Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
[A study on physical symptom, activity of daily living, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in the community-dwelling older adults].

PURPOSE This study aimed to identify the relationships among physical symptoms, activities of daily living, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in community-dwelling older adults. METHODS A stratified random sampling method was conducted to recruit participants from May 10 to August 17, 2007. Physical symptoms were measured using the Physical Health Questionnaire (PHQ), activities of daily living using the Late-Life Functional and Disability Instrument (LLFDI), and HRQoL using the Medical Outcomes Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) in 242 community-dwelling elderly Korean people. RESULTS The HRQoL correlates with the physical symptoms (r=-.31) and the function component (r=.59). Of the two disability parts of the LLFDI, the limitation dimension correlates higher (r=.57) with HRQoL than the frequency dimension (r=.42). The HRQoL is significantly associated with the function component, and disability limitation in capability which explained 44.4% of variance in physical health. CONCLUSION These results may contribute to a better understanding of physical symptoms, activities of daily living, and HRQoL in community-dwelling older adults. Therefore, health programs for prompting older adult's health should be planned based on results of the study.
The effects of repeated temperature applications to testes on fertility in male rats.

The damaging effect of heat on the germinal epithelium of the testes of a variety of mammals is now well documented and in particular the morphological changes which occur (Chowdhury & Steinberger, 1964; Steinberger & Dixon, 1959). This problem, however, has also been studied by following the changes in male fertility after the application of heat to the testes (Young, 1927) and the most comprehensive work to date on rats is that by Elfving (1950). He found that the length of the infertile period depended not only on the temperature but also on the duration of the exposure. Venkatachalam & Ramanathan (1962) have studied, in rats, the effects of repeated heat treatments on spermatogenesis in the same individual male. Their results indicated that the germinal epithelium cannot adapt to repeated temperature stresses; however, the significance of their results is difficult to assess because of their experimental procedure, particularly as they did not determine whether the males were temporarily or permanently sterile at the end of the experiments. The purpose of the present study is to ascertain the effect of repeated heat treatments on fertility in male rats, and so to evaluate the capacity of the testes to adapt to, or recover from, repeated temperature stresses. Sixty-eight pairs of male and female albino rats were used in this work. The fertility of the pairs was tested at the onset of the experiment and the three males from infertile matings were not used. In subsequent fertility trials each male was placed with its respective female partner for at least 5 days so that the male was present for a complete oestrous cycle. The males were anaesthetized with an intraperitoneal injection of Nembutal before the application of heat. The testes were heated by immersing the males up to the level of the penis in a water bath, the temperature of which was maintained at 43-5 + 0-1° C. The duration ofheating was 20 min in all cases. Eleven males had their testes heated once only and 3 weeks later were placed with their female partner until she became pregnant, Group A males. Group males had their testes heated at repeated 6-weekly intervals (twice to seven times depending on the individual). The fertility of these males was tested about 5 weeks after each treatment and thus immediately before the 171
A Comparison of Rapists and Sexual Murderers on Demographic and Selected Psychometric Measures

This study compared 58 sexual murderers and 112 rapists who were about to undergo treatment in prison for their sexual offending behavior. The two groups were compared on background, personality, offense, and victim characteristics. The sexual murderer group were less likely to have been involved in a relationship at the time of their index offense, generally attacked older victims, and had higher self-esteem. The rapist sample were found to have more violent previous convictions and scored higher on measures of historical deviance (nonsexual), paranoid suspicion, and resentment. No differences were found on the personality or clinical syndrome scales of the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory—III. However, the rapist sample had significantly higher mean scores on the Paranoid Suspicion, Resentment, and Self-Esteem subscales of the Antisocial Personality Questionnaire. Future research should compare the two groups on dynamic or changeable factors to determine differential treatment needs.
An Australian study of telegraphists' cramp1

Ferguson, D. (1971). Brit. J. industr. Med.,28, 280-285. An Australian study of telegraphists' cramp. An investigation of telegraphists' cramp in an Australian public service organization attempted to assess the prevalance of the disorder, the degree of its transfer from morse to keyboard operating, and possible contributory influences. From an interview of 516 telegraphists in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane (93% of the available population), 73 (14%) subjects with occupational cramp and 26 (5%) with occupational myalgia were identified. The job, equipment, and work environment were also investigated. The prevalence of both disorders was much greater in Sydney than in Melbourne or Brisbane. Three-quarters (74%) of the cramp subjects had had difficulty with morse before this mode of operating was discontinued, 65% had difficulty with keyboard operating, and 50% with writing. Cramp was strongly associated with neurosis and with several other attributes. Though occupational cramp has been related to neurosis in general, to obsessive and conversion reactions in particular, to ready conditioning in neurotics, and to poor psychomotor ability in neurotics, the cause is not yet known. Work load, seating, equipment, selection, training, responsibility, and supervisory practices may each contribute in particular cases.
Complementary/alternative medicine use in a comprehensive cancer center and the implications for oncology.

