Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Attitudes and beliefs of Singapore health care professionals concerning HIV/AIDS.

AIM OF STUDY This study examines the beliefs and attitudes of Singapore doctors, dentists, and nurses concerning HIV/AIDS and persons living with HIV/AIDS (PWAs). METHOD A mail survey was done of all doctors and dentists in Singapore as well as a random sample of 1,500 nurses from the Singapore Nursing Board Register. RESULTS The results showed that respondents held accurate beliefs concerning transmission of HIV via sex and needle sharing but a significant proportion also expressed belief in transmission via everyday social contact. Respondents were aware of universal precautions when treating persons with HIV/AIDS but tended to be overly cautious in low/no risk situations. A substantial proportion of respondents indicated little or no knowledge or experience with AIDS-related conditions and the majority believed that most health care professionals are unprepared to care for PWAs. Further, there was evidence of substantial stigmatisation and fear of treating PWAs, both of which were significantly and negatively correlated with accuracy of beliefs about HIV transmission and universal precautions. CONCLUSION These results point to important misconceptions about HIV/AIDS held by Singapore health care professionals as well as stigma towards and fear of treating PWAs. These are areas that need to be addressed through better professional education concerning HIV/ AIDS. This education needs to address both the factual misconceptions about HIV/AIDS as well as the stigma associated with this disease and the fears that health care professionals have of treating PWAs.
Platelet hyperreactivity generalizes to multiple forms of stimulation

Summary. Background: Although platelet hyperreactivity constitutes an important cardiovascular risk factor, standardized methods for its measurement are lacking. We recently reported that aggregometry using a submaximal concentration of epinephrine identifies individuals with in vitro platelet hyperreactivity; this hyperreactivity was reproducible on multiple occasions over long periods of time. Objective and methods: To better understand this aberrant reactivity, we studied in a large group of subjects (n = 386) the relationship between healthy individuals’ platelet reactivity to epinephrine and their platelet phenotype as measured by other functional assays. Results: Subjects with hyperreactivity to epinephrine were more likely to exhibit hyperfunction in each major aspect of platelet activity, including adhesion (response to low‐dose ristocetin; P < 0.001), activation (surface P‐selectin expression and PAC‐1 binding after stimulation; P ≤ 0.003) and aggregation to other agonists [no agonist, adenosine diphosphate (ADP), arachidonic acid, collagen, collagen‐related peptide and ristocetin; P ≤ 0.025] and to applied shear stress (PFA‐100 and cone‐and‐plate viscometer; P < 0.05). These differences persisted after adjusting for demographic and hematologic differences between groups. We studied candidate genes relevant to epinephrine‐mediated platelet activation and found that hyperreactivity to epinephrine was associated with a polymorphism on the gene (GNB3) encoding the beta‐3 subunit of G proteins (P = 0.03). Conclusions: Robust aggregation to a submaximal concentration of epinephrine establishes a true hyperreactive platelet phenotype that is ‘global’ as opposed to agonist specific; detection of this phenotype could be useful for studying patients at risk for arterial thrombosis. The mechanisms underlying hyperreactivity to different types of platelet stimulation may share common signaling pathways, some of which may involve specific G protein subunits.
Cheaper HIV drugs for poor nations bring a new challenge: monitoring treatment.

AS EFFORTS TO MAKE ANTI-HIV drugs more affordable and available in developing countries are beginning to pay off, medical experts say it’s time to address a related challenge: Even while more patients are receiving the life-prolonging therapies, the tests and equipment needed to monitor the effects of their treatment are out of reach. Tests that clinicians in wealthier countries consider standard of care, particularly those used for determining when to initiate drug therapy or whether a therapeutic regimen is failing to suppress viral replication, are rarely available—too complex for most laboratories in resource-poor countries to perform, and too expensive for most patients. Now, however, a coalition of researchers, physicians, patient advocacy groups, government agencies, and others is making a concerted effort to develop and deliver cheap, simple, and effective alternative treatmentmonitoring technologies to improve the medical management of patients on antiretroviral therapy in developing countries in Africa, Asia, and elsewhere. Current technologies used in industrialized countries include assays for CD4 T cell numbers to determine the degree of immune impairment and tests to measure levels of HIV in the patient’s blood. “But these technologies are expensive, complex, and require lots of training and very fragile materials,” noted Veronica Miller, PhD, director of the Forum for Collaborative HIV Research. The Forum, a public-private partnership project based at George Washington University, in Washington, DC, receives funding from the US government, the pharmaceutical industry, and foundations. The costly tests used in North America and Europe “are just not very transportable into an area where it’s difficult to maintain expensive and fragile equipment, and where you don’t have the personnel trained to do these
Interfascicular nerve grafting.

