Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Food Insecurity and Eating Behavior Relationships Among Congregate Meal Participants in Georgia

ABSTRACT This study explored relationships of food insecurity with cognitive restraint, uncontrolled eating, and emotional eating behaviors among congregate meal participants in northeast Georgia [n = 118 years, age 60 years and older, mean (SD) age = 75 (8) years, 75% female, 43% Black, 53% obese (Body Mass Index ≥ 30)]. Food insecurity was assessed with a 6-item questionnaire. Scores ranged from 0 to 6 and were defined as high or marginal food security, FS, 0–1 (70%); low food security, LFS, 2–4 (20%); very low food security, VLFS, 5–6 (10%); and low and very low food security, LVLFS, 2–6 (30%). Eating behavior was assessed with an 18-item Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire R-18. In bivariate analyses food insecurity was consistently associated with cognitive restraint scores above the median split and to a lesser extent with uncontrolled eating scores (p ≤ 0.05). No association was found between emotional eating and food insecurity. In multivariate linear and logistic regression analyses, food insecurity was consistently associated with cognitive restraint (p ≤ 0.05) even when controlled for potential confounders (demographics, Body Mass Index, and chronic diseases). Food insecurity was also associated with uncontrolled eating (p ≤ 0.05), but the relationship was attenuated when controlled for potential confounding variables. Although cognitive restraint is defined as the conscious restriction of food intake to control body weight or promote weight loss, these findings suggest there may be other dimensions of cognitive restraint to consider in nutritional assessment and interventions among food-insecure older adults.
Quantitative voltammetric analysis in the brain: Functional significance of tonic extracellular dopamine levels

Extracellular (EC) dopamine (DA) levels in several regions of the brain are implicated in the rewarding effects of psychostimulants, including cocaine. These DA levels can be referred to as either tonic (long term) or phasic (short term). Microdialysis and voltammetry are currently the most popular methods to determine EC DA levels in vivo. Recently voltammetric work has demonstrated increases in phasic DA following uptake inhibition. Microdialysis studies have monitored a longer term increase in dialysate DA following uptake inhibition, but it has yet to be confirmed whether this is a phasic or tonic increase. The voltammetric procedures in our laboratory are designed to monitor tonic DA levels. In our lab, cocaine and nomifensine only increase tonic DA levels when preceded with a D2 antagonist. In this dissertation, I will discuss my work in determining the role of tonic DA levels following uptake inhibition and the functional significance of tonic DA. Initially I investigated the effect of cocaine and nomifensine on tonic EC DA levels in both the striatum and the nucleus accumbens brain regions of anesthetized animals. Cocaine and nomifensine only increased tonic DA levels when preceded with the D2 antagonist, raclopride. Similar results were found in unanaesthetized animals, leading to the conclusion that the lack of response following uptake inhibition was not an anesthetic effect. These findings introduce the novel concept that tonic DA levels in the striatum and nucleus accumbens are stabilized following uptake inhibition, and this Additionally, voltammetric recordings were conducted in the nucleus accumbens of an unanesthetized rat that received cocaine after pretreatment with raclopride in order to evaluate cocaine-induced hyperactivity. The combination of raclopride and cocaine produced two treatment outcomes, a tonic increase in EC DA levels and locomotor activation. However, these treatment outcomes were mutually exclusive in that individual animals exhibited one outcome or the other but, with one exception, not both. This data suggests that tonic elevations of EC DA suppress cocaine-induced hyperactivity. By quantitatively measuring DA levels via voltammetry, we observe an entirely new phenomenon: an excess of DA in the EC space decreases activity.
Children with Lyme Arthritis in Slovenia : Demographic , Clinical and Laboratory Characteristics

