Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Diabetes Distress in Young Adults with Type 2 Diabetes: A Cross-Sectional Survey in China

Background Diabetes distress is a negative emotion related to diabetes management, which can compromise self-care and management of diabetes. However, few studies on diabetes distress have focused on young adults with type 2 diabetes in China. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted. Using a convenient sampling method, 98 young adults with type 2 diabetes who were admitted to our hospital from June 2017 to July 2018 were selected as research subjects. They were investigated using a basic demographic questionnaire, Diabetes Distress Scale, Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities Measure, and Audit of Disease Knowledge. Pearson's correlation analysis and regression analysis were used to analyze the influencing factors of diabetic distress. Results Among participants, 90.82% suffered from diabetes distress with an average score of 3.01 ± 0.58. Regimen-related, emotional burden-related, and interpersonal-related distress were the most frequently reported as severe. The results of the single-factor analysis showed that gender (P = 0.019), age (P = 0.003), occupation (P = 0.022), smoking (P < 0.001), and diabetes complications (P = 0.001) were the main factors affecting diabetes distress. The correlation analysis showed that diabetes distress was negatively correlated with the level of diabetic self-management (P < 0.001, r = −0.377) but not with the level of diabetes knowledge (P = 0.052, r = −0.197). The results of a multiple regression analysis showed that self-management level (P = 0.001, 95% CI: -0.039-0.011), age (P = 0.002, 95% CI: -0.463-0.104), smoking (P = 0.018, 95% CI: -0.504-0.048), and complications (P = 0.009, 95% CI: -0.517-0.076) accounted for 35.42% of the total variation in diabetes distress. Conclusion Young adults with type 2 diabetes reported severe diabetes distress. Age, smoking, and diabetes complications were the main factors influencing diabetes distress in young adults with type 2 diabetes. Results of the present study are fundamental in selecting targeted measures for alleviating diabetes distress and thus improving the quality of life in these patients.
p53 intronic G13964C variant in colon cancer and its association with HPV.

BACKGROUND Inactivation of p53 is the most common change identified in human cancer. Nucleotide alterations in p53 intron 6 have been reported to be associated with the dysregulation of p53 function and tumor development. The aim of our study was to assess whether the intron 6 G13964C variant of the p53 gene is associated with the presence of human papillomavirus (HPV) as a risk factor in colon cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS To determine whether the intronic G13964C alteration is involved in colon carcinogenesis, surgical specimens from 55 patients with colon cancer and HPV-positive tumors were examined by PCR-RFLP. Blood samples from 77 healthy subjects were used as the control group. RESULTS The 13964C variant was found in 14.5% of colon cancer patients and 12.9% of the control subjects. One patient and two controls were homozygous for this base change. CONCLUSION No evidence of a significant association between the p53 G13964C allele and colon carcinoma was found.
Conflicting stories about public scientific controversies: Effects of news convergence and divergence on scientists’ credibility

Surveys suggest that approximately one third of news consumers have encountered conflicting reports of the same information. News coverage of science is especially prone to conflict, but how news consumers perceive this situation is currently unknown. College students (N = 242) participated in a lab experiment where they were exposed to news coverage about one of two scientific controversies in the United States: dioxin in sewage sludge or the reintroduction of gray wolves to populated areas. Participants received (a) one news article (control), (b) two news articles that were consistent (convergent), or (c) two news articles that conflicted (divergent). The effects of divergence induced uncertainty differed by news story. Greater uncertainty was associated with increased scientists’ credibility ratings for those reading dioxin regulation articles and decreased scientists’ credibility ratings for those reading wolf reintroduction articles. Unlike other manifestations of uncertainty in scientific discourse, conflicting stories seem to generate effects that vary significantly by topic. Consistent with uncertainty management theory, uncertainty is embraced or rejected by situation.
Intraspecific variation in growth and allocation patterns in seedlings of Pinus pinaster Ait. submitted to contrasting watering regimes: can water availability explain regional variation?

