Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Quality of life impairment among postmenopausal women varies according to race

Background. Few studies have addressed the impact of menopausal symptom severity over quality of life (QoL) in Latin American women with different ethnics. Objective. To assess menopausal symptom severity and the QoL among postmenopausal Colombian women with three different ethnicities. Method. Data of healthy naturally occurring postmenopausal Hispanic, indigenous and black women aged 40–59 years who participated in a cross-sectional study filling out the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS) and a general questionnaire was analysed. Results. A total of 579 women were included, 153 Hispanic, 295 indigenous and 131 Afro-descendent. Hispanic women had an average age of 55.3 ± 3.3 years. Indigenous and black women were less educated than the Hispanic ones (2.2 ± 1.8 and 4.6 ± 4.4 vs. 6.4 ± 3.5 years, p < 0.0001). Hispanic women displayed lower total MRS scores (better QoL) when compared to indigenous and black women. Urogenital scoring was worse among indigenous women compared to Hispanic and black women. Black women presented higher MRS psychological and somatic scorings than Hispanic and indigenous women. After adjusting for confounding factors, indigenous and black women continued to display a higher risk for impaired QoL, total MRS score >16 (OR: 3.11, 95% CI: 1.30–7.44 and OR: 5.29, 95% CI: 2.52–11.10, respectively), which was significantly higher among indigenous women due to urogenital symptoms (OR: 102.75, 95% CI: 38.33–275.47) and black women due to psychological (OR: 6.58, 95% CI: 3.27–13.27) and somatic symptoms (OR: 3.88, 95% CI: 1.83–8.22). Conclusion. In this postmenopausal Colombian series, menopausal symptoms in indigenous (urogenital) and black (somatic/psychological) women were more severe (impaired QoL) when compared to Hispanic ones.
Vulval swabs as alternative specimens for ligase chain reaction detection of genital chlamydial infection in women

A ligase chain reaction (LCR)-based assay was recently shown to be highly sensitive and specific for the detection of Chlamydia trachomatis not only in cervical specimens but also in first-void urine (FVU) specimens form women. The suitability of using vulval swabs as an alternative specimen that can be obtained by noninvasive means for the diagnosis of genital chlamydial infection by LCR was investigated. In a first study of 169 women, vulval, endocervical, and urethral swabs were tested by LCR, culture, and a combination of enzyme immunoassay (EIA) followed by confirmation by direct fluorescent-antibody assay (DFA), and the results were compared with those obtained by testing FVU specimens by LCR and EIA-DFA by using a specimen from an infected patient as a reference standard. Of the 169 women tested, 27 (16%) were shown to be infected. Whereas LCR showed high sensitivities with all specimen types (85.2% for vulval, urine, and endocervical specimens; 92.6% for urethral swabs), the sensitivities of culture and EIA-DFA were high only with endocervical swabs (74.1 and 70.4%, respectively), being 22.2 and 40.7%, respectively, with vulval swabs. In addition, urine testing by EIA-DFA also showed a poor sensitivity (48.1%). In order to further compare LCR performance with vulval specimens to that with FVU specimens, a second study was carried out with specimens from 312 women, of whom 26 were infected. Comparable sensitivity was obtained by LCR with vulval swabs (88.5%; 23 of 26) and FVU specimens (92.3%; 24 of 26). The results indicate that vulval swabs may serve as suitable alternative to specimens that can be obtained by noninvasive means for the detection of C. trachomatis by LCR.
Dose-reversal effect relationship of three different doses of neostigmine in obese patients: A randomised clinical trial