PURPOSE Oncologists are aware that their patients use complementary/alternative medicine (CAM). As cancer incidence rates and survival time increase, use of CAM will likely increase. This study assessed the prevalence and predictors of CAM use in a comprehensive cancer center. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Subjects were English-speaking cancer patients at least 18 years of age, attending one of eight outpatient clinics at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, between December 1997 and June 1998. After giving written informed consent, participants completed a self-administered questionnaire. Differences between CAM users and nonusers were assessed by chi(2) and univariate logistic regression analysis. A multivariate logistic regression model identified the simultaneous impact of demographic, clinical, and treatment variables on CAM use; P values were two-sided. RESULTS Of the 453 participants (response rate, 51.4%), 99.3% had heard of CAM. Of those, 83.3% had used at least one CAM approach. Use was greatest for spiritual practices (80.5%), vitamins and herbs (62.6%), and movement and physical therapies (59.2%) and predicted (P <.001) by sex (female), younger age, indigent pay status, and surgery. After excluding spiritual practices and psychotherapy, 95.8% of participants were aware of CAM and 68.7% of those had used CAM. Use was predicted (P <.0001) by sex (female), education, and chemotherapy. CONCLUSION In most categories, CAM use was common among outpatients. Given the number of patients combining vitamins and herbs with conventional treatments, the oncology community must improve patient-provider communication, offer reliable information to patients, and initiate research to determine possible drug-herb-vitamin interactions.
Vitamin B1 biosynthesis in plants requires the essential iron–sulfur cluster protein, THIC

Vitamin B1 (thiamin) is an essential compound in all organisms acting as a cofactor in key metabolic reactions and has furthermore been implicated in responses to DNA damage and pathogen attack in plants. Despite the fact that it was discovered almost a century ago and deficiency is a widespread health problem, much remains to be deciphered about its biosynthesis. The vitamin is composed of a thiazole and pyrimidine heterocycle, which can be synthesized by prokaryotes, fungi, and plants. Plants are the major source of the vitamin in the human diet, yet little is known about the biosynthesis of the compound therein. In particular, it has never been verified whether the pyrimidine heterocycle is derived from purine biosynthesis through the action of the THIC protein as in bacteria, rather than vitamin B6 and histidine as demonstrated for fungi. Here, we identify a homolog of THIC in Arabidopsis and demonstrate its essentiality not only for vitamin B1 biosynthesis, but also plant viability. This step takes place in the chloroplast and appears to be regulated at several levels, including through the presence of a riboswitch in the 3′-untranslated region of THIC. Strong evidence is provided for the involvement of an iron–sulfur cluster in the remarkable chemical rearrangement reaction catalyzed by the THIC protein for which there is no chemical precedent. The results suggest that vitamin B1 biosynthesis in plants is in fact more similar to prokaryotic counterparts and that the THIC protein is likely to be the key regulatory protein in the pathway.
Mycobacterium bovis BCG Vaccination Induces Divergent Proinflammatory or Regulatory T Cell Responses in Adults

ABSTRACT Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG), the only currently available vaccine against tuberculosis, induces variable protection in adults. Immune correlates of protection are lacking, and analyses on cytokine-producing T cell subsets in protected versus unprotected cohorts have yielded inconsistent results. We studied the primary T cell response, both proinflammatory and regulatory T cell responses, induced by BCG vaccination in adults. Twelve healthy adult volunteers who were tuberculin skin test (TST) negative, QuantiFERON test (QFT) negative, and BCG naive were vaccinated with BCG and followed up prospectively. BCG vaccination induced an unexpectedly dichotomous immune response in this small, BCG-naive, young-adult cohort: BCG vaccination induced either gamma interferon-positive (IFN-γ+) interleukin 2-positive (IL-2+) tumor necrosis factor α-positive (TNF-α+) polyfunctional CD4+ T cells concurrent with CD4+ IL-17A+ and CD8+ IFN-γ+ T cells or, in contrast, virtually absent cytokine responses with induction of CD8+ regulatory T cells. Significant induction of polyfunctional CD4+ IFN-γ+ IL-2+ TNF-α+ T cells and IFN-γ production by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) was confined to individuals with strong immunization-induced local skin inflammation and increased serum C-reactive protein (CRP). Conversely, in individuals with mild inflammation, regulatory-like CD8+ T cells were uniquely induced. Thus, BCG vaccination either induced a broad proinflammatory T cell response with local inflammatory reactogenicity or, in contrast, a predominant CD8+ regulatory T cell response with mild local inflammation, poor cytokine induction, and absent polyfunctional CD4+ T cells. Further detailed fine mapping of the heterogeneous host response to BCG vaccination using classical and nonclassical immune markers will enhance our understanding of the mechanisms and determinants that underlie the induction of apparently opposite immune responses and how these impact the ability of BCG to induce protective immunity to TB.
Characteristics of Salmonella enteritidis Contamination in Eggs After Oral, Aerosol, and Intravenous Inoculation of Laying Hens

