Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Food access and diet quality independently predict nutritional status among people living with HIV in Uganda

Abstract Objective Although undernutrition is recognized as a risk factor for mortality among people living with HIV (PLWHIV), even among those initiating antiretroviral therapy, few studies have explored the underlying determinants of undernutrition. The objectives of the present study were to: (i) examine the independent association between household food security, individual diet quality and nutritional status; and (ii) determine if any association between food security and nutritional status is mediated through diet quality. Design Cross-sectional baseline survey. Setting Gulu and Soroti districts, Uganda. Subjects Nine hundred and two PLWHIV recruited into a study evaluating the impact of a food assistance programme supported by the World Food Programme. Results Food security and diet quality were measured using the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) and the Individual Dietary Diversity Score (IDDS), respectively. Multivariate regression results demonstrated that HFIAS and IDDS independently predict BMI (P < 0·01) and mid upper-arm circumference (P < 0·05). The adjusted odds ratio of being underweight (BMI < 18·5 kg/m2) among individuals living in severely food-insecure households was 1·92 (P < 0·0 0 1); individuals consuming a highly diverse diet had an adjusted odds ratio of being underweight of 0·56 (P < 0·05) compared with those consuming a diet of low diversity. Similar results were observed when mid upper-arm circumference and wasting were modelled as outcomes. Using path analysis, we observed that the indirect effect of food insecurity on BMI mediated through dietary diversity is negligible, and mostly a result of the direct effect of food insecurity on BMI. Conclusions Our results provide an empirical basis for focused efforts on improving food access and diet quality among PLWHIV. Addressing the broader structural determinants of food security of people infected and affected by HIV is crucial.
Rate and prediction of relapse in bulimia nervosa.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to provide an estimate of the rate of relapse in patients with bulimia nervosa and to attempt to identify indexes of functioning before or after treatment that predicted subsequent relapse. METHOD The subjects were 48 female patients with bulimia nervosa who achieved symptom control while attending a specialized day hospital treatment program for eating disorders. The subjects were assessed before treatment, after treatment, and at a 2-year follow-up interview with respect to their eating symptoms and psychosocial functioning. RESULTS A relapse rate of 31% was observed during the 2-year follow-up period, and the vast majority of relapses occurred within the first 6 months after treatment. The strongest predictors of relapse were younger age, higher vomiting frequency, and a higher score on the bulimia subscale of the 26-item Eating Attitudes Test before treatment and higher vomiting frequency and a higher score on the interpersonal distrust subscale of the Eating Disorder Inventory at the end of treatment. Measures of binge eating frequency, self-esteem, depression, and social adjustment were not significant predictors of relapse. CONCLUSIONS Vomiting frequency, even at subthreshold levels, appears to be an important prognostic indicator and may be one of the best barometers of residual symptoms in these patients.
Macrophages from patients with atopic dermatitis show a reduced CXCL10 expression in response to staphylococcal α‐toxin

To cite this article: Kasraie S, Niebuhr M, Kopfnagel V, Dittrich‐Breiholz O, Kracht M, Werfel T. Macrophages from patients with atopic dermatitis show a reduced CXCL10 expression in response to staphylococcal α‐toxin.Allergy 2012; 67: 41–49.
Factors affecting performance of hospital nurses in Riyadh Region, Saudi Arabia.

