Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Frequent Hangovers and Cardiovascular Mortality in Middle‐Aged Men

We studied the relation between frequent hangovers and cardiovascular mortality in a representative population sample of middle‐aged Finnish men who participated in the Kuopio Ischemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study. Complete data on alcohol consumption, hangover frequency, prior cardiovascular diseases, and risk factors were obtained for 2,160 non‐abstinent men. Frequent hangovers were rare in the three lowest alcohol consumption quartiles, but in the highest quartile, a total of 239 men (43.6%) reported having a hangover at least monthly. During an average follow‐up time of 6.7 years, these men had a 2.36‐fold (95% confidence interval = 1.02–5.48) risk of cardiovascular death compared with men with fewer hangovers, with adjustment for age and total alcohol consumption. The association was somewhat attenuated after adjustments for smoking, income, and prior cardiovascular diseases. Systolic blood pressure, body mass index, resting heart rate, or serum lipids had no appreciable role in the relation, but plasma fibrinogen concentration appeared as one possible pathway to increased risk of cardiovascular death in men who frequently experience hangovers. The findings underline the importance of preventive actions regarding not only the amount but also the way people consume alcohol.
Comparison of soft tissue balancing, femoral component rotation, and joint line change between the gap balancing and measured resection techniques in primary total knee arthroplasty

Background:This meta-analysis was designed to compare the accuracy of soft tissue balancing and femoral component rotation as well as change in joint line positions, between the measured resection and gap balancing techniques in primary total knee arthroplasty. Methods:Studies were included in the meta-analysis if they compared soft tissue balancing and/or radiologic outcomes in patients who underwent total knee arthroplasty with the gap balancing and measured resection techniques. Comparisons included differences in flexion/extension, medial/lateral flexion, and medial/lateral extension gaps (LEGs), femoral component rotation, and change in joint line positions. Finally, 8 studies identified via electronic (MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library) and manual searches were included. All 8 studies showed a low risk of selection bias and provided detailed demographic data. There was some inherent heterogeneity due to uncontrolled bias, because all included studies were observational comparison studies. Results:The pooled mean difference in gap differences between the gap balancing and measured resection techniques did not differ significantly (−0.09 mm, 95% confidence interval [CI]: −0.40 to +0.21 mm; P = 0.55), except that the medial/LEG difference was 0.58 mm greater for measured resection than gap balancing (95% CI: −1.01 to −0.15 mm; P = 0.008). Conversely, the pooled mean difference in femoral component external rotation (0.77°, 95% CI: 0.18° to 1.35°; P = 0.01) and joint line change (1.17 mm, 95% CI: 0.82 to 1.52 mm; P < 0.001) were significantly greater for the gap balancing than the measured resection technique. Conclusion:The gap balancing and measured resection techniques showed similar soft tissue balancing, except for medial/LEG difference. However, the femoral component was more externally rotated and the joint line was more elevated with gap balancing than measured resection. These differences were minimal (around 1 mm or 1°) and therefore may have little effect on the biomechanics of the knee joint. This suggests that the gap balancing and measured resection techniques are not mutually exclusive.
Novel lists of 7 +/- 2 known items can be reliably stored in an oscillatory short-term memory network: interaction with long-term memory.

This paper proposes a model for the short-term memory (STM) of unique lists of known items, as, for instance, a phone number. We show that the ability to accurately store such lists in STM depends strongly on interaction with the preexisting long-term memory (LTM) for individual items (e.g., digits). We have examined this interaction in computer simulations of a network based on physiologically realistic membrane conductances, synaptic plasticity processes, and brain oscillations. In the model, seven STMs can be kept active, each in a different gamma-frequency subcycle of a theta-frequency oscillation. Each STM is maintained and timed by an activity-dependent ramping process. LTM is stored by the strength of synapses in recurrent collaterals. The presence of preexisting LTM for an item greatly enhances the ability of the network to store an item in STM. Without LTM, the precise timing required to keep cells firing within a given gamma subcycle cannot be maintained and STM is gradually degraded. With LTM, timing errors can be corrected and the accuracy and order of items is maintained. This attractor property of STM storage is remarkable because it occurs even though there is no LTM that identifies which items are on the list or their order. Multiple known items can be stored in STM, even though their representation is overlapping. However, multiple, identical memories cannot be stored in STM, consistent with the psychophysical demonstration of repetition blindness. Our results indicate that meaningful computation (memory completion) can occur in the millisecond range during an individual gamma cycle.
Examining school-based pedometer step counts among children in grades 3 to 6 using different timetables.

