Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A case-referent study of lung tumors in non-asbestos textile workers.

A case series in the Province of Florence showed an increased risk of mesothelioma in textile workers (nonasbestos) and a survey of working conditions confirmed potential exposure to asbestos. In order to investigate the risk in textile workers, including some specific job titles, a case-referent study on lung tumors was carried out. The lung cancer cases included 441 males with histologically confirmed primary lung cancer during the period 1980-1983. Referents included 1,075 males selected from two hospitals and matched for age, sex, and smoking habits. Those who had "ever worked" in the textile industry showed an adjusted odds ratio of 1.52 (95% C.I. 1-2.25) compared with other "industrial workers. " This moderately increased risk is maintained in selected jobs in the textile industry. An analysis of the modifying effect of time factors showed an increased risk in the period of 15-35 years from the date of first employment in the industry. The results support the hypothesis that a probable risk of lung cancer in textile workers in the Prato area was related to asbestos exposure.
Breakdown voltage prediction of rod-plane gap in rain condition based on support vector machine

Air gap breakdown is the result of the synthetic effect of electric field distribution and atmospheric environment. The breakdown voltage prediction model of rod-plane air gaps under rain conditions was established by support vector machine (SVM). The electric field features and atmospheric parameters were taken as the input of the prediction model. Based on the idea of binary classification, the withstanding or breakdown of an air gap under applied voltage was characterized by −1 and 1, which was taken as the output of the prediction model. 9 training samples were selected based on the idea of orthogonal design, and the power frequency breakdown voltages of other 29 test samples were predicted by the proposed model. The predicted results coincide well with the experimental values, and the average error of the 29 test samples is only 0.74%. The influence rules of the atmospheric parameters on breakdown voltage obtained by analysing the predicted results are almost the same with those obtained by experiments, which validates the accuracy and rationality of the proposed method. The research results can provide reference for breakdown voltage prediction and discharge characteristic study of air gaps in complex atmospheric environment.
Phosphatase 1 Nuclear Targeting Subunit Is an Essential Regulator of M-phase Entry, Maintenance, and Exit*

Background: Mitotic progression is regulated by reversible protein phosphorylation involving kinases and phosphatases. Results: Pnuts functions as a master regulator of mitosis by modulating PP1; Pnuts expression peaks in mitosis and is degraded at mitotic exit. Conclusion: This study reveals the function and regulation of a new and essential mitotic regulator. Significance: This study improves our understanding of M-phase regulation. Mitotic progression is regulated largely through dynamic and reversible protein phosphorylation that is modulated by opposing actions of protein kinases and phosphatases. In this study, we show that phosphatase 1 nuclear targeting subunit (Pnuts) functions as a master regulator of mitosis by modulating protein phosphatase 1 (PP1). Overexpression of Pnuts in Xenopus egg extracts inhibited both mitotic and meiotic exit. Immunodepletion of Pnuts from egg extracts revealed its essential functions in mitotic entry and maintenance. The level of Pnuts oscillates during the cell cycle and peaks in mitosis. Pnuts destruction during M-phase exit is mediated by the anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C)-targeted ubiquitination and proteolysis, and conserved destruction motifs of Pnuts. Disruption of Pnuts degradation delayed M-phase exit, suggesting it as an important mechanism to permit M-phase exit.
Motivating cooperation and compliance with authority : the role of institutional trust

1. Institutional Trust: An Introduction. Brian H. Bornstein & Alan J. Tomkins 2. Would Trust by Any Other Name Smell as Sweet? Reflections on the Meanings and Uses of Trust across Disciplines and Context. F. David Schoorman, Mallory M. Wood, & Christina Breuer 3. Trust as a Leap of Hope for Transaction Value: A Two-Way Street above and beyond Trust Propensity and Expected Trustworthiness. Peter Ping Li 4. Creating Legitimacy: The Interrelated Roles of Justice and Trust. Karen A. Hegtvedt 5. Legitimacy Is for Losers: The Interconnections of Institutional Legitimacy, Performance Evaluations, and the Symbols of Judicial Authority. James L. Gibson 6. Who Trusts the Trial Courts, How Much, and Why? David B. Rottman 7. On the Dual Motivational Force of Legitimacy. Jonathan Jackson 8. Political Trust in Polarized Times. Elizabeth Theiss-Morse, Dona-Gene Barton, & Michael W. Wagner 9. The Epistemic Contract: Fostering an Appropriate Level of Public Trust in Experts. Robert J. MacCoun
Investigating Code Review Practices in Defective Files: An Empirical Study of the Qt System

