Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cytomegalovirus infection in sexually active adolescents.

To determine whether cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection in teenage girls is related to sexual activity, 254 girls 12-18 years old (mean, 15.8) attending a contraceptive counseling clinic were studied. Participants were screened for Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and Trichomonas vaginalis, and serum antibody to CMV was determined. Demographic and sexual history data were collected by interview. The mean number of lifetime sex partners was 2.2; 173 (68%) were seropositive. Race, greater than 3 years of sexual activity, and greater than 2 lifetime sex partners were significant risk factors for CMV infection (odds ratios [OR], 1.8-4.7; P less than .05). Using logistic regression analysis, a composite sexual activity variable was the most important risk factor for CMV infection (OR, 4.8; P = .003), followed by race (OR, 3.4; P = .004) and a sexually transmitted disease composite variable (OR, 2.4; P = .016). Sexual activity is an important risk factor for CMV infection in adolescent girls.
Test–retest reliability of the IDEEA system in the quantification of step parameters during walking and stair climbing

The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the inter‐ and intra‐session reliability of spatio‐temporal gait variables collected during walking and stair climbing with the Intelligent Device for Energy Expenditure and physical Activity (IDEEA) accelerometer‐based system. Eighteen healthy subjects (10 men, 8 women) completed a standardized indoor circuit comprised of walking and stair climbing. Intra‐and inter‐session reliability was investigated for several pertinent spatio‐temporal gait variables using intraclass correlations [ICC (3,1)]. Intra‐session reliability during walking showed a high reliability of the IDEEA with ICCs ranging between 0·84 (number of steps) and 0·97 (single limb support/double limb support). The ICCs for stair climbing were slightly lower than those during walking with values ranging between 0·74 (step duration) and 0·92 (number of steps). Inter‐session reliability during walking showed a high reliability of the IDEEA between all trials, with values ranging between 0·87 (speed) to 0·98 (step duration). The ICCs of stair climbing were again lower than those during walking with values ranging from 0·64 (swing duration) to 0·79 (number of steps). The IDEEA accelerometer‐based system provided a highly reliable measurement of spatio‐temporal variables, in healthy subjects, during walking with moderately reduced correlations during stair climbing.
Subjective Well-Being Mediates the Effects of Resilience and Mastery on Depression and Anxiety in a Large Community Sample of Young and Middle-Aged Adults

Objective: The tripartite model of depression and anxiety hypothesizes that positive and negative affect is related to depression and anxiety. However, the specific role of cognitive or psychological well-being constructs like resilience and mastery within a tripartite context and throughout adulthood is unclear. Method: Data was drawn from two longitudinal population-based cohorts, aged 20–24 and 40–44 based in Canberra, Australia (N = 3989). We sought to determine the interrelatedness of two affective measures of subjective well-being, positive and negative affect, with two cognitive measures of psychological well-being, resilience and mastery. We then tested their independent effects on depression and anxiety, and hypothesized, following the tripartite model, that subjective well-being would mediate the effects of the psychological well-being variables on mental health and that the psychological well-being variables would be more strongly related to positive subjective well-being. Results: Principal axis factoring delineated four affective and cognitive dimensions of well-being comprising positive and negative affect, resilience and mastery. Structural equation models identified the psychological well-being variables as significantly related to subjective well-being, which fully mediated the effects of resilience and partially mediated the effect of mastery on depression and anxiety. These findings were consistent throughout both young and middle adulthood. Conclusions: Psychological well-being components are significant predictors of subjective well-being affect states that increase vulnerability to depression and anxiety.
High Rates of Transmission of and Colonization by Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae within a Day Care Center Revealed in a Longitudinal Study

ABSTRACT Day care centers (DCCs) are unique settings where young children are at increased risk for colonization by pneumococci and Haemophilus influenzae. Although point prevalence studies in DCCs are frequent, only a few longitudinal studies on the dynamics of colonization have been published. We conducted a 1-year longitudinal study with 11 sampling periods on nasopharyngeal carriage of pneumococci and H. influenzae among 47 children who attended a single DCC. All isolates were antibiotyped and genotyped by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Pneumococci were also serotyped. Of the 414 samples obtained, 61.4% contained pneumococci, and 87% contained H. influenzae. Only 8.3% of the samples were negative for both species. Twenty-one pneumococcal clones and 47 H. influenzae clones were identified. Introduction of clones occurred during all year. Ninety-eight percent and 96% of all pneumococcal and H. influenzae isolates, respectively, belonged to clones shared by more than one child. Children were sequentially colonized with up to six pneumococcal clones (mean, 3.6) and five serotypes and nine H. influenzae clones (mean, 7.1). Clones with increased capacity for transmission and/or prolonged colonization were identified in both species. These two fitness properties appeared to be independent. In conclusion, among DCC attendees, a high rate of acquisition and turnover of strains was observed, and all children were overwhelmingly colonized by clones shared with others. DCCs are units where permanent introduction of new clones occurs, and attendees, as a whole, provide a pool of hosts where the fittest clones find privileged opportunities to persist and expand.
Expression and function of α2‐adrenoceptors in zebrafish: drug effects, mRNA and receptor distributions

