Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Equally Poor Outcomes to Pegylated Interferon-based Therapy in African Americans and Hispanics With Chronic Hepatitis C Infection

Objectives Treatment response to pegylated interferon based regimen is different between African Americans and Whites, but little comparable data is available comparing Hispanics and African Americans. Patients We retrospectively evaluated the rate of success in the treatment completion and response to peginterferon α-2a or α-2b plus ribavirin in 103 (male:female-69:34) hepatitis C virus (HCV)-polymerase chain reaction positive patients that included 68 Hispanic and 35 African Americans. Methods Patients were treated with peginterferon α-2a 180 mcg/wk (n=25) or peginterferon α-2b 1.5 mcg/kg/wk (N=78) and ribavirin 1000 to 1200 mg/d for 24 weeks (genotype 2 and 3) or 48 weeks (genotype 1 and 4) based on the genotype of the patient. Treatment was discontinued if the patients failed to have a 2-log drop in viral load after 12 weeks of treatment. Primary aim of the study was to evaluate success in completing a scheduled duration of pegylated interferon and ribavirin treatment in patients with chronic HCV infection and the reasons for discontinuation of the treatment. The secondary aim was to look for the end of treatment virologic response and sustained virologic response. The analysis was conducted by intention-to-treat. Results Of the 103 patients included in the study, 50 (48.5%) patients dropped out of the treatment because of side effects of the drug or noncompliance to the treatment protocol or alternate reasons; 44 (42.7%) of them could not continue beyond 12 weeks of therapy. There were no significant differences in the drop out rate between the African American [15 (43%)] and Hispanic [35 (51.5%)] patients (P=0.41). Overall, 41% of the patients completed the scheduled 24 week or 48 week treatment. HCV genotype-1 was the most prevalent genotype in both African Americans and Hispanics (88.6% vs. 75%, P=0.10). Overall end of the treatment response (ETR) was 29.1% (30/103) and sustained virologic response (SVR) was 23.3% (24/103) in this population. No significant differences were noted in the ETR (20% vs. 34%, P=0.14) and the SVR (20% vs. 25%, P=0.57) between the African Americans and Hispanics. When data were analyzed by genotype, overall SVR rates were 14.6% (12/82) in genotype 1 versus 57% (12/21) in genotype 2/3/4 (P<0.0001). Both these ethnic groups had comparable response rates when only patients with genotype-1 were considered 5/31 (16.1%) versus 7/51 (13.7%, P=0.76). Conclusions A significant proportion of the African Americans and Hispanics referred for HCV treatment with pegylated interferon dropped out early in the therapy, suggesting possible racial, socioeconomic, and cultural barriers in successful treatment for chronic HCV infection. Overall, both groups had similar poor response rates, well below those reported for White patients. As is true for the general population, patients with nongenotype 1 infection had a significantly better ETR and SVR.
Dietary patterns and risk of cervical cancer: a case-control study in Uruguay

In the time period 1996-2004, a case-control study on diet and cervical cancer was conducted at the National Cancer Institute in Uruguay. The study included 268 cases and 536 controls with non-neoplastic diseases. The foods and beverages in the food-frequency questionnaire were included in a factor analytic model. This method retained three factors which were labeled as the drinker, red meat, and prudent patterns. The model explained 60% of the variance. Whereas the red meat and drinker patterns were directly associated with the risk of cervical cancer (OR for red meat pattern 1.79, 95% CI 1.12-2.86), on the other hand, the prudent pattern was inversely associated with cervical cancer (OR 0.60, 95% CI 0.38-0.93). To our knowledge, this study was the first one using factor analysis in order to elucidate the role of the diet in relation with cervical cancer.
Compartment-specific immunity in the human gut: properties and functions of dendritic cells in the colon versus the ileum