Background and Aims: Previous studies suggest that administration of vecuronium based on total body weight rather than ideal body weight (IBW) in obesity results in overdosing with prolonged recovery times. We hypothesised that larger doses of neostigmine could result in faster recovery in obese patients administered vecuronium based on total body weight. Methods: Forty-five obese American Society of Anesthesiologists' II patients undergoing elective surgery under general anaesthesia were randomised into 3 groups to receive neostigmine 30, 40 and 50 μg/kg. Following induction, patients were paralysed with vecuronium 0.1 mg/kg based on total body weight. Reversal was achieved with neostigmine based on the patient's group, and time to train-of-four (TOF) ratios of 0.5, 0.7 and 0.9 measured. The primary outcome variable was time to achieve TOF ratio >0.9. Results: Neostigmine 50 μg/kg achieved faster recovery to TOF 0.7 than neostigmine 30 and 40 μg/kg. There was no significant difference in recovery times to TOF 0.7 in patients receiving either 30 or 40 μg/kg of neostigmine. However, neostigmine 40 μg/kg attained TOF ratio 0.9 faster than 30 μg/kg. We did not note a significant difference between the 40 and 50 μg/kg dose with regard to recovery of TOF to 0.9. Conclusion: Facilitated recovery from neuromuscular blockade to TOF of 0.7 was faster with neostigmine 50 μg/kg compared to 40 or 30 μg/kg. Recovery to TOF ratio of 0.9 was not significantly different with 40 or 50 μg/kg doses although such time was faster as compared to 30 μg/kg dose.
Carbon : nitrogen : phosphorus ratios influence biofilm formation by Enterobacter cloacae and Citrobacter freundii

Aims: To test the effects of C : N : P ratio modification of a well‐known nutrient medium formulation, the Endo formulation on biofilm formation by Enterobacter cloacae Ecl and Citrobacter freundii Cf1 in both single‐species and binary species biofilms.
Salt‐ And Angiotensin Ii‐Dependent Variations In Amiloride‐Sensitive Rectal Potential Difference In Mice

1. In the rectum and distal nephron, sodium reabsorption is mediated by the amiloride‐sensitive epithelial sodium channel (ENaC). The ENaC‐mediated sodium transport is electrogenic and creates an amiloride‐sensitive transepithelial potential difference (PD).
Protease-deficient herpes simplex virus protects mice from lethal herpesvirus infection

Null mutants and attenuated mutants of herpes simplex virus (HSV) have been shown to induce immunity against challenge from wild-type virus. Null viruses with a defect in late gene products would be expected to express more viral genes than viruses with defects in essential early gene products and thus induce a better immune response. Herpesviruses encode a late gene product (serine protease) that is autocatalytic and cleaves the capsid assembly protein during viral replication. To determine whether a virus with a mutation in this gene could induce immunity, we constructed a recombinant virus containing the gusA reporter gene in the protease domain of the HSV type 1 UL26 open reading frame (ORF). Consistent with previous results (M. Gao, L. Matusick-Kumar, W. Hurlburt, S. F. DiTusa, W. W. Newcomb, J. C. Brown, P. J. McCann, I. Deckman, and R. J. Colonno, J. Virol. 68:3702-3712, 1994), recombinant virus could be isolated only from helper cell lines expressing the product of the UL26 ORF. Mice inoculated with the recombinant virus were unaffected by doses of virus that were lethal to mice infected with wild-type virus. Mice which were previously inoculated with the recombinant virus were also protected by a subsequent challenge with wild-type virus in a dose-dependent manner. These results indicate that recombinant viruses lacking the protease gene are avirulent but render protection from subsequent challenge.
Divisia monetary model of exchange rate determination: the case of Philippines

In literature, inferior performance still prevails as one of the unresolved issues with regard to the monetary model of exchange rate. A money demand function that is unstable can contribute to the inferior performance of the model. One of the causes for an unstable money demand function is the application of the simple sum monetary aggregate in the estimation. Therefore, an alternative measurement of money, the Divisia monetary aggregate, is applied in the estimation of the monetary model of exchange rate. The results show that cointegration exists between monetary fundamentals and the exchange rate in the Divisia model. Consequently, to estimate the exchange rate for the Philippines, the Divisia monetary aggregate can be used as an alternative money supply.
Loading‐related increases in prostaglandin production in cores of adult canine cancellous bone in vitro: A role for prostacyclin in adaptive bone remodeling?