The α2‐adrenoceptors are G‐protein‐coupled receptors that mediate many of the physiological effects of norepinephrine and epinephrine. Mammals have three subtypes of α2‐adrenoceptors, α2A, α2B and α2C. Zebrafish, a teleost fish used widely as a model organism, has five distinct α2‐adrenoceptor genes. The zebrafish has emerged as a powerful tool to study development and genetics, with many mutations causing diseases reminiscent of human diseases. Three of the zebrafish adra2 genes code for orthologues of the mammalian α2‐adrenoceptors, while two genes code for α2Da‐ and α2Db‐ adrenoceptors, representing a duplicated, fourth α2‐adrenoceptor subtype. The three different mammalian α2‐adrenoceptor subtypes have distinct expression patterns in different organs and tissues, and mediate different physiological functions. The zebrafish α2‐adrenergic system, with five different α2‐adrenoceptors, appears more complicated. In order to deduce the physiological functions of the zebrafish α2‐adrenoceptors, we localized the expression of the five different α2‐adrenoceptor subtypes using RT–PCR, mRNA in situ hybridization, and receptor autoradiography using the radiolabelled α2‐adrenoceptor antagonist [ethyl‐3H]RS‐79948–197. Localization of the α2A‐, α2B‐ and α2C‐adrenoceptors in zebrafish shows marked conservation when compared with mammals. The zebrafish α2A, α2Da, and α2Db each partially follow the distribution pattern of the mammalian α2A: a possible indication of subfunction partitioning between these subtypes. The α2‐adrenergic system is functional in zebrafish also in vivo, as demonstrated by marked locomotor inhibition, similarly to mammals, and lightening of skin colour induced by the specific α2‐adrenoceptor agonist, dexmedetomidine. Both effects were antagonized by the specific α2‐adrenoceptor antagonist atipamezole.
Problem‐based learning versus lecture‐based learning in a course of basic pharmacology: a controlled, randomized study

Since its first implementation in a medical programme at McMaster University, Canada, problem‐based learning (PBL) has become a well‐established means of teaching and learning medicine. Extensive research has been conducted and a number of strengths of the method are well supported. Several items, however, remain unclear1 although there is evidence that no relevant difference exists in factual knowledge among students from PBL and traditional curricula, a controlled, randomized study has not been conducted to address this issue. The Medical Faculty of the University of Cologne is in the process of integrating elements of PBL into its curriculum. In the spring term of 1997, after seven semesters of experience with PBL supplementing the traditional course of basic pharmacology, we did for the first time use PBL instead of the lecture‐based course (LBL) and conducted a controlled prospective study to determine the effects of this intervention. One‐hundred and twenty‐three students were randomly assigned to either PBL (n = 63), with tutorial groups of up to nine students, or to the traditional, lecture‐based course (n = 60). Analysis of the results of both groups in the examination of basic pharmacology, consisting of multiple‐choice and short‐essay questions, revealed similar scores with a tendency favouring PBL students in the category of short‐essay questions. Hence, it seems clear that PBL does not imply a disadvantage in terms of factual knowledge. Students considered PBL to be an effective learning method and favoured it over the lecture format. Furthermore, students reported positive effects of PBL in terms of use of additional learning resources, inter‐disciplinarity, team work and learning fun.
The Impact of Government Borrowing Costs on Fiscal Discipline

This paper studies the impact of government borrowing costs on fiscal discipline against the background of unprecedentedly low interest rates in advanced economies brought about by ultra&#8208;expansionary monetary policies of recent years. Applying the panel data econometric approach for a sample of OECD and 11 early euro area countries over the period 1985&#8211;2015, the study suggests a positive and statistically significant impact of government borrowing costs on cyclically adjusted primary balances, indicating that a decrease in borrowing costs leads to a deterioration of fiscal policy stance. The findings herein also suggest that this effect in the euro area seems to be driven by a group of its peripheral rather than core countries and appears to work through the expenditure (more specifically, current expenditure) channel. From the economic policy perspective, these findings imply that monetary policy measures resulting in ultra&#8208;low interest rates may cause negative side effects for fiscal discipline.
Identity Gaps and Level of Depression Among Korean Immigrants