Objective Dendritic cells (DC) mediate intestinal immune tolerance. Despite striking differences between the colon and the ileum both in function and bacterial load, few studies distinguish between properties of immune cells in these compartments. Furthermore, information of gut DC in humans is scarce. We aimed to characterise human colonic versus ileal DC. Design Human DC from paired colonic and ileal samples were characterised by flow cytometry, electron microscopy or used to stimulate T cell responses in a mixed leucocyte reaction. Results A lower proportion of colonic DC produced pro-inflammatory cytokines (tumour necrosis factor-α and interleukin (IL)-1β) compared with their ileal counterparts and exhibited an enhanced ability to generate CD4+FoxP3+IL-10+ (regulatory) T cells. There were enhanced proportions of CD103+Sirpα− DC in the colon, with increased proportions of CD103+Sirpα+ DC in the ileum. A greater proportion of colonic DC subsets analysed expressed the lymph-node-homing marker CCR7, alongside enhanced endocytic capacity, which was most striking in CD103+Sirpα+ DC. Expression of the inhibitory receptor ILT3 was enhanced on colonic DC. Interestingly, endocytic capacity was associated with CD103+ DC, in particular CD103+Sirpα+ DC. However, expression of ILT3 was associated with CD103− DC. Colonic and ileal DC differentially expressed skin-homing marker CCR4 and small-bowel-homing marker CCR9, respectively, and this corresponded to their ability to imprint these homing markers on T cells. Conclusions The regulatory properties of colonic DC may represent an evolutionary adaptation to the greater bacterial load in the colon. The colon and the ileum should be regarded as separate entities, each comprising DC with distinct roles in mucosal immunity and imprinting.
Metabolic control in patients with schizophrenia treated with amisulpride or olanzapine

The use of certain atypical antipsychotics has been associated with metabolic disturbances. We have assessed the evolution of body weight and glycaemia during a 6-month randomized comparative trial of amisulpride and olanzapine. Three hundred and seventy-seven adult patients with schizophrenia were randomized to either amisulpride (200–800 mg/day) or olanzapine (5–20 mg/day) for 6 months. Body weight and fasting blood glucose were measured. Both treatments showed comparable antipsychotic activity. Weight gain over the study was significantly greater (P=0.0004) in the olanzapine group (3.9±5.3 kg) than in the amisulpride group (1.6±4.9 kg). Mean fasting blood glucose increased in the olanzapine group by 4.42 mg/dl to a mean maximum value (118±38 mg/dl). In the amisulpride group, mean glucose levels fell by 2.82 mg/dl. The difference between groups was significant at 2 (P=0.0066) and 6 months (P=0.017). One olanzapine-treated patient was diagnosed with diabetes. Metabolic changes in the amisulpride group were restricted to patients with high body mass index at inclusion. At doses that provide comparable control of psychosis, treatment with olanzapine was associated with greater increase in weight and blood glucose compared with amisulpride. This should be taken into account in assessing risk–benefit of treatment options in schizophrenia.
Novel cellular bouton structure activated by ATP in the vascular wall of porcine retinal arterioles.

PURPOSE The retinal blood flow is regulated by the tone of resistance arterioles, which is influenced by purinergic compounds such as adenosine and adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) released from the retinal tissue. However, it is unknown what cellular elements in the perivascular retina are responsible for the effect of purines on the tone of retinal arterioles. METHODS Porcine retinal arterioles were loaded with the calcium-sensitive fluorophore Oregon green. The vessels were mounted in a confocal myograph for simultaneous recordings of tone and calcium activity in cells of the vascular wall during stimulation with ATP and adenosine, with and without modifiers of these compounds. Additionally, immunohistochemistry was used to localize elements with calcium activity in the vascular wall. RESULTS Hyperfluorescence indicating calcium activity was recorded in a population of abundant round boutons interspersed in a network of vimentin-positive processes located immediately external to the smooth muscle cell layer but internal to the perivascular glial cells. These structures showed calcium activity when the vessel was relaxed with ATP but not when it was relaxed with adenosine. Ryanodine reduced calcium activity in the boutons, whereas the ATP antagonist adenosine-5'-O-(α, β- methylene diphosphate) reduced calcium activity in both the boutons and vascular tone. CONCLUSIONS The vasodilating effect of purines in porcine retinal tissue involves ATP-dependent calcium activity in a layer of cellular boutons located external to the vascular smooth muscle cells and internal to the perivascular glial cells.
A Review of Research on Moral Injury in Combat Veterans