PURPOSE The purpose of this paper is to identify factors influencing performance of hospital nurses in Riyadh Region, Saudi Arabia. Specific objectives were to estimate self-reported performance, and determine whether differences in employee demographics, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment, influenced performance. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH In total, 15 hospitals were randomly selected. The questionnaire was sent to all nurses (1,834) in these facilities and 923 nurses responded. Statistical analysis included correlation, t-test, and regression analysis. FINDINGS The study finds that job performance is positively correlated with organizational commitment, job satisfaction and personal and professional variables. Both job satisfaction and organizational commitment are strong predictors of nurses' performance. Job performance is positively related to some personal factors, including years of experience, nationality, gender, and marital status. Level of education is negatively related to performance. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS The findings of this study have a limited generalisability due to the fact that all measures used are based on self-reports. Future research may be directed to other objective measures of performance. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS Emphasis should be placed on effective supervision, empowerment, and a better reward system. Cultural diversity is a reality for most health organizations in Saudi Arabia; therefore, they need to adopt effective human resources strategies that aim to improve commitment and retention of qualified workers, and build a high performance organizational culture based on empowerment, open communication, and appreciation of impact of national culture on work attitudes. ORIGINALITY/VALUE This study fulfills a research gap in the area of nursing performance, and its relationship with work attitudes in Saudi Arabia. The paper also highlights the impact of national culture on job performance and work attitude among nurses in Saudi Arabia, and other countries facing the issue of multi-national work force.
Discovery of Predictive Biomarkers for Litter Size in Boar Spermatozoa*

Conventional semen analysis has been used for prognosis and diagnosis of male fertility. Although this tool is essential for providing initial quantitative information about semen, it remains a subject of debate. Therefore, development of new methods for the prognosis and diagnosis of male fertility should be seriously considered for animal species of economic importance as well as for humans. In the present study, we applied a comprehensive proteomic approach to identify global protein biomarkers in boar spermatozoa in order to increase the precision of male fertility prognoses and diagnoses. We determined that l-amino acid oxidase, mitochondrial malate dehydrogenase 2, NAD (MDH2), cytosolic 5′-nucleotidase 1B, lysozyme-like protein 4, and calmodulin (CALM) were significantly and abundantly expressed in high-litter size spermatozoa. We also found that equatorin, spermadhesin AWN, triosephosphate isomerase (TPI), Ras-related protein Rab-2A (RAB2A), spermadhesin AQN-3, and NADH dehydrogenase [ubiquinone] iron-sulfur protein 2 (NDUFS2) were significantly and abundantly expressed in low-litter size spermatozoa (>3-fold). Moreover, RAB2A, TPI, and NDUFS2 were negatively correlated with litter size, whereas CALM and MDH2 were positively correlated. This study provides novel biomarkers for the prediction of male fertility. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work that shows significantly increased litter size using male fertility biomarkers in a field trial. Moreover, these protein markers may provide new developmental tools for the selection of superior sires as well as for the prognosis and diagnosis of male fertility.
Advance in Dietary Polyphenols as α-Glucosidases Inhibitors: A Review on Structure-Activity Relationship Aspect

The dietary polyphenols as α-glucosidases inhibitors have attracted great interest among researchers. The aim of this review is to give an overview of the research reports on the structure-activity relationship of dietary polyphenols inhibiting α-glucosidases. The molecular structures that influence the inhibition are the following: (1) The hydroxylation and galloylation of flavonoids including catechins improve the inhibitory activity. (2) The glycosylation of hyroxyl group and hydrogenation of the C2=C3 double bond on flavonoids weaken the inhibition. (3) However, cyaniding glycosides show higher inhibition against than cyanidin. Proanthocyanidins oligomers exhibit a stronger inhibitory activity than their polymers. (4) The hydroxylation on B ring and the glycosylation of stilbenes reduce the inhibitory activity. (5) Caffeoylquinic acids display strong inhibition against α-glucosidases. However, hydroxycinnamic acid, ferulic acid, and gallic acid hardly inhibited α-glucosidases. (6) The coupled galloyl structures attached to C-3 and C-6 of the 4C1 glucose core of ellagitanin gave basic inhibitory activity. (7) The mono-glycosylation of chalcones slightly lowers the inhibition. However, the diglycosylation of chalcones significantly decreased the activity.
Beamforming Lens Antenna on a High Resistivity Silicon Wafer for 60 GHz WPAN