Abstract• Interpopulation variation in key functional traits of Pinus pinaster Ait. is well recognized. However, the relative importance of drought tolerance to explain this regional variation in the species remains elusive. • Here, we raise the question whether water availability constitutes a likely driver of regional variation in biomass allocation, growth and morphological traits of ten populations that cover the distribution range of P. pinaster. We carried out an experiment where seedlings of five families per population were submitted to two contrasting watering treatments. • The effects of water availability and population were significant for relative diameter and height growth rate, biomass allocation and number of lateral stems and dwarf shoots. Total dry mass significantly differed between watering treatments but it did not among populations. Populations could be clustered into four main groups. Root mass fraction explained most of the variation and significantly correlated to altitude but not to aridity. • The geographical pattern of genetic variation found in morphology and biomass allocation did not translate into population differences in drought tolerance or phenotypic plasticity to water availability, indicating that water availability is not a likely driver of the regional variation observed in the studied traits of P. pinaster at the seedling stage. Résumé• La variabilité de traits fonctionnels clés entre populations de Pinus pinaster Ait. est bien connue. Cependant, l’importance relative de la tolérance à la sécheresse pour expliquer cette variabilité régionale reste difficile à cerner. • Ici, nous testons l’hypothèse selon la quelle la disponibilité en eau constitue un moteur des variations régionales, de répartition de biomasse, de croissance et de traits morphologiques dans dix populations qui couvrent la zone de répartition de P. pinaster. Nous avons mené une expérience où les semis de cinq familles par population ont été soumis à deux régimes d’irrigation contrastés. • Les effets de la disponibilité en eau et de la population ont été importants sur le diamètre et le taux relatif de croissance en hauteur, la répartition de la biomasse et le nombre de tiges latérales et de pousses courtes. La masse sèche totale différait sensiblement entre les traitements d’arrosage, mais pas entre les populations. Les populations pourraient être regroupées en quatre groupes principaux. La fraction de masse racinaire expliquait la plupart des variations et est significativement corrélée à l’altitude mais pas à l’aridité. • La répartition géographique de la variation génétique de morphologie et de répartition de la biomasse, ne se traduit pas en différences de résistance à la sécheresse ou de plasticité phénotypique à la disponibilité en eau. Cela indique que la disponibilité en eau n’est pas un moteur des variations régionales observées dans les traits foinctionnels de P. pinaster au stade semis.
The Prognostic Importance of Steroid Receptors in Endometrial Carcinoma

Three hundred forty-nine cases of primary endometrial carcinoma (endometrioid, adenosquamous, and clear-cell) were studied to investigate the relative prognostic importance of age, menopausal status, stage, histology, myometrial invasion, and estrogen and progesterone receptor content. Excluding menopausal status, all of these variables had a significant relationship to overall survival in a univariate analysis. Using a Cox multivariate regression analysis, stage, age, and an estrogen receptor value of more than 70 fmol/mg protein, combined with a progesterone receptor value of more than 30 fmol/mg protein, were independently associated with survival. The results demonstrate that for maximum prognostic information, both estrogen and progesterone content of tumors should be measured. Maximum prognostic information is obtained by using cutoff levels that are much higher than those traditionally accepted. This has particular relevance for patient stratification in clinical trials investigating receptor information and response to adjuvant or therapeutic treatment.
Assessment of Cardiac Autonomic Activity Before and After Isotonic Exercise Training (Treadmill Ergometer) in the Offsprings of Hypertensive Parents

