Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Serum Retinol, Iron Status and Body Composition of Lactating Women in Nandi, Kenya

Background: Maternal vitamin A and iron status was investigated among lactating mothers in a rural community in Kenya. The aim of the study was to establish the prevalence and the relationship of these key nutrients to maternal body composition. Methods: Eighty-eight mothers provided samples of breast milk and blood for determination of breast milk vitamin A, serum retinol and ferritin. Estimators of body composition were based on the mother’s weight, height and skinfold measurements. Results: A total of 78.1% women had breast milk retinol <1.05 µmol/l with 38 and 62% having lactated for a period of <4 and >4 months, respectively. Prevalence of severely deficient serum retinol <0.35 µmol/l and ferritin <12 µg/l was 10 and 37%, respectively. Women with serum ferritin <12 µg/l had significantly lower average hemoglobin (p < 0.01), hematocrit (p < 0.01) and serum retinol (p < 0.05). Serum retinol of mothers who had lactated for <4 months was significantly but negatively correlated with total body fat (r = –0.40; p < 0.05). With a lactation period of >4 months a close relationship was found between serum retinol and hemoglobin (r = 0.26; p <0.01), serum retinol and serum ferritin (r = 0.20; p < 0.05), and fat free mass significantly but negatively correlated with breast milk fat (r = –0.27; p < 0.05). Serum retinol in combination with hematocrit significantly affected both maternal hemoglobin (p < 0.01) and serum ferritin (p < 0.01). Conclusion: A high prevalence of vitamin A and iron deficiency was observed in this group of lactating women. Low levels of fat mass were directly related to these indicators of malnutrition.
What shall I be, what must I be: neural correlates of personal goal activation

How is the brain engaged when people are thinking about their hopes, dreams, and obligations? Regulatory focus theory postulates two classes of personal goals and motivational systems for pursuing them. Ideal goals, such as hopes and aspirations, are pursued via the promotion system through “making good things happen. ” Ought goals, such as obligations or responsibilities, are pursued via the prevention system through “keeping bad things from happening. ” This study investigated the neural correlates of ideal and ought goal priming using an event-related fMRI design with rapid masked stimulus presentations. We exposed participants to their self-identified ideal and ought goals, yoked-control words and non-words. We also examined correlations between goal-related activation and measures of regulatory focus, behavioral activation/inhibition, and negative affect. Ideal priming led to activation in frontal and occipital regions as well as caudate and thalamus, whereas prevention goal priming was associated with activation in precuneus and posterior cingulate cortex. Individual differences in dysphoric/anxious affect and regulatory focus, but not differences in BAS/BIS strength, were predictive of differential activation in response to goal priming. The regions activated in response to ideal and ought goal priming broadly map onto the cortical midline network that has been shown to index processing of self-referential stimuli. Individual differences in regulatory focus and negative affect impact this network and appeared to influence the strength and accessibility of the promotion and prevention systems. The results support a fundamental distinction between promotion and prevention and extend our understanding of how personal goals influence behavior.
Do Nonpatients Underestimate the Quality of Life Associated with Chronic Health Conditions because of a Focusing Illusion?

Background. A number of studies show that the general public often estimates that the quality of life (QOL) associated with various health conditions is worse than patients say it is. These studies raise the possibility that people overestimate the impact that unfamiliar health conditions will have on their quality of life. One possible reason people overestimate this is because they are susceptible to a focusing illusion—when asked to imagine themselves in unfamiliar circumstances, people overestimate the emotional impact of those features of their life that would change. Methods. The authors surveyed members of the general public to test the hypothesis that their QOL ratings of hypothetical health conditions would be higher (indicating a better quality of life) after thinking about how the health condition would affect a broad range of life domains. Across 3 experiments, the authors varied the health conditions people were asked to consider (either paraplegia, below-the-knee amputation, or partial blindness), the life domains they were asked to consider, the response mode with which they evaluated how each health condition would affect each life domain, whether subjects rated the health condition before and after considering life domains or only after, and whether subjects rated their own current quality of life first. Results. Across 3 experiments, using 10 different questionnaire versions, only 1 instance was found in which subjects’ ratings were significantly higher after thinking about the effect of the health condition on life domains than before, and the magnitude of this increase was small. Conclusion. It could not be established that a focusing illusion contributes significantly to the discrepancy in QOL ratings of patients and nonpatients. Further research should explore other factors that could contribute to the discrepancy or other ways of testing for the influence of a focusing illusion.
A UK multicentre study of the antimicrobial susceptibility of bacterial pathogens causing urinary tract infection.

