Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Weather as a Trigger of Stroke

Background: The conclusions of previous studies show little agreement concerning the relationship between weather and the incidence of stroke. We analyse the relationship between daily meteorological conditions and daily as well as seasonal stroke incidence. Methods: 1,286 consecutive strokes assessed during 3 years (2001–2003) from the reference area of Hospital del Mar were classified as intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) (n = 243) or ischaemic stroke (IS) (n = 1,043). IS was divided in non-lacunar stroke (NLS) (n = 732) and lacunar stroke (LS) (n = 311). Daily meteorological data were obtained from ‘Observatori Fabra’ of Barcelona: atmospheric pressure (AP), relative humidity, maximum, minimum, and mean temperatures, and the variation of all these measures compared with the previous day. Results: Total stroke (TS) incidence showed little association with AP (coefficient of confidence, CC: –0.072; p = 0.022), but was higher with the AP variations (CC: 0.127; p < 0.001). NLS were related to AP falls (OR: 2.41; p < 0.001) whilst ICHs were associated with AP rises (OR: 2.07; p = 0.01). NLS and temperature showed an inverse correlation; however, it lost its significance after adjusting for AP variations. The daily incidences of NLS and ICH were higher in autumn and in winter, but depended strongly on the daily variations of AP. No other associations were found. Conclusions: The incidences of NLS and ICH are related to AP changes compared with the previous day. AP changes largely explain the seasonal and daily variations in the incidence of stroke. These data may help to explain the controversy in previous studies and to promote studies focused on the trigger mechanisms of stroke.
Corruption in Brazil and Its Effects on Economic Growth

This research study summarises the effects of corruption in Brazil and its effects on the economic growth of the country, both on the governmental and corporate level. By making use of the theoretical approach of Pak Hung Mo and his model of the economic growth which takes into consideration three important variables that affect the productivity of an economy and therefore the economic growth of a country: the human capita, GDP per capita and the corruption; it is possible to originate a function derived from these three variables. The rent- seeking and the revisionist chains serve as a basis for the theoretical analysis of how corruption may affect an economy of a country, and using them alongside with the data from the Corruption Perceptions Index developed by Transparency International it is possible to conclude that in some countries corruption may act as grease on the wheels of the economy whilst in other countries it may be a barrier to the overall development of a country, which is the case of Brazil as observed in this research.
The Impact of Stock Market Fluctuations on the Mental and Physical Well‐Being of Children

The stock market crash of 2008 caused a severe impact to households. Earlier research has explored the impacts of a stock market crash on life wellbeing, psychological stress, and adult health behaviors. We extend this literature by documenting impacts of stock market fluctuations on a range of child outcomes; including effects on both mental and physical health. We show a negative effect of a market crash on hospitalizations, child reported health status, sick days from school, and emotional difficulties. Both graphical and regression based analysis reveal that our results are not driven by a pre-trend of declining child health before the market crash.
Acceptability of self-sampling HPV testing among Thai women for cervical cancer screening.

BACKGROUND Acceptability of self-sampling HPV testing is confirmed worldwide. However, some cultural differences may affect this question. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the acceptability of self- sampling HPV testing in Thai women. MATERIALS AND METHODS One hundred women aged 30-65 years with an intact cervix were included in this study. The participants were asked to do the Pap test by physicians and then brush type self-sampling instruments were assigned for self-collection and finally completed a questionnaire for acceptability evaluation. The questionnaire contains 2 parts. Part one covered general information of the participants and part two is the acceptability questions. RESULTS Mean age was 40.6 years. The incidence of high risk HPV detection in this study was 16%. The most common reason for doing Pap smear was for annual checkup. On the topic of ease of use, 85 % of the subjects agreed. Most of the participants (82%) reported that they felt less pain. However, reliability of the result was not satisfactory because 37% of the participants hesitated to rely on the results of the test. According to the price, if the price is less than 1,000 Baht (32.59 Baht = 1USD), 82% of the subjects would use it for their next screening. CONCLUSIONS The acceptability of self-sampling device in this study is quite good but the reliability of the test was questioned by some of the participants. Moreover, the price of the test in Thailand may also influence the acceptability of the test.
Postoperative minimal overcorrection in the surgical management of intermittent exotropia