Software code review is a well-established software quality practice. Recently, Modern Code Review (MCR) has been widely adopted in both open source and proprietary projects. To evaluate the impact that characteristics of MCR practices have on software quality, this paper comparatively studies MCR practices in defective and clean source code files. We investigate defective files along two perspectives: 1) files that will eventually have defects (i.e., Future-defective files) and 2) files that have historically been defective (i.e., Risky files). Through an empirical study of 11,736 reviews of changes to 24,486 files from the Qt open source project, we find that both future-defective files and risky files tend to be reviewed less rigorously than their clean counterparts. We also find that the concerns addressed during the code reviews of both defective and clean files tend to enhance evolvability, i.e., Ease future maintenance (like documentation), rather than focus on functional issues (like incorrect program logic). Our findings suggest that although functionality concerns are rarely addressed during code review, the rigor of the reviewing process that is applied to a source code file throughout a development cycle shares a link with its defect proneness.
Pharmacist Involvement in Primary Care Improves Hypertensive Patient Clinical Outcomes

BACKGROUND The practice of pharmaceutical care in primary care settings in Thailand is currently not generally accepted. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effect of pharmacist involvement in treatment with hypertensive patients in primary care settings. METHODS The treatment objective was to stabilize the blood pressure (BP) of hypertensive patients in accordance with the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation and Treatment of High Blood Pressure guidelines. Patients were randomly assigned to a pharmacist-involved group (treatment) or a group with no pharmacist involvement (control). Pre- and post-test BPs, tablet counts, lifestyle modifications, and pharmacists’ recommendations were recorded. The 6-month study was carried out in Mahasarakham University pharmacy and 2 primary care units. Patients were monitored monthly by reviewing their medications and supported by providing pharmaceutical care and counseling. RESULTS From a total of 235 patients, the treatment group (n = 118) had a significant reduction in both systolic (S) and diastolic (D) BP compared with the 117 patients of the control group (p = 0.037, 0.027, respectively). The 158 patients (76 treatment, 82 control) with BPs 140/90 mm Hg at the beginning of the study showed significant BP reductions (p = 0.002 SBP, 0.008 DBP). The proportion of 158 patients whose BP became stabilized was higher in the treatment group (p = 0.017). The treatment group showed significantly better adherence (p = 0.014) and exercise control (p = 0.012) at the end of the study. Physicians accepted 42.72% of medication modifications and 5.34% of the suggestions for additional investigations. CONCLUSIONS Hypertensive patients who received pharmacist input achieved a significantly greater benefit in BP reduction, BP control, and improvement in adherence rate and lifestyle modification.
Conducting Systematic Reviews of Intervention Questions III: Synthesizing Data from Intervention Studies Using Meta‐Analysis

This article is the sixth in a series of six articles describing systematic reviews of interventions in animal agriculture and veterinary medicine. The first article provided an overview of systematic reviews, followed by an article on building evidence across study designs, and an article describing criteria for validity in randomized controlled trials. The fourth article in this series overviewed the initial steps in conducting a systematic review: development of a review protocol, identification of the structured question to be addressed and conducting a comprehensive literature search to identify potentially relevant research to address the review question. The fifth article introduced relevance screening of literature to identify and include research that is relevant to the review question, the use of standardized checklists and procedures to assess the risk of bias in the relevant research, data extraction from primary research studies and summarizing the results of the body of research identified. Many systematic reviews of interventions aim to use a quantitative method to combine the results of multiple studies and provide a more precise estimate of the effect of the intervention on the outcome, that is, a summary effect measure. The objective of this article was to describe general approaches that are available for quantitative synthesis of data. Specific details of all meta‐analysis statistical approaches are beyond the capacity of this article.
Psychological Skills Training Program in High Performance Volleyball Players