Wafer-scale beamforming lenses for future IEEE802.15. 3c 60 GHz WPAN applications are presented. An on-wafer fabrication is of particular interest because a beamforming lens can be fabricated with sub-circuits in a single process. It means that the beamforming lens system would be compact, reliable, and cost-effective. The Rotman lens and the Rotman lens with antenna arrays were fabricated on a high-resistivity silicon (HRS) wafer in a semiconductor process, which is a preliminary research to check the feasibility of a Rotman lens for a chip scale packaging. In the case of the Rotman lens only, the efficiency is in the range from 50% to 70% depending on which beam port is excited. Assuming that the lens is coupled with ideal isotropic antennas, the synthesized beam patterns from the S-parameters shows that the beam directions are -29.3°, -15.1°, 0.2°, 15.2°, and 29.5 °, and the beam widths are 15.37°, 15.62°, 15.46°, 15.51°, and 15.63°, respectively. In the case of the Rotman lens with antenna array, the patterns were measured by using on-wafer measurement setup. It shows that the beam directions are -26.6°, -21.8°, 0°, 21.8°, and 26.6° . These results are in good agreement with the calculated results from ray-optic. Thus, it is verified that the lens antenna implemented on a wafer can be feasible for the system-in-package (SiP) and wafer-level package technologies.
Niobium NanoSQUIDs Based on Sandwich Nanojunctions: Performance as a Function of the Temperature

In this paper, an experimental investigation of the main characteristics of a niobium nano Superconducting QUantum Interference Device (nanoSQUID) as a function of the temperature (9-0.3 K) is presented. The nanosensor consists of a niobium superconducting loop (0.4 × 1.0 μm2) interrupted by two sandwich nanojunctions (Nb/Al-AlOx/Nb) having an area of about (300 × 300) nm2. These nanodevices have been fabricated by means of a focused ion beam sculpting method, which is used as a lithographic technique to define the various elements of the SQUID. We have performed measurements of current-voltage, critical current-magnetic flux characteristics, and switching current distributions from the zero voltage state for different temperatures. The high critical current modulation depths and the low intrinsic dissipation exhibited by these devices ensure a suitable sensitivity for nanoscale applications in the whole temperature range investigated.
Banks' Exposure to Rollover Risk and the Maturity of Corporate Loans

In this paper, we show that when banks increase their use of wholesale funding they shorten the maturity of loans to corporations. This effect appears to be linked to banks' exposure to rollover risk resulting from their increasing use of short-term uninsured funding. Banks that use more wholesale funding shorten both the maturity of newly issued loans and the maturity of their loan portfolios. These results are not present among banks that rely predominantly on insured deposits. The link between wholesale funding and loan maturity is robust, and holds when we include firm-year fixed effects, suggesting that the decline in loan maturity is bank driven. In line with this premise, we find that the slope of the loan yield curve becomes steeper for banks that use more wholesale funding, and that borrowers turn to the bond market to raise funding with longer maturity in response to banks' loan maturity shortening.
Impact of dosage schedule on the efficacy of gentamicin, tobramycin, or amikacin in an experimental model of Serratia marcescens endocarditis: in vitro-in vivo correlation

Aminoglycosides are usually considered to be concentration-dependent antibiotics and to have similar pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic properties. To verify the equivalent activity of the aminoglycosides on a susceptible strain, we tested the killing rate of three aminoglycosides (gentamicin, tobramycin, and amikacin) on one strain of Serratia marcescens both in vitro and in vivo by using a rabbit model of left-ventricle endocarditis. Despite, similar MICs, the time-kill curve of gentamicin was consistently better than those of amikacin and tobramycin, whatever the concentration of each antibiotic used (1, 2, 4, 8, 16, or 32 mg/liter), after a 5-h incubation. The in vivo bacterial reduction in the vegetations was measured 24 h after administration of an intravenous 48-mg/kg bolus of each antibiotic or at the end of a 24-h continuous intravenous infusion of the same dose. Gentamicin was significantly more effective when administered as a bolus than when administered as a continuous infusion (2.8 +/- 0.2 versus 6.4 +/- 1.5 log10 CFU/g of vegetation, respectively; P less than 0.01), whereas amikacin was more effective as a continuous infusion than as a bolus injection (3.6 +/- 2.0 versus 7.5 +/- 1.3 log10 CFU/g of vegetation, respectively; P less than 0.01). Tobramycin was not very effective, whatever the dosage tested (approximately 6.5 to 7 log10 CFU/g). These results suggest that concentration-dependent bactericidal activities, both in vitro and in vivo, may vary greatly among aminoglycosides despite similar MICs.
Isoflurane Pretreatment Has Immediate and Delayed Protective Effects against Cytokine-induced Injury in Endothelial and Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells

Background Volatile anesthetics have protective effects against cytokine-induced injury in endothelial and vascular smooth muscle cells. The authors hypothesized that isoflurane pretreatment may trigger immediate and delayed protection that is modulated by adenosine triphosphate–sensitive potassium channels. Methods Human and bovine endothelial cells and rat vascular smooth muscle cells were pretreated with isoflurane (1.5% for 30 min) and then exposed to cytokines (tumor necrosis factor-&agr;, interferon-&ggr;, and interleukin-&bgr;) for 72 h. Cytokine exposure was initiated immediately after isoflurane pretreatment or after a delay of 1–48 h. Cell survival and viability were evaluated by trypan blue exclusion and lactate dehydrogenase release. The role of mitochondrial and cell membrane adenosine triphosphate–sensitive potassium channels, or both, were evaluated with the antagonists 5-hydroxydecanoate, HMR-1098, or glybenclamide. Results Immediate isoflurane pretreatment was approximately 70% effective in increasing cell survival and prevented lactate dehydrogenase release in all cell lines. However, cellular protection was completely lost if the time between isoflurane and cytokine exposure was extended to 2–12 h, depending on the cell type. Delayed protection was equal to immediate protection when the interval was extended to 12–24 h, with protection being sustained at 48 h in human endothelial and rat vascular smooth muscle cells. The immediate and delayed protection was inhibited by glybenclamide and 5-hydroxydecanoate but not by HMR-1098, whereas diazoxide, a mitochondrial adenosine triphosphate–sensitive potassium channels agonist, mimicked the time course of isoflurane-induced immediate and delayed protection in all cell lines. Conclusion Isoflurane pretreatment has immediate and delayed protective effects against cytokine-induced injury in endothelial and vascular smooth muscle cells that seem to be modulated by mitochondrial adenosine triphosphate–sensitive potassium channels. The time course of immediate and delayed protection is similar but not identical for each cell type.
Analysis of morbidity and clinical implications of laparoscopic para-aortic lymphadenectomy in a continuous series of 98 patients with advanced-stage cervical cancer and negative PET CT imaging in para-aortic area.

e15574 Background: Laparoscopic para-aortic lymphadenectomy (PAL) is being used increasingly to stage patients with locally advanced cervical cancer (LACC) and to define radiation fields limits before chemoradiation therapy (CRT). The aim of this study was to review complications and to determine whether surgical complications delayed the beginning of CRT. METHODS We retrospectively reviewed a continuous series of patients with LACC, no positive PA nodes at PET CT and who had undergone a primary laparoscopic PAL. RESULTS From 11/2007 to 06/2010, 98 patients with LACC had undergone pretherapeutic PAL. One patient missed her scheduled PET CT before surgery. Two other patients had not undergone PAL: extensive carcinosis had been discovered in one case and a technical problem had arisen in the other. No major peroperative complications had occurred. Seven patients had lymphocyst needing an imaging-guided (or laparoscopic) puncture. Eight patients (8.4% - which corresponds to the rate of PET CT false negatives) had metastatic disease within para-aortic lymph nodes. In case of suspicious pelvic nodes at PET CT, risk of PA disease was greater (24.0% vs 2.9%, p=0.004, OR= 10.7 [2.3; 50.1]) (Table). When patients with and without surgical morbidity were compared, the median delay to the start of treatment was not significantly different (15 days[3-49] vs. 18 [3-42] days, NS). CONCLUSIONS The morbidity of laparoscopic PAL was limited and the completion of treatment had not been delayed when complications had occurred. Nevertheless, the results of the table raise the question of the interest of PAL in patients with negative PET CT in the pelvic area because, in that case, risk of PA disease is very low. Distribution of patients according to suspicious pelvic nodes (pelvic PET N+) and histological PA disease (n=95 patients with PET and PAL performed). [Table: see text].
Differential methylation of the promoter and first exon of the RASSF1A gene in hepatocarcinogenesis