Cyclic mechanical loading sufficient to engender strains of physiologic magnitude applied to recently excised canine cancellous bone cores in vitro increased the release of prostaglandin E (PGE) and prostacyclin (PGI2, measured as its breakdown product 6‐keto‐PGF1α), during a 15 minute loading period in which PG levels were measured in perfusing medium at 5 minute intervals. Peak production occurred in the 0–5 minute sample. Mean levels preload compared to during load were PGE, 2.66 and 3.67 ng/ml (p < 0.002); and 6‐keto‐PGF1α, 543 and 868 pg/ml (p < 0.007). The elevated levels then declined to preload levels during the loading period. However, the 5–10 minute but not the 10–15 minute samples still contained levels greater than preload values. A second 15 minute period of load, 1 h following the end of the first, produced smaller increases in the levels of release that were statistically significant only for the first 0–5 minute sample during load (preload compared to load mean values, PGE, 1.09–1.66 ng/ml, p < 0.02; 6‐keto‐PGF1α, 401–558 pg/ml, p < 0.04). Immunolocalization revealed PGE and 6‐keto‐PGF1α in lining cells and 6‐keto‐PGF1α but not PGE in osteocytes. Addition to the medium of 1 μM PGE2, approximating the concentration produced by loading, had no significant effect on the specific activity of the extractable RNA fraction labeled with [3H]uridine, whereas 1 μM PGI2 produced an increase similar to that seen previously with loading. These results suggest that both PGE and PGI2 may be involved in loading‐related adaptive bone modeling and remodeling. The presence of the PGI2 breakdown product in osteocytes and the RNA response to PGI2 suggest that this prostanoid may be an early factor in the cascade of events between strain in the bone matrix and subsequent osteoregulatory responses performed by bone cell populations.
Women's Views of the Preterm Labor Experience

This study used a naturalistic approach to describe the childbearing woman's views of her preterm labor and delivery experience. Specifically, the aim was to identify how women describe, interpret, and manage preterm labor and subsequent preterm or term delivery. The views of 20 women who were hospitalized for preterm labor (before 37 weeks) were documented with semistructured, tape-recorded, in-depth interviews during their hospilization for preterm labor and after delivery. Qualitative data analysis focused on the process of becoming a preterm labor patient and on living with a diagnosis of preterm labor. Women either waited for a period of time before seeking care or sought care immediately for the symptoms they were experiencing. Women interpreted the experience by identifying causes of preterm labor and by worrying about the outcome for the baby. Managing preterm labor required extensive, moderate, or limited changes in their lives. Women who delivered at term appeared to have more tangible help than those who delivered preterm. A better understanding of women's preterm labor experiences will provide clues to nurses on how to improve the care they provide.
Cultural values and financial reporting practices: contemporary tendencies in Eastern European countries

Financial reporting practices may never be uniform because of contextual factors that differentiate countries and businesses all over the world. By following Gray’s (1988) approach, this study investigates how cultural factors influenced financial reporting practices from three representative Eastern-European countries, Lithuania, Poland, and Romania, during the 2000-2015 period. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling indicate that societies’ orientation towards uncertainty avoidance and individualism influence accounting values of professionalism, uniformity, conservatism, and secrecy. Masculinity dominance enhances accounting for prudential practices and limited disclosure. These findings suggest that international accounting harmonization cannot overcome cultural boundaries. Standard-setters, practitioners, and stakeholders need to be aware of this.
Adolescent Mental Health Problems, Behaviour Penalties, and Distributional Variation in Educational Achievement

Prior research shows that mental health problems are linked to worse student achievements in school, but few studies address whether the consequences of such problems vary by student achievement level and the role of teachers’ grading practices in these processes. In this study, I examine the relationship between mental health problems and grade achievement at the end of compulsory education using a population-based Norwegian health survey, the Young-HUNT study, matched with administrative data. The results show a robust negative influence of attention problems and conduct problems on average grade achievement, and a positive role of internalizing problems, in fixed-effects models controlling for unobserved characteristics of school context. Further, conduct problems are more strongly related with student achievement in the lower end of the grade distribution, indicating that low-achieving students are disproportionally affected by mental health problems. I also compare grades assigned by classroom teachers with anonymously graded exams, and find that part of the negative association between externalizing problems and achievement reflect a ‘behavioural penalty’ due to teacher-bias in grading practices.
Statistical analysis of the direct count method for enumerating bacteria