Despite early knowledge that autogenous nerve grafting can be a useful method to overcome large gaps in peripheral nerves," the procedure was generally resorted to only after all other means to obtain end-to-end suturing had failed. ' The reason for this was that the disparity in size between the nerve trunk and the donor cutaneous nerve led to poor results. ' When a single graft of the same diameter was used with a large nerve, the central portion had ischemic fibrosis,' and when several cables were used" to create the same diameter they did not match fascicular bundles. Advances in microsurgery techniques prompted Millesi"' to introduce the concept of interfascicular nerve grafting whereby groups of fascicles, and not whole nerve, are connected together. This permitted use of small diameter grafts, thus overcoming the central necrosis that occur with whole grafts. Millesi reported his initial results in 19726 and further experience in 1976. ' Since that time, others have also reported success with interfascicular nerve grafting.I4
Neuromuscular Block Differentially Affects Immobility and Cortical Activation at Near–Minimum Alveolar Concentration Anesthesia

BACKGROUND: Anesthesia-induced immobility and cortical suppression are governed by anatomically separate, but interacting, areas of the central nervous system. Consequently, larger volatile anesthetic concentrations are required to suppress cortical activation than to abolish movement in response to noxious stimulation. We examined the effect of decreased afferent input, as produced by neuromuscular block (NMB), on immobility and cortical activation, as measured by Bispectral index (BIS) of the electrocardiogram, in the presence of noxious stimulation during approximately minimum alveolar concentrations (MACs) of desflurane anesthesia. METHODS: The effect of NMB on the median effective end-tidal concentration of desflurane (EtDes50, or MACtetanus) for immobility was estimated using the up-and-down method and isolated forearm technique in 24 healthy volunteers. Each volunteer sequentially received saline, mivacurium, and succinylcholine in a randomized order, while EtDes concentration during each of the treatments was determined based on the movement response of the previous volunteer on the same treatment. Nonlinear mixed-effects modeling was used to evaluate the effect of NMB on BIS versus EtDes concentration relationship at baseline and after noxious stimulation, while the frontal electromyogram (EMGBIS) effect on BIS was also modeled as a covariate. Cardiovascular responses to noxious stimulation were compared across treatments. RESULTS: Succinylcholine and mivacurium significantly reduced MACtetanus (95% confidence interval) from 5.00% (4.85%–5.13%), during saline, to 4.05% (3.81%–4.29%) and 3.84% (3.60%–4.08%), respectively. Noxious stimulation significantly, although minimally, increased BIS response during all treatments. Succinylcholine increased BIS independently of an effect on EMGBIS. Succinylcholine administration increased cardiovascular activity. Interestingly, although cardiovascular reaction to the noxious event was ablated by mivacurium, cortical response, as determined by BIS, was retained. CONCLUSIONS: Both succinylcholine and mivacurium enhanced immobility during near-MAC anesthesia. All treatments were associated with a small, although significant, BIS increase in response to noxious stimulation, whereas succinylcholine increased BIS independently of noxious stimulation or EMGBIS. Mivacurium suppressed autonomic response to a noxious event.
Lifestyle and health status in long-term cardiac transplant recipients.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this pilot study was to describe the lifestyle and health status of long-term cardiac transplant recipients. DESIGN AND SETTING The study was a descriptive correlational design at a health sciences center. MEASURES We measured lifestyle, using the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile-II, and indicators of health status (eg, number of medications, infections, and rejections; systolic and diastolic blood pressure; lipid profile; and percent ideal body weight) in 47 patients after an annual evaluation or follow-up visit after patients received cardiac transplantation. RESULTS Patients were primarily male, white, 56.5 years old and 75.6 months after transplant. Spiritual growth was the most frequently reported lifestyle characteristic (mean, 27.4; SD, 4.9). The least frequently reported lifestyle characteristic was engagement in physical activity (mean, 18.4; SD, 5.7). Factorial between-subjects analysis of variance demonstrated that women had a higher high-density lipoprotein level (P =.0001) and reported healthier dietary habits (P =.02) and greater spiritual growth (P =.006) than men. African Americans reported poorer stress management behaviors (P =.04). Recipients whose heart failure was due to ischemic cardiomyopathy had a lower percent ideal body weight than those with a nonischemic cause (P =.01). Recipients with cardiac allograft vasculopathy had a higher low-density lipoprotein cholesterol level (P =.05) and lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level (P =.05) than those without cardiac allograft vasculopathy, and those persons who required maintenance corticosteroid therapy reported poorer interpersonal relationships than those persons not receiving corticosteroids (P =.04). CONCLUSION Cardiac transplant recipients did not consistently include health-promoting behaviors in their lifestyles although some of the behaviors were associated with a better health status. Future research should be aimed at identifying factors that affect the ability to make and sustain changes in lifestyle and improve health status.
The transition from co-morbidities to geriatric syndromes in HIV.

