Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Better psychological functioning and higher social status may largely explain the apparent health benefits of wine: a study of wine and beer drinking in young Danish adults.

BACKGROUND Findings from a recent series of Danish studies suggest that moderate wine drinkers are healthier than those who drink other alcoholic beverages or those who abstain. OBJECTIVE To identify possible explanatory factors associated with the health benefits of wine consumption through the examination of a wide spectrum of social, cognitive, and personality characteristics related to both beverage choice and health in young Danish adults. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Descriptive cross-sectional study of characteristics associated with beverage choice in a sample of 363 men and 330 women between the ages of 29 and 34 years, selected from the Copenhagen Perinatal Cohort on the basis of perinatal records. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Socioeconomic status, education, IQ, personality, psychiatric symptoms, and health-related behaviors, including alcohol consumption, were analyzed. The outcome variables were subjected to linear and logistic regression analyses with 2 factors (beer and wine), each with 2 levels (drinking or not drinking a certain beverage type). RESULTS Wine drinking was significantly associated with higher IQ, higher parental educational level, and higher socioeconomic status. Beer drinking was significantly associated with lower scores on the same variables. On scales concerning personality, psychiatric symptoms, and health-related behaviors, wine drinking was associated with optimal functioning and beer drinking with suboptimal functioning. CONCLUSIONS Our data demonstrate that wine drinking is a general indicator of optimal social, cognitive, and personality development in Denmark. Similar social, cognitive, and personality factors have also been associated with better health in many populations. Consequently, the association between drinking habits and social and psychological characteristics, in large part, may explain the apparent health benefits of wine.
Peripheral neuropathy in arsenic smelter workers

We conducted a double-blind controlled study of individuals exposed to arsenic trioxide in a copper-smelting factory. Subjects fell into three categories of peripheral neuropathy: none, subclinical, and clinical. The subclinical group had no symptoms or signs of numbness or reduced reflexes, but did have reduced nerve conduction velocity and amplitude measurements. Clinical neuropathy groups had signs and symptoms of neuropathy and electrophysiologic abnormalities. The clinical and subclinical groups correlated with increased content of arsenic in urine, hair, and nails. The incidence of subclinical and clinical neuropathy was greater in arsenic workers than in unexposed controls.
Cyclic AMP‐mediated regulation of excitation‐contraction coupling in canine gastric smooth muscle.

1. Agonists known to increase cyclic AMP levels in gastrointestinal smooth muscles were studied in isolated circular muscles of the canine antrum to investigate the mechanisms of the inhibitory effects of these agents. 2. Muscles were electrically active, generating typical slow wave activity. Cytosolic Ca2+ ([Ca2+]cyt; measured by Indo‐1 fluorescence) and tension increased in response to slow waves. 3. Stimulation by isoprenaline (via beta 2‐receptors) or forskolin, in the presence or absence of acetylcholine, inhibited the plateau phase and reduced phasic [Ca2+]cyt and contractile responses. 4. Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) and calcitonin gene‐related peptide (CGRP), had similar effects to isoprenaline and forskolin. 5. Increases in the plateau phase of slow waves and the associated increases in [Ca2+]cyt and tension caused by direct activation of voltage‐dependent Ca2+ channels by Bay K 8644 (0.1 microM) were also reduced by forskolin. 6. Isoprenaline and forskolin induced negative chronotropic effects, but VIP increased frequency. 7. At a given level of [Ca2+]cyt, contractions were greater under control conditions than in the presence of isoprenaline, VIP and CGRP, suggesting that part of the inhibition produced by these agents may be due to decreased Ca2+ sensitivity of the contractile apparatus. 8. Experiments performed on alpha‐toxin‐permeabilized muscles confirmed that cyclic AMP‐dependent effects involve reduced Ca2+ sensitivity of the contractile apparatus. Addition of cyclic AMP (3‐300 microM) caused a reduction in Ca(2+)‐induced contraction at a constant level of Ca2+ (pCa 5.5). 9. These results suggest that increased cyclic AMP and probably subsequent activation of protein kinase A: (i) decrease [Ca2+]cyt and contraction by an inhibition of Ca2+ influx during slow waves, and (ii) decrease the sensitivity of the contractile apparatus to [Ca2+]cyt. The membrane effects might occur directly by inhibition of Ca2+ channels or indirectly by increasing the open probability of K+ channels which would tend to cause premature repolarization of slow waves.
Increased risk of malignancy for non‐atypical urothelial cell groups compared to negative cytology in voided urine. Morphological changes with LBC

