Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prospective study of pneumonia hospitalizations and mortality of U.S. older people: the role of chronic conditions, health behaviors, and nutritional status.

Mortality and hospitalization rates for pneumonia have increased among older Americans during recent years (1979-86), despite a national commitment to the reduction of premature deaths from pneumonia. A prospective study of deaths and hospitalizations attributable to pneumonia was conducted among 5,474 subjects ages 55 and older who participated in the NHANES I Epidemiologic Followup Study. Prevalent chronic conditions, health behaviors, and nutritional status indicators, measured at baseline, were examined in relation to pneumonia hospitalization and death during 12 years of followup. Mortality and hospitalization rates for pneumonia were higher among men than women, and higher among those ages 65 and older than among those 55-64 of both sexes. Risk of pneumonia death was higher among subjects with a history of congestive heart failure, stroke, cancer, or diabetes. Risk of pneumonia hospitalization was higher among subjects with a history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and among men who were current smokers. Daily alcohol consumption did not increase risk of pneumonia in this study population. Four measures of nutritional status were examined taking age, prevalent chronic conditions, and cigarette smoking into account: body mass index, arm muscle area, and serum albumin and hemoglobin levels. Risk of pneumonia death was 2.6 times higher in men in the lowest quartile, compared with men in the highest quartile, of body mass index. Similarly, the risk was 4.5 times higher among men in the lowest quartile of arm muscle area. Risk of death from pneumonia was 3.6 times higher among women in the lowest quartile of serum albumin levels compared with women in the highest quartile. Relative risks for these nutritional status indicators remained elevated after adjusting for age and the medical history risk factors. These risk factors should be taken into account when designing and evaluating pneumonia vaccination trials and community prevention programs.
Effect of Four Different Placement Techniques on Marginal Microleakage in Class II Composite Restorations: An in vitro Study

Background and objectives: This study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of different placement techniques (bulk, oblique incremental, centripetal and split horizontal) on marginal microleakage in class II composite restoration. Method: Standardized class II preparations were made in 40 caries-free extracted molars and randomly assigned to four groups (n = 10): (1) Bulk technique (2) oblique incremental insertion technique,(3) centripetal incremental insertion technique and (4) split horizontal incremental insertion. The teeth were restored with a total-etch adhesive and nanocomposite resin.The specimens were immersed in a solution of 2% methylene blue for 24 hours, and subsequently evaluated for leakage. The microleakage scores (0 to 4) obtained from the occlusal and cervical walls were analyzed with Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests (p < 0.05). Results: Microleakage scores indicated that incremental technique was better than bulk for composite placement and among incremental techniques split incremental technique showed best results. Conclusion: Incremental placement technique showed lower microleakage compared to bulk, and lower microleakage was seen at occlusal margin compared to gingival margin. Split horizontal incremental technique showed the least microleakage scores among incremental techniques
Factors associated with hypertensive patients' compliance with recommended lifestyle behaviors.

BACKGROUND A crucial element in controlling blood pressure is non-pharmaceutical treatment. However, only a few studies specifically address the question of hypertensive patients' compliance with physicians' recommendations for a healthy lifestyle. OBJECTIVES To explore factors associated with hypertensive patients' compliance with lifestyle recommendations regarding physical activity, smoking cessation and proper diet. METHODS We performed a secondary data analysis of a representative sample of 1125 hypertensive patients in Israel's two largest health funds. Data were collected in 2002-2003 by telephone interviews using structured questionnaires. The response rate was 77%. Bivariate and multivariate analysis was conducted. RESULTS About half of the hypertensive patients reported doing regular exercise and adhering to a special diet; 13% were smokers. About half reported receiving counseling on smoking cessation and diet and a third on physical exercise. A quarter reported receiving explanations regarding self-measurement of blood pressure and signs of deterioration. Multivariate analysis revealed that patients' beliefs about hypertension management, their knowledge on hypertension and its management, and physician counseling on a healthy lifestyle and self-care, have an independent effect on compliance with recommended lifestyle behaviors. CONCLUSIONS The low counseling rates suggest that there may be a need to improve physicians' counseling skills so that they will be more confident and effective in delivering this service to their patients. A model based on educating both physicians and patients may contribute to improving the care of hypertensive patients.
Excessively High Magnetic Resonance Signal in Preterm Infants and Neuropsychobehavioural Follow-up at 2 Years

