Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Urinary excretion of 8‐hydroxy‐2‐deoxyguanosine and 1‐hydroxypyrene in coke‐oven workers

Coke‐oven workers (COWs) are occupationally exposed to high concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). Urinary 8‐hydroxy‐2‐deoxyguanosine (8‐OH‐dG) and 1‐hydroxypyrene (1‐OHP) are biological markers of oxidative DNA damage and PAH metabolism, respectively. We investigated the relationship between urinary 8‐OH‐dG and 1‐OHP in 217 Taiwanese COWs, 55 topside‐oven, and 162 sideoven workers. For topside‐oven workers, mean 8‐OH‐dG and 1‐OHP concentrations (ng/ml ± SD) were 13.8 ± 12.0 and 93.5 ± 104.4, respectively. These levels were significantly higher than those for sideoven workers: 10.2 ± 7.9 ng/ml (P = 0.04) and 19.8 ± 28.6 ng/ml (P < 0.001), respectively. Individual urinary 8‐OH‐dG concentrations were directly correlated with urinary 1‐OHP concentrations: the higher the 1‐OHP level, the higher the 8‐OH‐dG level (Spearman correlation coefficients: r = 0.43, P < 0.0001, n = 217). Multiple regression analysis indicated that a 10‐fold increase in 1‐OHP was associated with a 1.91‐fold increase in 8‐OH‐dG. Compared to no vitamin intake, intake of at least one multiple vitamin pill per week reduced 8‐OH‐dG excretion (P = 0.02). Our findings suggest that urinary 1‐OHP and 8‐OH‐dG reflect occupational PAH exposure and oxidative DNA damage in COWs. In addition, multiple vitamins may reduce oxidative stress caused by PAH exposure. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 42:98–105, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
God as the ultimate attachment figure for older adults

Attachment to God among older adults is an area of research that has been neglected thus far. The existence of such an attachment was explored in a study of 109 elders aged 70–97. A modest proportion of elders displayed a strong attachment to God, assessed by coding interview data for indicators of attachment. Strength of attachment to God was related (p lt; .05) to greater religiosity, greater fear of death, loss of other attachment figures, religious affiliation, and being younger in age, Black, and of lower socioeconomic status. Participants belonging to fundamentalist or evangelical Protestant denominations had a stronger attachment to God than those with other affiliations. Findings are interpreted in relation to existing literature on attachment to God.
Pharmacy Students' Perceptions of a Required Senior Research Project

Objectives. To determine pharmacy students' perceptions of a required research project in a doctor of pharmacy curriculum. Methods. A survey instrument was administered to senior pharmacy students to determine their perceptions of the project advisor and overall project experience and their postgraduation employment plans. Results. Two-hundred twenty-nine (81.5%) students completed a survey instrument. The majority agreed or strongly agreed that the project provided a valuable learning experience (88.2%), provided a competitive advantage for postgraduate job opportunities (73.2%), and should be a continued graduation requirement (74.2%). Respondents with plans for a residency or fellowship were more likely than those entering a community or hospital/institutional pharmacy to agree that completion of the project made them more qualified or marketable and should be continued as a graduation requirement (p < 0.05). Conclusions. A required research project was perceived by pharmacy students to be a beneficial experience. Students pursuing residency or fellowship were more likely to feel the project was beneficial than students entering the workforce.
The Importance of Acoustic Temporal Fine Structure Cues in Different Spectral Regions for Mandarin Sentence Recognition

