Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
[Epidemiology of sickle cell disease hospital admissions in Brazil].

OBJECTIVE Sickle cell disease is a hereditary disease, which affects mainly the black population. The aim of the present study was to analyze hospital admissions due to acute events resulting from sickle cell disease, at the epidemiological and clinical levels. METHODS The study population included 9,349 patients with sickle cell disease admitted to hospitals in Bahia, Rio de Janeiro, and Sao Paulo, between 2000 and 2002. The national hospital database of the Brazilian Healthcare System was used. Response variables were death and mean duration of hospital admission. Covariables included sex, age, type of admission, and hospital legal status. Proportions were compared using Chi-square or Fischer tests; for continuous variables, the Mann-Whitney or Kruskall-Wallis tests were used. RESULTS Median age ranged between 11.0 and 12.0 years, and 70% of admissions were of patients below age 20 years. Length of stay varied with age and type of admission. Emergency rooms were the most frequent form of admission (65.6 to 90.8%). Mortality was higher among adults. Median age of death was low (26.5 to 31.5 years). CONCLUSIONS Our results confirm the high morbidity among youngsters and show a predominance of death among young adults.
Drawing and interpreting data: Children's impressions of onchocerciasis and community-directed treatment with ivermectin (CDTI) in four onchocerciasis endemic countries in Africa

Although the depiction of a child leading a blind man is the most enduring image of onchocerciasis in Africa, research activities have hardly involved children. This paper aims at giving voice to children through drawings and their interpretation. The study was conducted in 2009 in Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Nigeria and Uganda. Children aged 6–16 years were asked to draw their perceptions of onchocerciasis and community-directed treatment with ivermectin (CDTI) in their communities. A total of 50 drawings were generated. The drawings depicted four main aspects of onchocerciasis: (1) the disease symptoms, (2) the negative consequences of onchocerciasis among children and in the community generally, (3) the ivermectin distribution process, and (4) the benefits or effects of taking ivermectin. Out of the 50 drawings, 30 were on symptoms, 7 on effects of the disease on children, 8 on distribution process, and 5 represented multiple perceptions on symptoms, drug distribution processes, benefits, and effects of treatment. The lack of clarity when treatment with ivermectin can be stopped in endemic areas requires working with children to ensure continued compliance with treatment into the future. Children's drawings should be incorporated into health education interventions.
Multistability, Basin Boundary Structure, and Chaotic Behavior in a Suspension Bridge Model

We consider the dynamics of the first vibrational mode of a suspension bridge, resulting from the coupling between its roadbed (elastic beam) and the hangers, supposed to be one-sided springs which respond only to stretching. The external forcing is due to time-periodic vortices produced by impinging wind on the bridge structure. We have studied some relevant dynamical phenomena in such a system, like periodic and quasiperiodic responses, chaotic motion, and boundary crises. In the weak dissipative limit the dynamics is mainly multistable, presenting a variety of coexisting attractors, both periodic and chaotic, with a highly involved basin of attraction structure.
THE EFFECT OF A NUTRITION EDUCATION PROGRAM ON NUTRITION KNOWLEDGE, DIETARY INTAKE, BODY COMPOSITION AND PERCEIVED SPORT PERFORMANCE AMONG HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETES

OF THESIS THE EFFECT OF A NUTRITION EDUCATION PROGRAM ON NUTRITION KNOWLEDGE, DIETARY INTAKE, BODY COMPOSITION AND PERCEIVED SPORT PERFORMANCE AMONG HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETES Nutrition knowledge, dietary intake, body composition and perceived sport performance were measured before and after an eight week nutrition intervention. The sample consisted of eleven male high school football athletes aged 14-18 years old. Baseline nutrition knowledge was higher than anticipated but fruit and vegetable intake was low. As a result of the nutrition intervention, vegetable intake improved from 0.94 servings per day to 2.02 servings per day (p=0.02). Of the eleven subjects in the study, eleven conceded to both performing and feeling better as a result of the nutrition intervention. The present study suggests that a nutrition intervention can improve dietary intake and perceived sport performance among adolescent athletes.
The Response of Megakaryocytes with Processes to Thrombin

