Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multiple Mini-Interview Performance Predicts Academic Difficulty in the PharmD Curriculum

Objective. To identify admissions variable prognostics for academic difficulty in the PharmD curriculum to use for admissions determinations and early identification of at-risk students. Methods. Retrospective multivariate analysis of 2008-2012 admission data were linked with academic records to identify students with academic difficulty (ie, those with Ds, Fs, delayed progression). The influence of prepharmacy grade point average (GPA), composite Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT) score, multiple-mini interview (MMI) score, age, credit hours, state residence, and prior degree on academic difficulty was estimated using multivariate logistic regression. Results. Students’ (n=587) prepharmacy GPA, composite PCAT score, mean MMI score, and age were 3.6, 72.0, 5.5, 22.8 (SD=4.14 years), respectively. Students having a GPA <3.25, PCAT score <60th percentile, or MMI score <4.5, were approximately 12-, 7-, and 3-times more likely, respectively, to experience academic difficulty than those with a GPA ≥ 3.75, PCAT score >90, or MMI score of 5-6. Conclusion. Using GPA, PCAT, and MMI performance can predict academic difficulty and assist in the early identification of academically at-risk PharmD students.
BOARD-INVITED REVIEW: Recent advances in management of highly stressed, newly received feedlot cattle

Abstract Morbidity and mortality from bovine respiratory disease (BRD) and associated losses in performance and carcass merit continue to plague the beef cattle industry. Several viral/bacterial agents are responsible for BRD, and interactions occur among the agents. Viral agents often predispose animals to bacterial infections, and Mannheimia haemolytica is the most frequently isolated organism in cattle with BRD. Laboratory tests are available to characterize organisms causing BRD using easily obtained nasal swab samples. Testing for persistent infection with bovine viral diarrhea virus can be done by a 2-stage technique using PCR and immunohistochemistry. Preconditioning programs that include preweaning viral vaccination programs along with castration could have a significant influence on decreasing BRD in the cattle feeding industry. Metaphylactic antibiotic programs continue to be effective; however, antibiotic resistance is a public concern, and additional management options (e.g., direct-fed microbials or other compounds with antimicrobial properties) deserve attention. Diets with an increased energy concentration achieved by decreasing the dietary roughage concentration may slightly increase the rate of BRD morbidity; however, these diets also increase ADG, DMI, and G:F compared with lower-energy, greater-roughage diets. The extent to which performance and BRD morbidity are affected by dietary protein concentration needs further study, but low and high protein concentrations should probably be avoided. Several trace minerals (e.g., Cu, Se, and Zn) affect immune function, but the effects of supplementation on performance and immune function in model challenge systems and in field studies are equivocal. Adding vitamin E to receiving diets at pharmacological levels (e.g., >1,000 IU·animal−1·day−1) seems beneficial for decreasing BRD morbidity, but it has little effect on performance. Given the limited ability to consistently modify immune function and BRD morbidity through dietary manipulations, we recommend that the diets for newly received cattle be formulated to adjust nutrient concentrations for low feed intake and to provide optimal performance during the receiving period.
Frequency of diabetic retinopathy in patients after ten years of diagnosis of type 2 diabetes mellitus.

BACKGROUND Diabetic retinopathy is one of the most common and serious complications of type 2 diabetes mellitus and a leading cause of blindness not only in Pakistan but also worldwide. So we conducted this study to record the frequency of diabetic retinopathy in known diabetic patients ten years after diagnosis of type 2 diabetes mellitus. METHODS The study was conducted at Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences, Jamshoro, Pakistan for a period of 1 year from January 2008 to January 2010. The study group comprised of 200 patients of type 2 diabetes mellitus attending the medical clinic. All patients who were diagnosed as type 2 diabetes mellitus since ten years duration were included in the study. Retinopathy was graded into background, pre proliferative and proliferative retinopathy. Type 2 diabetes was diagnosed using the WHO criteria. Statistical analysis was carried out using the SPSS-11. RESULTS Diabetic retinopathy was found in 25.5% of the total Type 2 patients after ten years of diagnosis, and of these 4% of patients had proliferative retinopathy. CONCLUSION Type 2 diabetic patients should be screened as early as possible to prevent permanent visual loss by timely management of diabetic retinopathy because diabetes is one of most common preventable cause of blindness in the world.
Long-term iodine nutrition is associated with longevity in older adults: a 20 years’ follow-up of the Randers–Skagen study