Objectives: To study the relative contribution of acoustic temporal fine structure (TFS) cues in low-, mid-, and high-frequency regions to Mandarin sentence recognition. Design: Twenty-one subjects with normal hearing were involved in a study of Mandarin sentence recognition using acoustic TFS. The acoustic TFS information was extracted from 10 3-equivalent rectangular bandwidth-wide bands within the range 80 to 8858 Hz using the Hilbert transform and was assigned to low-, mid-, and high-frequency regions. Percent-correct recognition scores were obtained with acoustic TFS information presented using one, two, or three frequency regions. The relative weights of the three frequency regions were calculated using the least-squares approach. Results: Results indicated that the mean percent-correct scores for sentence recognition using acoustic TFS were nearly perfect for stimuli with all three frequency regions together. Recognition was approximately 50 to 60% correct with only the low- or mid-frequency region but decreased to approximately 5% correct with only the high-frequency region of acoustic TFS. The mean weights of the low-, mid-, and high-frequency regions were 0.39, 0.48, and 0.13, respectively, and the difference between each pair of frequency regions was statistically significant. Conclusion: The acoustic TFS cues in low- and mid-frequency regions convey greater information for Mandarin sentence recognition, whereas those in the high-frequency region have little effect.
In-hospital mortality due to infectious disease in an Internal Medicine Department. Epidemiology and risk factors.

OBJECTIVE Hospital mortality is a leading indicator of quality of healthcare and a valuable tool for planning and management. Infectious diseases represent a substantial part of the activity of internal medicine.Our aim was to describe the characteristics of in-hospital mortality due to infectious diseases and associated risk factors in our environment. MATERIALS AND METHODS A retrospective case-control study was designed. We reviewed deaths during 2012 from an Internal Medicine Department. 187 cases (infectious disease related mortality) and 224 controls were found. Clinical and demographic information was obtained from medical records. Comorbidity was evaluated with Charlson index (CI). Data were analyzed using SPSS 15.0 (p-value < 0.05). RESULTS During 2012, of the 3193 discharge, 187 were exitus due to infectious disease (5.8%). Mean age was 85.7 ± 7.6, higher in women (88 ± 7 vs 83 ± 7.4, p < 0.001), and 55% were aged over 85 years. The CI mean was 4.2 ± 3, higher in younger than 85 years (5.3 ± 3.4 vs 3.6 ± 2.6, p < 0.001). Most frequent causes of death were respiratory sepsis (29%), severe pneumonia (23.5%) and urinary sepsis (16.6%) and risk factors were living in Nursing Home (55.6% vs 34%, p < 0.001), being dependent (73.8% vs. 44.6%, p < 0.001), dementia (59.4% vs 27.2%, p < 0.001) and cerebrovascular disease (25.7% vs 17.4%, p = 0.041). CONCLUSIONS Dementia, cerebrovascular disease, living in Nursing Home and being dependent were risk factors for infectious disease in-hospital mortality in our study, but not comorbidity, age or length of stay. Our series, although limited by retrospective design, is the first qualitative study of in-hospital mortality due to infectious disease in an Internal Medicine Service in our environment. Most frequent cause of death in our setting was respiratory etiology.
Lasioglossins LLIII affect the morphogenesis of Candida albicans and reduces the duration of experimental vaginal candidiasis in mice

Lasioglossins are a group of peptides with identified antimicrobial activity. The inhibitory effects of two synthetic lasioglossin derivatives, LLIII and D‐isomeric variant LLIII‐D, on morphological changes in Candida albicans in vitro and the effect of local administration of LLIII during experimental murine candidiasis were investigated. C. albicans blastoconidia were grown in the presence of lasioglossin LLIII or LLIII‐D at concentrations of 11.5 μM and 21 μM, respectively, for 1, 2 and 3 days and their viability determined by flow cytometry using eosin Y staining. Morphological changes were examined by light and fluorescent microscopy. The Candida‐inhibitory effect of daily intravaginal administration of 0.7 or 1.4 μg of LLIII was assessed in mice with experimentally‐induced vaginal candidiasis. LLIII and LLIII‐D lasioglossins exhibited candidacidal activity in vitro (>76% after 24 hr and >84% after 48 hr of incubation). After 72 hr incubation of Candida with low concentration of lasioglossins, an increase in viability was detected, probably due to a Candida antimicrobial peptides evasion strategy. Furthermore, lasioglossins inhibited temperature‐induced morphotype changes toward hyphae and pseudohyphae with sporadic occurrence of atypical cells with two or enlarged nuclei, suggesting interference with mitosis or cytokinesis. Local application of LLIII reduced the duration of experimental candidiasis with no evidence of adverse effects. Lasioglossin LLIII is a promising candidate for development as an antimicrobial drug for treating the vaginal candidiasis.
Biology and pathobiology of gap junctional channels in hepatocytes