Several recent cohort studies have suggested that life expectancy of HIV-infected individuals is currently comparable to that of the general population, particularly when antiretroviral therapy (ART) was initiated at earlier disease stages.1 Simultaneously, HIV seroconversion among older age persons is increasingly recognized, in part as the result of lower perceptions of sexual risk in older people.2 The overall effect is one of advancing age among HIV-infected persons, with a recognition that persons who age with HIV infection have an increased burden of age-related comorbid illnesses compared to persons of a similar age who were more recently HIV-infected.3
Using “big data” to guide implementation of a web and mobile adaptive learning platform for medical students

Abstract Background: Adaptive learning platforms (ALPs) can revolutionize medical education by making learning more efficient, but their potential has not been realized because students do not use them persistently. Methods: We applied educational data mining methods to study United States medical students who used an ALP called Osmosis (www.osmosis.org) from 1 August 2014 to 31 July 2015. Multivariate logistic regressions modeled persistence on Osmosis as the dependent variable and Osmosis-collected variables as predictors. Results: The 6787 students included in our analysis responded to a total of 887,193 items, with 2138 (31.5%) using Osmosis persistently. Number of items per student, mobile device use, subscription payment, and group membership were independently associated with persisting (p < 0.001 in all models). Persistent users rated quality more favorably (p < 0.01) but were not more confident in answer selections (p = 0.80). While persisters were more accurate than non-persisters (55% (SD 18%) vs 52% (SD 22%), p < 0.001), after adjusting for number of items, lower accuracy was associated with persistent use (OR 0.93 [95% CI 0.90–0.97], p < 0.01). Conclusions: Our study of a large sample of U.S. medical students illustrates big data medical education research and provides guidance for improving implementation of ALPs and further investigation.
[Pharmacokinetics of dihydroqinghaosu in human volunteers and comparison with qinghaosu].

Qinghaosu (QHS), also known as artemisinin and arteannuin, is a novel type of sesquiterpene with a peroxide linkage isolated from the Chinese herb Artemisia annua L. Since its discovery as an antimalarial with low toxicity, hundreds of derivatives have been synthesized among them artesunate (ATS), artemether (ATM) and dihydroqinghaosu (DHQHS) were found to be more active than QHS itself. A suppository of QHS, a dual-pack dosage form of ATS (artesunic acid to be dissolved in sodium bicarbonate solution just before iv injection) and an oil solution of ATM for im injection had been approved by our Ministry of Health for clinical use. However, a preparation for oral administration is still not available. We have reported that when dogs were given QHS tablets orally at the dose of 70 mg/kg, no drug was detected in the serum using the RIA method, whereas appreciable serum concentration was found by the same method when dogs were given DHQHS tablets at a dose as low as 10 mg/kg. This paper reports the pharmacokinetics of DHQHS in man studied with the RIA method and compared with QHS. When DHQHS in tablet form was given to human volunteers at doses of 1.1-2.2 mg/kg, peak serum levels of 0.13-0.71 micrograms/ml were obtained in 1.33 h with MRT of 2.26-2.36 h. When QHS tablets were given at the dose as high as 15 mg/kg, however, the peak serum level found in 1.5 h was only 0.09 microgram/ml with MRT of 1.33 h. Therefore, the bioavailability of QHS tablets is only 1.62-10.08% that of DHQHS. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
A randomized trial of an interim methadone maintenance clinic.