Summary The response of megakaryocytes to thrombin (1-10 U/ml) has been examined by time-lapse cinemicrography and electron microscopy. The study was confined to mature megakaryocytes which had developed processes following incubation in vitro. The initial response of all cells was to undergo retraction of processes, behaviour thought to be linked with the depolymerization of microtubules which extend longitudinally through the processes. The majority of cells completely withdrew their processes, but about 30% responded differently and underwent only limited retraction, followed by secretion. Analysis of time-lapse film showed that processes from the latter group of cells had formed attachments with the coverslip prior to exposure to thrombin. Within the partially retracted processes of these cells, secretory granules were found to be clustered centripetally and enveloped by a rnicrofilamentous structure in the form of a cylinder. Vacuoles appeared, some of which were located outside the rnicrofilamentous structure. Microtubules were present, but many appeared disorientated. The shape of the rnicrofilamentous structure suggests that the cytoplasm is not organized into putative platelets at the time of process formation.
Reducing the Risk of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Children Following Natural Disasters

Abstract A significant number of children suffer long-term psychological disturbance following exposure to a natural disaster. Evidence suggests that a dose-response relationship exists, so that children and adolescents who experience the most intense or extensive exposure to the risk factors for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are likely to develop the most serious and persistent symptoms. Risk factors include gender, age, personality, extent of exposure to the natural disaster, amount of damage to property and infrastructure, witnessing the death or injury of others or perceiving a threat to one's own life. Knowing these factors enables various strategies to be put in place to decrease the risk of psychological disturbance following traumatic events. Reestablishing a sense of safety, security and normality is important in the aftermath of a natural disaster, and promoting social connectedness, positive family functioning and effective coping mechanisms can make children more resilient in the face of catastrophic events. This paper examines the risk and protective factors associated with the development of PTSD, and considers how schools can use this knowledge to contribute to the recovery effort and reduce the prevalence of PTSD among pupils in the wake of a natural disaster.
The effects of dexmedetomidine on pulmonary artery pressure in experiment.

AIM The primary purpose of this study is to assess the effects of dexmedetomidine (DEX) infusion on pulmonary artery pressures (PAP), heart rate (HR), and mean arterial pressure (MAP) in pigs. The secondary purpose is to evaluate whether DEX infusion via the pulmonary artery has any beneficial effect over the peripheral IV route. MATERIALS AND METHODS Sixteen healthy male pigs (25-35 kg) scheduled for laparoscopy training were used in this study. The animals were randomly allocated into two groups: Group I (n = 9): A loading dose of 1 μg/kg DEX was administered over 10 minutes followed by an infusion of 0.5 μg/kg/hr for one hour via the pulmonary artery catheter. Group II (n = 7): A loading dose of 1 μg/kg DEX was administered over 10 minutes followed by an infusion of 0.5 μg/kg/hr for one hour via the peripheral venous catheter. Mean PAP, HR, MAP, SpO2, and ETCO2 were recorded at 5, 10, 15, 30, 45, and 60 minutes after the initiation of the DEX infusion. RESULTS Heart rate and MAP were similar in both groups at all time points. Also, neither the HR nor the MAP deviated from the basal values in Groups I and II at any time point. The mean PAP values were similar in Groups I and II, and in Group I, the mean PAP values were similar to Group I's basal value at all time points. However, in Group II, the mean PAP values at 5, 45, and 60 minutes were significantly lower than Group II's basal value (p = 0.023, p = 0.041, p = 0.015, respectively). CONCLUSION DEX infusion did not elevate the mean PAP and the results from the administration of DEX through the peripheral vein and pulmonary artery were similar (Tab. 3, Ref. 13).
A Transdisciplinary Review of Deep Learning Research and Its Relevance for Water Resources Scientists