Resumen. El objetivo del presente estudio fue presentar un programa de entrenamiento psicológico aplicado en jugadoras de voleibol de alto rendimiento y evaluar la eficacia de pre test y post test, mediante análisis estadísticos. La muestra estuvo conformada por 15 jugadoras de voleibol de alto rendimiento con edades comprendidas entre los 13 y 16 años. Los resultados evidenciaron diferencias estadísticamente significativas en las áreas de autoconfianza, control de la atención y energía negativa, en esta área el puntaje promedio descendió. En las áreas de visualización, motivación, actitud positiva y energía positiva, los promedios muestran un incremento, pero no de forma estadísticamente significativa. Palabras clave: Programa de entrenamiento, habilidades psicológicas, voleibol de alto rendimiento. Abstract. The objective of the present study was to present a program of psychological training applied in volleyball players of high performance and to evaluate the effectiveness of pre test and post test, by means of statistical analysis. The sample was conformed by 15 volleyball players of high performance with ages between 13 and 16 years old. The results evidenced differences statistically significant in the autoconfidence areas, control of the attention and negative energy, in this area the average descended. In the visualization areas, motivation, positive attitude and positive energy, the averages show an increment, but not in statistically significant.
Update in bread fermentation by lactic acid bacteria

The lactic fermentation of cereals improves the food quality through the development of flavor, enhancement of the nutritional value and shelf life, and by removing toxic or antinutritional factors of food products. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains are able to improve the shelf life of several food products. The efficiency of the LAB cultures determined in in vitro assays was confirmed in bread manufacture. Data obtained put in evidence the suitability of selected LAB strains to be used as natural food-grade biocontrol agents for reducing mould spoilage in bakery products. Also, the proteolytic activity of LAB might be used as a tool to reduce the allergenic fragments of wheat-baked goods. Several strains displayed activity on 31-43 and 62-75 α-gliadin-fragments while the 57–89 peptide, the most resistant to proteolysis, was only degraded by a combination of LAB strains with different peptidase profiles.
Interbody Device Shape and Size Are Important to Strengthen the Vertebra–Implant Interface

Study Design. An in vitro cadaveric study to compare compressive failure load, strength, and stiffness of the implant–vertebra interface. Objectives. To determine the effect of cage shape (kidney, cloverleaf, or oval) and cage surface area on endplate failure strength and secondly to determine the extent and pattern of trabecular failure adjacent to an interbody device. Summary of Background Data. Recent studies indicate that the posterolateral and peripheral regions of the endplate are stronger than the central. Current implants are not designed to take advantage of these stronger regions of the endplate. The zone of trabecular failure that results from interbody device subsidence has not been reported extensively in the literature. Methods. Uniaxial compression testing with unrestricted rotation was carried out on the superior endplates of 48 thoracolumbar (T9–L2) vertebrae with 1 of 3 shaped indentors covering 20% or 40% of the endplate area. Failure load, failure strength, and stiffness were compared. Quantitative computed tomography scans were carried out before and following indentation tests to identify areas of trabecular densification that indicate localized failure. Results. The cloverleaf-shaped indentors resulted in significantly higher (P < 0.001) failure loads (by >45%), strength (>49%), and construct stiffness (>35%) for both the 20% and 40% cross-sectional area sizes. Trabecular bone failure occurred in a semielliptical zone underlying the interbody devices, leaving the endplate and underlying cancellous bone intact. Conclusions. The cloverleaf-shaped indentor displayed an improved strength and stiffness profile whencompared to oval or kidney-shaped indentors of similar surface areas.
Conceiving a first child: fathers’ perceptions of contributing elements to their decision

Objective: To describe the elements that contribute to men’s decision to have a first child. Background: The factors contributing to women’s and couples’ decisions to conceive a first child are known. Less research has been carried out on men’s experiences with respect to such decisions. Methods: Qualitative research was carried out in 2011. Twelve Canadian first-time fathers were interviewed. Results: The findings show that fathers consider a set of personal, socio-economic, interpersonal and temporal characteristics when making the decision to conceive a child. Conclusions: Better knowledge of the elements influencing men’s decisions to have a child will make it possible to provide them with support during the transition to fatherhood.
Hepatotoxicity in Mice of a Novel Anti-parasite Drug Candidate Hydroxymethylnitrofurazone: A Comparison with Benznidazole