The direct count method for enumerating bacteria in natural environments is widely used. This paper analyzes the sources of variation contributed by the various levels of the method: subsamples, filters, and microscope fields. Based on a nested analysis of variance, we show that most of the variance (less than 80%) is caused by the fields and that the filters contributed nearly all of the remaining variance. The replication at each of the levels determines the total cost and error of a measurement. We compared several sampling schemes, including an optimal strategy which gives the lowest possible variance for a given cost. We recommend that preparing one filter from one subsample is adequate only if the samples are closely spaced in time or distance; otherwise, one filter should be prepared from two or preferably three subsamples. This sampling scheme emphasizes the importance of the highest level of replication. Our analysis shows that the accuracy of the direct count method can be substantially improved (by 20 to 50%) without a large increase in cost when the proper degree of replication at each level is performed.
The rise of public-private partnerships in China

Abstract This paper examines the rise of public-private partnerships in the longitudinal context of China’s infrastructure finance system since 1978. The system has been characterized by the use of alternative infrastructure finance, including land transfer fees, various types of indirect local government borrowing, and, more recently, the rise of public-private partnerships. While contributing significantly to the unprecedented infrastructure boom, alternative finance sources also raised concerns of fiscal sustainability in China. PPP cannot be an effective way to reduce local governments’ high reliance on debt financing. It is time for the country to develop a more balanced capital structure with ongoing funding support to keep up its long-term infrastructure development.
Supporting Autobiographical Memory in Patients with Alzheimer's Disease Using Smart Phones

An estimated 5.1 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer's disease (AD). A symptom of AD is the gradual loss of autobiographical memory. Support services have been shown to slow such loss, thereby improving the quality of life of patients and their caregivers. In this case study, a subject in Stage 4 of AD on the Functional Assessment Staging (FAST) scale carried a smart phone with a lanyard for 4 weeks. The smart phone was programmed to take pictures at 5-minute intervals for 12 hours during the day. The pictures were collected, combined in a video slide show, saved to a DVD, and mailed to the subject on a weekly basis. The subject and his caregiver had to view the DVD. In order to evaluate the subject's memory before and after viewing the DVD, a test concerning the most important events of the week was developed. The subject and his caregiver had to answer a satisfaction questionnaire as well. The results of this case study confirmed that the DVD helped the subject recall recent events significantly better and that carrying the smart phone was not considered intrusive to daily routines. This manuscript illustrates how smart phone technology can assist in exercising autobiographical memory.
Overexpression of Stefin A in Human Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cells Inhibits Tumor Cell Growth, Angiogenesis, Invasion, and Metastasis

Purpose: Evidence is accumulating that an inverse correlation exists between stefin A level and malignant progression. The aim of this study is to investigate the role of stefin A in human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cells and to evaluate the possibility of stefin A for cancer therapy. Experimental Design: We stably transfected stefin A cDNA into human EC9706 or KYSE150 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cells. Subsequently, we evaluated the effect of stefin A overexpression on cell growth, cathepsin B activity, cell motility and invasion, tumor growth, and metastasis. Immunoanalysis was done to assess the expression of factor VIII and to support the localization of stefin A and cathepsin B. We also evaluated the effect of CA074Me, a selective membrane-permeant cathepsin B inhibitor. Results: Both transfection of stefin A and treatment with 10 μmol/L CA074Me significantly reduced cathepsin B activity and inhibited the Matrigel invasion. Combination of both further reduced cathepsin B activity and inhibited the Matrigel invasion. Overexpression of stefin A delayed the in vitro and in vivo growth of cells and significantly inhibited lung metastasis compared with 50% of lung metastasis in xenograft mice from EC9706 or empty vector cells. Transfection with stefin A showed a dramatic reduction of factor VIII staining in the tumors of xenograft mice. Conclusions: Our data strongly indicate that stefin A plays an important role in the growth, angiogenesis, invasion, and metastasis of human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cells and suggest that stefin A may be useful in cancer therapy.
Rhythmic expression of cryptochrome induces the circadian clock of arrhythmic suprachiasmatic nuclei through arginine vasopressin signaling

