Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Oral hygiene and oral flora evaluation in psychiatric patients in nursing homes in Turkey.

CONTEXT The World Health Organization has stated that psychiatric patients are a group of people who have oral and dental illnesses. AIMS The aims of this study were to document the oral hygiene of individuals with chronic psychiatric illness, to determine the extraoral and intraoral findings, to detect the dominant microorganisms in oral flora, and to inform clinicians of these findings. SETTINGS AND DESIGN The study included 100 patients (69 men and 31 women) with different psychiatric illnesses living in a nursing home. They were 19-96 years old (median, 48 years). SUBJECTS AND METHODS The participants completed a questionnaire about patients' oral health. They underwent extraoral and intraoral examinations. Two swab samples were obtained from the oral mucosa of these patients. Gram preparations were analyzed for leukocytes, bacteria, and yeast. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED Chi-square test and z-test were used. RESULTS All patients (100%) had the necessary equipment for oral hygiene; however, many (43%) patients had poor oral hygiene. There was a high prevalence of xerostomia (56%) and fissured tongue (61.4%) (among other tongue anomalies). The most commonly isolated microorganisms were coagulase-negative Staphylococcus0 (35.9%), Streptococcus spp. (30.3%), nondiphtheroid Bacilli (16.9%), Staphylococcus aureus (2.3%), Candida spp. (11.8%), and Gram-negative Bacilli (2.8%). CONCLUSIONS The oral hygiene of most patients was insufficient. The presence of Gram-negative Bacilli growth in the oral flora can be explained by poor hand hygiene. These findings suggest that it is useful to educate individuals about oral hygiene and hand hygiene and to inform the staff and families about this issue.
Dementia RED (Respect Empathy Dignity): Collaborating to build dementia supportive communities in North Wales – reporting on a pilot project (innovative practice)

There is increasing interest in developing dementia supportive communities world wide. Dementia RED (Respect Empathy Dignity) is a unique example from North Wales which is based on the twin concepts of people living with dementia as citizens in their community and developing ‘bottom up’ rather than ‘top down’ approaches to dementia supportive communities. Most people with dementia prefer to live at home thus making community connectivity key to maintaining healthy relationships and wellbeing. For those living with dementia, the community plays a pivotal role in providing value, meaning, purpose and acceptance. Building dementia supportive communities helps to raise awareness about dementia in the community through engagement and from identifying champions in the locality to voice issues. Dementia RED is an initiative and service which helps to develop such a philosophy in creating a dementia supportive community.
Developmental changes of mast cell populations in the cerebral meninges of the rat

It is known that both the dura and the pia mater attract and support the differentiation of mast cells. The present study shows that unevenly distributed mast cells in the cerebral meninges of the rat can be found in perivascular sites and vessel ramification points, but can also be unrelated to the meningeal vasculature. It also documents changes in the number, localization and staining preferences of the mast cells in the two meninges of the developing and mature rat brain. Quantitative examination of all types of histochemically differentiated meningeal mast cells reveals no major (although some exist) differences between right and left side subpopulations, but strongly suggests a different origin and fate of the dural and the pial mast cells. The number of dural mast cells, already high from postnatal day 0, although declining from postnatal day 21 onwards, remains conspicuous up to postnatal day 180. In contrast, pial mast cells are comparatively very few in the first day of the postnatal life, and despite a transient significant increase in the following two weeks, they reach almost zero levels from postnatal day 21.
Combinations of Antiviral and Anti-Inflammatory Preparations for the Topical Treatment of Herpes Simplex Virus Assessed using a Murine Zosteriform Infection Model

Recently we have reported a zosteriform murine infection model which employs the adoptive transfer of immune cells (ATI) to recipient infected mice to produce a disease that mimics human recurrent herpes simplex virus (HSV) disease. Mice were infected with HSV-1 by scarification at the lateroventral line of the neck; 2 days later, the mice received immune cells from HSV-1-infected syngeneic mice. Although virus was cleared more quickly from the target tissues of virus replication in recipient mice, ATI resulted in a heightened inflammatory response and delayed healing. This model was used to test the effects of topical formulations containing foscarnet and/or the anti-inflammatory agent, hydrocortisone. Virus clearance and clinical signs, including ear thickness and zosteriform spread of lesions, were studied. Treatment with 3% foscarnet accelerated virus clearance but had little effect on clinical parameters. By contrast, 0.5% hydrocortisone increased the titre and extended the presence of infectious virus for at least 6 days, although the reduction in clinical signs was greater than that obtained with topical foscarnet. Foscarnet in combination with hydrocortisone produced a marked reduction in clinical signs while virus replication was reduced. These results are discussed in relation to the inflammation and discomfort experienced by patients and a possible role for anti-inflammatory formulations in the treatment of HSV reactivation episodes in man.
Predicting the “strugglers”: a case-control study of students at Nottingham University Medical School