Purpose To investigate the effect of initial postoperative minimal overcorrection on the result of the surgical management of intermittent exotropia based on long-term follow-up results. Methods 111 patients who underwent surgery for intermittent exotropia and were followed up for at least 5 years after surgery were retrospectively reviewed. The outcome was judged to be successful when there was 10 prism dioptres (PD) or less of exodeviation and less than 5 PD of esodeviation without any reoperation at the final follow-up visit. We evaluated the success, recurrence, overcorrection rate and the duration of diplopia according to their initial deviation. Results We divided patients into four groups based on their initial deviation: orthophoria or undercorrection (Ortho group, 31 patients), minimally overcorrected at 5 PD or less (MO group, 20 patients), usually overcorrected between 6 PD and 10 PD (UO group, 35 patients), and highly overcorrected at more than 10 PD (HO group, 25 patients). The success rate was 43–60% between the four groups (p=0.52). The recurrence rate was 28–57% (p=0.105), but post hoc analysis showed borderline p values between the Ortho and HO group (p=0.024). No overcorrection was noted in the Ortho and MO groups (p=0.04). The duration of diplopia was 0–2.5 weeks, showing statistically significant difference among groups (p<0.001). Conclusions The amount of initial postoperative overcorrection may not predict the long-term success rate. However, the MO group showed a lower recurrence rate than the Ortho group and also showed no overcorrection and a shorter duration of postoperative diplopia than the UO and HO groups.
Vitreomacular traction syndrome

Objective This study aimed to review the available literature on vitreomacular traction (VMT) syndrome and propose the future study prospect in this field. Data sources The data used in this review were mainly obtained from articles listed in Medline and Pubmed (1970‐2013). The search terms were “vitreomacular traction,” “optical coherence tomography,” “vitrectomy,” and “ocriplasmin. ” Study selection Articles regarding the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatments of VMT were selected and reviewed. Results VMT syndrome is a persistent attachment of vitreous to the macula in eyes with an incomplete posterior vitreous detachment and considered to be an uncommon status which correlated with some other macular disorders. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) can support a new way to examine and classify VMT. Nonoperative and operative intervenes on this disease have been developed recently, especially the intravitreal medical therapy. Conclusions VMT syndrome may be associated with various disorders in the macular region, depending in part on the size and strength of the residual vitreomacular adhesion. Regular OCT monitoring is recommended to detect it. Patients with asymptomatic VMT should be observed for at least 2‐3 months; nonoperative treatment with ocriplasmin should be considered when disorders persist; surgery is recommended if VMT‐related disease is significant.
Distributed Robust Scheduling and Power Control For Cognitive Spatial-Reuse TDMA Networks

We investigate the distributed robust transmission scheduling and power control problem in a cognitive spatial-reuse time division multiple access (STDMA) network. In particular, we address the problem of minimizing the transmission length (in terms of time-slots) of the secondary links under their minimum quality-of-service (QoS) requirements without violating the maximum tolerable interference limit for the primary receivers. Traditionally, the joint transmission scheduling and power control problem only considers the average link gains; therefore, QoS violation can occur due to improper power allocation with respect to instantaneous channel gain realization. To overcome this problem of QoS violation, our problem formulation takes the channel gain uncertainty into account. Since an optimal solution cannot be obtained due to the NP-completeness of the problem, we propose a novel distributed two-stage algorithm based on the distributed column generation method to obtain the near-optimal solution for the robust transmission schedules in an ad-hoc cognitive radio network. To demonstrate its relative efficiency, our algorithm is compared with previously proposed algorithms. For the proposed algorithm, we also derive the bounds on the probability of signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) constraint violation and the expected number of additional time-slots required to satisfy the traffic demand requirements of secondary links.
Eggs and Poultry Purchase, Storage, and Preparation Practices of Consumers in Selected Asian Countries