Significance Daily cycles of behavior adapt us to the 24-h rhythm of day and night. These rhythms are coordinated by a central clock, the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), in which self-sustaining transcriptional/posttranslational feedback loops define approximately 24-h (circadian) time. Cryptochrome1 (CRY1) and CRY2 are essential clock components, but how they sustain cell-autonomous and circuit-level circadian timing in the SCN is not clear. To explore this, we developed a genetic complementation assay, using virally expressed, fluorescently tagged CRY proteins to test whether molecular pacemaking can be induced in arrhythmic Cry1/2-deficient SCN. We demonstrate protein-specific and robust induction of molecular pacemaking, the efficacy of which depends on the circadian pattern and phase of Cry expression and functional signaling via neuropeptide (AVP) receptors. Circadian rhythms in mammals are coordinated by the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). SCN neurons define circadian time using transcriptional/posttranslational feedback loops (TTFL) in which expression of Cryptochrome (Cry) and Period (Per) genes is inhibited by their protein products. Loss of Cry1 and Cry2 stops the SCN clock, whereas individual deletions accelerate and decelerate it, respectively. At the circuit level, neuronal interactions synchronize cellular TTFLs, creating a spatiotemporal wave of gene expression across the SCN that is lost in Cry1/2-deficient SCN. To interrogate the properties of CRY proteins required for circadian function, we expressed CRY in SCN of Cry-deficient mice using adeno-associated virus (AAV). Expression of CRY1::EGFP or CRY2::EGFP under a minimal Cry1 promoter was circadian and rapidly induced PER2-dependent bioluminescence rhythms in previously arrhythmic Cry1/2-deficient SCN, with periods appropriate to each isoform. CRY1::EGFP appropriately lengthened the behavioral period in Cry1-deficient mice. Thus, determination of specific circadian periods reflects properties of the respective proteins, independently of their phase of expression. Phase of CRY1::EGFP expression was critical, however, because constitutive or phase-delayed promoters failed to sustain coherent rhythms. At the circuit level, CRY1::EGFP induced the spatiotemporal wave of PER2 expression in Cry1/2-deficient SCN. This was dependent on the neuropeptide arginine vasopressin (AVP) because it was prevented by pharmacological blockade of AVP receptors. Thus, our genetic complementation assay reveals acute, protein-specific induction of cell-autonomous and network-level circadian rhythmicity in SCN never previously exposed to CRY. Specifically, Cry expression must be circadian and appropriately phased to support rhythms, and AVP receptor signaling is required to impose circuit-level circadian function.
From Child Maltreatment to Violent Offending

Research suggests that child maltreatment predicts juvenile violence, but it is uncertain whether the effects of victimization persist into adulthood or differ across gender. Furthermore, we know little about the mechanisms underlying the victim–perpetrator cycle for males and females. Consequently, this study analyzed associations between child maltreatment and a number of adult measures of violent offending within mixed-gender and gender-specific models. Along with main effects, the study directly tested the moderating effects of gender on the maltreatment–violence link and analyzed theory-informed gender-specific mediators. Data were derived from the Chicago Longitudinal Study, a panel investigation of 1,539 low-income minority participants born in 1979 or 1980. Child welfare, juvenile court, and criminal court records informed the study’s explanatory and outcome measures. Prospectively collected covariate and mediator measures originated with parent, teacher, and self-reports along with several administrative sources. Results indicated that child maltreatment, ages 0 to 11, significantly predicted all study indicators of violence in the full sample and most study outcomes in the male and female subsamples. In no instance did gender moderate the maltreatment–violence association. Late childhood/early adolescence environmental instability, childhood externalizing behaviors, and adolescent peer social skills fully mediated the maltreatment–violence nexus among males. Adolescent externalizing behavior partially mediated the relationship of interest among females. Evidence also indicated that internalizing processes protected females who had been maltreated in childhood against perpetrating violence later in life. Implications of results are discussed.