The present review provides the state of the art of the current knowledge concerning gap junctional channels and their roles in liver functioning. In the first part, we summarize some relevant biochemical properties of hepatic gap junctional channels, including their structure and regulation. In the second part, we discuss the involvement of gap junctional channels in the occurrence of liver cell growth, liver cell differentiation, and liver cell death. We further exemplify their relevance in hepatic pathophysiology. Finally, a number of directions for future liver gap junctional channel research are proposed, and the up‐regulation of gap junctional channel activity as a novel strategy in (liver) cancer therapy is illustrated. (HEPATOLOGY 2007.)
Fetal gender screening by ultrasound at 11 to 13+6 weeks

Background. To survey the accuracy of fetal gender determination during first trimester screening and scan for congenital anomalies. Methods. A prospective observational study was performed on 496 singleton pregnancies at the first trimester ultrasound screening. The doctor was a certified sonographer of first trimester screening by the Fetal Medicine Foundation (FMF). Ultrasound examination was performed on a GE Voluson 730 Pro, transabdominally, between 11 and 13+6 weeks. Both transverse and mid‐sagittal planes of a section of the fetal genital tubercle were performed to identify the gender. The subsequent gender at birth was obtained from karyotyping reports or hospital birth records. Results. During the study, 496 patients requested gender information at the time of first trimester screening. Of the patients it was possible to determine gender (441 out of 496), the scan achieved an overall success rate of 91.8% in correctly identifying gender. The success rate for correctly identifying fetal gender (where identification was possible) increased with gestational age, from 71.9% at 11 weeks, 92% at 12 weeks, and 98.3% at 13 weeks, respectively, where gestational age was calculated from the crown‐rump length in conjunction with menstrual or ovulation dating (p<0.001). Of the 55 cases where no identification of gender was possible, 39 were in the 11‐week gestational age group, representing 40.6% of this category. The overall fetal gender accuracy rate for male fetus was slightly better than female (92.5 versus 91.2%), but was not statistically significant. Conclusions. This study demonstrated that the gestational age of the fetus has a material effect on the accuracy rate of gender determination. At 12 weeks and over, the average success rate for correctly identifying gender, where gender identification was possible, was 94.8%, with the accuracy at 13 weeks of 98.3% approaching that achieved by invasive testing. Fetal gender identification at 11 weeks (where crown‐rump length is <57 mm) is difficult and liable to high rates of inaccuracy when a determination is made.
Artificial Immune Systems Applied to Optimal Capacitor Placement in Radial Distribution Networks

The capacitor placement problem for radial distribution networks aims to determine capacitor types, sizes, locations and control scheme. This is a combinatorial problem that can be formulated as a mixed integer nonlinear program. The paper presents an algorithm inspired in artificial immune systems and developed for this specific problem. A good performance was obtained through experimental tests applied to known systems
Dermatological diagnostic acumen improves with use of a simple telemedicine system for underserved areas of South Africa.

OBJECTIVE Telemedicine holds promise as a tool for improving the delivery of specialty care, especially in underserved regions, including those in South Africa. However, data that demonstrate the extent of its sustainable benefits to referring providers are currently insufficient. This study investigates whether utilization of a teledermatology network enhances the diagnostic acumen of primary care providers (PCPs) in underserved areas of South Africa. MATERIALS AND METHODS A longitudinal descriptive pilot study was conducted after establishing a telemedicine network linking University of Cape Town dermatology consultants to six providers from five underserved primary care sites using store-and-forward technology between October 2004 and January 2007. Of 120 total referrals, trend analysis was performed using 72 sets of patient histories, digital images, and corresponding consultant responses to evaluate the diagnostic concordance between six PCPs and teleconsultants over 12 consecutive referrals. RESULTS Strong positive Spearman rank-order correlations were observed between the number of referrals sent per PCP and proportion of primary diagnostic agreement with teledermatologists, rs=0.86 (p <0.001). The mean primary diagnostic concordance trend that started at 13% for the first four referrals increased nearly fourfold after referring as few as nine patients to the network. CONCLUSIONS If a simple and inexpensive teledermatology solution is carefully implemented in a resource-limited setting, an improvement of PCP diagnostic acumen can be achieved with a relatively small number of referrals. This educational benefit to referring PCPs could be sustainable and would ultimately enhance the quality of dermatological care in these underserved regions.
Why users of yahoo!: answers do not answer questions