It is accepted that genetics and the environmental factors play an important role in the genesis of hypertension. Parental history of hypertension increases the risk of developing hypertension at younger age. Isotonic exercise is an exercise that improves oxygen consumption by the body. Heart rate variability is a valuable research tool to study and investigate the cardiac autonomic activity. The present study was planned to assess the effect of isotonic exercise training (treadmill ergometer) on cardiac autonomic activity in the normotensive offsprings of hypertensive parents. A total of 50 normotensive subjects of age group between 18 to 26 years whose parents, either father or mother or both are hypertensive, were selected for the study. Heart Rate (HR), Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP), Diastolic Blood Pressure (DBP) and HRV parameters were recorded before exercise (baseline) and after the completion of isotonic exercise training (treadmill ergometer) schedule of four successive days a week for three months according to the modified Bruce protocol. After exercise training, we observed a significant reduction in Heart Rate (beats per min.) and Systolic Blood Pressure (mmHg) where as a highly significant increase in High Frequency in power percentage as well as significant increase in High Frequency in normalized units in comparison with their basal parameters. Our results suggest that even a short duration of regular isotonic exercise training (treadmill ergometer) for four successive days a week for three months can improve vagal tone.
Assessing Coronary Blood Flow Physiology in the Cardiac Catheterisation Laboratory

Background: Contemporary management of coronary disease focuses on the treatment of stenoses in the major epicardial vessels. However, myocardial blood flow is known to be contingent on a range of factors in addition to the patency of the epicardial vessels. These include anatomical and physiological factors such as the extent of myocardium supplied by the vessel, systemic blood pres-sure, the natural variation in vascular tone in response to physiological needs which allows for coro-nary autoregulation and pathological factors such as the presence of downstream obstruction to flow due to disease of the small coronary vessels or myocardium. The assessment of clinical effectiveness and adequacy of coronary revascularisation requires the ability to comprehensively and accurately as-sess and measure myocardial perfusion. Conclusion: In this article, we review the current methods of evaluating coronary blood flow and my-ocardial perfusion in the cardiac catheterisation laboratory.
The Determinants of Physicians’ Location Choice: Understanding the Rural Shortage

A long-standing challenge in the US health care system is the provision of medical services to rural areas. This paper develops a structural spatial equilibrium model with heterogeneous physicians and uses it to explore the impact of policies, namely loan forgiveness and salary incentives, on the geographical distribution of physicians. I collect micro data from physicians’ directories on their medical school, residency, and first-job choices and use this new dataset to both allow for physicians’ preference to remain close to their residency location and to implement an instrumental-variable approach to overcome endogeneity issues caused by the correlation between wages and unobserved amenities. I find that residents strongly prefer remaining close to their residency location. The combination of loan forgiveness and salary incentives has led to 1.2 percent more physicians choosing rural areas. Using the government spending currently allocated to loan forgiveness to further increase salary incentives would lead to 6 times more primary care physicians choosing rural areas and a higher average quality of rural physicians compared to the impact of current policies.
Parallelogram-shaped hysteresis loops for describing the energetic magnetic behavior of hysteretic media

The characterization of the energetic magnetic behavior of hysteretic materials and the determination of the surface impedances are proposed. A numerical model in time domain is adopted for the calculations. The use of parallelogram-shaped hysteresis loops allows for simplifying the numerical formulation and for reducing the computation time with respect to more accurate models. Equivalent major loops have been defined starting from the measured ones. Comparison with the modified scalar Preisach model is presented and discussed.
Absence of hot spot mutations of the PIK3CA gene in acute myeloid leukaemia