BACKGROUND Advocates for the implementation of the Balanced School Day (BSD) schedule argue that this schedule will increase opportunities for physical activity. However, the relationship between this scheduling change and its impact on physical activity has not been examined. Thus, this study assessed levels of physical activity in students attending 2 different schools: 1 using the BSD and the other using the Traditional School Day (TSD) schedule. METHODS Participation of students between grades 3 and 6 was sought. Data were collected over 4 school days using pedometers. Independent Sample t tests and 1-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were performed. RESUTLS A total of 117 students participated. Overall, average daily step counts for boys (6972 ± 1952) were significantly higher than girls (5742 ± 1495; p < .001). These average step counts represent 47% and 48% of the recommended amount of steps needed for health benefits for children between the ages of 6 and 12. The average daily step count for students using the BSD schedule was 6017 (±1666), while the average daily step count for students using the TSD schedule was 6788 (±1987). The difference in steps (771) was statistically significant (p = .03). CONCLUSIONS These results do not support claims that the BSD offers increased physical activity. In fact, these results suggest that students enrolled in schools using the BSD schedule may have reduced daily physical activity. In addition, these results demonstrate that overall school-based physical activity is less than half of the recommended level; independent of school scheduling.
Weight Gain and Progression to Type 2 Diabetes in Women With a History of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus.

CONTEXT The effect of weight gain on the development of type 2 diabetes after gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is not fully understood in Asian women who have a relatively low body mass index (BMI). OBJECTIVE We investigated the effect of postpartum longitudinal BMI change on the development of diabetes in Korean women with a history of GDM. DESIGN AND SETTING The study included a hospital-based, multicenter, prospective cohort with median follow-up of 4.0 years. PARTICIPANTS A total of 418 women with previous GDM or gestational impaired glucose tolerance were recruited and underwent an oral glucose tolerance test at 6 weeks postpartum and annually thereafter. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE The risk of diabetes was analyzed according to the tertiles of BMI change. Changes in BMI were calculated between the initial postpartum visit and the last follow-up or at the onset of diabetes. RESULTS The BMI change in each tertile was -1.8 ± 1.1, -0.2 ± 0.3, and 1.6 ± 1.2 kg/m(2), respectively. We observed an increased risk of incident diabetes as the tertile of BMI change increased (8.6%, 12.6%, and 16.9%, P = .039). Postpartum BMI change was an independent predictor of diabetes in a multivariate Cox analysis (hazard ratio 1.27, 95% confidence interval 1.04-1.56, P = .021), even after adjusting for BMI at the last follow-up. In the highest tertile group, there was a significant deterioration in cardiovascular risk factors including blood pressure, lipid profile, and insulin sensitivity. CONCLUSIONS Postpartum increase in BMI is significantly associated with a risk of diabetes and deterioration of metabolic phenotypes in Korean GDM women.
Quantification of Poly(I:C)-Mediated Protection against Genital Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 Infection

ABSTRACT Alternative strategies for controlling the growing herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) epidemic are needed. A novel class of immunomodulatory microbicides has shown promise as antiherpetics, including intravaginally applied CpG-containing oligodeoxynucleotides that stimulate toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9). In the current study, we quantified protection against experimental genital HSV-2 infection provided by an alternative nucleic acid-based TLR agonist, polyinosine-poly(C) (PIC) (TLR3 agonist). Using a protection quantification paradigm, groups of mice were PIC treated and then subdivided into groups challenged with escalating doses of HSV-2. Using this paradigm, a temporal window of PIC efficacy for single applications was defined as 1 day prior to (prophylactic) through 4 h after (therapeutic) viral challenge. PIC treatment within this window protected against 10-fold-higher HSV-2 challenges, as indicated by increased 50% infectious dose values relative to those for vehicle-treated controls. Disease resolution and survival were significantly enhanced by repetitive PIC doses. Using optimal PIC regimens, cytokine induction was evaluated in murine vaginal lavages and in human vaginal epithelial cells. Similar induction patterns were observed, with kinetics that explained the limited durability of PIC-afforded protection. Daily PIC delivery courses did not generate sustained cytokine levels in murine vaginal fluids that would be indicative of local immunotoxicity. No evidence of immunotoxicity was observed in selected organs that were analyzed following repetitive vaginal PIC doses. Animal and in vitro data indicate that PIC may prove to be a valuable preventative microbicide and/or therapeutic agent against genital herpes by increasing resistance to HSV-2 and enhancing disease resolution following a failure of prevention.
Routing Metric Designs for Greedy, Face and Combined-Greedy-Face Routing

Different geographic routing protocols have different requirements on routing metric designs to ensure proper operation. Combining a wrong type of routing metric with a geographic routing protocol may produce unexpected results, such as geographic routing loops and unreachable nodes. In this paper, we propose a novel routing algebra system to investigate the compatibilities between routing metrics and three geographic routing protocols including greedy, face and combined-greedy- face routing. Four important algebraic properties, respectively named odd symmetry, transitivity, source independence and local minimum freeness, are defined in this algebra system. Based on these algebraic properties, the necessary and sufficient conditions for loop-free and delivery guaranteed routing are derived when greedy, face and combined-greedy-face routing serve as packet forwarding schemes or as path discovery algorithms respectively. Our work provides essential criterions for evaluating and designing geographic routing protocols.
A Appendix : Subadditivity of Expected Shortfall