Abstract Iodine intake affects the occurrence of thyroid disorders. However, the association of iodine intake with longevity remains to be described. This led us to perform a 20 years’ follow-up on participants from the Randers–Skagen (RaSk) study. Residents in Randers born in 1920 (n 210) and Skagen born in 1918–1923 (n 218) were included in a clinical study in 1997–1998. Mean iodine content in drinking water was 2 µg/l in Randers and 139 µg/l in Skagen. We collected baseline data through questionnaires, performed physical examinations and measured iodine concentrations in spot urine samples. Income data were retrieved from Danish registries. We performed follow-up on mortality until 31 December 2017 using Danish registries. Complete follow-up data were available on 428 out of 430 of participants (99·5 %). At baseline, the median urinary iodine concentration was 55 µg/l in Randers and 160 µg/l in Skagen residents. Participants were long-term residents with 72·8 and 92·7 % residing for more than 25 years in Randers and Skagen, respectively. Cox regression showed that living in Skagen compared with Randers was associated with a lower hazard ratio (HR) of death in both age- and sex-adjusted analyses (HR 0·60, 95 % CI 0·41, 0·87, P = 0·006), but also after adjustment for age, sex, number of drugs, Charlson co-morbidity index, smoking, alcohol and income (HR 0·60, 95 % CI 0·41, 0·87, P = 0·008). Residing in iodine-replete Skagen was associated with increased longevity. This indicates that long-term residency in an iodine-replete environment may be associated with increased longevity compared with residency in an iodine-deficient environment.
Increased ENA‐78 in the follicular fluid of patients with endometriosis

Background. It is known that endometriosis is an inflammatory disease and those patients seem to have lower pregnancy rates. The aim of the study was to investigate the concentrations of chemokines and proinflammatory cytokines in the follicular fluid of patients with and without endometriosis. Methods. Follicular aspiration, recovering follicular fluid during assisted reproductive treatment, follicular fluid storage and analysis of chemokines and proinflammatory cytokines were carried out. Tumor necrosis factor‐α, interleukin‐1β, interleukin‐6, interleukin‐8, interleukin‐15, leukemia inhibitory factor, epithelial neutrophil‐activating peptide 78, regulated upon activation, normal T‐cell expressed and secreted, and growth‐regulated oncogene‐α were analyzed in the follicular fluid and compared between women with (n=47) and without endometriosis (n=279). Results. The above cytokines were detected in the follicular fluid samples. Epithelial neutrophil‐activating peptide 78 levels were significantly higher in follicular fluid from endometriosis patients than from controls (p=0.008). Increases (to twice the control level) were also observed for tumor necrosis factor‐α and for interleukin‐6. Conclusions. Increased follicular fluid levels of epithelial neutrophil‐activating peptide 78, tumor necrosis factor‐α and interleukin‐6 indicate that these cytokines may influence oocyte quality and fecundability of women with endometriosis by deteriorating the microenvironment in the human follicle.
CD4+ cells play a major role in xenogeneic human anti-pig cytotoxicity through the Fas/Fas ligand lytic pathway.