Liquid‐based cytology (LBC) has recently become the preferred method for urine cytology analysis, but differences with conventional cytology (CC) have been observed. The purpose of this study is to analyze these differences and the clinical relevance of non‐atypical urothelial cell groups (UCG) in voided urine specimens. Reporting terminology is discussed. Initially, diagnostic categories from 619 LBC and 474 CC samples, reviewed by five different pathologists, were compared (phase 1). Five years after LBC was implemented and applying strict cytologic criteria for UCG diagnosis, 760 samples were analyzed (phase 2) and compared to previous LBC specimens. Diagnostic differences, interobserver variability and clinicopathological correlation with a 6‐month follow‐up, were analyzed. UCG increased from 6.5% with CC to 20.7% (218%, 3.2 fold, P < 0.0001) with LBC. This difference was not related to interobserver variability. Five years later, the rate of UCG had decreased to 13 2%. While 6% of cases with a negative cytology had urothelial carcinoma (UC) within 6 months of diagnosis, this percentage increased to 15.7% with UCG. The sensitivity of the UCG category for UC was low (30.4%), but the specificity and the negative predictive value (NPV) were high (87.1% and 94%, respectively). LBC increases UCG when compared to CC. This can be corrected with observeŕs experience and using set cytological criteria. Due to its association with carcinoma, the presence of UCG in voided urine should be framed in a diagnostic category other than “negative for malignancy. ” Diagn. Cytopathol. 2016;44:582–590. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Neuronal low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 binds and endocytoses prion fibrils via receptor cluster 4

For infectious prion protein (designated PrPSc) to act as a template to convert normal cellular protein (PrPC) to its distinctive pathogenic conformation, the two forms of prion protein (PrP) must interact closely. The neuronal receptor that rapidly endocytoses PrPC is the low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 (LRP1). We show here that on sensory neurons LRP1 is also the receptor that binds and rapidly endocytoses smaller oligomeric forms of infectious prion fibrils, and recombinant PrP fibrils. Although LRP1 binds two molecules of most ligands independently to its receptor clusters 2 and 4, PrPC and PrPSc fibrils bind only to receptor cluster 4. PrPSc fibrils out-compete PrPC for internalization. When endocytosed, PrPSc fibrils are routed to lysosomes, rather than recycled to the cell surface with PrPC. Thus, although LRP1 binds both forms of PrP, it traffics them to separate fates within sensory neurons. The binding of both to ligand cluster 4 should enable genetic modification of PrP binding without disrupting other roles of LRP1 essential to neuronal viability and function, thereby enabling in vivo analysis of the role of this interaction in controlling both prion and LRP1 biology.
Low sexual desire in midlife and older women: personality factors, psychosocial development, present sexuality

Objective:Recent population-based surveys indicate that the prevalence of sexual dysfunction, particularly low sexual desire and arousal disorders, is increasing with age. However, there seems to be greater variability of the sexual experience and functioning in midlife and older women, suggesting a higher dependence on basic conditions like general well-being, physical and mental health, quality of relationship, and life situation. Design:A series of studies was conducted in the authors’ Female Sexual Dysfunction research group to assess differences in (1) determinants of sexual satisfaction, (2) personality factors, and (3) present sexuality between younger and older women in both patient and nonpatient populations. Results:The results of these studies highlight that in comparison with functional women, patients with hypoactive sexual desire are generally characterized by a vulnerable self-system with several rather inadequate self-regulatory mechanisms. The results of the brief sexual function questionnaire indicate that the present sexuality of women seeking professional help for low sexual desire is significantly different from the sexuality of a control group of nonpatients. These between-group effects proved to be far more important than any age effects within both groups and showed that all domains of sexuality were negatively affected and overshadowed by the sexual dysfunction. Conclusions:These results are supportive of the growing evidence against a simple model of midlife sexuality that depicts women as victims of their bodily and hormonal changes. Instead, life stressors, contextual factors, past sexuality, and mental health problems are more significant predictors of midlife women’s sexual interest than menopause status itself. Evaluation and treatment approaches require consideration of the full range of contextual factors, including relationship quality, personality factors, past experience, and mental and physical health.
Comparison of direct and Doppler arterial blood pressure measurements in rabbits during isoflurane anaesthesia.