Deep learning (DL), a new generation of artificial neural network research, has transformed industries, daily lives, and various scientific disciplines in recent years. DL represents significant progress in the ability of neural networks to automatically engineer problem‐relevant features and capture highly complex data distributions. I argue that DL can help address several major new and old challenges facing research in water sciences such as interdisciplinarity, data discoverability, hydrologic scaling, equifinality, and needs for parameter regionalization. This review paper is intended to provide water resources scientists and hydrologists in particular with a simple technical overview, transdisciplinary progress update, and a source of inspiration about the relevance of DL to water. The review reveals that various physical and geoscientific disciplines have utilized DL to address data challenges, improve efficiency, and gain scientific insights. DL is especially suited for information extraction from image‐like data and sequential data. Techniques and experiences presented in other disciplines are of high relevance to water research. Meanwhile, less noticed is that DL may also serve as a scientific exploratory tool. A new area termed AI neuroscience, where scientists interpret the decision process of deep networks and derive insights, has been born. This budding subdiscipline has demonstrated methods including correlation‐based analysis, inversion of network‐extracted features, reduced‐order approximations by interpretable models, and attribution of network decisions to inputs. Moreover, DL can also use data to condition neurons that mimic problem‐specific fundamental organizing units, thus revealing emergent behaviors of these units. Vast opportunities exist for DL to propel advances in water sciences.
[Gastrointestinal symptoms in pediatric patients with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorders].

BACKGROUND Only a few studies have addressed the subject of physical manifestations in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and gastrointestinal (GI) complaints, although pharmacological treatments for ADHD may have GI symptoms as a main side effect. AIM The goal of this study was to assess whether children with ADHD have a higher frequency of GI symptoms compared with healthy children in the general population. METHOD The study group included 62 children with ADHD and 57 healthy children as a control group. The childrens' parents were asked to report on abdominal pain, diarrhea, constipation, encopresis, food intolerance or allergy. Height, weight and the medical data of the two groups were compared. RESULTS A higher frequency of food allergies was found in the ADHD group, but the relationship was at near significant levels only (p = 0.06), and open to criticism. CONCLUSION This study showed no obvious correlation between GI symptoms and ADHD in Israeli children.
Communication interaction in special education preschool classrooms

Objectives: The purpose of this research was to examine the key features of interactions between special education classroom teachers and children with disabilities. Opportunities for communication made available by the teachers and the responses from the children in five special education preschool classrooms were investigated. Results: The results showed that the 28.2% of coding interval bins contained a communication opportunity provided by the teachers. The mean percentages of the provided opportunities to request, name/comment, answer, and imitation were 10.06, 69.64, 1.2, and 19.08%, respectively. However, 42.0% of the provided opportunities for communication by the teachers did not receive a response from the children. Conclusions: In summary, the opportunities for communication were infrequently provided by the teachers and the children's responses to these opportunities were found to be infrequent in these classrooms. The four types of communication opportunities were not equally provided by the teachers, furthermore, the four types of the children's responses to these opportunities did not equally occur. Different implications for the research and clinical contexts were also provided.
Apolipoprotein E Gene Variants on the Risk of End Stage Renal Disease