Expected Shortfall (ES) in several variants has been proposed as remedy for the deficiencies of Value-at-Risk (VaR) which in general is not a coherent risk measure. In fact, most definitions of ES lead to the same results when applied to continuous loss distributions. Differences may appear when the underlying loss distributions have discontinuities. In this case even the coherence property of ES can get lost unless one took care of the details in its definition. We compare some of the definitions of Expected Shortfall, pointing out that there is one which is robust in the sense of yielding a coherent risk measure regardless of the underlying distributions. Moreover, this Expected Shortfall can be estimated effectively even in cases where the usual estimators for VaR fail.
Effect of neoadjuvant chemotherapy on platinum resistance in stage IIIC and IV epithelial ovarian cancer

AbstractIt remains controversial whether neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) followed by interval debulking surgery (IDS) induces chemoresistance in advanced epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) compared with primary debulking surgery (PDS). The aim of this study was to compare platinum-resistant recurrence following treatment with NACT-IDS or PDS in patients with stage IIIC and IV EOC.We retrospectively reviewed the records of 341 patients who underwent PDS or NACT-IDS for Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage IIIC or IV EOC between March 1990 and December 2010. Risk factors of platinum resistance, including NACT, postoperative residual tumor size, and various clinicopathological factors, were evaluated by univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. Survival analysis was performed by the Kaplan–Meier method and Cox regression modeling to measure overall survival (OS). Of 341 patients, 58 (17.0%) underwent NACT-IDS and 283 (83.0%) were treated with PDS. Twenty-nine (50.0%) patients developed platinum-resistant disease at first relapse after NACT-IDS and 99 (35.0%) patients recurred after PDS (P = 0.033). In the multivariate logistic regression analyses, NACT-IDS and postoperative residual tumor mass >1 cm were risk factors for platinum-resistant recurrence (adjusted odds ratios 2.950 and 2.915; 95% confidence intervals [CIs] 1.572–5.537 and 1.780–4.771, P = 0.001 and 0.000, respectively). Postoperative residual tumor mass >1 cm and platinum-resistant disease were significantly correlated with shorter OS (adjusted hazard ratios 1.579 and 4.078; 95% CI 1.193–2.089 and 3.074–5.412, P = 0.001 and 0.000, respectively), whereas NACT-IDS did not extend OS.NACT-IDS increases the risk of platinum-resistant recurrence in patients with stage IIIC and IV EOC.
Unilateral suppression of pharyngeal motor cortex to repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation reveals functional asymmetry in the hemispheric projections to human swallowing

Inhibitory patterns of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) were applied to pharyngeal motor cortex in order to establish its role in modulating swallowing activity and provide evidence for functionally relevant hemispheric asymmetry. Healthy volunteers underwent single pulse TMS before and for 60 min after differing intensities of 1 Hz rTMS (n= 9, 6 male, 3 female, mean age 34 ± 3 years) or theta burst stimulation (TBS) (n= 9, 6 male, 3 female, mean age 37 ± 4 years). Electromyographic responses recorded from pharynx and hand were used as a measure of cortico‐motor pathway excitability. Swallowing behaviour was then examined with a reaction time protocol, before and for up to 60 min after the most effective inhibitory protocol (1 Hz) applied to each hemisphere. Interventions were conducted on separate days and compared to sham using ANOVA. Only high intensity 1 Hz rTMS consistently suppressed pharyngeal motor cortex immediately and for up to 45 min (−34 ± 7%, P≤ 0.001). Adjacent hand and contralateral pharyngeal motor cortex showed no change in response (−15 ± 12%, P= 0.14 and 15 ± 12%, P= 0.45, respectively). When used to unilaterally disrupt each hemisphere, rTMS to pharyngeal motor cortex with the stronger responses altered normal (−12 ± 3%, P≤ 0.001) and fast (−9 ± 4%, P≤ 0.009) swallow times, not seen following rTMS to the contralateral cortex or after sham. Thus, suppression of pharyngeal motor cortex to rTMS is intensity and frequency dependent, which when applied to each hemisphere reveals functionally relevant asymmetry in the motor control of human swallowing.
Local Learnings from Local Voices: Exploring rural ni-Vanuatu perspectives of agricultural education and extension services in Santo, Vanuatu