Posing a question to an online question and answer community does not guarantee a response. Significant prior work has explored and identified members' motivations for contributing to communities of collective action (e.g., Yahoo! Answers); in contrast it is not well understood why members choose to not answer a question they have already read. To explore this issue, we surveyed 135 active members of Yahoo! Answers. We show that top and regular contributors experience the same reasons to not answer a question: subject nature and composition of the question; perception of how the questioner will receive, interpret and react to their response; and a belief that their response will lose its meaning and get lost in the crowd if too many responses have already been given. Informed by our results, we discuss opportunities to improve the efficacy of the question and answer process, and to encourage greater contributions through improved design.
Cognitive Abilities as Precursors of the Early Acquisition of Mathematical Skills During First Through Second Grades

The present longitudinal study was designed to investigate precursors of mathematics achievement in children. A total of 72 children were tested at both the beginning and end of first and second grades on measures of the following cognitive abilities: phonology, counting skills, short-term memory, working memory, and verbal and performance IQ. Path analysis models revealed differences in the variables predicting mathematics skills of first and second graders. Specifically, in first graders both short-term and working memory measures mediated the role of verbal IQ in predicting mathematics skills. Also, there was a direct relationship between performance IQ and mathematics at first grade. In contrast, in the longitudinal model, working memory measured both in first and second grades predicted mathematics achievement, whereas the relationship between performance IQ and mathematics disappeared. In conclusion, the results demonstrated that mathematics learning is predicted not by phonology or counting skills and that working memory is a plausible mediator in predicting mathematics achievement in primary school age children.
Reevaluasi Hak-Hak dan Pembinaan Terhadap Narapidana Narkotika dalam Sistem Pemasyarakatan di Lembaga Pemasyarakatan Narkotika Kelas II A Yogyakarta

It is generally known that the rights of inmates have been well executed by the Wirogunan penitentiary in Yogyakarta. Some caveats need to be evaluated by the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights especially Directorate General of Corrections, there are medical service, less availability of decent food, the high cost of prison canteen food, unresponsive response to gripe, complicated remission procedure.It also needs to be considered in developing inmates that some inmates never be the member of correctional institution before, upgrading facilities, coaching personality and autonomy theinmates it self.
Randomized, Open-Labeled, Non-Inferiority Study between Ciclopiroxolamine 1% Cream and Ketoconazole 2% Foaming Gel in Mild to Moderate Facial Seborrheic Dermatitis

Background: Topical ketoconazole (KC) is considered a standard treatment for seborrheic dermatitis. In a placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical study, we demonstrated that antifungal ciclopiroxolamine (CIC) 1% cream was effective in mild to moderate facial seborrheic dermatitis. Objectives: We report here the results of a randomized, open-labeled clinical study comparing CIC 1% cream and KC 2% foaming gel in patients with mild to moderate facial seborrheic dermatitis, using a non-inferiority trial design. Methods: Three hundred and three patients were enrolled, 154 patients in the CIC group and 149 patients in the KC group, and comprised the study population for intent-to-treat (ITT) analysis. The per protocol (PP) population comprised a total of 282 patients, 147 in the CIC group and 135 in the KC group. Patients were randomly allocated to apply either the CIC 1% cream twice a day for 28 days maximum (initial phase), followed by once a day for another 28 days (maintenance phase); or the KC 2% foaming gel twice a week at the initial phase, followed by once a week during the maintenance phase. Test lesions were defined as lesions localized to the nasolabial folds, alae nasi, and/or the eyebrows. The main efficacy parameter (endpoint) was the proportion of patients who presented a complete disappearance of both erythema and scaling on test lesions and pruritus on all lesions at the end of the initial phase (28 days or less). Results: At baseline, both treatment groups were comparable in terms of demographic data and lesional status. At the end of the initial phase, responders were found to be non-inferior with CIC treatment compared with KC treatment in both study populations (ITT population: 37% CIC responders and 34% KC responders; in the PP population: 39 and 36% responders, respectively). The 95% confidence interval limit for differences were –7.99–13.56 in the ITT population, and –8.06–14.5 in the PP population. At the end of the maintenance phase, treatment response to CIC was greater than to KC in both ITT and PP populations (57 and 44% in both populations, respectively, p = 0.03). Local tolerance as well as global acceptability was better with CIC than with KC (p = 0.001, intergroup analysis). Conclusion: CIC 1% administered as a cream demonstrated to be non-inferior to KC 2% foaming gel in mild to moderate facial seborrheic dermatitis.
The benefits of interventions for work-related stress.