Introduction: Lyme borreliosis is an infectious disease caused by B. burgdorferi sensu lato and transmitted by a tick. In Slovenia it is highly endemic and common in children. A clinical sign of early disseminated and late disease is Lyme arthritis (LA). The aim of the study was to define demographic, clinical and laboratory characteristics of children with Lyme arthritis. Methods: The retrospective clinical study was carried out at the Department of Infectious Diseases, University Medical Center Ljubljana, Slovenia, from 2006 to 2013. The study comprised patients with Lyme arthritis younger than 15 years old. Lyme arthritis was defined by the clinical standards for the diagnosis of Lyme borreliosis in Slovenia. The data was acquired from medical records via a questionnaire, and the infection was proven through microbiological testing of serum and synovial fluid. The patients were being followed up for six months. Results: 37 children were diagnosed with Lyme arthritis, their average age was8.7 years; girls were affected more frequently; cases were evenly distributed throughout the year; most patients come from Central Slovenia; less than one third of them recall a tick bite; less than half of the patients have the associated general symptoms of a borrelial infection; the knee is the most commonly affected joint, with pain being the most common local symptom. Confirmed and probable Lyme arthritis were diagnosed in 24% and 76% of the patients. Conclusion: As Slovenia is endemic for borreliosis, a prospective study of children with LA is required to understand the natural course of the disease, and shorten time to treatment.
How Do Hydrogen Bonds Contribute to Protein-DNA Recognition?

Abstract The average strength of hydrogen bonding interactions at the interface of 40 protein-DNA complexes comprising ∼ 1500 potential hydrogen bonds and their free energies of formation have been estimated employing some recent advances in theoretical treatments of electrostatic interactions. The hydrogen bond spatial frequency distribution shows a maximum at a proton-acceptor distance of 2. 1Å. The corresponding average interaction energy and the binding free energy are computed to be −1 kcal and +4 kcal/mol.H-bond respectively. Thus hydrogen bonds do not appear to provide the driving force for the formation of specific complexes from initially separated protein and DNA but serve to optimize the interactions in the specific complex once it is formed, via distance and angle requirements.
Do We Really 'Know' What We Think We Know? A Case Study of Seminal Research and its Subsequent Overgeneralization

This study provides evidence that accounting researchers have not fully appreciated the sensitivity of empirical results to (necessarily) subjective research design choices, and that this failure has led to the subsequent overgeneralization of early evidence. Specifically, we trace the evolution of thought regarding the information content of accounting earnings announcements, highlighting the role of research design choices. A citation analysis reveals that the likely effects of research design choices made by early influential studies have been largely overlooked by subsequent research, as has "anomalous" evidence that was inconsistent with the early studies' inferences. Our study provides empirical evidence on the effects of two research design choices: (1) market reaction measures, and (2) sample selection criteria. We replicate the strong information content results reported in early research by following the choices employed in that research. However, we show how other research design choices yield very different inferences. In particular, investigation of the proportion of individual earnings announcements that generate significant reactions reveals no evidence of a significant price reaction for the majority of earnings announcements. This evidence suggests that the focus on cross-sectional means has obscured the fact that significant mean reactions have been driven by a small proportion of announcements. We also find that sample selection criteria significantly affect the magnitude and pervasiveness of market reactions to earnings announcements. While accounting scholars "think we understand" the impact of research design choices, the evidence presented here suggests that we have collectively failed to apply this understanding in practice. Such failure delays the acquisition of knowledge. Furthermore, we conjecture that earlier awareness of evidence such as that presented here may have changed the evolutionary path of subsequent price-earnings research.
Anopheles gambiae TRPA1 is a heat‐activated channel expressed in thermosensitive sensilla of female antennae

Heat sensitivity is a sensory modality that plays a critical role in close‐range host‐seeking behaviors of adult female Anopheles gambiae, the principal Afrotropical vector for human malaria. An essential step in this activity is the ability to discriminate and respond to increases in environmental temperature gradients through the process of peripheral thermoreception. Here, we report on the characterization of the anopheline homolog of the transient receptor potential (TRP) A1/ANKTM1 channel that is consistent with its role as a heat‐sensor in host‐seeking adult female mosquitoes. We identify a set of distal antennal sensory structures that specifically respond to temperature gradients and express AgTRPA1. Functional characterization of AgTRPA1 in Xenopus oocytes supports its role in the molecular transduction of temperature gradients in An. gambiae, providing a basis for targeting mosquito heat responses as a means toward reducing malaria transmission.
Expression profile of polyunsaturated fatty acids in colorectal cancer.