To the Editor: The most common genetic alteration in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) is one or more internal tandem duplications in the juxtamembrane domain of the FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3/ITD), which results in constitutive activation of the kinase domain and downstream signalling events (1, 2). However, in the majority of patients, the genetic lesions are more undefined. Several studies have shown that FLT3 signalling activates both the RAS pathway and the phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (PI3K) pathway (3,4). Downstream of PI3-kinase, Akt appears to be constitutively activated even in AML blasts without constitutive FLT3 signalling (5), suggesting that in AML patients lacking genetic alterations in the FLT3 receptor, downstream effector molecules such as PI3-kinase are involved and have tumourigenic effects. Somatic mutations in the PI3-kinase catalytic subunit p110a (PIK3CA) has been demonstrated within several human cancers, including breast, colon, brain and gastric cancer (6–9). The majority of all mutations were clustered at specific hot spots within the helical (exon 9) and kinase (exon 20) domains. In AML, less is known regarding the role of PI3-kinase, but constitutive activation of PI3-kinase/Akt pathway has been demonstrated (5). In addition, mutations in p110a could lead to an alternative way of survival of AML blasts. To evaluate the possible involvement of the PIK3CA gene in leukaemogenesis, we investigated the mutational frequency in exon 9 and 20 of PIK3CA in genomic DNA from bone marrow or peripheral blood samples from 68 AML patients [age (median, range) 65 yr, 19–80], using polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based single-stranded conformation analysis (10). However, we did not find any mutations in either exon 9 or exon 20. To further confirm our results, we randomly sequenced some AML samples but were not able to demonstrate any mutations. In addition to our study, a recent report examining the frequency of PIK3CA mutations in solid tumours included different acute leukaemias in the analysis (8). Only one mutation (E545A) in exon 9 of a total of 88 samples of acute leukaemias was found and no mutations were identified in exon 20. Unfortunately, it was not specified whether the mutation was present in a patient with acute lymphoid leukemia (ALL) or AML, but nevertheless, the results together indicate the absence of PIK3CA mutations in AML. It is very unlikely that mutations occur in other exons of the PIK3CA gene. Nearly all mutations in the PIK3CA gene described cluster in exon 9 and exon 20 and more than 75% of the PIK3CA mutations are found in hot spots located in these two exons, where E542K, E545K and H1047R are the most frequent (6). Our finding highlights previous assumptions that the oncogenesis of leukaemia has different mechanisms than solid tumours. Although activating mutations in receptor tyrosine kinases (e.g. FLT3 and c-kit) and their downstream targets (e.g. Ras) are common in AML (11), it remains to elucidate which other genetic alterations besides these are responsible for the increased survival of AML blasts.
Rubber production technologies and the related socio-economic environments in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

The study assessed rubber production technologies and the related socio-economic environments in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. The study seeks to reawaken the interests of rubber farmers in improved rubber production technologies in the study area. The specific objectives of the study were to; identify the socioeconomic characteristics of rubber farmers in the study area, identify improved rubber production technologies disseminated to farmers and to assess some socio-economic variables associated with adoption of improved rubber production technologies in the study area. Purposive and random sampling techniques were used in selecting 96 rubber farmers for the study. Primary data generated for the study were analysed using descriptive statistics such as percentages, frequencies and Multiple Regression Analysis. The result showed that Extension Officers disseminated about 13 improved rubber production technologies to farmers in the area. From the OLS regression estimates, R 2 value was 0.559 with three selected socio-economic variables being the major factors affecting adoption of improved rubber production technologies. These include; Age, Education and Contact with Extension Agents. These were significant at l% level of probability. This calls for the re-introduction of non-formal education among farmers in the rural areas to improve their level of education and adoption of improved technologies. Government should increase the extension-farmer ratio from the present 1:1000 to 10:1000. Keywords: Rubber production, technologies, socio-economic environments, variables and Akwa Ibom State
Prudential Capital Controls and Risk Misallocation: Bank Lending Channel

I identify a novel impact of managing capital flows in emerging markets: Prudential capital controls encourage domestic firms to take more dollar liabilities. This occurs because banks in emerging markets have a fundamental risk problem: households save partially in dollars while firms borrow in local currency. Absent capital controls, banks hedge the associated currency risk with foreign investors. When capital controls are present, banks respond by lending in dollars to domestic firms. I exploit heterogeneity in the strictness of capital controls across Peruvian banks to provide causal evidence of this mechanism and show that it has sizable effects on employment.
Growth mechanism of tubular ZnO formed in aqueous solution

Tubular ZnO microstructural arrays were fabricated by a hydrothermal decomposition method. The dependence of the morphologies on the growth time and temperature was investigated in detail. An experiment was carried out to determine the mechanism of tubular ZnO formation. Our results showed that ZnO microtubes originated from an ageing process from ZnO microrods at a lower temperature (compared to the temperature when hydrothermal deposition of ZnO microrods was dominant) due to the preferential chemical dissolution of the metastable Zn-rich (0001) polar surfaces. A growth model was proposed based on the coexistence of hydrothermal deposition and dissolution of ZnO in the fabrication process.
Postoperative complications after thoracic and major abdominal surgery in patients with and without obstructive lung disease.