Over the past 100 years, Vanuatu has seen the growth of a commercial agricultural sector through the influence of colonial interests. However, around 80 percent of the population still rely on semi-subsistence agriculture for their daily well-being. Agricultural education and extension resources operate across Vanuatu but are centralised around the Santo, the largest of Vanuatu’s 83 islands. However, their use by rural villages is limited despite growing recognition within rural communities that agricultural practices need to evolve in order to address issues such as climate change and food security. This led me to ask the questions: what are the ways in which villagers engage with these agricultural development resources; what influences whether they use these resources or not; and what would help improve engagement between villagers and resources? To answer these questions, I undertook this research using an indigenous Pacific research methodology which aligns the data collection approach and process with traditional practices of knowledge sharing and relationship building such as storytelling and open group discussions. This included living in three different villages, building relationship, conversing in Bislama, and conducting semi-structured group discussions in the traditional ni-Vanuatu format of storian. This research found an apparent disconnect between the rural village context and agricultural education and extension services on Santo. All three villages had minimal engagement with these resources, more regularly receiving agricultural information through other villagers. From the villagers’ perspective, in-village engagement is the most desirable and effective form of engagement. Perceptions of the present situation were dominantly negative with high travel costs, inconsistency in staff availability, past negative experiences with resources, education courses being too long and costly for many villages to attend and contextually misaligned information all influencing poor resource use. Villagers also highlighted the growing impact that climate change is having on food production, with changes to seasonal patterns, increasing weather extremes, and crop failures leading to dietary changes and growing food insecurity. However, villagers, in general, do recognise the potential benefits of agricultural development resources and do want greater engagement. Both past engagement examples and international examples offer options for a way forward and there are positive signs on the horizon. The need for more effective and community focused engagement is only going to increase due to climate change, growing urbanisation, and increasing food insecurity and greater recognition of the local perspective will be essential in order to address the challenges to come.
COLONIZATION OF THE MOUSE INTESTINE WITH ESCHERICHIA COLI

Young albino Swiss mice, of the NCS and NCS-D colonies, proved highly susceptible to the establishment of intestinal infection with an enteropathogenic strain of E. coli administered per os or by stomach tube. The period of highest susceptibility was rather short, extending from the day of birth to approximately 2 weeks of age. Adult NCS and NCS-D mice failed to become experimentally colonized with E. coli, even when large doses were administered per os on 3 consecutive days. The extent of colonization of the various parts of the gastrointestinal tract was related to the size of the infective dose. Many of the young mice died within 2 to 3 days following per os infection with large doses of enteropathogenic E. coli. However, practically all the animals which survived cleared their intestinal infection at approximately the same age. For example, in mice infected with 23 x 106 bacteria, colonization of the intestinal tract usually came to an abrupt end when the animals were 24 to 28 days old, irrespective of the age at which they had been infected. There is suggestive evidence that the acquisition of resistance with age, and the ability of adult animals to control the intestinal infection, are related to the development in the gastrointestinal tract of a microbiota which is antagonistic to E. coli.
The Prevalence of Joint Contractures, Pressure Sores, Painful Shoulder, Other Pain, Falls, and Depression in the Year After a Severely Disabling Stroke

Background and Purpose— Complications after stroke have been shown to impede rehabilitation, lead to poor functional outcome, and increase cost of care. This inception cohort study sought to investigate the prevalence of immobility-related complications during the first year after severely disabling stroke in relation to functional independence and place of residence. Methods— Over a 7-month period, 600 stroke survivors were identified in the hospital through the Nottingham Stroke Register. Those who had a Barthel Index score ≤10 3 months poststroke and did not have a primary diagnosis of dementia were eligible to participate in the study. Assessments of complications were carried out at 3, 6, and 12 months poststroke. Results— Complications were recorded for 122 stroke survivors (mean age, 76 years; 57% male). Sixty-three (52%) had significant language impairment and of the remaining 59 who were able to complete an assessment of cognitive function, 10 (8%) were cognitively impaired. The numbers of reported complications over 12 months, in rank order, were falls, 89 (73%); contracture, 73 (60%); pain, 67 (55%); shoulder pain, 64 (52%); depression, 61 (50%); and pressure sores, 26 (22%). A negative correlation was found between Barthel Index score and the number of complications experienced (low scores on the Barthel Index correlate with a high number of complications). The highest relative percentages of complications were experienced by patients who were living in a nursing home at the time of their last completed assessment. Conclusions— Immobility-related complications are very common in the first year after a severely disabling stroke. Patients who are more functionally dependent in self-care are likely to experience a greater number of complications than those who are less dependent. Trials of techniques to limit and prevent complication are required.
Obesity in asthma: more neutrophilic inflammation as a possible explanation for a reduced treatment response

The incidence of asthma and obesity is increasing worldwide, and reports suggest that obese patients have more severe asthma. We investigated whether obese asthma patients have more severe airway obstruction and airway hyper‐responsiveness and a different type of airway inflammation than lean asthmatics. Furthermore, we assessed the effect of obesity on corticosteroid treatment response.