AIM To investigate the relationship between the metabolism of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and tumor-associated factors for predicting the outcome of colorectal carcinoma (CRC) in Chinese patients. METHODS Fresh-frozen malignant and normal tissues from 82 Chinese patients with CRC were analyzed for PUFA composition using gas-liquid chromatography. The levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), prostaglandin E2 and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and the levels of VEGF, p53 and Ki-67 were measured by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS In malignant tissue, compared with normal tissue, the levels of total ω-6 PUFAs (24.64%±3.41% vs 26.77%±3.37%, P=0.00) and linoleic acid (LA) (15.46%±3.51% vs 18.30%±2.83%, P<0.01) were lower, whereas the levels of total ω-3 PUFAs (1.58%±0.74% vs 1.35%±0.60%, P<0.01) and dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid (DGLA) (1.32%±0.69% vs 0.85%±0.29%, P<0.01) were signiﬁcantly higher. The ratios of arachidonic acid (AA)/LA (0.53±0.22 vs 0.42±0.19, P<0.01) and AA/total ω-6 PUFAs (0.31±0.09 vs 0.27±0.10, P<0.01) were also signiﬁcantly higher in malignant tissue. The levels of PDGF (353.10±148.85 pg/mL vs 286.09±104.91 pg/mL, P<0.01), COX-2 (125.21±70.29 ng/mL vs 67.06±42.22 ng/mL, P<0.01) and VEGF (357.11±128.76 pg/mL vs 211.38±99.47 pg/mL, P<0.01) were also higher in malignant tissue compared to normal tissue. COX-2 was inversely correlated with LA (R=-0.3244, P<0.05) and positively correlated with AA/total ω-6 PUFAs (R=0.3083, P<0.05) and AA/LA (R=0.3001, P<0.05). The tissue level of LA was highest in poorly differentiated tumors (19.9%±6.3%, P<0.05), while the ratio of AA/ω-3 PUFAs was lowest in these tumors (10.8±2.6, P<0.05). In VEGF-positive tumors, the level of LA was higher (16.2%±3.7% vs 13.9%±2.7%, P<0.01), while the AA/ω-3PUFA, AA/ω-6 PUFA, and AA/LA ratios were lower than in VEGF-negative tumors (5.0±1.8 vs 6.7±3.3, 0.30±0.09 vs 0.34±0.09, 0.50±0.21 vs 0.61±0.21, P<0.01). CONCLUSION The metabolism of PUFAs may play an important role in the evolution of inflammation-driven tumorigenesis in CRC and may be considered a potential marker for prognosis.
Evaluation of SIP signaling usability in networked operations

Latest development showed that VoIP-solutions are also going to expand into the area of safety critical voice communication systems. A variety of solutions has been developed for different fields of application, different scales and services. Signaling and media transports vary in voice communication architectures for LAN environments compared with those in global Internet telephony. Generally, multitudes of call-features as well as dedicated services are required. Besides also access to shared media resources, like analog or digital radio has to be controlled, together with coupling capabilities to virtually merge radio-channels. Additionally a voice communication system offers monitoring and recording capabilities and failover mechanisms for switching between redundant devices. Today's legacy voice communication systems (VCS), which meet these requirements, are based on circuit switching technology. They are well-proven and characterized by high reliability and availability. The vast majority of voice communication systems are single installations supporting dedicated resources. From there, a controller working on one VCS can not arbitrarily access the radios of another VCS, which substantially restricts the contingency capabilities of the system and may also be regard as a major cost factor. Development of new data services has shown that circuit switched systems lack of data integration. Also in deployable systems and mobility demands, such as in disaster operation or military applications, legacy systems have drawbacks, because configuration is complex to handle and interoperability between different vendors requires dedicated gateways. IP based voice communication generates a new momentum as IP based services inherently allow for networked operations. But due to the fundamental paradigms different to the VCS, it requires to reconsider the architectural framework. The proposed paper elaborates two aspects of the implications of introducing IP based communication systems on a system and architectural level. Separating the communication service, which is purely the IP packet from application services, which include A/G and G/G voice services, is one issue that shall be display. The second topic shall describe the evolution of system interfaces, which includes the working together with radio equipment and voice communication systems of other vendors. Finally a practical implementation using the session initiation protocol (SIP) evaluates the variants for implementation of the required call-features in terms of usability in a VCS. Further, it presents a model for signaling of (providing) additional VCS specific functions. SIP extensions meet the requirement for this variety of signaling, especially by using event-notification, which is done by SUBSCRIBE and NOTIFY requests. Event-packages already exist for conferencing, dialog-events and refer-events - additional event-packages for radio signaling (PTT and SQU) and radio-channel-coupling extend the signaling capabilities to provide a complete set of VCS-features
Determination of hepatic zinc content in chronic liver disease due to hepatitis B virus.