OBJECTIVE To measure the level of agreement between Doppler measured (DOP) arterial blood pressure (ABP) in the forelimb and directly measured (DIR) auricular systolic ABP (SAP) and mean ABP (MAP) in isoflurane-anaesthetized rabbits. STUDY DESIGN Prospective clinical study. ANIMALS Data were analysed from 17 of 24 healthy rabbits, weighing 1.3-2.8 kg. METHODS Rabbits were anaesthetized for neutering using a standardized protocol. A 26G catheter placed in an auricular artery was connected via heparinised saline filled non-compliant tubing (regularly flushed) to a calibrated pressure transducer (zeroed level with the thoracic inlet) to obtain DIR ABP. A cuff was placed proximal to the carpus (approximately level with the thoracic inlet) and a Doppler transducer sited over the dorsal carpal branch of the radial artery to obtain DOP ABP. Simultaneous DIR and DOP ABP recordings were made every 5-10 minutes during anaesthesia. Agreement was assessed as described by Bland JM & Altman (2007). RESULTS Mean ± SD cuff width: limb circumference ratio was 0.50 ± 0.04. Mean between-method differences ± SD, DIR SAP- DOP and DIR MAP- DOP, were +1 ± 8 and -13 ± 8 mmHg respectively. The 95% limits of agreement between DIR SAP and DOP and between DIR MAP and DOP were -14 to +17 and -28 to +2 mmHg respectively. Differences between DIR SAP and DOP were ≤ 10 mmHg 85% of the time. Defining hypotension as either DIR SAP < 80 mmHg or DIR MAP < 60 mmHg, and taking DOP ABP of <80 mmHg to indicate hypotension, sensitivity and specificity were 92% and 67% respectively. CONCLUSIONS Good agreement was found between DIR SAP and DOP. Doppler measurements below 80 mmHg are a reliable indicator of arterial hypotension. CLINICAL RELEVANCE DOP is acceptable for monitoring ABP in isoflurane-anaesthetized rabbits and is useful for detection of hypotension.
Measures of Cultural Competence: Examining Hidden Assumptions

Purpose The authors critically examined the quantitative measures of cultural competence most commonly used in medicine and in the health professions, to identify underlying assumptions about what constitutes competent practice across social and cultural diversity. Method A systematic review of approximately 20 years of literature listed in PubMed, the Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Social Services Abstracts, and the Educational Resources Information Center identified the most frequently used cultural competence measures, which were then thematically analyzed following a structured analytic guide. Results Fifty-four instruments were identified; the 10 most widely used were analyzed closely, identifying six prominent assumptions embedded in the measures. In general, these instruments equate culture with ethnicity and race and conceptualize culture as an attribute possessed by the ethnic or racialized Other. Cultural incompetence is presumed to arise from a lack of exposure to and knowledge of the Other, and also from individual biases, prejudices, and acts of discrimination. Many instruments assume that practitioners are white and Western and that greater confidence and comfort among practitioners signify increased cultural competence. Conclusions Existing measures embed highly problematic assumptions about what constitutes cultural competence. They ignore the power relations of social inequality and assume that individual knowledge and self-confidence are sufficient for change. Developing measures that assess cultural humility and/or assess actual practice are needed if educators in the health professions and health professionals are to move forward in efforts to understand, teach, practice, and evaluate cultural competence.
What works’ in work with sexual offenders.