SUMMARY. Experimental infection models are useful tools for understanding how Salmonella enteritidis is deposited in eggs and for testing potential strategies to control eggborne transmission of disease to humans. Oral inoculation of laying hens is presumed to provide the closest simulation of naturally occurring infections, but alternatives such as intravenous or aerosol inoculation have sometimes been recommended as options to induce higher incidences of egg contamination. The present study compared the frequency, level, and location of S. enteritidis deposition in egg contents after experimental inoculation by three different routes. In two replicate trials, specific-pathogen-free laying hens were infected with an S. enteritidis culture mixture prepared to optimize invasive behavior. Groups of hens received either an oral dose of 109 S. enteritidis, an aerosol dose of 109 S. enteritidis, or an intravenous dose of 105–107 S. enteritidis. Oral inoculation led to the highest incidence of fecal shedding of S. enteritidis, whereas intravenous inoculation produced the highest specific antibody titers. Eggs laid during the first 21 days postinoculation were cultured to detect and enumerate S. enteritidis in the yolk and albumen. No significant differences were observed among the three inoculation routes in the frequencies of isolation of S. enteritidis from either yolk or albumen. For all three routes of administration, S. enteritidis was recovered more often from yolk (at frequencies ranging from 4% to 7%) than from albumen (0 to 2%). Over 73% of contaminated eggs harbored fewer than 1 colony-forming unit (CFU) of S. enteritidis per milliliter, and only 3% of such eggs contained more than 100 CFUs/ml. Significantly higher levels of S. enteritidis contaminants were associated with intravenous inoculation than with the other routes. No advantage of using aerosol or intravenous administration of S. enteritidis as an alternative to oral inoculation for inducing the production of contaminated eggs was evident in this study.
Treatment of Kaposi sarcoma with oral administration of shark cartilage in a human herpesvirus 8-seropositive, human immunodeficiency virus-seronegative homosexual man.

A 45-year-old white man presented with a 21⁄2-year history of a bruiselike area on the arch of his right foot (Figure 1). A skin biopsy specimen of the lesion revealed Kaposi sarcoma (KS) (Figure2), with slitlike vascular spaces that were accentuated by CD34 immunostaining (Figure 3). The patient was a sexually active homosexual man of English descent, with no Ashkenazi Jewish or Mediterranean family background. His medications included aspirin, St John’s wort, multiple and B complex vitamins, fluvastatin sodium, loratadine, and fexofenadine hydrochloride, and he occasionally used amyl nitrate nasally as a sexual stimulant. Physical examination revealed a 1.533-cm slightly violaceous indurated plaque on the mid instep of the patient’s right foot. No other mucocutaneous lesions of KS were found, and there was no hepatosplenomegaly or peripheral lymphadenopathy. A chest x-ray film revealed no abnormalities. The assessment was early-stage KS (T0 I0 S0), with a performance status of 0. The patient was repeatedly seronegative for human immunodeficiency virus, and his serial lymphocyte subset counts, complete blood cell counts, serum chemis-
Multiagent concurrent chemoradiotherapy for locoregionally advanced squamous cell head and neck cancer: mature results from a single institution.

PURPOSE A retrospective review with long-term follow-up is reported from the Cleveland Clinic Foundation studying radiation and concurrent multiagent chemotherapy in patients with locoregionally advanced squamous cell head and neck cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS Between 1989 and 2002, 222 patients were treated with 4-day continuous infusions of fluorouracil (1,000 mg/m2/d) and cisplatin (20 mg/m2/d) during weeks 1 and 4 of either once daily or twice daily radiation therapy. Primary site resection was reserved for patients with residual or recurrent primary site disease after chemoradiotherapy. Neck dissection was considered for patients with N2 or greater disease, irrespective of clinical response, and for patients with residual or recurrent neck disease. RESULTS With a median follow-up of 73 months, the Kaplan-Meier 5-year projected overall survival rate is 65.7%, freedom from recurrence rate is 74.0%, local control without the need for surgical resection rate is 86.7%, and overall survival rate with organ preservation is 62.2%. Including patients undergoing primary site resection as salvage therapy, the overall local control rate is 92.4%. Regional control rate at 5 years is 92.4%. Among patients with N2-3 disease, regional control was significantly better if a planned neck dissection was performed. Distant control at 5 years was achieved in 85.4% of patients and was significantly worse in patients with hypopharyngeal primary sites and patients with poorly differentiated tumors. CONCLUSION Concurrent multiagent chemoradiotherapy can result in organ preservation and cure in the majority of appropriately selected patients with locoregionally advanced, nonmetastatic, squamous cell head and neck cancer. Distant metastatic disease was the most common cause of treatment failure. Late functional outcomes will require further investigation.
Evidence-based review of antifungal prophylaxis in neutropenic patients with haematological malignancies.