The diffuse excessive high-signal intensity (DEHSI) findings in the T2 weighted scans of white matter (WM), besides the corresponding low signal in the T1 weighted images, are usually more evident around the periventricular regions. It is not clear whether the DEHSI should be considered as a diffuse WM injury rather than a sign of delayed maturation of the WM. Eighty nine preterm infants at the full-term equivalent age (FEA) were studied using conventional Magnetic Resonance (MR) imaging of the brain. Based on the MR findings, the infants studied were divided into three groups: the control group presenting normal WM, the DEHSI group and the group with other WM lesions. Ten newborns were not included in the statistical analysis because they presented evidence of precedent germinal matrix hemorrhage (GMH-IVH) which cannot be considered as WM lesions. Seventy nine infants were enrolled in a program of neuropsychobehavioural study follow-up until 24 months of age. Each infant was evaluated for those variables which mostly affect the occurrence of neuropsychomotor disability. In the DEHSI infant group, significantly lower mean pH and mean base excess (BE) values were found in comparison to controls, while the mean birth weight (BW) was significantly higher. No significant difference was observed between the mean 1st minute Apgar Score, mean birth gestational age (GA) and assisted ventilation mean duration of controls and DEHSI groups. Finally, no significant difference between the parameters studied was found by comparing the WM lesion infants group to the DEHSI infants one. Our observations, together with follow-up studies, even up to school age, confirm that DEHSI has a clinical significance and cannot be considered as a simple indicator of delayed WM maturation.
Anomalous stereoscopic depth perception.

Normal or complete stereoscopic depth perception is based upon at least two and probably three mechanisms. These mechanisms may be isolated by studying depth judgments made by stereoanomalous individuals who are unable to discriminate disparities over wide ranges of disparity. The nature of the reductions observed among these stereoanomalous observers suggests that at least three ranges of the disparity are sampled in order to create three different pools of binocular activity. The pools correspond roughly to crossed, near-zero, and uncrossed disparities.
Chronic peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor&bgr;/&dgr; agonist GW0742 prevents hypertension, vascular inflammatory and oxidative status, and endothelial dysfunction in diet-induced obesity

Objective: Endothelial dysfunction plays a key role in obesity-induced risk of cardiovascular disease. The aim of the present study was to analyze the effect of chronic peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)&bgr;/&dgr; agonist GW0742 treatment on endothelial function in obese mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD). Methods and results: Five-week-old male mice were allocated to one of the following groups: control, control-treated (GW0742, 3 mg/kg per day, by oral gavage), HFD, HFD + GW0742, HFD + GSK0660 (1 mg/kg/day, intraperitoneal) or HFD-GW0742-GSK0660 and followed for 11 or 13 weeks. GW0742 administration to mice fed HFD prevented the gain of body weight, heart and kidney hypertrophy, and fat accumulation. The increase in plasma levels of fasting glucose, glucose tolerance test, homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance, and triglyceride found in the HFD group was suppressed by GW0742. This agonist increased plasma HDL in HFD-fed mice and restored the levels of tumor necrosis factor-&agr; and adiponectin in fat. GW0742 prevented the impaired nitric oxide-dependent vasodilatation induced by acetylcholine in aortic rings from mice fed HFD. Moreover, GW0742 increased both aortic Akt and endothelial nitric oxide synthase phosphorylation, and inhibited the increase in caveolin-1/endothelial nitric oxide synthase interaction, ethidium fluorescence, NOX-1, Toll-like receptor 4, tumor necrosis factor-&agr;, and interleukin-6 expression, and I&kgr;B&agr; phosphorylation found in aortae from the HFD group. GSK0660 prevented all changes induced by GW0742. Conclusion: PPAR&bgr;/&dgr; activation prevents obesity and exerts protective effects on hypertension and on the early manifestations of atherosclerosis, that is, endothelial dysfunction and the vascular pro-oxidant and pro-inflammatory status, in HFD-fed mice.
Chapter 7 Remnant Proteinuria in Chronic Hemodialysis