This review forms part of an EU funded project ‘Serious Offending by Mobile European Criminals’ (SOMEC). The project has the following objectives:  Assess the threat posed to European citizens when serious violent or sexual offenders travel between EU Member States.  Identify the methods and effectiveness of mechanisms used by EU Member States in the management of serious violent or sexual offenders travelling across borders.  Explore critical success factors and provide recommendations to facilitate the improved exchange of information for the prevention of crime. SOMEC Partners, Beneficiary Partners: National Offender Management Service (UK), The Home Office (UK) Association of Chief Police Officers (UK), ACPO Criminal Records Office (UK), National Crime Agency (UK), London Probation Trust (UK), De Montfort University (UK), CEP- Confederation of European Probation (EU), Department of Justice (Prison and Probation) Catalonia (ES), Dutch Ministry of Security and Justice (NL), Latvian State Probation Service (LV), Latvian State Police (LV). Associate Partners: The Ministry of Interior, Macedonia (MA), Probation Chiefs Association (UK), The Scottish Government (UK), The Police Service Northern Ireland (UK), Probation Board for Northern Ireland (UK), Europol (EU), Eurojust (EU).
Patterns of drugs prescribed for dental outpatients in Nigeria: findings and implications

Abstract Objectives: There are concerns with inappropriate prescribing of medicines among dentists especially antimicrobials. It is more concerning if this increases resistance rates. This study aimed to address this by assessing patterns of drugs prescribed for outpatients attending a hospital dental clinic in Nigeria. The findings will be used to plan future interventions, particularly around antimicrobial prescribing, where there are concerns. Methods and materials: Medical records of patients attending the dental clinic of a leading teaching hospital in Nigeria were evaluated. Patients referred for admission, without a prescription, or prescribed medicines without a documented diagnosis were excluded. Results: Overall, 607 prescriptions were analysed, 314 (51.7%) were for females. Periodontal and gum diseases (414; 68.1%) were the most frequent diagnoses, followed by pulpitis (49; 8.2%), and dentoalveolar abscess (43; 7.1%). A total of 1798 medicines were prescribed for all patients with a mean of 3.0 ± 0.48 medicines per prescription. Antimicrobials (1178; 65.5%) and analgesics (620; 34.5%) were the two drug classes prescribed. Ascorbic acid and vitamin B complex were prescribed for 361 (59.5%) patients. Among antimicrobials, amoxicillin (564; 95.1%) either alone or combined with clavulanic acid was the most frequently prescribed, followed by metronidazole (561; 94.6%). Brand name prescribing was also appreciably higher than WHO recommendations. Conclusion: Polypharmacy, brand name prescriptions, and the frequent prescription of antimicrobials were common practices at the dental clinic of this teaching hospital in Nigeria. We suggest a review of the current standard treatment guidelines in Nigeria to guide dentists on current knowledge- and evidence-based treatment of common oral diseases.
Mutational analysis of BRAF and KRAS in ovarian serous borderline (atypical proliferative) tumours and associated peritoneal implants

There is debate as to whether peritoneal implants associated with serous borderline tumours/atypical proliferative serous tumours (SBT/APSTs) of the ovary are derived from the primary ovarian tumour or arise independently in the peritoneum. We analysed 57 SBT/APSTs from 45 patients with advanced‐stage disease identified from a nation‐wide tumour registry in Denmark. Mutational analysis for hotspots in KRAS and BRAF was successful in 55 APSTs and demonstrated KRAS mutations in 34 (61.8%) and BRAF mutations in eight (14.5%). Mutational analysis was successful in 56 peritoneal implants and revealed KRAS mutations in 34 (60.7%) and BRAF mutations in seven (12.5%). Mutational analysis could not be performed in two primary tumours and in nine implants, either because DNA amplification failed or because there was insufficient tissue for mutational analysis. For these specimens we performed VE1 immunohistochemistry, which was shown to be a specific and sensitive surrogate marker for a V600E BRAF mutation. VE1 staining was positive in one of two APSTs and seven of nine implants. Thus, among 63 implants for which mutation status was known (either by direct mutational analysis or by VE1 immunohistochemistry), 34 (53.9%) had KRAS mutations and 14 (22%) had BRAF mutations, of which identical KRAS mutations were found in 34 (91%) of 37 SBT/APST–implant pairs and identical BRAF mutations in 14 (100%) of 14 SBT/APST–implant pairs. Wild‐type KRAS and BRAF (at the loci investigated) were found in 11 (100%) of 11 SBT/APST–implant pairs. Overall concordance of KRAS and BRAF mutations was 95% in 59 of 62 SBT/APST–implant (non‐invasive and invasive) pairs (p < 0.00001). This study provides cogent evidence that the vast majority of peritoneal implants, non‐invasive and invasive, harbour the identical KRAS or BRAF mutations that are present in the associated SBT/APST, supporting the view that peritoneal implants are derived from the primary ovarian tumour. Copyright © 2013 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Impact of Performance Appraisal Justice on the Effectiveness of Pay-for-Performance Systems After Civil Service Reform