The moral injury construct has been proposed to describe the suffering some veterans experience when they engage in acts during combat that violate their beliefs about their own goodness or the goodness of the world. These experiences are labeled transgressive acts to identify them as potentially traumatic experiences distinct from the fear-based traumas associated with posttraumatic stress disorder. The goal of this article was to review empirical and clinical data relevant to transgressive acts and moral injury, to identify gaps in the literature, and to encourage future research and interventions. We reviewed literature on 3 broad arms of the moral injury model proposed by Litz and colleagues (2009): (a) the definition, prevalence, and potential correlates of transgressive acts (e.g., military training and leadership, combat exposure, and personality), (b) the relations between transgressive acts and the moral injury syndrome (e.g., self-handicapping, self-injury, demoralization), and (c) some of the proposed mechanisms of moral injury genesis (e.g., shame, guilt, social withdrawal, and self-condemnation). We conclude with recommendations for future research for veterans suffering with moral injury.
The Rogerian Fully Functioning Person

Two studies examined the characteristics of the Rogerian fully functioning person from the positive psychology perspective. Based on the findings of extant research in support of the Rogerian metatheoretical model, indicators were selected to represent characteristics constituting the fully functioning person. Using confirmatory factor analysis, a single factor structure of the fully functioning person was assessed with young adults aged 16 to 19 years (x¯ = 16.86). Participants of both studies completed measures of life satisfaction, positive thoughts and feelings, authenticity, organismic valuing, aspirations, basic psychological needs, anxiety, and strengths use. Participants of Study 2 also completed a measure of character strengths endorsement. Analyses revealed that variables consistent with the Rogerian fully functioning person loaded positively on a single “fully functioning person” factor. Overall, results suggest that the fully functioning person is high in life satisfaction, has increased positive thoughts and feelings and decreased negative thoughts and feelings, low anxiety, and moves toward intrinsic values rather than extrinsic values. The fully functioning person component was positively correlated with the character strengths of enthusiasm, bravery, honesty, leadership, and spirituality and negatively correlated with modesty and fairness. Results supplement research indicating strong links between positive psychology and the person-centered theory of Carl Rogers.
The Effect of Inter-Implant Distance on Retention and Resistance to Dislodging Forces for Mandibular Implant-Tissue-Supported Overdentures

Objectives: The effect of inter-implant distance on retention and resistance of implant-tissue-supported overdentures is lacking in the literature. An in vitro study was performed to evaluate this effect for mandibular implant-tissue-supported overdentures retained by two ball attachments. Materials and Methods: An acrylic cast of an edentulous mandible was fabricated. Three pairs of implants were symmetrically placed at both sides of the midline. The inter-implant distance was 10, 25, and 35 millimeters in positions A, B and C, respectively. A framework simulating the overdenture was fabricated on the cast. Six attachment housings were placed within the overdenture. For each sample, two ball abutments were screwed onto the implant pairs and two pink nylon inserts were seated in their respective attachment housings. The samples were tested in three groups of 15 (A, B, and C). The testing machine applied tensile dislodging forces and peak loads were measured in three directions: vertical, oblique, and anterior-posterior. A one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s HSD was used to determine groups that were significantly different. Tests were carried out at 0.05 level of significance. Results: Peak loads for the anterior-posteriorly directed dislodging forces were significantly the highest for group C (P<0.05); 21.25 N±3.05 N, while there were no statistically significant differences among groups with vertically and obliquely directed forces (P>0.05). Conclusion: Inter-implant distance did not affect the vertical retention and oblique resistance of mandibular implant-tissue-supported overdentures; however, it affected anterior-posterior resistance.
Graph-based user classification for informal online political discourse

With the rise of the interactive “Web 2.0” and the increasing tendency of online publications to turn to message-board style reader feedback venues, informal political discourse has become an important feature of the intellectual landscape of the Internet. We consider innate political bias or “sentiment” to be of interest for a variety of reasons, including as a factor in determining the reliability of posters in terms of authority and truthfulness. We describe several experiments in identifying the political orientation of posters in an informal environment. Our results indicate that the most promising approach is to augment text classification methods by exploiting information about how posters interact with each other.
Cilostazol, a type III phosphodiesterase inhibitor, reduces ischemia/reperfusion-induced spinal cord injury.