Patients with end-stage renal disease are at high risk of developing cardiovascular dis‐ ease. In addition to the major traditional risk factors for cardiovascular disease (ie, ad‐ vanced age, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, and smoking), recent studies suggest that chronic kidney disease is an independent risk factor [1] Several groups have reported that coronary artery disease severity and lesion complexity are associated with a decrease in the estimated glomerular filtration rate [2,3] Recent epidemiological studies and clinical trials have demonstrated that chronic kidney disease is associated with in‐ creased mortality rate in patients with cardiovascular disease [4,5]. Notwithstanding the deep deleterious effects chronic renal disease itself plays in endothelial and medial arterial wall, renal failure leads to both significant increases in morbidity and decreases in life sur‐ vival, particularly in hemodialysis patients, who represent the most severe and advanced expression of renal disease.
Skin-to-Skin Contact and/or Oral 25% Dextrose for Procedural Pain Relief for Term Newborn Infants

OBJECTIVE: The goal was to compare the efficacy of oral 25% dextrose treatment and/or skin-to-skin contact for analgesia in term newborns during intramuscular injection of a hepatitis B vaccine. METHODS: A prospective, randomized, partially blinded, clinical trial was performed with 640 healthy term newborns. Infants at 12 to 72 hours of life were assigned randomly to receive an intramuscular injection of hepatitis B vaccine in the right thigh according to 4 analgesia groups, that is, no analgesia (routine); oral 25% dextrose treatment, given 2 minutes before the injection; skin-to-skin contact, initiated 2 minutes before the injection and persisting throughout the procedure; and a combination of the oral dextrose treatment and skin-to-skin contact strategies. For all groups, Neonatal Facial Coding System and Neonatal Infant Pain Scale scores were evaluated before the procedure, during thigh cleansing, during the injection, and 2 minutes after the injection. Premature Infant Pain Profile scores also were assessed for all infants. Pain scores were compared among the 4 groups. RESULTS: The use of oral 25% dextrose treatment reduced the duration of procedural pain in the studied population. Skin-to-skin contact decreased injection pain and duration. The combination of the 2 analgesic measures was more effective than either measure separately for term newborns. CONCLUSIONS: Nonpharmacologic analgesic measures were effective for the treatment of procedural pain in term infants. The combination of oral 25% dextrose treatment and skin-to-skin contact acted synergistically to decrease acute pain in healthy neonates.
Differential Contribution of Hippocampal Circuits to Appetitive and Consummatory Behaviors during Operant Conditioning of Behaving Mice

Operant conditioning is a type of associative learning involving different and complex sensorimotor and cognitive processes. Because the hippocampus has been related to some motor and cognitive functions involved in this type of learning (such as object recognition, spatial orientation, and associative learning tasks), we decided to study in behaving mice the putative changes in strength taking place at the hippocampal CA3–CA1 synapses during the acquisition and performance of an operant conditioning task. Mice were chronically implanted with stimulating electrodes in the Schaffer collaterals and with recording electrodes in the hippocampal CA1 area and trained to an operant task using a fixed-ratio (1:1) schedule. We recorded the field EPSPs (fEPSPs) evoked at the CA3–CA1 synapse during the performance of appetitive (going to the lever, lever press) and consummatory (going to the feeder, eating) behaviors. In addition, we recorded the local field potential activity of the CA1 area during similar behavioral displays. fEPSPs evoked at the CA3–CA1 synapse presented larger amplitudes for appetitive than for consummatory behaviors. This differential change in synaptic strength took place in relation to the learning process, depending mainly on the moment in which mice reached the selected criterion. Thus, selective changes in CA3–CA1 synaptic strength were dependent on both the behavior display and the learning stage. In addition, significant changes in theta band power peaks and their corresponding discrete frequencies were noticed during these behaviors across the sequence of events characterizing this type of associative learning but not during the acquisition process.
Ability of positron emission tomography to detect residual neck node disease in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma after definitive chemoradiotherapy.

