Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Family history of osteoporosis and bone mineral density at the axial skeleton: The rancho bernardo study

To determine whether a family history of osteoporosis identifies individuals with low bone mineral density (BMD), we studied 1477 white elderly (aged 60–89 years), noninstitutionalized ambulatory men (n = 600) and women (n = 877) from the Rancho Bernardo, California cohort. Family history data on biologic parents and full sisters were obtained by questionnaire. BMD of the lumbar spine and hip was measured using dual‐energy x‐ray absorptiometry. After adjustment for age, body mass index, history of cigarette smoking, thiazide use, and estrogen use, men and women with a family history of osteoporosis had lower BMD than those with a negative family history. In men, a positive family history was associated with lower BMD at the hip (p = 0.01), whereas in women a significant association was observed for the spine (p = 0.02). BMD decreased in a stepwise fashion with an increasing number of family members with a history of osteoporosis. Analysis of the effect of parental history of osteoporosis on BMD showed a significant relation between paternal (but not maternal) history and lumbar spine BMD in both sexes and a significant relation between maternal (but not paternal) history and hip BMD only in men. The relative risk of having categoric osteopenia was highest in those whose fathers had a history of osteoporosis (RR 2.16, 95% CI = 1.38–3.37). A similar association was found for subjects with fractures. These results were not explained by differential awareness of family history in individuals with known osteoporosis, because the prevalence of family history was unrelated to personal history of osteoporosis in men and only weakly related in women. The positive predictive value of family history as an indicator of categorically defined low bone density was 22% in men and 24% in women, although in women this value increased to 33% when father's history alone was considered. The negative predictive value of overall family history was 65% in men and 81% in women. Overall, these data suggest that clinicians who ask patients about family history of osteoporosis should ask about both parents.
Determination of the time course of caloric nystagmus in patients with spinocerebellar degeneration using caloric step stimulus procedure

Abstract Conclusions: The step stimulus procedure can provide information on the time course of the vestibulo-ocular reflex. Spinocerebellar degeneration and aging seem to shorten the time constant of the onset of the vestibulo-ocular reflex, causing a rapid rise up. Failure of the central processing of velocity storage might contribute to this rapid rise up. Objectives: The aim of this study is to evaluate the time course characteristics of the vestibulo-ocular reflex in patients with spinocerebellar degeneration. Methods: Ten patients (20 ears) and 22 healthy subjects (30 ears) underwent caloric test using the step stimulus procedure. We evaluated the time course of caloric VOR and calculated the parameters of the time constant of an activation and adaptation response. We compared between the control and SCD groups to elucidate the time course characteristics of caloric VOR in patients with SCD. Results: Spinocerebellar degeneration seems to shorten the time constant of the activation response by caloric irrigation with 20 °C, 7l/min air. However, aging also possibly contributes to this shortening. No change was observed in the time constant of the adaptation response.
Fas‐mediated lysis of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia cells: role of type I versus type II cytokines and autologous FasL‐expressing T cells

Given the known role of the fas cytolytic pathway in B‐cell regulation, we evaluated whether fas–fasL interactions might induce chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) cell death. De novo CLL cells expressed a low level of surface fas, and were not lysed by fasL‐bearing cells. CLL cells cultured in media containing the type I cytokines interleukin (IL)‐12 or interferon (IFN)‐α had increased fas expression, and were readily lysed by fasL‐bearing cells. In contrast, the type II cytokine IL‐4 did not increase CLL cell fas, and abrogated type I cytokine‐induced fas up‐regulation. With prolonged culture, IL‐4 exposed CLL cells expressed an intermediate level of fas; however, such CLL cells were resistant to fas‐mediated lysis. These results indicate that IL‐4 inhibits fas‐mediated killing of CLL cells at the level of both fas receptor expression and post‐receptor events. Additionally, we have defined in vitro culture conditions which generate fasL‐bearing T cells from CLL patients; such T cells efficiently mediated fas‐based lysis of autologous fas‐positive CLL cells. We therefore conclude that type I and type II cytokines differentially regulate the fas pathway in CLL cells, and that a combination of type I cytokines and fasL‐expressing T cells may represent a new approach to the immunotherapy of CLL.
An Initial In vitro Investigation into the Potential Therapeutic Use Of Lucilia sericata Maggot to Control Superficial Fungal Infections

In this work an attempt was performed to investigate the in vitro ability of Lucilia sericata maggots to control fungi involved in superficial fungal infections. A novel GFP-modified yeast culture to enable direct visualization of the ingestion of yeast cells by maggot larvae as a method of control was used. The obtained results showed that the GFP-modified yeasts were successfully ingested by Lucilia sericata maggots and 1mg/ml of Lucilia sericata maggots excretions/ secretions (ES) showed a considerable anti-fungal activity against the growth of Trichophyton terrestre mycelium, the radial growth inhibition after 10 days of incubation reached 41.2 ±1.8 % in relation to the control, these results could lead to the possible application of maggot therapy in the treatment of wounds undergoing fungal infection.
Ablation of 'incisional' reentrant atrial tachycardia complicating surgery for congenital heart disease. Use of entrainment to define a critical isthmus of conduction.