STUDY OBJECTIVE To determine the risk of thoracic and major abdominal surgery in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). DESIGN Retrospective cohort study with controls. SETTING A 692-bed teaching hospital. PATIENTS A cohort of 26 patients with severe COPD (FEV1 < 50 percent predicted) undergoing thoracic and major abdominal surgery was matched by age and type of operation to 52 patients with mild-moderate COPD and 52 patients with no COPD. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS The 26 patients with severe COPD had rates of cardiac, vascular, and minor pulmonary complications similar to patients with mild-moderate COPD and without COPD, but experienced higher rates of serious pulmonary complications (23 percent vs 10 percent vs 4 percent, p = 0.03) and death (19 percent vs 4 percent vs 2 percent, p = 0.02). All deaths and instances of ventilatory failure in the patients with severe COPD occurred in the subset undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery. Logistic regression revealed that increased age, higher American Society of Anesthesiologists class, an abnormal chest radiograph, and perioperative bronchodilator administration were associated with higher cardiac or serious pulmonary complication rates. Spirometry was not an independent predictor of postoperative complications. CONCLUSIONS Clinical variables appear better than preoperative spirometry in predicting postoperative cardiopulmonary complications. The utility of preoperative spirometry as well as the benefits of perioperative bronchodilators in patients in stable condition remain to be determined.
The Effect of Organic Cultivation on the Contents of Macro-and Micro-elements Studied in Polish Cultivars of Three Medicinal Plants

Experiments were conducted to evaluate the contents of macro-elements [nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), sodium (Na), and magnesium (Mg)] as well as micro-elements [iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), and Zinc (Zn)] in organic herbs of sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.), savory (Satureja hortensis L.) and marjoram (Origanum majorana L.). For the chemical analysis, conducted on dry weight basis, the herbs were obtained from the experiments conducted in four certified organic farms in Poland. Among the herbs of basil, savory and marjoram, basil herb contained largest amounts of all macroand micro-elements except that of Fe, which was maximal in marjoram. The average content of N, P, K, Mg Mn, Cu and Zn was higher in the organic herb compared with the conventional one. Enhanced content of macroand micro-elements in the tested herbs had significant effect on the herb-quality. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Preventing Corruption in the Indonesian Public Sector

The purpose of this paper is to uncover behind the trends in corruption cases in Indonesia's public sector. This study examines 1,192 selected corruption-related court decisions in the period of 2001-2015 based on the behavioural perspective.This study found that corruption offenders of high level of seniority were more destructive to the country's economy compared to their younger less experienced counterparts. Additionally, compared to the real experience in the workplace, education does not seem to give offenders more advantages when committing their offences.This paper demonstrates how the seemingly small and insignificant behavioural clues may become effective tools to predict and to prevent the occurrence of corruption in the future.
The Impacts of Viral Marketing on Vietnamese Travelers Decision to Thailand — A Study in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

This study was conducted to identify the impacts of viral marketing on traveling decision. Quantitative approach was applied with questionnaire directly delivered to 215 respondents who have traveled to Thailand. The empirical results showed that information credibility, brand recall, and information achievement through websites directly affected traveling decision. In addition, social network, video, email, and information sharing through website indirectly affect travelling decision through the mediations of information credibility and brand recall. This study suggested that tourism companies should aware of significant forms of viral marketing for better marketing campaigns.