The objective of this study was to begin characterizing purchase, storage, handling, and preparation of poultry products and eggs by selected consumers in three Asian countries: India, Korea, and Thailand. Approximately 100 consumers in each location were recruited to participate in this study. The consumers were surveyed about eggs and poultry purchase behavior characteristics, such as temperatures and locations, storage behavior, such as storage locations in the refrigerator or freezer, preparation behavior, such as washing eggs and poultry before cooking, and handling behavior, such as using cutting boards during cooking. The results indicated differences in purchase and storage practices of raw eggs. Most Korean consumers purchased refrigerated eggs and stored the eggs in the refrigerator, while Indian and Thai consumers bought eggs that were stored at room temperature, but would refrigerate the eggs at home. Approximately half of the consumers in each country froze raw meat, poultry, or seafood. Food preparation practices showed potential for cross-contamination during cooking, such as using the same cutting board for different kinds of foods or not washing hands with soap and water. The results presented in this pilot study may lead to development of educational messages and raising consumer awareness of food safety practices in Asian countries.
It's the Feeling Inside My Head: A Qualitative Analysis of Mental Contamination in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Background: It was recently proposed that feelings of dirtiness and pollution can arise in the absence of physical contact with a contaminant. At present, there is limited data regarding the qualitative features of this construct of “mental contamination”, although it is hypothesized to be particularly relevant to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), where compulsive washing in response to contamination fear is a common symptom presentation (Rachman, 2006). Aims and method: The aim of this research was to explore the qualitative features of mental contamination in 20 people with contamination-based OCD, using a semi-structured interview. Results: All participants reported times when they had felt dirty or contaminated in the absence of physical contact with a dirty or dangerous object. Mental contamination generated diffuse feelings of internal dirtiness not localized to the hands, which evoked urges to wash (100% participants), neutralize (80% participants) and avoid (85% participants). Conclusions: In support of the theory outlined by Rachman (2006), mental contamination was found to take a number of forms, be primarily associated with a human source, generate internal dirtiness and cause emotional distress and urge to wash. The clinical implications of these findings are discussed and ideas for future research are proposed.
The cytoplasmic domain of CD4 plays a critical role during the early stages of HIV infection in T‐cells.

The role played by the cytoplasmic domain of the CD4 molecule in the process of HIV infection was investigated, using A2.01 cells which express different forms of the CD4 gene. A delay in HIV production was consistently observed in cells expressing a truncated CD4 which lacks the cytoplasmic domain (CD4.401) compared with cells expressing the wild type CD4. The delay was much less in cells expressing a hybrid CD4‐CD8 molecule (amino acids 1‐177 of CD4 fused to the hinge, transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains of CD8). Yet the extent of viral entry and reverse transcription, monitored by semi‐quantitative PCR, was similar in each cell type studied. For further study of the mechanism responsible for delayed HIV replication in the A2.01/CD4.401 cell line, cells were treated with phytohaemagglutinin (PHA), 24 h after HIV infection. Under such experimental conditions HIV production was detected at the same time in the culture supernatants of A2.01/CD4 and A2.01/CD4.401 cells. Moreover, we found that CD4 oligomerization by HIV‐1 induced NF‐kappa B translocation in A2.01/CD4 and A2.01/CD4‐CD8 but not in A2.01/CD4.401 cells. This was consistent with CAT assay experiments which provided evidence for Tat‐independent NF‐kappa B mediated activation of HIV‐1 LTR promoter after HIV binding to CD4 in A2.01/CD4 and A2.01/CD4‐CD8 but not in A2.01/CD4.401 cells. In contrast to results published recently by Tremblay et al. (1994, EMBO J., 13, 774‐783), we propose that a positive cellular signal initiated following oligomerization of the CD4 by the virus itself is involved in NF‐kappa B‐dependent early HIV transcription in A2.01/CD4 cells.
Purification and Characterization of Rat des-Gln14-Ghrelin, a Second Endogenous Ligand for the Growth Hormone Secretagogue Receptor*