BACKGROUND In this study, the role of cell-mediated cytotoxicity by human leukocytes against pig endothelial cells was examined in vitro. The aim was to determine which cell subsets were responsible for this phenomenon and which pathways were involved in cell lysis. METHODS Primed human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) or purified CD4+ or CD8+ T cells were used in a cell-mediated cytotoxicity assay in which cytotoxicity of an SV40 transformed porcine endothelial cell (EC) line (SVAP) was determined by Annexin V binding. RESULTS Human PBMC demonstrated specific lysis of porcine EC that was proportional to the effector: target ratio. CD4+ T cells accounted for >60% of this lysis, whereas CD8+ T cells accounted for <20%. CD4+ T cell-mediated lysis depended on direct recognition of porcine major histocompatibility complex class II molecules as inhibition of swine leukocyte antigen class II on porcine EC-inhibited CD4+ T cell cytotoxicity. This lysis was mediated through the Fas/FasL pathway as addition of anti-Fas and/or anti-FasL antibody profoundly inhibited antiporcine lysis. In addition, FasL gene expression was detected in primed PBMC and CD4+ T cells by RT-PCR, whereas granzyme B gene expression was not. Primed CD4+ T cells demonstrated high level FasL protein by Western blotting and two-color FACS analysis, whereas NK cells and CD8+ T cells did not. Finally, recombinant human FasL induced apoptosis in Fas expressing porcine EC cells, demonstrating that human FasL interacted with and activated Fas on porcine EC cells. CONCLUSIONS In conclusion, human to pig cell-mediated cytotoxicity was mediated predominantly by CD4+ T cells through the Fas/FasL pathway of apoptosis. These results suggest that direct cytotoxicity by xenoreactive CD4+ T cells may be one of several effector mechanisms involved in cellular xenograft rejection.
Artificial Neural Network Model for Predicting Membrane Protein Types

Abstract Membrane proteins can be classified among the following five types: (1) type I membrane protein. (2) type II membrane protein. (3) multipass transmembrane proteins. (4) lipid chain- anchored membrane proteins, and (5) GPI-anchored membrane proteins. T. Kohonen's self-organization model which is a typical neural network is applied for predicting the type of a given membrane protein based on its amino acid composition. As a result, the high rates of self-consistency (94.80%) and cross-validation (77.76%), and stronger fault-tolerant ability were obtained.
Pronociceptive Actions of Isoflurane: A Protective Role for Estrogen

Background Low concentrations of inhaled anesthetics present in the early postoperative period can increase pain sensitivity. Changes in pain threshold associated with inhaled anesthetics have been reported in male mice, rats, and humans. Methods The authors compared the pain-enhancing effects of isoflurane in male and female mice in response to a thermal stimulus and studied the consequences of hormonal manipulation. Results Isoflurane produced a larger increase in pain sensitivity in female mice. Both castration and oophorectomy resulted in an increase in baseline pain sensitivity and potentiated pain enhancement by isoflurane. At stages of the estrus cycle when estrogen was low, female mice showed greater pain enhancement from isoflurane than at high estrogen stages. Treatment with exogenous estrogen reduced isoflurane-induced pain sensitivity. Exogenous testosterone treatment had a similar effect, which did not occur when enzymatic conversion to estrogen was prevented. Conclusions Because both estrogen and testosterone reduce the pronociceptive action of isoflurane, intact females may exhibit a larger increase in pain sensitivity because of their cyclical estrogen levels. Testosterone is effective in the male because of conversion to estrogen. Enhanced pain sensitivity is clearly undesirable in the postoperative setting. If these findings also apply to humans, the menstrual cycle may be an important factor in determining pain levels after emergence from general anesthesia.
Transformational Leadership and Organizational Citizenship Behavior: A Meta-Analytic Test of Underlying Mechanisms

Based on social exchange theory, we examined and contrasted attitudinal mediators (affective organizational commitment, job satisfaction) and relational mediators (trust in leader, leader-member exchange; LMX) of the positive relationship between transformational leadership and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Hypotheses were tested using meta-analytic path models with correlations from published meta-analyses (761 samples with 227,419 individuals overall). When testing single-mediator models, results supported our expectations that each of the mediators explained the relationship between transformational leadership and OCB. When testing a multi-mediator model, LMX was the strongest mediator. When testing a model with a latent attitudinal mechanism and a latent relational mechanism, the relational mechanism was the stronger mediator of the relationship between transformational leadership and OCB. Our findings help to better understand the underlying mechanisms of the relationship between transformational leadership and OCB.
Cellular and extracellular proteome analysis of Streptococcus mutans grown in a chemostat