Background Treatment of Chagas disease, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, relies on nifurtimox and benznidazole (BZL), which present side effects in adult patients, and natural resistance in some parasite strains. Hydroxymethylnitrofurazone (NFOH) is a new drug candidate with demonstrated trypanocidal activity; however, its safety is not known. Methods HepG2 cells dose response to NFOH and BZL (5–100 µM) was assessed by measurement of ROS, DNA damage and survival. Swiss mice were treated with NFOH or BZL for short-term (ST, 21 d) or long-term (LT, 60 d) periods. Sera levels of cellular injury markers, liver inflammatory and oxidative stress, and fibrotic remodeling were monitored. Results HepG2 cells exhibited mild stress, evidenced by increased ROS and DNA damage, in response to NFOH, while BZL at 100 µM concentration induced >33% cell death in 24 h. In mice, NFOH ST treatment resulted in mild-to-no increase in the liver injury biomarkers (GOT, GPT), and liver levels of inflammatory (myeloperoxidase, TNF-α), oxidative (lipid peroxides) and nitrosative (3-nitrotyrosine) stress. These stress responses in NFOH LT treated mice were normalized to control levels. BZL-treated mice exhibited a >5-fold increase in GOT, GPT and TNF-α (LT) and a 20–40% increase in liver levels of MPO activity (ST and LT) in comparison with NFOH-treated mice. The liver inflammatory infiltrate was noted in the order of BZL>vehicle≥NFOH and BZL>NFOH≥vehicle, respectively, after ST and LT treatments. Liver fibrotic remodeling, identified after ST treatment, was in the order of BZL>vehicle>NFOH; lipid deposits, indicative of mitochondrial dysfunction and in the order of NFOH>vehicle>BZL were evidenced after LT treatment. Conclusions NFOH induces mild ST hepatotoxicity that is normalized during LT treatment in mice. Our results suggest that additional studies to determine the efficacy and toxicity of NFOH are warranted.
Do we need to follow up complete miscarriages with serum human chorionic gonadotrophin levels?

Despite a history of heavy vaginal bleeding with clots, a proportion of women diagnosed with complete miscarriage, using transvaginal sonography (TVS), have an underlying ectopic pregnancy (EP). We evaluated the need for hormonal follow up in women with history and scan findings suggestive of complete miscarriage. One hundred and fifty‐two consecutive women with findings suggesting complete miscarriage at presentation based on their history and TVS were presented to the Early Pregnancy Unit. Serum human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) levels were taken at presentation and 48 hours. All women were followed up until hCG was <5 u/L or a pregnancy was visualised on TVS either inside or outside the uterus. Overall, 9 (5.9%) of 152 women with an apparent complete miscarriage had an underlying EP. A diagnosis of complete miscarriage based on history and scan findings alone is unreliable. These women should be managed as ‘pregnancies of unknown location’ with serum hCG follow up.
Genetic basis of endocrine disease: pituitary tumor pathogenesis.

Pituitary tumors are mostly benign monoclonal adenomas arising from adenohypophyseal cells in the anterior pituitary. These tumors usually autonomously express and secrete pituitary hormones, leading to endocrinological syndromes, such as hyperprolactinemia (most common), acromegaly, Cushing’s disease, and, rarely, hyperthyroidism. Alternatively, they may be functionally silent and initially diagnosed as an expanding sellar mass resulting in hypopituitarism, usually with central hypogonadism, visual field defects, or headaches. Although our understanding of subcellular mechanisms for the pathogenesis and progression of these common tumors is incomplete, during recent years important new information on the role of intrinsic pituitary genetic alterations, disordered transcription factors and growth factors, and signaling proteins involved in pituitary tumorigenesis has been reported in both sporadic and hereditary adenomas (Table 1).
Annihilation of Leishmania by daylight responsive ZnO nanoparticles: a temporal relationship of reactive oxygen species-induced lipid and protein oxidation