Ghrelin, a peptide purified from the stomach, is an endogenous ligand for the growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHS-R) and potently stimulates growth hormone release from the pituitary. Ghrelin is modified with an n-octanoyl group at Ser3. This modification is essential for the activity of ghrelin. Previously, it was not known whether other ligands for GHS-R existed. Here, we report the purification of the second endogenous ligand for GHS-R from rat stomach. This ligand, named des-Gln14-ghrelin, is a 27-amino acid peptide, whose sequence is identical to ghrelin except for one glutamine. Southern blotting analysis under low hybridization conditions indicates that no homologue for ghrelin exists in rat genomic DNA. Furthermore, genomic sequencing and cDNA analysis indicate that des-Gln14-ghrelin is not encoded by a gene distinct from ghrelin but is encoded by an mRNA created by alternative splicing of the ghrelin gene. This is the first example of a novel mechanism that produces peptide multiplicity. Des-Gln14-ghrelin has an n-octanoyl modification at Ser3 like ghrelin, which is also essential for its activity. Des-Gln14-ghrelin-stimulated growth hormone releases when injected into rats. Thus, growth hormone release is regulated by two gastric peptides, ghrelin and des-Gln14-ghrelin.
Short CommunicationNo Evidence of Association of CTLA4 Polymorphisms with Addison's Disease

Background: Addison's disease (AD) is an autoimmune disorder caused by the destruction of the adrenal gland by the lymphocytes in genetically susceptible individuals. The contribution of HLA genes to the genetic risk to AD has been known for a long time; however, non-HLA genetic factors are likely to be required for the development of the disease. Several studies have associated the CD28/CTLA4 region on chromosome 2q33 with the disease in different populations. The cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 (CTLA4) gene encodes a receptor involved in the control of T cell proliferation and mediates T cell apoptosis. Aim: To determine the contribution of two polymorphisms of the CTLA4 to the disease; the A/G dimorphism at position +49 in exon 1 and the (AT)n microsatellite in the 3′ untranslated region of exon 3. Patients: Fifty seven patients with autoimmune AD (autoimmunity for anti 21-hydroxylase was confirmed) and 111 unrelated healthy subjects from the general populations were analyzed as controls. Methods: Restriction enzyme digestion of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplified genomic DNA for the A/G dimorphism and PCR followed by high-resolution electrophoresis for the (AT)n microsatellite. For disease association studies, the case–control approach was used. Results: The frequency of the A allele of 49 A/G polymorphism was 65.79% in the patients compared with 72.07% in the control group. These differences were not significant. Analysis of the (AT)n polymorphism identified 19 different alleles, ranging from 262 to 308 bp in length, but no allele was significantly associated with the disease. Conclusions: Our results did not show any evidence of association of any of the CTLA4 gene polymorphisms with the disease. This might result from population-specific differences in genetic and environmental susceptibility to AD.
Effects of extreme weather on two sympatric Australian passerine bird species

Despite abundant evidence that natural populations are responding to climate change, there are few demonstrations of how extreme climatic events (ECEs) affect fitness. Climate warming increases adverse effects of exposure to high temperatures, but also reduces exposure to cold ECEs. Here, we investigate variation in survival associated with severity of summer and winter conditions, and whether survival is better predicted by ECEs than mean temperatures using data from two coexisting bird species monitored over 37 years in southwestern Australia, red-winged fairy-wrens, Malurus elegans and white-browed scrubwrens, Sericornis frontalis. Changes in survival were associated with temperature extremes more strongly than average temperatures. In scrubwrens, winter ECEs were associated with survival within the same season. In both species, survival was associated with body size, and there was evidence that size-dependent mortality was mediated by carry-over effects of climate in the previous season. For fairy-wrens, mean body size declined over time but this could not be explained by size-dependent mortality as the effects of body size on survival were consistently positive. Our study demonstrates how ECEs can have individual-level effects on survival that are not reflected in long-term morphological change, and the same climatic conditions can affect similar-sized, coexisting species in different ways. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Behavioural, ecological and evolutionary responses to extreme climatic events’.
Empirical Evidence of the Housing Wealth Effect