BACKGROUND Intra-atrial reentrant tachycardia occurs frequently after surgery for congenital heart disease and is difficult to treat. We tested the hypotheses that intra-atrial reentrant tachycardia in patients who had undergone prior reparative surgery for congenital heart disease could be successfully ablated by targeting a protected isthmus of conduction bounded by natural and surgically created barriers and that entrainment techniques could be used to identify these zones. METHODS AND RESULTS Eighteen consecutive patients with 26 intra-atrial reentrant tachycardias complicating surgery for congenital heart disease (9 atrial septal defect repair, 4 Fontan, 2 Mustard, 2 Senning, and 1 Rastelli procedure) underwent electrophysiological study and ablation attempts. Mapping of activation was facilitated by the deployment of catheters with multiple electrodes. Sites for ablation were sought that demonstrated entrainment with concealed fusion and at which the postpacing interval minus the tachycardia cycle length and the stimulus to P wave minus the activation time were < 30 ms. These sites were considered to be within a narrow isthmus critical to the tachycardia mechanism. Anatomic barriers bordering the critical isthmus of conduction were identified on anatomic grounds, by the presence of areas of electrical silence or by the demonstration of split potentials signifying a line of block. Success was achieved in 15 patients with 21 arrhythmias. The median number of radiofrequency applications was 5. There was a wide range of activation times at successful sites (-30 to -250 ms). At a mean duration of follow-up of 17 +/- 8 months, 11 patients were asymptomatic and 9 did not require antiarrhythmia therapy. CONCLUSIONS Successful ablation of intra-atrial reentrant tachycardia complicating surgery for congenital heart disease may be achieved by creation of an ablative lesion in a critical isthmus of conduction bounded by anatomic barriers. This isthmus may be identified by the presence of entrainment with concealed fusion and an analysis of the relationship between the postpacing interval and the tachycardia cycle length and between the activation time and the stimulus time. Because this isthmus is invariably confined on at least one aspect by a surgical repair site that is of central importance to the tachycardia mechanism, we suggest that this type of arrhythmia be given the descriptive designation of "incisional reentry. "
Teaching motivational interviewing to first-year medical students to improve counseling skills in health behavior change.

OBJECTIVE To examine the effectiveness of motivational interviewing training on improving medical students' knowledge of and confidence in their ability to counsel patients regarding health behavior change. SUBJECTS AND METHODS In the spring of 2002, 42 first-year medical students participated in a counseling course on health behavior change. Three small groups focused on learning and practicing motivational interviewing techniques using brief lectures, interactive class activities, student role-plays, and simulated patients. Students completed an identical precourse and postcourse questionnaire that measured their confidence and knowledge regarding counseling skills in health behavior change. RESULTS The medical students reported improved confidence in their understanding of motivational interviewing after participation in the course (very confident, 77%) compared with before the course (very confident, 2%). Each of the 8 confidence items were compared before and after the course using a signed rank test. All comparisons indicated a significant improvement (P < .001) in confidence. Regarding knowledge-based questions, students showed significant improvement; 31% of students answered all the questions correctly before the course, and 56% answered all the questions correctly after the course (P = .004). CONCLUSION These results show that teaching motivational interviewing techniques to first-year medical students can enhance student confidence in and knowledge of providing counseling to patients regarding health behavior change.
Bayesian Unsupervised Vehicle Counting

This paper defines a novel task, unsupervised vehicle-counting from images, and presents the first practical solution that gives an accuracy comparable to supervised alternatives. The major application of the task is Web-camera-based city traffic monitoring systems, where vehicle-counting must be done from very low-quality images. In this case, existing object-detection classifiers are impractical because of low resolution, poor viewing angle, and frequent occlusions. Also, the cost of preparing many training images is often prohibitive, since the quality of the images can be too low even for manual vehicle-counting. This calls for an unsupervised and robust approach to vehicle counting. We formalize the problem as a task for Bayesian density estimation, where the number of vehicles is related to the total area of pixels that may correspond to vehicles in an image. We use the infinite Gaussian mixture model with a specific definition on the mean value with the framework of nonparametric Bayes and variational Bayes (VB) for model selection and computational efficiency. Using real-world Web-camera images, we show that the accuracy of the proposed approach is good enough for our application and robust for image quality. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first practical method for counting objects from images without training data.
Inherited predisposition to myeloproliferative neoplasms

Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) are haematological disorders characterized by an overproduction of mature myeloid cells with a tendency to transform to acute myeloid leukaemia. Clonal proliferation of myeloid progenitor cells is driven by somatically acquired mutations, most notably JAK2 V617F, but there are important features relating to pathogenesis and phenotypic diversity that cannot be explained by acquired mutations alone. In this review we consider what is currently known about the role that inherited factors play in the development and biology of both sporadic and familial forms of MPN. Although most MPN cases appear to be sporadic, familial predisposition has been recognized for many years in a subset of cases and epidemiological studies have indicated the presence of common susceptibility alleles. Currently the JAK2 46/1 haplotype (also referred to as ‘GGCC’) is the strongest known predisposition factor for sporadic MPNs carrying a JAK2 V617F mutation, explaining a large proportion of the heritability of this disorder. Less is known about what genetic variants predispose to MPNs that lack JAK2 V617F, but there have been recent reports of interesting associations in biologically plausible candidates, and more loci are set to emerge with the application of systematic genome-wide association methodologies. Several highly penetrant predisposition variants that affect erythropoietin signalling, thrombopoietin signalling or oxygen sensing have been characterized in families with nonclonal hereditary erythrocytosis or thrombocytosis, but much less is known about familial predisposition to true clonal MPN. The heterogeneous pattern of inheritance and presumed genetic heterogeneity in these families makes analysis difficult, but whole exome or genome sequencing should provide novel insights into these elusive disorders.
Atherogenic Index as a Predictor of Cardiovascular Riskamong Women with Different Grades of Obesity

Background: Overweight and obesity represent a rapidly growing threat to the healthy populations in an increasing number of countries. Obesity is thought to have a greater influence on cardiovascular diseases. Aims & Objective: Aim of present study was to assess an atherogenic index and lipid profile in obese women and to compare the same with non-obese women aged 40-55 years as above mentioned parameters are associated with increased risk for cardiovascular diseases. Materials & Methods: A comparative and cross sectional study was conducted among 140 women (70-obese and70-non-obese) of age 40-55years. The study group was divided into four according to BMI, namely Group I ( BMI 25-29.9 kg/m2), Group II( BMI 30-34.9 kg/m2) , Group III( BMI 35 – 39.9 kg/m2) , Group IV (BMI > 40 kg/m2) including Control( BMI < 25 kg / m2) . Anthropometric parameters like height (cm), weight (Kg), BMI were recorded. In lipid profile we studied TC, HDL, TG, LDL, and VLDL. Atherogenic index was calculated. Statistical analysis was done using Student’s ‘t’ test and correlation was done by using Pearson’s coefficient. Results: The results of our study showed that in middle aged women significant increase in atherogenic index with increasing BMI (p<0.05). Values of TC, TG and VLDL showed significant increase in group II, III, IV compared to control. HDL, LDL and VLDL levels were seen significantly decreased in group I compared to control. We showed positive insignificant correlation between BMI and atherogenic index in obese group (r= 0.19, p= 0.113) Conclusion: Obesity, no doubt alters lipid profile. A triglyceride based index (AI) can significantly add value when assessing the cardiovascular risk in obese women.
Increased pain sensitivity to intraoral capsaicin in patients with atypical odontalgia.

AIMS To use 2 well-characterized stimuli, the intraoral capsaicin model and the "nociceptive-specific" electrode, to compare superficial nociceptive function between patients with atypical odontalgia (AO) and matched healthy controls. Furthermore, the authors aimed to describe the sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive values (PPV) of the techniques if group differences could be established. METHODS Thirty-eight patients with AO and 27 matched healthy controls participated in this study. Thirty microliters of 5% capsaicin was applied to the gingiva on the left and right sides of all participants as a pain-provocation test. The participants scored the capsaicin-evoked pain continuously on a 0-to-10 visual analog scale (VAS). Furthermore, individual electrical sensory and pain thresholds to stimulation with a "nociceptive-specific" electrode on the facial skin above the infraorbital or mental nerve were determined. RESULTS AO patients had higher VAS pain scores for capsaicin application than healthy controls (ANOVA: F > 4.88; P < .029). No differences between the painful sides and the nonpainful sides of the patients were found (ANOVA: F < 1.26; P > .262). No main effects of group or stimulation side on the electrical sensory and pain thresholds were detected (ANOVA: F < 0.309; P > .579). Sensitivity was 0.51; specificity, 0.81; and PPV, 0.77 when a VAS value of > or = 8 for capsaicin-evoked pain was used. CONCLUSION AO patients show increased sensitivity to intraoral capsaicin but normal sensitivity to "nociceptive-specific" electrical stimulation of the face in an area proximal to the painful site. The use of the intraoral pain-provocation test with capsaicin as a possible adjunct to the diagnostic workup is hampered by the only moderately good sensitivity and specificity.
The oncogene phosphatidylinositol 3'-kinase catalytic subunit alpha promotes angiogenesis via vascular endothelial growth factor in ovarian carcinoma.