Objective End-stage renal disease (ESRD) is a severe health concern over the world. Associations between apolipoprotein E (apoE) gene polymorphisms and the risk of ESRD remained inconclusive. This study aimed to investigate the association between apoE gene polymorphisms and ESRD susceptibility. Methods Databases including PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and the Cochrane Library were searched to find relevant studies. Meta-analysis method was used synthesize the eligible studies. Results Sixteen pertinent case-control studies which included 3510 cases and 13924 controls were analyzed. A signiﬁcant association was found between ε2 allele and the ESRD risk (odds ratio (OR) = 1.30, 95% conﬁdence interval (CI) 1.15–1.46, P < 0.0001; I 2 = 18%, P for heterogeneity = 0.24). The ε2ε3, ε2ε4, ε3ε3, ε3ε4, ε4ε4, ε3 and ε4 were not associated with the susceptibility of ESRD. In the subgroup analysis by ethnicity, there was a statistically significant association between ε2ε3 or ε2 allele and ESRD risk in East Asians (OR = 1.66, 95% CI 1.31–2.10, P < 0.0001; OR = 1.62, 95% CI 1.31–2.01, P < 0.0001, respectively), but not in Caucasians. E2 carriers had higher plasma apoE (mean difference = 16.24 mg/L, 95% CI 7.76-24.73, P = 0.0002) than the (ε3 + ε4) carriers in patients with ESRD. The publication bias was not significant. Conclusion The ε2 allele of apoE gene might increase the risk of ESRD. E2 carriers expressed higher level of plasma apoE in patients with ESRD. More well-designed studies are needed to conﬁrm these associations in the future.
The Role of Trust in Salesperson—Sales Manager Relationships

Leader-Member Exchange Theory (LMX) offers a way to better understand nuances of the salesperson-sales manager relationship. The study reported here employs leader-member exchange theory to evaluate how sales employees develop trust with their managers. Findings show that salespeople's perceptions of procedural justice positively influence salespeople's commitment to the organization, and thereby their satisfaction with the job. Suggestions are provided concerning how sales organizations can train managers to manage consistently and thereby build trust and commitment in salespeople.
Effect of Carbon Dioxide on Testing of Susceptibilities of Respiratory Tract Pathogens to Macrolide and Azalide Antimicrobial Agents

ABSTRACT The in vitro activities of erythromycin, azithromycin, and clarithromycin against 178 clinical isolates from the lower respiratory tract of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were determined by an agar dilution method. The plates were incubated in air alone or in 5% carbon dioxide. The MICs measured in air alone were lower for most isolates than those measured in 5% carbon dioxide, illustrating the “pH effect” of incubation in carbon dioxide. Testing of isolates in 5% carbon dioxide on pH-adjusted medium (pH 8.4) resulted in MICs of one or two doubling dilutions lower than those obtained on agar with a neutral pH. A bioassay of the three agents incubated in air and in 5% carbon dioxide resulted in a significant loss of activity of all three agents in the carbon dioxide-enriched atmosphere. However, this loss-of-activity effect was significantly reduced when the bioassay medium was adjusted to pH 8.4 prior to incubation in 5% carbon dioxide.
Aplicación de un programa de ejercicio físico para optimizar la motivación y los hábitos saludables en los adultos

La actividad fisica y unos adecuados habitos alimenticios son esenciales para desarrollar unos estilos de vida saludables en los sujetos. El objetivo de nuestro estudio fue mejorar las variables de estilos de vida que realzan la salud de las personas adultas y mayores a traves de un programa de ejercicio fisico con educacion nutricional y fomento de la motivacion intrinseca, empleando como marco teorico la Teoria de la Autodeterminacion y el Modelo Transteorico del cambio en ejercicio fisico. Para ello, se utilizo una muestra de 135 mujeres con edades comprendidas entre los 40 y 88 anos (59.66±10.76), participantes en programas de mantenimiento funcional. Se realizo un estudio cuasi-experimental con un diseno factorial 2x2 con contrabalanceo de los tratamientos y grupo control, de manera que los sujetos fueron comparados en diferentes momentos de la intervencion para evaluar el impacto de las variables independientes (programa de ejercicio fisico con educacion nutricional y programa de ejercicio fisico con fomento de la motivacion intrinseca) sobre las variables dependientes (tipos de motivacion, necesidades psicologicas basicas, estadios de ejercicio fisico, habitos alimenticios y pruebas de condicion fisica funcional). Los resultados mas relevantes concluyeron que existe una mejora de los grupos experimentales 1 y 2 con respecto al grupo control en las variables regulacion intrinseca (F1,134=17.95; p<.01; n2=.21), regulacion identificada (F1,134= 21.5; p<.01; n2=.25), regulacion introyectada (F1,134= 21.39; p<.01; n2=.25), regulacion externa (F1,134= 11.89; p<.01; n2=.15), autonomia (F1,134= 29.93; p<.01; n2=.31), competencia (F1,134= 29.35; p<.01; ? 2=.31), y habitos alimenticios (F1,134= 41.66; p<.01; n2=.39) despues de la aplicacion de los programas de intervencion. Se concluye que ambos programas de intervencion han tenido exito en las participantes de nuestro proyecto. Por ello, resulta de crucial importancia, promover dichos programas de intervencion en las clases de mantenimiento funcional, ya que fomentan los habitos de estilos de vida saludables entre sus participantes.
Pharmacokinetic study of the oral administration of procaterol hydrochloride hydrate 50 µg in healthy adult Japanese men.