Identity gaps are a new theoretical construct that provide a framework for integrating communication into the study of identity and understanding the relationship between identity and health outcomes, such as depression. Derived from the communication theory of identity, identity gaps emerge when elements of identity are inconsistent with each other. This article focuses on 2 types of identity gaps, personal–enacted and personal–relational, examining their relationships with situational variables and depression. A questionnaire was administered to a community sample of 377 Korean immigrants to test a hypothesized path model predicting that 3 situational variables (intercultural communication competence, middleperson status, and perception of racial hierarchy) would influence the identity gaps that, in turn, influence Korean immigrants' levels of depression. Results showed that all 3 situational variables predicted Korean immigrants' personal–relational identity gaps, whereas only intercultural communication competence predicted their personal–enacted identity gaps. Both types of identity gaps predicted the level of depression. The personal–relational identity gap significantly mediated the effects of all 3 situational variables on levels of depression. However, the personal–enacted identity gap mediated only the effects of intercultural communication competence on the levels of depression.
Virtual Reality as a Pediatric Pain Modulation Technique: A Case Study

Post-surgical pain has been consistently reported in pediatrics as being difficult to manage and limiting to surgical outcomes. Pain management of children is not ideal, and some children unable to tolerate traditional pharmacological agents. Virtual reality (VR) is a new and promising form of non-pharmacologic analgesia. This case study explored the use of VR analgesia with a 16-year-old patient with cerebral palsy participating in a twice-daily physiotherapy program following Single Event Multi-Level Surgery. Over 6 days, the patient spent half of his physiotherapy sessions using VR and the other half without (order randomized). Traditional pharmacological pain management was administered throughout the trial. Using a subjective pain scale (five faces denoting levels of pain), the patient's overall pain ratings whilst in the VR (experimental) condition were 41.2% less than those in the no-VR (control) condition. This case report provides the first evidence that VR may serve as a powerful non-pharmacologic analgesic for children following surgery.
The effect of ageing on retinal nerve fibre layer thickness: an evaluation by scanning laser polarimetry with variable corneal compensation.

PURPOSE To evaluate whether a significant age-related thinning of the retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) is measurable by means of scanning laser polarimetry with variable corneal compensation (GDx-VCC) in a sample of healthy eyes. METHODS A sample of 324 eyes of 324 healthy subjects (mean age 56 +/- 14 years, range 21-85 years) underwent a complete ophthalmic evaluation, standard automated perimetry and RNFL scan with the GDx-VCC. Temporal-superior-nasal-inferior-temporal (TSNIT), superior and inferior average (SA and IA) values provided on the printout were collected and their mean value averaged from all eyes and also after separating the eyes by gender and by age decades. The values of the three parameters were plotted against age and linear regression was calculated. RESULTS Ageing is associated with a significant RNFL thinning (0.08 micro, 0.16 micro and 0.12 micro per year for TSNIT, SA and IA, respectively; p < 0.001). Analysis showed a similar association with age decade (p < 0.001 on anova). For the TSNIT average, a 9.5% thinning from baseline values was estimated for a 65-year lifespan. Corresponding values for SA and IA were 16.2% and 11.7%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Analysis by GDx-VCC confirmed previous reports about significant age-related RNFL thinning. However, a lower rate per year was found, probably because GDx-VCC measurements are much more reliable than those obtained with the previous generation of polarimeters.
Learning global cost function for face alignment

Face alignment is a crucial step in many facial processing applications. It has received extensive attention in the last two decades. The general approach consist in estimating the parameters of a deformable shape model, which minimize a cost function. Most of the existing methods are based on empirical cost functions. In this paper we propose to learn an ideal global cost function (i.e. the quality of the alignment) as convex as possible in order to lead to a simple and robust optimization step. This learning process relies on the Boosted Input Selection Algorithm for Regression (BISAR). It selects the best set of Haar-like features as input of a Neural Network to predict the value of the cost function. Performance of this method is evaluated on unseen data from the training database. The generalization performance is assessed on unseen data from unrelated datasets. This approach is also favorably compared with a state-of-the-art method.
"A normality for us without confinement for them": notes on the associations of families of the mentally ill.

Associations of families of the mentally ill arose in Italy in the early 1980s mainly in the country's northern and central regions. They denounced the inadequacies of an extramural service conceived of as an out-patient clinic filling the void left by the shutting down of asylums. The positions elaborated by these associations focus on four main themes: the distribution of the "burden of care" for the ill between services and families; the ill-conceived interpretation of the families' needs owing to the professional's alleged tendency to "point the finger of guilt" at the families themselves; the demand for greater power in regard to decisions made by the services; the interaction with the rights and liberties of the mentally ill. Two different ranges of problems are discussed. First, there is the conflict within the family between the interests and rights of its income-producing and its "dependent" members. This conflict points not to a loss but to an overload of functions shifted to the family at a time of rising expectations for the satisfaction of needs. It therefore calls for services of a new kind, i.e. services capable of making these conflicting interests and rights compatible. Second, extramural services either reject or misinterpret the asylum's labour-saving function. These services thus ascribe care for the material life of the mentally ill to the family's own resources alone. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Examining Institutional Content Of The Balanced Scorecard: Logics And Translations In Ukrainian Business Environment