OBJECTIVES To determine the prevalence of resistance amongst urinary tract pathogens against antimicrobials used to treat urinary tract infections (UTIs) in the UK to provide data to help direct empirical therapy. METHOD During 1999-2000, a total of 1291 bacterial isolates causing UTI were collected from 8 centres in the UK. Isolates were cultured from patients with (1). community-acquired UTI in those less than 65 years old (397), (2). hospital-acquired UTI other than those admitted with pyelonephritis (394), (3). pyelonephritis (108) and (4). community-acquired UTI in those greater than 65 years old (392). After re-identification, MICs for a range of antimicrobials were determined and interpreted using NCCLS procedures and interpretive guidelines. RESULTS Escherichia coli was the predominant pathogen in all categories but the total percentage for each category varied (56.3-77.3%). The next three pathogens of importance were Enterococcus faecalis, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Proteus mirabilis which varied in prevalence slightly from category to category. The activity of amoxycillin against E. coli (51.3% susceptible) was greatly reduced as a result of beta-lactamase production and only partially restored by the addition of clavulanic acid (78.8% susceptible). Cefuroxime was very active against E. coli using parenteral form breakpoints (97.1% susceptible) but less so using oral form breakpoints (68.6% susceptible). Cefuroxime was inactive against Enterococcus spp. and Pseudomonas spp. Nitrofurantoin was very active against isolates of E. coli (96.3% susceptible) and E. faecalis but not against K. pneumoniae, P. mirabilis or Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Overall susceptibility to trimethoprim ranged from 58.1% to 84.5% for the most prevalent pathogens. Ciprofloxacin was highly active against the UTI pathogens examined in this study with susceptibilities of between 88.6% and 97.7% for the most prevalent pathogens (E. coli, n=864, 97.7% susceptible) and was the only oral agent tested with activity against Pseudomonas spp. CONCLUSION These data provide much needed information on the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance amongst pathogens currently causing UTI in the UK.
School sector and socioeconomic inequalities in university entrance in Australia: the role of the stratified curriculum

One of the more persuasive arguments for school sector differences in students' educational performance is the role of the senior school curriculum, which is stratified, socially selective, and has an important bearing on educational outcomes. In addition, the stratified curriculum may also contribute to socioeconomic inequalities in education by directing students from higher socioeconomic backgrounds to the most beneficial aspects of the curriculum. This paper finds that course taken has strong effects on university entrance performance and participation, but its effects are largely independent of school sector and socioeconomic background. Only about 10% of the effect of attending an independent school on tertiary entrance performance can be attributed to course type (net of other factors) and about 14% of the effect of socioeconomic background. This suggests that curriculum stratification plays only a minor role in mediating the influences of school sector and socioeconomic background on educational outcomes.
Comparative Genomics of Mycoplasma: Analysis of Conserved Essential Genes and Diversity of the Pan-Genome

Mycoplasma, the smallest self-replicating organism with a minimal metabolism and little genomic redundancy, is expected to be a close approximation to the minimal set of genes needed to sustain bacterial life. This study employs comparative evolutionary analysis of twenty Mycoplasma genomes to gain an improved understanding of essential genes. By analyzing the core genome of mycoplasmas, we finally revealed the conserved essential genes set for mycoplasma survival. Further analysis showed that the core genome set has many characteristics in common with experimentally identified essential genes. Several key genes, which are related to DNA replication and repair and can be disrupted in transposon mutagenesis studies, may be critical for bacteria survival especially over long period natural selection. Phylogenomic reconstructions based on 3,355 homologous groups allowed robust estimation of phylogenetic relatedness among mycoplasma strains. To obtain deeper insight into the relative roles of molecular evolution in pathogen adaptation to their hosts, we also analyzed the positive selection pressures on particular sites and lineages. There appears to be an approximate correlation between the divergence of species and the level of positive selection detected in corresponding lineages.
In vivo two-photon calcium imaging of neuronal networks

Two-photon calcium imaging is a powerful means for monitoring the activity of distinct neurons in brain tissue in vivo. In the mammalian brain, such imaging studies have been restricted largely to calcium recordings from neurons that were individually dye-loaded through microelectrodes. Previous attempts to use membrane-permeant forms of fluorometric calcium indicators to load populations of neurons have yielded satisfactory results only in cell cultures or in slices of immature brain tissue. Here we introduce a versatile approach for loading membrane-permeant fluorescent indicator dyes in large populations of cells. We established a pressure ejection-based local dye delivery protocol that can be used for a large spectrum of membrane-permeant indicator dyes, including calcium green-1 acetoxymethyl (AM) ester, Fura-2 AM, Fluo-4 AM, and Indo-1 AM. We applied this dye-loading protocol successfully in mouse brain tissue at any developmental stage from newborn to adult in vivo and in vitro. In vivo two-photon Ca2+ recordings, obtained by imaging through the intact skull, indicated that whisker deflection-evoked Ca2+ transients occur in a subset of layer 2/3 neurons of the barrel cortex. Thus, our results demonstrate the suitability of this technique for real-time analyses of intact neuronal circuits with the resolution of individual cells.
Abdominal fat pad aspiration biopsy for tissue confirmation of systemic amyloidosis: Specificity, positive predictive value, and diagnostic pitfalls