BACKGROUND Spinal cord injury is still a devastating complication after surgical repair of thoracoabdominal aortic pathologies. In this study, we investigated the protective effect of cilostazol, a type III phosphodiesterase inhibitor, against ischemia/reperfusion (I/R)-induced spinal cord injury in rats. METHODS Twenty-four rats were assigned to 3 experimental study groups: the control group (sham operation, n = 8); the ischemia group (nontreated, n = 8), which underwent aortic occlusion without pharmacologic intervention; and the cilostazol-treated group (n = 8), which received 20 mg/kg cilostazol per day orally for 3 days before spinal ischemia. All animals underwent a 45-minute period of spinal cord ischemia via clamping of the abdominal aorta between the left renal artery and the aortic bifurcation; removal of the aortic clamp was followed by reperfusion. Neurologic status was assessed before spinal ischemia and at 48 hours after the operation. All animals were sacrificed at 48 hours after the operation. Spinal cords were harvested for histopathologic examination and biochemical analyses for the malondialdehyde (MDA) level and superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activities. RESULTS Tarlov scores at postoperative hour 48 tended to be higher in the cilostazol-treated group than in the nontreated ischemia group (mean ± SD, 3.66 ± 0.40 versus 2.32 ± 0.80; P = .08). Spinal cord tissue MDA levels (per gram protein) were lower in the cilostazol-treated group than in the nontreated ischemia group (0.27 ± 0.01 mmol/g versus 0.33 ± 0.04 mmol/g, P = .026), and the cilostazol-treated group had higher activities of tissue SOD (519.6 ± 56.3 U/g versus 438.9 ± 67.4 U/g, P = .016) and GSH-Px (4.07 ± 1.37 U/g versus 3.21 ± 1.02 U/g, P = .47) than the nontreated ischemia group. Histopathologic analyses demonstrated that cilostazol treatment attenuated I/R-induced cellular damage. CONCLUSION Administration of cilostazol before spinal cord ischemia reduced neurologic injury and produced clinical improvement by attenuating oxidative stress in this rat spinal cord I/R model.
The T-type Ca(2+) channel blocker mibefradil prevents the development of a substrate for atrial fibrillation by tachycardia-induced atrial remodeling in dogs.

BACKGROUND Ca(2+) overload is believed to play a role in tachycardia-induced atrial electrophysiological remodeling. L-type Ca(2+) channel blockers attenuate effective refractory period (ERP) changes caused by 24 hours of atrial tachycardia but may not substantially alter atrial fibrillation (AF) inducibility. This study assessed the effects of the T-type Ca(2+) channel blocker mibefradil on tachycardia-induced atrial remodeling. METHODS AND RESULTS Dogs subjected to rapid atrial pacing (400 bpm) for 7 days were treated with mibefradil (100 mg/d, n=8) or matching placebo (n=10) in blinded fashion. Radiofrequency ablation of atrioventricular conduction and ventricular pacing were used to control ventricular rate. Placebo dogs showed significant decreases in atrial ERP (76+/-5 ms at a cycle length of 300 ms) and increases in ERP heterogeneity (27.7+/-2.4%), AF duration (414+/-232 seconds), and AF inducibility by single extrastimuli (41+/-10% of sites) compared with 10 unpaced control dogs (ERP 114+/-3 ms, ERP heterogeneity 13.8+/-0.9%, AF duration 7+/-3 seconds, AF inducibility 1.9+/-1.0% of sites). The changes caused by atrial tachycardia were strongly attenuated in mibefradil dogs, with ERPs averaging 102+/-7 ms, ERP heterogeneity 18.8+/-1.4%, AF duration 3+/-1 seconds, and AF inducibility 9.6+/-4.0% of sites. Among mibefradil-treated dogs, ERP, AF duration, and inducibility correlated with plasma drug concentration. Acute mibefradil administration did not alter ERP or AF. CONCLUSIONS Mibefradil, a drug with strong T-type Ca(2+) channel blocking properties, prevents AF-promoting electrophysiological remodeling by atrial tachycardia. These findings have important potential implications for the mechanisms of tachycardia-induced atrial remodeling and demonstrate the feasibility of preventing electrical remodeling caused by several days of atrial tachycardia.
An Analysis of Interscholastic Athletic Directors’ Religious Values and Practices on Pregame Prayer in Southeastern United States: A Case Study