The oral pathogen, Streptococcus mutans, was grown under glucose limitation in a chemostat at pH 7.0 and a dilution rate of 0.1 h−1 to mimic the conditions prevailing in a healthy human oral cavity in between meal times. Solubilized cellular and extracellular proteins were separated by two‐dimensional gel electrophoresis (2‐DE) and, following tryptic digestion, 421 protein spots analyzed by matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization‐time of flight mass spectrometry or electrospray ionization‐tandem mass spectrometry. Analyses of the mass spectral data showed that the proteins matched the translation products of 200 different open reading frames (ORFs) deduced from contigs of the S. mutans UA159 genome and thus represented proteins derived from approximately 11% of the total ORFs of the bacterium. Of the identified proteins, 172 (including one surface protein) were characterized in the cellular fraction, and the remaining 28 (including two surface proteins) were uniquely identified from the culture fluid. The expression and therefore the existence of 30 proteins previously designated as ‘hypothetical’ or with no known function was confirmed. 2‐DE of whole cell lysates revealed only a single intrinsic membrane protein. This is consistent with proteomic analyses of other Gram‐positive bacteria where hydrophilic proteins represent the vast majority of those characterized.
Intakes of folic acid from dietary supplements and fortified products in students.

BACKGROUND A great variety of dietary supplements and fortified products, containing folic acid, are widely available to satisfy the market demand for supplementing the diet with this vitamin. OBJECTIVE To assess folic acid intake from dietary supplements and fortified products in students. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study was performed between October 2010-April 2011 on 314 university students aged 19-34 years, excluding pregnant or lactating women. Self-administered questionnaire was used to collect information about health, lifestyle and use of dietary supplements during previous month (frequency and doses) and frequency and portion of the fortified products consumed. RESULTS Diets were supplemented by folic acid by almost 13% of respondents; the average intake was 148 +/- 99.7 microg/person/day, (range 10-400 microg). Products fortified with this vitamin were used by 89% students with an average intake of folic acid 83.7 +/- 101 microg/person/day, (range 0.3-660 microg); about a quarter of these subjects were however unaware that they were consuming fortified products. Both product types were used together by 11% students. Among these subjects the average folic acid intake was the highest (233 +/- 151 microg/person/day, range 12.3-678 microg); with 66% originating from supplements and 34% from fortified products. There were no instances of folic acid being consumed above the tolerable upper intake level (UL), of 1000 microg/day. CONCLUSIONS It is necessary to warn the public that overconsumption of folic acid, (through dietary supplements, enriched food), may be hazardous to health, since many people combine such multiple products.
Short Communication Differential Effects of Chitooligosaccharides on Serum Cytokine Levels in Aged Subjects

Free amine chitooligosaccharides (FACOS™, Kitto Life, Seoul, Republic of Korea) with an average molecu- lar mass of 3.5 kDa were efficiently produced using an ultrafiltration membrane reactor system. To evaluate the effect of chi- tooligosaccharides on serum cytokine levels in elderly adults after oral intake, 5.1 g/day of FACOS was given to elderly (age range, 74-86 years; mean, 80 � 3 years) volunteers during an 8-week experimental period. Interleukin (IL)-12 and interferon- a levels were significantly higher in the FACOS group than in the control group (P � .05). However, levels of the inflam- matory cytokines IL-1� and tumor necrosis factor-� decreased after FACOS intake during the experimental period. The re- sults of this study suggest that the oral intake of chitooligosaccharides may have beneficial effects on specific cell-mediated immunity while also acting as an anti-inflammatory agent in aged subjects.
Variation in medication understanding among the elderly.

PURPOSE Types of medication misunderstanding among community-dwelling elderly people were studied. METHODS Community-dwelling people who were at least 65 years of age and who volunteered to participate in a medication-review program were recruited for the study. A structured interview including a background interview, attitudinal questions, and questions related to dosage, frequency, timing, and what to do if a dose was missed was conducted. RESULTS A total of 375 people were included in the study. Of these, 232 (62%) showed perfect understanding of their medication regimens. Twenty-eight (7.5%) of the subjects with less than perfect understanding misunderstood a limited aspect of their regimens across multiple medications, most frequently what to do if a dose was missed. These subjects had the least complex regimens, could name their medications and describe their purpose, and rated themselves as having few medical problems. Their lack of knowledge was not attributed to cognitive problems. Twenty-seven subjects (7%) did not know multiple aspects of at least one medication and appeared to be at high risk for nonadherence. These individuals had the most complex regimens, had difficulty naming and explaining the purpose of their medications, and rated themselves as less adherent. Eighty-eight subjects (23.5%) demonstrated mixed problems with understanding; they did not show a defined pattern attributable to cognitive or noncognitive factors. CONCLUSION A majority of people over the age of 65 years had good understanding of the drugs they were taking.
Physicochemical and Sensory Properties of Ice-cream Formulated with Virgin Coconut Oil