OBJECTIVE To report our experience using the neck examination, computed tomography (CT), and positron emission tomography (PET) to clinically evaluate node-positive patients with head and neck squamous cell cancer for residual neck node disease after definitive chemoradiotherapy. DESIGN Retrospective review of all Cleveland Clinic patients with head and neck squamous cell cancer and N2 or N3 neck node involvement at presentation who were treated with definitive concurrent chemoradiotherapy and who underwent clinical restaging after treatment using the neck examination, CT, and PET. SETTING Tertiary care referral institution. PATIENTS Forty-eight patients with 72 positive necks at diagnosis were followed up for a median of 20 months. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Palpable nodes on examination, nodes larger than 1 cm, nodes with central necrosis on CT, or any hypermetabolic lymph nodes on PET were considered clinical evidence of residual nodal disease. The true rate of pathologic involvement was determined by histologic examination after planned neck dissection or if regional recurrence developed. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy were calculated for all 3 clinical assessment tools. RESULTS Planned neck dissection was performed in 33 necks and was positive for residual neck node disease in 5 necks. A delayed neck dissection was performed in 5 necks and was positive in 3 necks. The positive predictive value was low for all 3 clinical assessment tools. The addition of PET did not significantly improve the negative predictive value or positive predictive value of CT and the clinical examination. CONCLUSIONS Residual neck node disease after definitive chemoradiotherapy was infrequent and was not well predicted by PET. A positive PET finding in this setting is of little utility. Although a negative PET finding was highly predictive for control of neck disease after chemoradiotherapy, it added little to the clinical neck examination and CT.
Awareness of human papillomavirus among women attending a well woman clinic

Objectives: To assess the level and accuracy of public understanding of human papillomavirus (HPV) in the United Kingdom. Methods: Women attending a well woman clinic were asked to complete a questionnaire assessing HPV awareness and specific knowledge about the virus. Results: Questionnaires were completed by 1032 women, of whom 30% had heard of HPV. Older women, non-smokers, and those with a history of candida, genital warts, or an abnormal smear result were more likely to have heard of HPV. Even among those who had heard of HPV, knowledge was generally poor, and fewer than half were aware of the link with cervical cancer. There was also confusion about whether condoms or oral contraceptives could protect against HPV infection. Conclusions: In this relatively well educated sample, awareness and knowledge of HPV were poor. Public education is urgently needed so that women participating in cervical cancer screening are fully informed about the meaning of their results, especially if HPV testing is soon to be introduced.
Impact of Leagile Manufacturing System on Industrial Up-Gradation of Apparel Industry of Bangladesh

In the manufacturing step of the global apparel value chain (GAVC) the firms face fierce competition due to availability of low cost labor and hence the opportunity to make higher profit is a tough job. A good strategy to overcome this problem is industrial up-gradation through value chain. Resource based view can be an important logic to advocate that leagile (lean and agile) manufacturing system can be an unique resource for the firm and can facilitate a firm for doing that up-gradation. This study has done a survey on 180 apparel firms in Bangladesh and by using structural equation modeling it found that human resource aspect of leagile manufacturing system positively influences production aspect of leagile manufacturing system and production aspect of leagile manufacturing system positively influences on industrial up-gradation and eventually on firm performance. The construct of production aspect of leagile manufacturing system shows that the variables responsible for producing fashionable products are influencing industrial up-gradation. But some of the characteristics of leagile manufacturing are not having impact on industrial up-gradation in an unidirectional way. Therefore, the study concludes that although all the characteristics of leagile system are not uni-directionally influencing on industrial up-gradation, leagile system even if it is fractional, is positively influencing on industrial up-gradation.
Research on Flashover Characteristics and the Physical Mechanism of High-Gain GaAs Photoconductive Switches