BACKGROUND/AIMS Zinc is an essential, mostly intracellular, trace element which participates in many physiologic mechanisms. Some liver functions like urea formation require the presence of zinc; thus the determination of hepatic zinc content may contribute to the understanding of probable zinc-related clinical consequences of chronic liver disease. In this study, we aimed to determine the hepatic zinc concentrations in patients with chronic liver disease due to the Hepatitis B virus and to ascertain the relationship between the severity of liver disease and hepatic zinc content, if one in fact exists. METHODOLOGY A total of 99 HBsAg positive subjects were included in the study. We performed a liver biopsy on all subjects. Hepatic zinc concentrations were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. RESULTS The liver biopsies were normal in 25 subjects. There were 33 chronic active hepatitis (CAH), 34 cirrhosis and 7 chronic persistent hepatitis (CPH) patients in the study group. In the control group, CAH, cirrhosis and CPH groups, the mean liver zinc concentrations were 3.83 +/- 1.86, 1.86 +/- 0.92, 1.14 +/- 0.68 and 3.74 +/- 1.81 mumol/g dry weight, respectively. Hepatic zinc in the CAH and cirrhosis groups were lower than that of the control group (p < 0.05). We also found that liver zinc in the cirrhosis group was lower than in the CAH group (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION According to these results, as the severity of liver damage increases, the hepatic zinc concentration decreases. Therefore, it can be suggested that zinc supplementation may improve hepatic encephalopathy by increasing the efficiency of the urea cycle.
Feasibility of Modified Short-Course Radiotherapy Combined With a Chemoradiosensitizer for T3 Rectal Cancer

BACKGROUND: 5-Fluorouracil-based chemotherapy is considered to be a radiosensitizer; however, conventional short-course radiotherapy combined with chemotherapy is generally thought to not be feasible because of the prevalence of side effects. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of modified short-course radiotherapy combined with a chemoradiosensitizer for T3 rectal cancer. DESIGN AND SETTINGS: This study was retrospective in nature and used a prospectively collected database. PATIENTS: Patients with T3 rectal cancer located below the peritoneum reflection were selected. INTERVENTIONS: A total dose of 25 Gy of radiotherapy was administered in 10 fractions of 2.5 Gy each for 5 days. Radiotherapy was performed with S-1 as a radiosensitizer from day 1 to day 10. Surgery was targeted to be performed 4 weeks after radiotherapy. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: The morbidity, sphincter-preserving rate, anal function, and long-term outcomes were assessed. RESULTS: All patients (n = 170) completed the radiotherapy regimen and 166 (97.6%) completed the combination regimen with chemotherapy. A total of 149 patients (87.6%) had sphincter-preserving surgery (double stapling technique (DST), 58 patients; intersphincteric resection (ISR), 91 patients), and postoperative complications were relatively mild (anastomotic leakage, 15.4%; intra-abdominal infection, 8.2%). Among those undergoing sphincter preserving surgery, the 5-year local relapse-free survival rate was 94.3% in the DST group, and 89.8% in the ISR group. With respect to the anal function, the Wexner score the first year after stoma closure for the double-stapling technique group was 6 and that for intersphincteric resection was 15; however, the score for the intersphincteric resection group was improved to 8 at 4 years after stoma closure. LIMITATIONS: This study had limitations because it was an uncontrolled, 1-arm, retrospective review with a small sample size. CONCLUSIONS: Modified short-course radiotherapy combined with chemoradiosensitizer is a feasible approach for treating T3 rectal cancer. With the use of the short-course approach, efforts to reduce the incidence of side effects by appropriately prolonging the waiting period enable the administration of combination treatment with short-course radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
Endogenous pacemaker activity of rat tumour somatotrophs