Aberrant methylation of the promoter, P2, and the first exon, E1, regions of the tumor suppressor gene RASSF1A, have been associated with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), albeit with poor specificity. This study analyzed the methylation profiles of P1, P2 and E1 regions of the gene to identify the region of which methylation most specifically corresponds to HCC and to evaluate the potential of this methylated region as a biomarker in urine for HCC screening.
Heightened Impulsivity: Associated with Family History of Alcohol Misuse, and a Consequence of Alcohol Intake.

BACKGROUND Youths with family history (FH) of alcoholism are at greater risk of developing alcohol use disorder (AUD); heightened impulsive behavior may underlie such increased vulnerability. Here, we studied waiting impulsivity (previously suggested to predispose to alcohol drinking) in young moderate-to-heavy social drinkers (18 to 33 years old) characterized as family history positive (FHP) and negative (FHN) following an alcoholic or nonalcoholic (placebo) drink. METHODS Two groups of young male and female social drinkers (n = 64) were administered an acute dose of alcohol (0.8 g/kg) or placebo. One group (FHP; n = 24) had first-degree relatives with problems of alcohol misuse; the other group (FHN) did not. Participants completed 4 variants of the Sx-5CSRTT, a task measuring waiting impulsivity. In addition, other types of impulsive behavior were tested (by means of the stop-signal task [SST]; information sampling task [IST]; Delay Discounting Questionnaire; 2-choice impulsivity paradigm; and time estimation task). RESULTS Young FHP adults showed more premature responding than FHN when evaluated under increased attentional load (high waiting impulsivity), while, in contrast, they presented a more conservative strategy on the IST (less impulsive behavior), compared to FHN. Acute alcohol impaired inhibitory control on the SST in all participants, and induced a marginal increase of premature responses, but did not affect other measures of impulsivity. CONCLUSIONS Assessing for exaggerated waiting impulsivity may provide a potential endophenotype associated with risk for the development of alcohol addiction (i.e., offspring of alcoholics).
Mitochondrial DNA suggests cryptic speciation in Prodiplosis longifila Gagné (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) associated with geographic distance and host specialization

Abstract Prodiplosis longifila is reported as a pest of a wide range of species cultivated in America, including citrus, solanaceous species and asparagus. This species has different behavioural traits that are primarily centred on the oviposition habit and the feeding of larvae, which can change depending on the host. However, scarce information is available on population studies and the natural history of this insect, and uncertainty exists about the taxonomic identity and the geographic distribution of this species. The main objective was to perform a phylogenetic and genetic study of P. longifila populations and to define whether the North American and South American populations belong to the same species or whether a differentiation process had occurred due to geographic distance. A second objective was to determine whether this species showed genetic differentiation by host specialization in South America. The phylogenetic and population analyses based on DNA barcodes (cytochrome oxidase I gene) and a region of the ribosomal DNA (ITS2) revealed divergent clades attributable to geographic distance and host specificity. The North American and South American P. longifila insects were confirmed to be genetically distinct, and the genetic distances exceeded the values expected for intraspecific variation. In South America, the population analysis of P. longifila from tomato, sweet pepper (Solanaceae), Tahiti lime and key lime (Rutaceae) hosts evidenced high genetic differentiation between populations associated with different hosts and an absence of gene flow between these groups, suggesting the corresponding formation of cryptic species.
Application of an artificial neural network in epiluminescence microscopy pattern analysis of pigmented skin lesions: a pilot study

In vivo epiluminescence microscopy (ELM) is a non‐invasive technique which improves the clinical diagnosis of naevi and malignant melanoma by providing diagnostic criteria that cannot be appreciated by the naked eye. The present study investigated whether ELM criteria pattern analysis can be employed in an objective, observer‐trained, computer‐aided diagnostic system, and whether artificial neural networks (ANN) can be applied to the diagnosis of pigmented skin lesions (PSL).