BACKGROUND The pharmacokinetics of procaterol, a selective beta2-adrenergic agonist with a high intrinsic efficacy in man, could not be determined in humans when the drug was launched because of the low therapeutic dose and the low sensitivity of the analytical methods available at the time. However, a recently established analytical method using LC-MS/MS has been refined to enable the determination of the pharmacokinetic profile of procaterol and its metabolites in humans. METHODS Procaterol hydrochloride hydrate 50 µg was administered orally to 8 healthy adult Japanese men. Plasma and urine samples collected from the subjects were analyzed by use of LC-MS/MS for procaterol and its metabolites. RESULTS Following the oral administration of procaterol hydrochloride hydrate 50 µg, the plasma concentration of procaterol reached a Cmax of 136.4 pg/ml at ~1.44 h post-dose. The mean apparent terminal elimination half-life was ~3.83 h. DM-251 and DM-252, glucuronides of the optical isomers of procaterol, were the main metabolites and both were present in plasma at higher levels than procaterol in the plasma. The 24 h urinary excretion rates of unchanged procaterol, DM-251 and DM-252 were 15.7%, 12.4% and 11.2% of the procaterol administered, respectively. CONCLUSION This study describes the pharmacokinetic profiles of procaterol and its metabolites following the oral administration of procaterol hydrochloride hydrate 50 µg. Procaterol and its glucuronides were found at high levels in the plasma and urine.
Parenteral l-alanyl-l-glutamine improves 6-month outcome in critically ill patients*

Objective Glutamine is recognized as a conditionally indispensable amino acid. The purpose of the current study was to investigate whether supplemental l-alanyl-l-glutamine to parenteral nutrition can alter clinical outcome in intensive care unit patients. Design Prospective, open, randomized trial. Setting Postoperative intensive care unit of a university hospital. Patients Male and female critically ill patients with indications for parenteral nutrition and an expected stay on intensive care unit for ≥5 days. Interventions Patients were randomized to receive either standard parenteral nutrition or supplemented parenteral nutrition with l-alanyl-l-glutamine (0.3 g·kg−1·body weight−1 [bw] per day). Total amount of amino acids comprised 1.5 g·kg−1·bw−1 per day. Caloric support was managed by metabolic variables (glucose and triglyceride plasma values). Target values for energy supply were 3 g·kg−1·bw−1 carbohydrates and 1 g·kg−1·bw−1 fat per day. Measurements and Main Results Medical treatment, nutritional therapy, vital variables, and biochemical data were recorded. Clinical outcome was measured by average length of stay in the intensive care unit and hospital and the mortality in the intensive care unit and within 30 days and 6 months. A total of 144 patients were randomized; 95 patients were treated for ≥5 days and 68 patients for ≥9 days under standardized conditions. In the treatment group, plasma glutamine concentrations significantly increased within 6–9 days. Six-month survival was significantly improved for patients treated for ≥9 days (66.7% [glutamine supplemented] vs. 40% [control]). Conclusion Study results support the hypothesis that replacement of glutamine deficiency may correct the excess mortality in intensive care unit patients caused by inadequate parenteral nutrition.