Lipid and protein oxidation are well-known manifestations of free radical activity and oxidative stress. The current study investigated extermination of Leishmania tropica promastigotes induced by lipid and protein oxidation with reactive oxygen species produced by PEGylated metal-based nanoparticles. The synthesized photodynamic therapy-based doped and nondoped zinc oxide nanoparticles were activated in daylight that produced reactive oxygen species in the immediate environment. Lipid and protein oxidation did not occur in dark. The major lipid peroxidation derivatives comprised of conjugated dienes, lipid hydroperoxides, and malondialdehyde whereas water, ethane, methanol, and ethanol were found as the end products. Proteins were oxidized to carbonyls, hydroperoxides, and thiol degrading products. Interestingly, lipid hydroperoxides were produced by more than twofold of the protein hydroperoxides, indicating higher degradation of lipids compared to proteins. The in vitro evidence represented a significant contribution of the involvement of both lipid and protein oxidation in the annihilated antipromastigote effect of nanoparticles.
Evidence for multiple forms of type I chromosomal beta-lactamase in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

The multiple stages of derepression of the type I chromosomal beta-lactamase in Pseudomonas aeruginosa were examined. Mutants partially and fully derepressed for beta-lactamase were selected from a wild-type clinical isolate. An analysis of the beta-lactamase produced by these mutants and the induced wild type revealed significant differences in the products of derepression at each stage. Beta-lactamase produced by the fully derepressed mutant showed a lower affinity (Km, 0.113 mM) for cephalothin than that produced by the partially derepressed mutant (Km, 0.049 mM). However, due to a very large Vmax, the former possessed a much greater hydrolytic efficiency. Differences in substrate profile were also noted. Only beta-lactamase from the fully derepressed mutant hydrolyzed cefamandole, cefoperazone, and cefonicid. The partially derepressed mutant possessed a single beta-lactamase band with a pI of 8.4. The fully derepressed mutant possessed this band and an additional major band with a pI of 7.5. Induction of the wild type with cefoxitin produced both bands. The changes in physiologic parameters of the enzymes produced in the different stages of derepression suggest a complex system for beta-lactamase expression in P. aeruginosa. This may involve at least two distinct structural regions, each of which is under control of the same repressor.
Indexability and whittle index for restless bandit problems involving reset processes

We consider a class of restless multi-armed bandit (RMAB) problems, in which the active action resets the stochastic evolution of the system. We obtain the Whittle index in closed-form, showing that it induces a policy that is equivalent to the myopic policy, and that it is optimal for stochastically identical arms. These results find applications in opportunistic spectrum access and supervisory control systems such as anomaly detection and control.
Anthropometric traits, blood pressure, and dietary and physical exercise habits in health sciences students; the obesity observatory project.

BACKGROUND Obesity and the metabolic syndrome affect a considerable segment of the population worldwide, including health professionals. In fact, several studies have reported that physicians tend to have more cardiovascular risk factors than their patients. The present cross-sectional study assessed whether the Health Sciences students had a healthier lifestyle, thus could have a more preventive attitude towards chronic diseases than the general population. MATERIALS AND METHODS Students of the medical-biological areas were surveyed by answering a questionnaire about familiar cardiovascular risk factors, personal smoking, alcohol drinking, dietary and exercise habits. Blood pressure was also measured, along with weight, height, and abdominal circumference. RESULTS 23.4% of the participants were overweight and 10% obese. Parental obesity was the most frequent risk factor, followed by social drinking and smoking. We found high consumption of animal derived foods, breakfast- like cereals, pastries, white bread and sweetened beverages; while low intake of fruit and vegetables were reported. More than half the sample reported to practice very little or no exercise at all. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS We found similar or even higher rates of risk factors than the average population, that may eventually lead to the development of chronic cardiometabolic diseases. Thus we can infer that biomedical education is inefficient in inducing healthy lifestyles among biomedical students, which could have impact in their future practice as they will most probable become obese health-professionals, thus fail to effectively treat their own patients.