roll slot-die coating. This coating technique provides higher line speed and greater coating uniformity. Furthermore, the optimized AgNW/PEDOT:PSS solution allows direct one-step coating without any post-treatment, such as high-temperature annealing, mechanical pressure, and solvent washing. We also studied the mechanisms of AgNW corrosion induced by the acidity of PEDOT:PSS and by hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and carbonyl sulfide (OCS) of the atmosphere. Corrosion could be prevented by neutralizing PEDOT:PSS using imidazole, which is a suitable organic compound in terms of both material and processing properties owing to its mild basicity and high melting and boiling points. In addition, the over-coating by a silica-based protecting layer on the AgNW/PEDOT:PSS film resulted in enhanced corrosion protection. The resulting roll film (460 mm in width × 20 m in length) showed suitable electrical (Rs ∼ 75 Ω sq−1) and optical (T > 90% at 550 nm, haziness ∼1.21%, b* ∼ 0.72) properties to replace ITO films in touch screen panels.
Youth Homelessness and Vulnerability: How Does Couch Surfing Fit?

Youth homelessness is a problem characterized by high levels of vulnerability. The extent to which couch surfing - moving from one temporary housing arrangement to another - is part of youth homelessness is not well understood. Chapin Hall's Voices of Youth Count, a national research initiative, involves a multicomponent approach to studying youth homelessness. This study reports emerging findings regarding couch surfing and homelessness primarily from a national survey of 13,113 adults with youth ages 13-25 in their households or who are themselves ages 18-25. Findings suggest that couch surfing is relatively common, particularly among the older age group. Among households with 13- to 17-year-olds and 18- to 25-year-olds, 4.0% and 20.5%, respectively, reported that any of them had couch surfed in the last 12 months. There are notable social, economic, and educational differences, on average, between youth reporting homelessness and those reporting only couch surfing. However, most youth who report experiencing homelessness also report couch surfing, and these youth who experience both circumstances present high levels of socioeconomic vulnerability. Couch surfing encompasses a range of experiences, some of which likely include need for services. Interviews currently in the field, and expanded analysis of data, will contribute more nuanced policy insights.
A statistical model investigating the prevalence of tuberculosis in New York City using counting processes with two change-points

SUMMARY We considered a Bayesian analysis for the prevalence of tuberculosis cases in New York City from 1970 to 2000. This counting dataset presented two change-points during this period. We modelled this counting dataset considering non-homogeneous Poisson processes in the presence of the two-change points. A Bayesian analysis for the data is considered using Markov chain Monte Carlo methods. Simulated Gibbs samples for the parameters of interest were obtained using WinBugs software.
Childhood trauma and cortisol awakening response in symptomatic patients with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.

OBJECTIVE Exposure to trauma during childhood is a risk factor for eating disorders (EDs) in adulthood. The biological mechanisms underlying such increased risk seem to involve the endogenous stress response system (i.e., the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal [HPA] axis), which undergoes trauma-induced functional changes that may persist later in life. In the present study, we examined the effects of childhood trauma experiences on HPA-axis activity, comparing saliva cortisol awakening response (CAR) in adult patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) or bulimia nervosa (BN) with CAR in adult healthy controls. METHOD Twenty-three patients with symptomatic AN, 21 patients with symptomatic BN, and 29 healthy women collected saliva samples at awakening and again after 15, 30, and 60 min. Participants also completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire and eating-related psychopathological rating scales. RESULTS According to the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, 13 individuals with AN and 12 individuals with BN, but none of the healthy women, reported childhood maltreatment. Compared with the control group, the non-maltreated AN patient group exhibited an enhanced CAR, whereas the group of non-maltreated BN patients showed a normal CAR. Moreover, both AN and BN patient groups with childhood maltreatment exhibited statistically significant blunting of CAR compared with non-maltreated groups. DISCUSSION The present findings add to the evidence supporting the concept that there is a dysregulation of HPA-axis activity in symptomatic patients with EDs and suggest that childhood trauma exposure may contribute to such dysregulation.
Simplest identification, O-specific polysaccharide purification and antigenic evaluation of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi Vi negative isolate