The substitution of milk fat with virgin coconut oil (VCO) was used to produce nutritious ice cream with pleasant coconut flavor and aroma. Three formulations were developed whereby formulation VCO4, VCO8 and VCO12 was substituted with 4%, 8% and 12% of VCO, respectively. The physicochemical properties of ice creams analyzed include overrun, meltdown, pH, titratable acidity, total solid, protein and fat content. The fatty acids profile of VCO formulated ice creams and their stabilities over 3 and 6 weeks storage were studied respectively using gas chromatography (GC). Qualitative descriptive analysis (QDA) and consumer affective test were performed among the trained and untrained panelists. Significant differences (p < 0.05) of overrun, pH, total solid, protein and fat content between ice cream formulations were observed except titratable acidity. Increased VCO content in ice cream formulations lowered the melting resistance of ice cream. For GC analysis, the major fatty acid identified was lauric acid. Upon storage time, the concentration of unsaturated fatty acid decreased but the concentration of saturated fatty acid increased. The result of QDA showed that formulation VCO4, VCO8 and VCO12 were significantly (p < 0.05) different in attributes of color, firmness and smoothness as compared to the control ice cream. Formulation VCO12 was highly accepted by panelists in terms of the acceptance level of appearance, aroma, texture, flavor and overall acceptability. Hence, it has a potential marketable value.
A mega recognition memory study of 2897 disyllabic words

Following the studies by Cortese, Khanna, and Hacker (2010) on recognition memory for monosyllabic words, recognition memory estimates (e.g., hits, false alarms, hits minus false alarms) for 3000 disyllabic words were obtained from 120 subjects and 2897 of these words were analysed via multiple regression. Participants studied 30 lists of 50 words and were tested on 30 lists of 100 words. Of the subjects, 60 received a constant study time of 2000 ms per item and 60 studied items at their own pace. Specific predictor variables included log word frequency, word length, imageability, age of acquisition, orthographic similarity, and phonological similarity. The results were similar to those of Cortese et al. (2010). Specifically, in the analysis of hits minus false alarms, the entire set of predictor variables accounted for 34.9% of the variance. All predictor variables except phonological similarity were related to performance, with imageability, length, orthographic similarity and frequency all being strong predictors. These results are mostly compatible with the predictions made by single- and dual-process theories. However, across items hit rates were not correlated with false alarms. Given that most variables produced the standard mirror pattern, this latter outcome poses a major challenge for recognition memory theories.
Pilus-mediated binding of bovine enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli to calf small intestinal mucins

In this study we show that the adhesion to mucus of the enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli strains responsible for diarrhea in calves involves a bacterium-mucin recognition phenomenon in which the bacterial pili and specific mucus receptors carried by the glycoproteins (2,000 to 400 kilodalton) play a major role. An adhesion maximum was observed at a pH of less than 6 (4.75 to 5.25). The sialic acids and galactose appeared to be at least partly responsible for the attachment of K99 pili, whereas F41 pili preferentially recognized desialylated receptors. The attachment of different strains of E. coli characterized by the presence of the three main pili, K99, F41, and FY, known to be responsible for the binding of enterotoxigenic E. coli to the intestinal epithelium of the calf, was studied using Scatchard and Hill analyses. The attachment mechanism of bacteria carrying K99 pili showed positive cooperativity. FY and F41 pili recognized independent receptor sites, the first on sialylated mucus and the second on sialidase-treated mucus. Moreover, F41 pili were found to bind the native mucus according to a negative cooperativity phenomenon. Finally, the recognition sites carried by bacterial pilins may be saturated by some animal glycoprotein glycans which are therefore adhesion inhibitors.