Abdominal fat pad fine‐needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) is considered the method of choice for confirmation of systemic amyloidosis. Due to our impression that positive results are rare in our FNA service, we retrospectively analyzed our results. Forty‐five samples collected from 45 patients over 3 yr were reviewed. Of the 7 patients with positive Congo red‐stained FNAB specimens, all 7 (100%) had documented amyloidosis. Of the 33 patients with negative Congo red fat samples, 28 (85%) were disease‐free. Of the 5 patients with inadequate samples, 2 (40%) were later diagnosed with disease. We demonstrate excellent specificity (100%). The positive predictive value, documented in only a few previous studies, is likewise excellent (100%). Sensitivity is low (58%) and inadequacy is high (11%). Improvement in technique, such as concurrent cell block preparation, may help avoid inadequate specimens. Difficulties in confirming amyloidosis also include interpretation of the Congo red stain (pale‐stained amyloid fibrils and collagen birefringence). Diagn. Cytopathol. 2001;24:181–185. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The Relationship of Television Viewing with Attitude Strength and Extremity: Implications for the Cultivation Effect

The relationship of television viewing level with attitude strength and attitude extremity was investigated. Attitude accessibility was used as an indicator of attitude strength and was operationalized as the response latencies associated with the attitude judgments. Fifty-one students who were either very heavy soap opera viewers (> 4 hrs. per week) or very light soap opera viewers (< 1 hr. per week) provided attitude judgments pertaining to marital problems, owning expensive products, and distrust of people. Regression analyses indicated that heavy viewers showed significantly more distrust and a greater likelihood that they would experience marital problems than did light viewers, consistent with a cultivation effect (Gerbner & Gross, 1976). Over and above the effects of attitude extremity, heavy viewers also exhibited stronger attitudes than light viewers, as evidenced by significantly shorter latencies for all three attitude measures. Both the effects of attitude strength and extremity held in the pr.
Cultural Variations in the Construction of Personal Narratives: Central American and European American Mothers' Elicitation Styles

This study examined cultural variations in narrative elicitation styles among 2 groups of mothers: Spanish-speaking Central Americans and English-speaking European Americans. Thirty-one working-class mothers and their preschool children were visited in their homes and were asked to talk about 4 past events the children had experienced. Results showed that Central and European American mothers' elicitation styles differed by emphasizing different aspects of the narrative interaction. Central American mothers' elicitation style placed greater emphasis on conversational narrative aspects, whereas European American mothers' style focused to a greater extent on the organizational narrative aspects of the interaction. Results are discussed in relation to cultural patterns of socialization and communication.
Relation between use of health check ups starting in middle age and demand for inpatient care by elderly people in Japan.

OBJECTIVE--To find out whether there is any correlation between the use of general health check ups (provided for by the Health Services for the Elderly Act 1982) by insured Japanese residents aged 40 or older and demand by the elderly for inpatient care. DESIGN--A questionnaire was posted in 1988 to municipal offices of Japanese cities. All questionnaires were returned with data for 1983 and 1986. SETTING--All 509 Japanese cities with a population of 30,000-199,999. SUBJECTS--All people aged 40 or older who hold a resident card and are not offered health examinations at work are eligible for general health check ups. The questionnaire also inquired about use of inpatient care by elderly residents (aged 70 or older) who were covered by national health insurance. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--Correlation coefficients between the rates of use of general health check ups and mean annual bed days for the elderly. Comparison of relative changes by analysis of correlation between improvement indices in mean bed days and mean inpatient fee. RESULTS--In cities with relatively high rates of use of health check ups both the mean annual bed days and the mean inpatient fee for the elderly tended to be low. Correlation coefficients between the logarithmic rates of use of check ups and mean bed days by sizes of cities and number of beds were all negative values. There tended to be more correlation between improvement indices for rate of use of check ups and both mean bed days and mean inpatient fee with higher rates of use in 1983, and the correlation was significant for rates of 60% or more. CONCLUSIONS--Strong health service programmes that start in middle age decrease the demand for inpatient care of the elderly. It was estimated that in a single year from 1985 to 1986, when there was an increase in the rate of use of check ups from 25.5% to 27.6%, the reduction in the number of bed days for the total of 8.5 million elderly insured people was 2.21 million bed days.
"A Sin against Childhood": Progressive Education and the Crusade to Abolish Homework, 1897-1941