Currently licensed typhoid vaccines are based on Vi capsular polysaccharides. Recent molecular reports from typhoid endemic countries state that Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (S. Typhi) Vi negative strains occur naturally and cause typhoid fever which is indistinguishable from disease caused by Vi positive strains. Vaccine based on Vi polysaccharide may not protect patients if the invading S. Typhi are negative for Vi. The lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is an essential component of S. Typhi outer membrane in which O-specific polysaccharide (OSP) is a protective antigen and universal candidate for vaccine development. In this study, S. Typhi Vi negative isolates were discriminated from Vi positive isolates through a duplex PCR using primers of fliC-d (599bp) and tviA (495bp) genes. The LPS of S. Typhi Vi negative isolates was extracted by hot phenol method and OSP was purified by core hydrolysis. The yield of extracted LPS was 91 mg/L and that of purified OSP was 49.14 mg/L of culture broth. LPS showed ladder like appearance by zinc imidazole staining following SDS-PAGE. Whole cell challenged mice sera were used for in vitro antigenicity evaluation of the purified LPS and OSP. The antigenicity was found adequate by immunodiffusion assay. To our knowledge, this is the first report of purification and antigenic evaluation of LPS of a Vi negative S. Typhi isolate. The purified OSP from S. Typhi Vi negative isolate may be coupled with a carrier protein to produce universal low cost conjugate vaccine candidates for use in typhoid endemic regions.
Neuromuscular Adaptations to Different Modes of Combined Strength and Endurance Training

Abstract The present study investigated neuromuscular adaptations between same-session combined strength and endurance training with 2 loading orders and different day combined training over 24 weeks. 56 subjects were divided into different day (DD) combined strength and endurance training (4–6 d·wk-1) and same-session combined training: endurance preceding strength (E+S) or vice versa (S+E) (2–3 d·wk-1). Dynamic and isometric strength, EMG, voluntary activation, muscle cross-sectional area and endurance performance were measured. All groups increased dynamic one-repetition maximum (p<0.001; DD 13±7%, E+S 12±9% and S+E 17±12%) and isometric force (p<0.05–0.01), muscle cross-sectional area (p<0.001) and maximal power output during cycling (p<0.001). DD and S+E increased voluntary activation during training (p<0.05–0.01). In E+S no increase in voluntary activation was detected after 12 or 24 weeks. E+S also showed unchanged and S+E increased maximum EMG after 24 weeks during maximal isometric muscle actions. A high correlation (p<0.001, r=0.83) between the individual changes in voluntary activation and maximal knee extension force was found for E+S during weeks 13–24. Neural adaptations showed indications of being compromised and highly individual relating to changes in isometric strength when E+S-training was performed, while gains in one-repetition maximum, endurance performance and hypertrophy did not differ between the training modes.
Fast and memory efficient mining of frequent closed itemsets

This paper presents a new scalable algorithm for discovering closed frequent itemsets, a lossless and condensed representation of all the frequent itemsets that can be mined from a transactional database. Our algorithm exploits a divide-and-conquer approach and a bitwise vertical representation of the database and adopts a particular visit and partitioning strategy of the search space based on an original theoretical framework, which formalizes the problem of closed itemsets mining in detail. The algorithm adopts several optimizations aimed to save both space and time in computing itemset closures and their supports. In particular, since one of the main problems in this type of algorithms is the multiple generation of the same closed itemset, we propose a new effective and memory-efficient pruning technique, which, unlike other previous proposals, does not require the whole set of closed patterns mined so far to be kept in the main memory. This technique also permits each visited partition of the search space to be mined independently in any order and, thus, also in parallel. The tests conducted on many publicly available data sets show that our algorithm is scalable and outperforms other state-of-the-art algorithms like CLOSET+ and FP-CLOSE, in some cases by more than one order of magnitude. More importantly, the performance improvements become more and more significant as the support threshold is decreased.
Daily aspirin use and cancer mortality in a large US cohort.

BACKGROUND A recent pooled analysis of randomized trials of daily aspirin for prevention of vascular events found a substantial reduction (relative risk [RR] = 0.63, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.49 to 0.82) in overall cancer mortality during follow-up occurring after 5 years on aspirin. However, the magnitude of the effect of daily aspirin use, particularly long-term use, on cancer mortality is uncertain. METHODS We examined the association between daily aspirin use and overall cancer mortality among 100 139 men and women with no history of cancer in the Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate multivariable-adjusted relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS Between 1997 and 2008, 5138 participants died from cancer. Compared with no use, daily aspirin use at baseline was associated with slightly lower cancer mortality, regardless of duration of daily use (for <5 years of use, RR = 0.92, 95% CI = 0.85 to 1.01; for ≥5 years of use, RR = 0.92, 95% CI = 0.83 to 1.02). Associations were slightly stronger in analyses that used updated aspirin information from periodic follow-up questionnaires and included 3373 cancer deaths (for <5 years of use, RR = 0.84, 95% CI = 0.76 to 0.94; for ≥5 years of use, RR = 0.84, 95% CI = 0.75 to 0.95). CONCLUSION These results are consistent with an association between recent daily aspirin use and modestly lower cancer mortality but suggest that any reduction in cancer mortality may be smaller than that observed with long-term aspirin use in the pooled trial analysis.