OBJECTIVES This quantitative meta-analysis sought to determine the effectiveness of occupational stress-reducing interventions and the populations for which such interventions are most beneficial. METHODS Forty-eight experimental studies (n = 3736) were included in the analysis. Four intervention types were distinguished: cognitive-behavioral interventions, relaxation techniques, multimodal programs, and organization-focused interventions. RESULTS A small but significant overall effect was found. A moderate effect was found for cognitive-behavioral interventions and multimodal interventions, and a small effect was found for relaxation techniques. The effect size for organization-focused interventions was nonsignificant. Effects were most pronounced on the following outcome categories: complaints, psychologic resources and responses, and perceived quality of work life. CONCLUSIONS Stress management interventions are effective. Cognitive-behavioral interventions are more effective than the other intervention types.
Vertical Information Transfers: The Association between Retailers' Sales Announcements and Suppliers' Security Returns

Accounting research has documented an association between the occurrence of at least some types of disclosures made by a firm (e.g., earnings announcements, accounting changes, or capital structure changes) and that firm's security return. As yet, however, there is little evidence about the relation between information disclosures made by one firm and security prices of other firms, although cross-sectional relations among security prices, sometimes described as industry factors, are well documented (e.g., King [1966], Schipper and Thompson [1983], and Smith [1981]). One possible explanation for this cross-sectional association is that information disclosures made by one firm may provide relevant information about other firms. Recently, Foster [1981] examined the impact of earnings announcements on the security prices of other firms in the same industry. Foster documented statistically significant security returns for nonannouncing firms in ten industries at the time of "large" security returns for announcing firms within the same industry. These "intraindustry information transfers" suggest news releases of other firms within an industry are used in the determination of a given firm's security price.
Stochastic weight updates in phase-change memory-based synapses and their influence on artificial neural networks

Artificial neural networks (ANN) have become a powerful tool for machine learning. Resistive memory devices can be used for the realization of a non-von Neumann computational platform for ANN training in an area-efficient way. For instance, the conductance values of phase-change memory (PCM) devices can be used to represent synaptic weights and can be updated in-situ according to learning rules. However, non-ideal device characteristics pose challenges to reach competitive classification accuracies. In this paper, we investigate the impact of granularity and stochasticity associated with the conductance changes on ANN performance. Using a PCM prototype chip fabricated in the 90 nm technology node, we present a detailed experimental characterization of the conductance changes. Simulations are done in order to quantify the effect of the experimentally observed conductance change granularity and stochasticity on classification accuracies in a fully connected ANN trained with backpropagation.
Dissociation of local anti-inflammatory effect and systemic effects of mometasone furoate in mice

Mometasone furoate (MF) is a topical glucocorticoid used for atopic dermatitis, allergic rhinitis, and bronchial asthma. To elucidate the usefulness of MF, the dissociation between local anti-inflammatory effects and systemic effects of MF was compared with that of beclomethasone 17,21-dipropionate (BDP). MF was more potent than BDP in croton oil-induced ear edema tests in mice. Oral systemic effects of MF were inversely lower than that of BDP on thymolysis, plasma corticosterone lowering, and suppression of body weight gain in mice. These results indicate that MF has a higher therapeutic index and superior clinical usefulness as a topical glucocorticoid compared to BDP.