BACKGROUND There is still no consensus on the efficacy of antifungal prophylaxis in neutropenic patients after more than 50 clinical trials. METHODS This review evaluates the current evidence from all available meta-analyses of the use of intravenous amphotericin B, fluconazole and itraconazole for this indication. RESULTS Four systematic reviews with meta-analysis and one evidence-based review without meta-analysis were evaluated. Efficacy of fluconazole has been shown on short-term follow-up after allogeneic stem cell transplantation but only itraconazole was effective in neutropenic patients with haematological malignancies for prolonged prophylaxis after allogeneic stem cell transplantation. Direct comparison between fluconazole and itraconazole for this indication shows the superiority of itraconazole which was the only drug able to prevent invasive Aspergillus infections in our previously published meta-analysis of 13 trials and 3597 patients. Efficacy of itraconazole correlates closely with its dose; an effect was seen only in clinical trials using at least 400 mg/day oral solution or 200 mg/day intravenous solution. With this dose, invasive fungal infections were reduced by 53% and mortality from invasive fungal infections was reduced by 47% (P<0.05). Toxicity of itraconazole is rare and usually not severe and drug interactions are easily manageable. CONCLUSIONS Itraconazole is recommended for antifungal prophylaxis in high-risk neutropenic patients with haematological malignancies or for prolonged prophylaxis after allogeneic stem cell transplantation based on unambiguous evidence of efficacy and low toxicity from clinical trials and systematic reviews.
The Science of Salt: A Regularly Updated Systematic Review of the Implementation of Salt Reduction Interventions (June–October 2015)

From the George Institute for Global Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia; Departments of Preventive & Social Medicine/Human Nutrition, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand; Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Oshawa, ON, Canada; The George Institute for Global Health India, Hyderabad, India; Department of Medicine, Physiology and Pharmacology and Community Health Sciences, O’Brien Institute for Public Health and Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Arbor Research Collaborative for Health, Ann Arbor, MI; Department of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; and The Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Angiotensin‐(1–7) induces cerebral ischaemic tolerance by promoting brain angiogenesis in a Mas/eNOS‐dependent pathway

As a newer component of the renin–angiotensin system, angiotensin‐(1–7) [Ang‐(1–7) ] has been shown to facilitate angiogenesis and protect against ischaemic damage in peripheral tissues. However, the role of Ang‐(1–7) in brain angiogenesis remains unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate whether Ang‐(1–7) could promote angiogenesis in brain, thus inducing tolerance against focal cerebral ischaemia.
Joint Inversion of Receiver Functions and Surface-Wave Dispersion for Crustal Structure

Abstract : Teleseismic P-wave receiver functions and surface-wave dispersion measurements can be employed to simultaneously infer the shear-wave velocity distribution with depth in the lithosphere. Receiver functions are primarily sensitive to shear-wave velocity contrasts and vertical travel times and surface-wave dispersion measurements are sensitive to vertical shear-wave velocity averages, so that their combination bridges resolution gaps associated with each individual data set. The inversions are performed using a joint, linearized inversion scheme which accounts for the relative influence of each set of observations, and allows a trade-off between fitting the observations and the smoothness of the model. Additional constraints on mantle structure are also incorporated during the inversion procedure since requiring the data to blend smoothly into an appropriate deep structure affects the estimate of the lower crust velocities, yielding models which are more consistent with expectations than those resulting from unconstrained inversions. We have found that a priori knowledge of upper mantle velocities are required to predict the dispersion up to 50 sec period and that stability constraints are required. When dispersion is limited to periods grater than 15 sec a priori information on the upper crustal velocities may also be required. Results of applying this technique to data from different tectonic environments in the Arabian Plate and North America will be presented.
HOW TO CONCENTRATE IDEMPOTENTS

Call a sum of exponentials of the form f(x) = exp (2πiN1x) + exp (2πiN2x) + · · ·+ exp (2πiNmx), where the Nk are distinct integers, an idempotent. We have L interval concentration if there is a positive constant a, depending only on p, such that for each interval I ⊂ [0, 1] there is an idempotent f so that R I |f (x)| dx R 1 0 |f (x)| dx > a. We will explain how to produce such concentration for each p > 0. The origin of this question and the history of the development of its solution will be surveyed.