The present study comprehensively examined how human resources (HR) directors in six U.S. state governments with drastic levels of civil service reform assess their states’ pay-for-performance effectiveness in terms of the performance appraisal justice. It was found that the effectiveness of pay-for-performance is influenced by perceived fairness of performance appraisal. More specifically, this study found that perceived politicization of performance appraisal was negatively and significantly associated with pay-for-performance effectiveness. This study also found that perceived fairness of appraisal criteria was positively and significantly associated with pay-for-performance effectiveness. In addition, this study shows that the effectiveness of pay-for-performance may be affected by some demographic characteristics (e.g., age and gender) and state differences. In particular, drastic levels of civil service reform significantly and positively influenced the effectiveness of pay-for-performance, but insignificantly affected performance appraisal fairness. These results provide scholars and practitioners in the public sector with meaningful strategies for civil service reform.
Physical activity, symptoms of chest pain and dyspnea in patients with ischemic heart disease in relation to age before and two years after coronary artery bypass grafting.

BACKGROUND To describe limitation of physical activity, cause of limitation of physical activity and symptoms of dyspnea and chest pain in relation to age before and 2 years after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). METHODS All patients from Western Sweden who underwent CABG without concomitant procedures during 3 years in 1989-1991 answered questionnaires before, and 2 years after the operation. Patients were divided into 3 age groups of equal size i.e. 32-59 years, 60-67 years and > or = 68 years. RESULTS In total, 2121 patients participated in the evaluation. The overall 2 year mortality in the 3 age groups was 3.8%, 6.8% and 12.2% (p<0.001). Limitation of physical activity was significantly associated with age prior to surgery but not thereafter. Improvement in physical activity, following CABG, was significant in all age groups. The proportion of patients being free of dyspnea increased markedly regardless of age. The number of chest pain attacks was associated with age after CABG, i.e. fewer attacks in the elderly, but such an association was not found prior to surgery. Improvement in number of chest pain attacks was more marked in the elderly. CONCLUSIONS Physical activity improved similarly in all age groups after CABG. Attacks of chest pain, although significantly reduced in all age groups, seemed more effectively reduced in the elderly.
Learning Orthographic Structure With Sequential Generative Neural Networks

Learning the structure of event sequences is a ubiquitous problem in cognition and particularly in language. One possible solution is to learn a probabilistic generative model of sequences that allows making predictions about upcoming events. Though appealing from a neurobiological standpoint, this approach is typically not pursued in connectionist modeling. Here, we investigated a sequential version of the restricted Boltzmann machine (RBM), a stochastic recurrent neural network that extracts high-order structure from sensory data through unsupervised generative learning and can encode contextual information in the form of internal, distributed representations. We assessed whether this type of network can extract the orthographic structure of English monosyllables by learning a generative model of the letter sequences forming a word training corpus. We show that the network learned an accurate probabilistic model of English graphotactics, which can be used to make predictions about the letter following a given context as well as to autonomously generate high-quality pseudowords. The model was compared to an extended version of simple recurrent networks, augmented with a stochastic process that allows autonomous generation of sequences, and to non-connectionist probabilistic models (n-grams and hidden Markov models). We conclude that sequential RBMs and stochastic simple recurrent networks are promising candidates for modeling cognition in the temporal domain.