1 Cells derived from a rat pituitary tumour (GC cell line) that continuously release growth hormone behave as endogenous pacemakers. In simultaneous patch clamp recordings and cytosolic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) imaging, they displayed rhythmic action potentials (44.7 ± 2.7 mV, 178 ± 40 ms, 0.30 ± 0.04 Hz) and concomitant [Ca2+]i transients (374 ± 57 nM, 1.0 ± 0.2 s, 0.27 ± 0.03 Hz). 2 Action potentials and [Ca2+]i transients were reversibly blocked by removal of external Ca2+, addition of nifedipine (1 μM) or Ni2+ (40 μM), but were insensitive to TTX (1 μM). An L‐type Ca2+ current activated at ‐33.6 ± 0.4 mV (holding potential (Vh), ‐40 mV), peaked at ‐1.8 ± 1.3 mV, was reduced by nifedipine and enhanced by S‐(+)‐SDZ 202 791. A T/R‐type Ca2+ current activated at ‐41.7 ± 2.7 mV (Vh, ‐80 or ‐60 mV), peaked at ‐9.2 ± 3.0 mV, was reduced by low concentrations of Ni2+ (40 μM) or Cd2+ (10 μM) and was toxin resistant. Parallel experiments revealed the expression of the class E calcium channel α1‐subunit mRNA. 3 The K+ channel blockers TEA (25 mM) and charybdotoxin (10‐100 nM) enhanced spike amplitude and/or duration. Apamin (100 nM) also strongly reduced the after‐spike hyperpolarization. The outward K+ tail current evoked by a depolarizing step that mimicked an action potential reversed at ‐69.8 ± 0.3 mV, presented two components, lasted 2‐3 s and was totally blocked by Cd2+ (400 μM). 4 The slow pacemaker depolarization (3.5 ± 0.4 s) that separated consecutive spikes corresponded to a 2‐ to 3‐fold increase in membrane resistance, was strongly Na+ sensitive but TTX insensitive. 5 Computer simulations showed that pacemaker activity can be reproduced by a minimum of six currents: an L‐type Ca2+ current underlies the rising phase of action potentials that are repolarized by a delayed rectifier and Ca2+‐activated K+ currents. In between spikes, the decay of Ca2+‐activated K+ currents and a persistent inward cationic current depolarize the membrane, activate the T/R‐type Ca2+ current and initiate a new cycle.
Short-term visual performance of soft multifocal contact lenses for presbyopia.

PURPOSE To compare visual acuity (VA), contrast sensitivity, stereopsis, and subjective visual performance of Acuvue® Oasys® for Presbyopia (AOP), Air Optix® Aqua Multifocal (AOMF), and Air Optix® Aqua Single Vision (AOSV) lenses in patients with presbyopia. METHODS A single-blinded crossover trial was conducted. Twenty patients with mild presbyopia (add ≤+1.25 D) and 22 with moderate/severe presbyopia (add ≥+1.50 D) who wore lenses bilaterally for 1 h, with a minimum overnight washout period between the use of each lens. Measurements included high- and low-contrast visual acuity (HCVA and LCVA, respectively) at a distance, contrast sensitivity (CS) at a distance, HCVA at intermediate (70 cm) and near (50 cm & 40 cm) distances, stereopsis, and subjective questionnaires regarding vision clarity, ghosting, overall vision satisfaction, and comfort. The test variables were compared among the lens types using repeated-measures ANOVA. RESULTS Distance variables (HCVA, LCVA, and CS) were significantly worse with multifocal lens than with AOSV lens (p≤0.008), except for AOMF lens in the mild presbyopia group in which no significant difference was observed (p>0.05). Multifocal lenses had significantly greater HCVA at 40 cm than AOSV lens (p≤0.026). AOMF lens had greater intermediate HCVA than AOP lens (p<0.03). AOP lens demonstrated greater improvements in stereopsis than AOMF and AOSV lens in the moderate/severe presbyopia group (p≤0.03). Few significant differences in subjective variables were observed, with no significant difference in the overall vision satisfaction observed between lens types (p>0.05). The proportions of patients willing to buy AOSV, AOMF, and AOP lenses were 20%, 40%, and 50%, respectively, in the mild presbyopia group and 14%, 32%, and 23%, respectively, in the moderate/severe presbyopia group; however, these differences were not statistically significant (p≥0.159). CONCLUSIONS Further development of multifocal lenses is required before significant advantages of multifocal lenses over single vision lens are observed in patients with presbyopia.