Understanding the housing wealth effect is important for macroeconomic forecasting and policy setting. The paper uses cointegration theory to study the interplay between consumption, income and housing wealth in 14 countries observed quarterly from 1995 to 2013. Cointegration is found to be present in Canadian, Danish, German, Italian, Japanese and United States data, implying that the consistently estimable propensity to consume out of housing wealth is in the range of two cents per US dollar in Italy and nine cents per US dollar in Denmark. The housing wealth effect tends to be lower in countries where the income elasticity of consumption, wealth volatility and income inequality are higher. The effect tends to be larger in countries where business conditions are superior and access to credit is easier. Examining the short-run relationship between consumption, income and housing wealth highlights that transitory income moves do not Granger-cause consumption growth, and transitory housing wealth changes tend to contain information useful for predicting consumption growth in each sample country. A correlation analysis shows points of policy action aimed at influencing the housing wealth effect, and thus aggregate consumption and the economy.
Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in multiple sclerosis

Objective: To summarize the evidence on immunoablative therapy followed by autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (aHSCT) to manage severe and treatment-refractory multiple sclerosis (MS). Methods: We collected all the published studies of aHSCT in any form of MS from 1995 to 2016, carefully excluding reports that were updated in subsequent studies. Endpoints were transplant-related mortality (TRM), rate of disease progression, and no evidence of disease activity (NEDA) status. A weighted metaregression based on a Poisson model was run, assessing whether there were study-specific characteristics with an effect on TRM and progression. Results: Fifteen studies including 764 transplanted patients were pooled in the meta-analysis. The pooled estimate of TRM was 2.1% (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.3%–3.4%). TRM was higher in older studies (p = 0.014) and in studies with a lower proportion of patients with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) (p = 0.028). A higher baseline Expanded Disability Status Scale (p = 0.013) was also significantly associated with a higher TRM. Pooled rate of progression was 17.1% at 2 years (95% CI 9.7%–24.5%) and 23.3% (95% CI 16.3%–31.8%) at 5 years. Lower 2-year progression rate was significantly associated with higher proportions of patients with RRMS (p = 0.004). The pooled proportion of NEDA patients at 2 years was 83% (range 70%–92%) and at 5 years was 67% (range 59%–70%). Conclusions: The emerging evidence on this therapeutic approach in MS indicates that the largest benefit/risk profile form this therapeutic approach can be obtained in patients with aggressive MS with a relapsing-remitting course and who have not yet accumulated a high level of disability.
Study of Attentional Processes in Children With Idiopathic Epilepsy by Conners' Continuous Performance Test

Before starting antiepilepsy therapy (T1) and after 1 year (T2), 19 children (7 female) affected by focal or generalized idiopathic epilepsy were considered with the aim of studying attention performance. All of the children received a neurological examination and clinical interview, electroencephalography (EEG) in wakefulness or sleep, and a standardized computerized measure of attention (Conners' Continuous Performance Test). At T1, 21% of the patients showed a specific attention disorder, and their percentage rose to 42% after 1 year, despite complete control of seizures. The prognosis was strongly correlated with (1) the presence of active seizures for a period of over 6 months, (2) the persistence of specific interictal abnormalities on an electroencephalogram at T2, and (3) the presence of emotional and behavioral disorders at the diagnosis of epilepsy. Our results confirm that attention disorders are frequent in children with idiopathic epilepsy. The Conners' Continuous Performance Test has proven useful both for diagnosis and follow-up over time. (J Child Neurol 2004;19:509—515).