No item on the nation's educational reform agenda seems more solidly grounded than support for homework--indeed, the more the better. But today's consensus on the virtues of homework represents a sharp break with the past. Many "progressive" educational experts of the early twentieth century regarded homework as inconsistent with the best pedagogical thinking. They lobbied--often successfully--for school policies designed to curtail or eliminate homework. Unlike many other central components of American schooling, which remained largely unchanged over long periods of time, homework has been distinguished by major shifts in policy and practice over the course of the century.
Brazilian Journal of Chemical Engineering UASB REACTOR STARTUP FOR THE TREATMENT OF MUNICIPAL WASTEWATER FOLLOWED BY ADVANCED OXIDATION PROCESS

The present study was done to shorten the start-up time of up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor. Two different nutrients were used during the UASB start-up period, which was designed to decrease the hydraulic retention time (HRT) from 48 to 24 and 12 to 6 hrs at average temperatures of 25-34 oC. In the first stage, start-up was with glucose for 14 days and then the reactor was also fed with macroand micronutrients as a synthetic nutrient influent (SNI) from 15 to 45 days as the second stage. For the control, a second reactor was kept on glucose feeding from day 1 to 45. The removal efficiencies of the chemical oxygen demand (COD) were 80% and 98% on the 6 and 32 day of the first and second stage, respectively. The maximum substrate removal rate of 0.08 mg COD mg VSS d was observed for glucose and synthetic nutrient influent (SNI) on the 8 and 40 days, respectively. When the reactor reached the maximum COD removal efficiency it was then shifted to municipal wastewater (MWW) mixed with industrial wastewater. The HRT was reduced gradually with a one week gap while treating MWW. For further cleaning, the UASB effluent was treated with 40% waste hydrogen peroxide. The whole integrated treatment process was successful to reduce the COD by 99%, total suspended solids (TSS) by 73%, total nitrogen (TN) by 84% and turbidity by 67%.
Evidence‐based practice in educating deaf and hard‐of‐hearing children: teaching to their cognitive strengths and needs

This paper examines research findings concerning the loci of the pervasive academic underachievement among deaf and hard‐of‐hearing (DHH) children and issues associated with interventions and instructional methods that could help to reduce or eliminate it. Investigators have hypothesised that at least 50% of the variability in DHH students' achievement may be because of instructional factors, and several studies have indicated that when taught by experienced teachers of the deaf in mixed classrooms, DHH students may gain just as much as their hearing peers. Only recently, however, have findings begun to emerge concerning related language and cognitive differences between DHH and hearing students as well as instructional differences between teachers with and without experience in teaching DHH students. Building on convergent evidence from such studies offers the prospect of a significant improvement in academic outcomes for those children in the future.
Effect of Normal Aging Versus Hypertension, Abnormal Body Mass Index, and Diabetes Mellitus on White Matter Hyperintensity Volume

Background and Purpose— The natural history of white matter hyperintensity (WMH) progression resulting from normal aging versus comorbid vascular insults remains unclear. Therefore we investigated age-related differences in WMH volumes among a group with comorbid hypertension, abnormal body mass index, and diabetes mellitus to a normal aging group drawn from the same population lacking any of these comorbidities. Methods— WMH volumes were acquired using 3T MRI for 2011 Dallas Heart Study participants. The slope of the WMH versus age regression was compared between normal and comorbidity groups <50 and ≥50 years of age where a change in slope was demonstrated. Results— Aging was linearly associated with greater log WMH volume for both normal (P=0.02) and comorbidity (P<0.0001) groups. Beyond 50 years of age, more rapid increases in WMH volumes for age were seen in the group with comorbidities (P<0.0001) but not in the normal group (P=0.173). The between-group difference in slope of expected WMH for age was significantly greater in the comorbidity groups ≥50 years of age (P=0.0008) but not <50 years of age (P=0.752). Conclusions— After 50 years of age, but not before, comorbid hypertension, obesity, and diabetes mellitus were associated with significantly larger WMH volumes for age compared with a normal aging group lacking these conditions. These results support the assertion that age-related differences in WMH volumes are significantly increased in the presence of comorbidities, but the effect is only detectable after 50 years of age.