BACKGROUND Interim methadone maintenance has been proposed as a method of providing clinically effective services to heroin addicts waiting for treatment in standard comprehensive methadone maintenance programs. METHODS A clinic that provided initial medical evaluation, methadone medication, and AIDS education, but did not include formal drug abuse counseling or other social support services was established in New York City. A sample of 301 volunteer subjects recruited from the waiting list for treatment in the Beth Israel methadone program were randomly assigned to immediate entry into the interim clinic or a control group. RESULTS There were no differences in initial levels of illicit drug use across the experimental and control groups. One-month urinalysis follow-up data showed a significant reduction in heroin use in the experimental group (from 63% positive at intake to 29% positive) with no change in the control group (62% to 60% positive). No significant change was observed in cocaine urinalyses (approximately 70% positive for both groups at intake and follow-up). A higher percentage of the experimental group were in treatment at 16-month follow-up (72% vs 56%). CONCLUSIONS Limited services interim methadone maintenance can reduce heroin use among persons awaiting entry into comprehensive treatment and increase the percentage entering treatment.
Inhibition of Capacitation-Associated Tyrosine Phosphorylation Signaling in Rat Sperm by Epididymal Protein Crisp-11

Abstract Ejaculated sperm are unable to fertilize an egg until they undergo capacitation. Capacitation results in the acquisition of hyperactivated motility, changes in the properties of the plasma membrane, including changes in proteins and glycoproteins, and acquisition of the ability to undergo the acrosome reaction. In all mammalian species examined, capacitation requires removal of cholesterol from the plasma membrane and the presence of extracellular Ca2+ and HCO3−. We designed experiments to elucidate the conditions required for in vitro capacitation of rat spermatozoa and the effects of Crisp-1, an epididymal secretory protein, on capacitation. Protein tyrosine phosphorylation, a hallmark of capacitation in sperm of other species, occurs during 5 h of in vitro incubation, and this phosphorylation is dependent upon HCO3−, Ca2+, and the removal of cholesterol from the membrane. Crisp-1, which is added to the sperm surface in the epididymis in vivo, is lost during capacitation, and addition of exogenous Crisp-1 to the incubation medium inhibits tyrosine phosphorylation in a dose-dependent manner, thus inhibiting capacitation and ultimately the acrosome reaction. Inhibition of capacitation by Crisp-1 occurs upstream of the production of cAMP by the sperm.
Timing of Spawning and Early Development of Palythoa tuberculosa (Anthozoa, Zoantharia, Sphenopidae) in Okinawa, Japan

The spawning behavior and early embryogenesis of Palythoa tuberculosa (Anthozoa, Zoantharia) were observed in August 2009 off Okinawa Island, Japan. P. tuberculosa released zygotes just after high tide around new moon nights. The mean diameter of zygotes was 365.6 ± s.d. 14.8 μm, and zygotes did not contain any symbiotic algae (zooxanthellae). About 2 h after spawning, the first cleavage furrow appeared on one side of the zygotes, although it was uncertain when eggs were fertilized. After second cleavage, the arrangement of blastomeres was pseudospherical. At 9 h after spawning, the embryo became a concave-convex dish shape, then gastrulation occurred and the blastopore was formed. Seven-day old larvae were ellipsoid and about 700 μm long, with an open mouth at one end. Two weeks after spawning, the larvae developed a longitudinal band of long cilia (= ventral ciliate band) that is characteristic of zoanthella larvae. In P. tuberculosa, larvae show a non-radial body plan and then metamorphose to almost-radial (in outward appearance) polyps after settlement. These results may support a hypothesis that a common ancestor of Cnidaria had a bilateral body plan that has been secondarily lost in some extant cnidarians.
Mind the body!: designing a mobile stress management application encouraging personal reflection