Interscholastic athletic directors in eight states throughout the southeastern part of the United States were surveyed to analyze whether their personal religious practices affected their at-work practices and if relationships existed between the athletic directors’ religious values and their decisions to promote prayer at high school athletic events. Ninety percent reported that their religious values often or very often influenced their decisions at work. Ninety-three percent revealed that their athletic teams often or very often conducted a team-only pregame prayer, most often led by the head coach. However, more than half allowed public pregame prayer. Additional results indicated positive correlations existing between the frequency the athletic director attended religious services and how often religious practices were applied in their daily lives as well as how often religious values influenced work. A negative correlation revealed a relationship between the possible legal consequences and how often.
Varenicline treatment for smokers with schizophrenia: a case series.

Sir: Schizophrenia is associated with increased prevalence of smoking, heavy smoking, and smoking-related morbidity and mortality. Standard nicotine dependence treatments have been associated with modest efficacy in patients with schizophrenia and high rates of relapse to smoking upon their discontinu- ation. 1-3 These reports prompted the authors to review clinical nico- tine dependence treatment with varenicline in smokers with schizophrenia at an urban community mental health clinic with attention to clinical efficacy for nicotine dependence and to signs of clinical worsening that may have occurred secondary to varenicline treatment. Method. From October 2006 to October 2007, 19 patients with schizophrenia, most of whom had quit smoking in the past but had relapsed to smoking after discontinuation of nicotine dependence treatment with bupropion or nicotine replacement therapy, requested nicotine dependence treatment with the newly available medication, varenicline. These 19 outpatients with schizophrenia were on stable antipsychotic medication regimens and received a standard titration of varenicline as fol- lows: 0.5 mg/day for 3 days, 0.5 mg b.i. d. for 4 days, then 1 mg b.i. d. Each received brief individual counseling at medication visits. Visits were weekly for 2 weeks, then approximately monthly. Results. All 19 patients reported reduced craving to smoke after initiating varenicline treatment. Four patients discontinued varenicline treatment due to nausea and vomiting. One patient subsequently restarted varenicline and was able to tolerate treat- ment without vomiting on the second exposure. Thirteen pa- tients tolerated the medication, quit smoking within 10 to 21 days of starting varenicline, and maintained self-reported absti- nence for ≥ 12 weeks, verified with periodic expired air carbon monoxide measurements of < 9 ppm at clinical visits. In the pe- riod between 12 and 24 weeks, 4 patients had occasional "slips" in which they smoked < 5 cigarettes per day for a period of < 7 days and then regained abstinence. All 13 patients in this series who quit smoking elected to continue to take varenicline beyond the standard 24-week regi- men to prevent relapse to smoking. Patients in this series have remained clinically stable with no clinical evidence of psy- chotic relapse or significant worsening of psychiatric symptoms or side effects of antipsychotic medications. None of the 19 pa- tients had a psychiatric hospitalization within 24 weeks of start- ing varenicline. No clinical rating scales were performed as part of this treatment. Likewise, no cognitive tests were performed to assess the effect of varenicline on cognitive performance in these patients. Varenicline is a partial α 4β2 and full α 7 nicotinic acetylcho- line receptor (nAChR) agonist.