The gene of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase catalytic subunit alpha (PIK3CA) has been implicated as an oncogene in ovarian cancer [L. Shayesteh et al., Nat. Genet. , 21: 99-102, 1999]. In this study, we examined the expression of PIK3CA mRNA and its p110alpha protein product in human ovarian carcinoma and investigated its role in regulating angiogenesis via vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). PIK3CA mRNA was detected in 66.6% of stage I and 93.9% of advanced stage ovarian cancer specimens and in all 17 ovarian cancer cell lines. PIK3CA mRNA levels were significantly higher in invasive carcinomas compared with benign and low malignant potential neoplasms (P = 0.007), but no significant difference was seen between early and advanced stage carcinomas (P = 0.812). Strong expression of immunoreactive p110alpha was detected in tumor cells and/or stroma endothelium. PIK3CA expression in vivo positively correlated, both at the mRNA and the protein level, with the expression of VEGF as well as with the extent of microvascular development. Furthermore, PIK3CA mRNA overexpression positively correlated with increased proliferation and decreased apoptosis of tumor cells in vivo. In vitro, PIK3CA expression positively correlated with the expression of VEGF in ovarian cancer cells, whereas the phosphatidylinositol 3'-kinase inhibitor Ly294002 reduced both the constitutive and inducible expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha at the mRNA and protein levels and abrogated VEGF up-regulation by glucose starvation. Furthermore, Ly294002 suppressed cell proliferation and, at higher doses, induced marked apoptosis in ovarian cancer cells. Collectively, these data strongly indicate that PIK3CA supports ovarian cancer growth through multiple and independent pathways affecting cell proliferation, apoptosis and angiogenesis, and plays an important role in ovarian cancer progression.
Muscle vibration: Different effects on transcranial magnetic and electrical stimulation

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and transcranial electrical stimulation (TES) were applied before and 3 s after onset of vibration (0.5 mm, 80 Hz) of the right extensor carpi radialis muscle in 5 healthy subjects. Vibration induced significant augmentation and latency shortening of motor evoked potentials elicited by TMS, but not TES. This provides evidence for an involvement of cortical mechanisms by muscle vibration in the augmentation of MEPs following TMS. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Muscle Nerve 22: 946–948, 1999
Androgen receptor gene and gender specific Alzheimer ’ s disease

Women are at a twofold risk of developing late onset Alzheimer’s disease (LOAD) (onset ≥65 years of age) compared to men. During perimenopausal years, women undergo hormonal changes that are accompanied by metabolic, cardiovascular and inflammatory changes. These all together have been suggested as risk factors for LOAD. However, not all perimenopausal women develop AD; we hypothesize that certain genetic factors might underlie the increased susceptibility for developing AD in postmenopausal women. We investigated the androgen receptor (AR) gene in a clinical cohort of male and female AD patients and normal controls by sequencing all coding exons and evaluating the length and distribution of the CAG repeat in exon 1. We could not establish a correlation between the repeat length, gender and the disease status, nor did we identify possible pathogenic variants. AR is located on the X chromosome; in order to assess its role in AD, X-inactivation patterns will need to be studied to directly correlate the actual expressed repeat length to a possible sex specific phenotypic effect.
A conceptual framework for changes in Fund Management and in their Accountability for ESG issues

In the past decade the significance of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in investment processes and ownership practices has become very high profile especially with regard to financial markets and investing financial institutions. This paper reveals a new conceptual framework for fund management (FM) based on field based empirical patterns and literature analysis. This is used to analyse how fund managers can adapt and change in a systematic and coherent way relative to ESG issues. Ethical problems and climate change issues will be used as the main examples of ESG issues. This change to FM is designed to enhance FM accountability to clients (pension funds, other savers) and other stakeholders concerning ESG issues.