We have designed a stress management biofeedback mobile service for everyday use, aiding users to reflect on both positive and negative patterns in their behavior. To do so, we embarked on a complex multidisciplinary design journey, learning that: detrimental stress results from complex processes related to e.g. the subjective experience of being able to cope (or not) and can therefore not be measured and diagnosed solely as a bodily state. We learnt that it is difficult, sometimes impossible, to make a robust analysis of stress symptoms based on biosensors worn outside the laboratory environment they were designed for. We learnt that rather than trying to diagnose stress, it is better to mirror short-term stress reactions back to them, inviting their own interpretations and reflections. Finally, we identified several experiential qualities that such an interface should entail: ambiguity and openness to interpretation, interactive history of prior states, fluency and aliveness.
Successful management of a refractory case of postoperative herniorrhaphy pain with extended duration pulsed radiofrequency

Chronic postsurgical pain (CPSP) is a distressful condition following hernia surgery. A 25-year-old, 55 kg male patient presented with severe pain on the right side of the lower abdomen that radiated to the testicle and the inner side of the thigh. Patient was symptomatic since 5 months following inguinal herniorrhaphy surgery. The pain was not relieved with pharmacological and interventional nerve blocks. An ultrasound-guided ilioinguinal-iliohypogastric (II-IH) block with extended duration (42°C, four cycles of 120 s each) pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) and a diagnostic genital branch of genitofemoral nerve (GGFN) block provided pain relief. After 1-month, an extended duration PRF in GGFN resulted in complete resolution of symptoms. During a regular follow-up of 9 months, patient reported an improved quality-of-life. We believe the successful management of CPSP following hernia repair with single extended duration PRF of II-IH and GGFN has not been described in the literature.
Sibling cannibalism in dorada under experimental conditions . I . Ontogeny , dynamics , bioenergetics of cannibalism and prey size selectivity

*Aquaculture Research and Education Centre, University of Liège, Belgium; †Institut Sénégalais de Recherches Agronomiques, Centre de recherches océanographiques de Dakar-Thiaroye (CRODT/ISRA), Sénégal, ‡Faculté d’Agronomie et de Médecine Vétérinaire, Université d’Etat d’Haı̈ti, Haı̈ti, ¶Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Ecotoxicology, University of Liège, Belgium and §Laboratory of Functional and Evolutive Morphology, University of Liège, Belgium
The Influence of Day and Night Temperature Fluctuations on Growth and Flowering of Annual Bedding Plants and Greenhouse Heating Cost Predictions

Volatile energy costs and lower profit margins have motivated many greenhouse growers in temperate climates to improve the energy efficiency of crop production. We performed experiments with dahlia (Dahlia xhybrida Cav. 'Figaro Mix'), French marigold (Tagetes patula L. 'Janie Flame'), and zinnia (Zinuia elegans Jacq. 'Magellan Pink') to quantify the effects of constant and fluctuating temperatures on growth and flowering during the finish stage. Plants were grown in glass-glazed greenhouses with a day/night (16 h/8 h) temperature of 20/14, 18/18, 16/22 (means of 18 °C), 24/18, 22/22, or 20/26 °C (means of 22 °C) with a 16-h photoperiod and under a photosynthetic daily light integral of 11 to 19 mol·m ―2 ·d ―1 . Flowering times of dahlia, French marigold, and zinnia (Year 2 only) were similar among treatments with the same mean daily air temperature (MDT). All species grown at 20/14 °C were 10% to 41% taller than those grown at 16/ 22 °C. Crop timing data and computer software that estimates energy consumption for heating (Virtual Grower) were then used to estimate energy consumption for greenhouse heating on a per-crop basis. Energy costs to produce these crops in Charlotte, NC, Grand Rapids, MI, and Minneapolis, MN, for a finish date of 15 Apr. or 15 May and grown at the same MDT were estimated to be 3% to 42% lower at a +6 °C day/night temperature difference (DIF) compared with a 0 °C DIF and 2% to 90% higher at a -6 °C DIF versus a 0 °C DIF. This information could be used by greenhouse growers to reduce energy inputs for heating on a per-crop basis.