This study examines institutional definitions and meanings Ukrainian managers attach to one of the most popular management concepts – the Balanced Scorecard. Socially constructed discourses, that is, beliefs, understandings, expectations, interpretations, collective cognitions and meanings beyond initial technical purposes of the BSC are treated as an institutional content that infuses and distorts technical aspects of the practice. Results confirm that technical foundations of this practice have been infused with institutionally constructed meanings and understandings generated from the local dominant institutional order, constructing the meaning of the BSC as a coercive, command-and-control management system. Gathering information from local sources of information and strength-ening them with collective understandings, the BSC has been infused with new meanings and beliefs, dramatically changing the original technical core of the concept. The study shows how the meaning of the management concept changed in the new institutional context under the dominance of the local logic. Specifically, the study contributes to the individual-level research on the impact of institutional logics on actors’ actions by showing the process of individuals’ responses to two macro-level meaning systems materialized in the BSC – prototypical and home institutional logics.
Bixin and norbixin protect against DNA‐damage and alterations of redox status induced by methylmercury exposure in vivo

Populations in the Amazon are exposed to organic mercury via consumption of contaminated foods. These ethnic groups consume a specific plant seed “annatto” which contains certain carotenoids. The aim of this study was to find out if these compounds (bixin, BIX and norbixin, NOR), protect against DNA‐damage caused by the metal. Therefore, rats were treated orally with methylmercury (MeHg) and with the carotenoids under conditions that are relevant to humans. The animals were treated either with MeHg (30 μg/kg/bw/day), BIX (0.1–10 mg/kg/bw/day), NOR (0.01–1.0 mg/kg/bw/day) or combinations of the metal compound and the carotenoids consecutively for 45 days. Subsequently, the glutathione levels (GSH) and the activity of catalase were determined, and DNA‐damage was measured in hepatocytes and leukocytes using single cell gel electrophoresis assays. Treatment with the metal alone caused a decrease in the GSH levels (35%) and induced DNA damage, which resulted in increased DNA migration after electrophoresis in liver and blood cells, whereas no effects were seen with the carotenoids alone. When BIX or NOR were given in combination with organic mercury, the intermediate and the highest concentrations of the carotenoids (1.0 and 10.0 mg/kg/bw/day BIX and 0.1 and 1.0 mg/kg/bw/day NOR) protected against DNA‐damage. Furthermore, we found with both carotenoids, a moderate increase in the GSH levels in both metal‐treated and untreated animals, while the activities of catalase remained unchanged. Our results indicate that consumption of BIX and NOR may protect humans against the adverse health effects caused by exposure to organic mercury. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. , 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Analysis of cardiac function by MRI and stereology

Design‐based stereology and phase contrast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were combined to monitor changes in the volume of the four chambers of the human heart during the cardiac cycle. The data set consisted of 18 adjacent slices (or ‘scanning levels’) of 0.5 cm thickness, perpendicular to the long axis of the body, and encompassing the whole heart of a healthy volunteer. At each scanning level, a cardiac gated MR image was obtained at each of 16 equally spaced time frames within the cardiac cycle. Given stationarity with respect to time, absence of image artefacts and appropriate definition of chamber boundaries, for each time frame unbiased estimates of total blood volume in the relevant heart chambers were efficiently obtained using the Cavalieri method and point counting. Combined with a proper MRI acquisition, modern stereological methods constitute an efficient and reliable tool to quantify cardiac function noninvasively.
Prediction of Upper Limb Recovery, General Disability, and Rehabilitation Status by Activity Measurements Assessed by Accelerometers or the Fugl-Meyer Score in Acute Stroke

ObjectiveThis study investigated the clinical predictive value of the Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA) arm score and the upper limb activity assessed by accelerometers in patients with hemiparesis after acute stroke. DesignThe prospective cohort (n = 129) was recruited from a general hospital; activity variables and FMA score at intake were related to the FMA, the modified Rankin Scale, and rehabilitation status after 3 mos of follow-up. The prediction model was based on binary logistic regression. ResultsAlthough the FMA score at intake has the best overall predictive value for all three outcome measures (FMA3, 87.6%; modified Rankin Scale, 85.3%; RS, 73.6%), the activity of the impaired arm as assessed by the accelerometer has the best predictive value to determine patients who are at risk for continued disability (modified Rankin Scale score 1, 95.1%). The most difficult outcome measure for prediction is the rehabilitation status; specifically, the patients who went home are predicted imprecisely. The ratio variable is the least accurate predictor of all tested variables. ConclusionsThe FMA arm score at intake is the best predictor for arm recovery and general disability. The activity of the impaired arm is an excellent predictor for prolonged disability and is an alternative to the FMA score when it is impossible to score the FMA in the acute phase of stroke.