We have presented surface flashover characteristics of high-gain GaAs photoconductive semiconductor switch (PCSS) under the different output current. Under the low output current, the recorded flashover spectrum was different from the spark discharge spectrum of air. Based on the analysis of current waveform and the flashover spectrum, the physical mechanism of the flashover phenomena was discussed. Under the high output current, the recorded time waveform of flashover was periodic oscillation. This phenomenon was analyzed based on pinch effect. Finally, the mechanism of the surface flashover led to the damage of GaAs PCSS, which was demonstrated and analyzed.
Deletion of the short N‐terminal extension in OCP reveals the main site for FRP binding

The orange carotenoid protein (OCP) plays a key role in cyanobacterial photoprotection. Photoconversion entails structural rearrangements in OCP that are required for its binding to phycobilisome, thereby inducing excitation energy dissipation. Detachment of OCP from phycobilisome requires the fluorescence recovery protein (FRP). It is considered that OCP interacts with FRP only in the photoactivated state; however, the binding site for FRP is currently unknown. As an important stabilizing element in orange OCP, the short αA‐helix within the N‐terminal extension (NTE) binds to the C‐terminal domain (CTD), but unfolds upon photoactivation and interferes with phycobilisome binding. Here, we demonstrate that the NTE shares specific structural and functional similarities with FRP and discover the main site of OCP‐FRP interactions in the OCP‐CTD.
Comparison of Method 1623 and Cell Culture-PCR for Detection of Cryptosporidium spp. in Source Waters

ABSTRACT Analysis of Cryptosporidium occurrence in six watersheds by method 1623 and the integrated cell culture-PCR (CC-PCR) technique provided an opportunity to evaluate these two methods. The average recovery efficiencies were 58.5% for the CC-PCR technique and 72% for method 1623, but the values were not significantly different (P = 0.06). Cryptosporidium oocysts were detected in 60 of 593 samples (10.1%) by method 1623. Infectious oocysts were detected in 22 of 560 samples (3.9%) by the CC-PCR technique. There was 87% agreement between the total numbers of samples positive as determined by method 1623 and CC-PCR for four of the sites. The other two sites had 16.3 and 24% correspondence between the methods. Infectious oocysts were detected in all of the watersheds. Overall, approximately 37% of the Cryptosporidium oocysts detected by the immunofluorescence method were viable and infectious. DNA sequence analysis of the Cryptosporidiumparvum isolates detected by CC-PCR showed the presence of both the bovine and human genotypes. More than 90% of the C. parvum isolates were identified as having the bovine or bovine-like genotype. The estimates of the concentrations of infectious Cryptosporidium and the resulting daily and annual risks of infection compared well for the two methods. The results suggest that most surface water systems would require, on average, a 3-log reduction in source water Cryptosporidium levels to meet potable water goals.
Antibiotic Prophylaxis for Cesarean Delivery: Is an Extended-Spectrum Agent Necessary?

The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether an extended-spectrum antibiotic with a long duration of action was more effective for prophylaxis for cesarean delivery than a limited-spectrum agent with a shorter duration of action. Patients were eligible for the study if they were in labor or had ruptured membranes at the time of surgery. In a randomized, double-blind manner, 377 women were assigned to receive 2 g of cefazolin (192) or 2 g of cefotetan (185) intravenously immediately after the infant's umbilical cord was clamped. There were no significant differences between groups with respect to the frequency of febrile morbidity (22.4 versus 21.6%), the mean fever index (15.8 versus 14.9 degree-hours), the frequency of endometritis (19.3 versus 21.1%), or the mean duration of postoperative hospitalization (3.8 versus 3.9 days). Among patients who became infected despite prophylaxis, enterococcus was isolated with disproportionate frequency. This organism was responsible for 89% of the postoperative urinary tract infections and all three cases of bacteremia. It was also the second most common isolate in women with endometritis. A single dose of cefazolin is comparable in effectiveness to cefazolin. In view of the cost difference between the two antibiotics, there is no justification for use of the more expensive, extended-spectrum agent.