Abstract Objective To identify potential predictors of undergraduate students who struggle during their medical training. Design Case-control study. Cases were students who had experienced academic or personal difficulties that affected their progression on the course (“strugglers”). Controls were selected at random from the corresponding year cohorts, using a ratio of four controls for each struggler. Setting University of Nottingham Medical School. Participants Students who entered the course over five consecutive years. Main outcome measures Likelihood ratios for independent risk factors for struggling on the course Results 10-15% of each year's student intake were identified as strugglers. Significant independent predictors of students being in this category were negative comments in the academic reference (likelihood ratio 2.25, 95% confidence intervals 1.44 to 3.50), lower mean examination grade at A level (2.19, 1.37 to 3.51), and the late offer of a place (1.98, 1.19 to 3.30). Male sex was a less significant risk factor (1.70, 1.09 to 2.65) as was a lower grade at GCSE science (2.13, 1.12 to 4.05). In UK students whose ethnicity was known, not being white was a significant predictor of struggling (2.77, 1.52 to 5.05) but the presence of negative comments was not. Age at entry to the course and the possession of a previous degree were not predictive. Conclusions Our results support retention of existing selection practices relating to academic achievement and critical review of students' references. We plan to undertake further investigation of the reasons why some students, including men, those with late offers and those from ethnic minority backgrounds, may do less well on the Nottingham course.
Rs290487 of TCF7L2 gene is not associated with type 2 diabetes in Chinese Han population: a case control study and meta-analysis.

AIMS rs290487 in TCF7L2 was originally identified to be associated with type 2 diabetes in Taiwan Chinese population. However, discrepancies were noted in subsequent replicated studies. So the aim of this study is to investigate the effect of rs290487 in TCF7L2 on genetic susceptibility of type 2 diabetes in a large sample of Chinese -population. RESULTS In meta analysis of 9 studies with 9 422 cases and 8 585 control subjects, no association was found between rs290487 and type 2 diabetes in China (OR=1.06, 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.96-1.17, p=0.19). In case control study, rs290487 was genotyped in 5 151 diabetic patients and 4 650 non-diabetic controls. After adjusting for sex, age and BMI, and using an additive genetic model, logistic regression analysis revealed no association between rs290487 and type 2 diabetes (OR=1.015, 95%CI 0.949-1.087, p=0.662). No association was found between rs290487 and type 2 diabetes in northern and southern Chinese population separately. CONCLUSIONS In summary, we have found no association between rs290487 and type 2 diabetes in Chinese population. This SNP is unlikely an influential genetic variant with type 2 diabetes in Chinese population.
Comparing CAT12 and VBM8 for Detecting Brain Morphological Abnormalities in Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

The identification of the brain morphological alterations that play important roles in neurodegenerative/neurological diseases will contribute to our understanding of the causes of these diseases. Various automated software programs are designed to provide an automatic framework to detect brain morphological changes in structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data. A voxel-based morphometry (VBM) analysis can also be used for the detection of brain volumetric abnormalities. Here, we compared gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) abnormality results obtained by a VBM analysis using the Computational Anatomy Toolbox (CAT12) via the current version of Statistical Parametric Mapping software (SPM12) with the results obtained by a VBM analysis using the VBM8 toolbox implemented in the older software SPM8, in adult temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) patients with (n = 51) and without (n = 57) hippocampus sclerosis (HS), compared to healthy adult controls (n = 28). The VBM analysis using CAT12 showed that compared to the healthy controls, significant GM and WM reductions were located in ipsilateral mesial temporal lobes in the TLE-HS patients, and slight GM amygdala swelling was present in the right TLE-no patients (n = 27). In contrast, the VBM analysis via the VBM8 toolbox showed significant GM and WM reductions only in the left TLE-HS patients (n = 25) compared to the healthy controls. Our findings thus demonstrate that compared to VBM8, a VBM analysis using CAT12 provides a more accurate volumetric analysis of the brain regions in TLE. Our results further indicate that a VBM analysis using CAT12 is more robust and accurate against volumetric alterations than the VBM8 toolbox.
Long-Term Dynamics of the VIX Index and Its Tradable Counterpart VXX

We study the relationship of the VIX index and the exchange‐traded note VXX on various timescales. We find that changes of VIX and VXX are correlated only contemporaneously on timescales of days, but VIX leads VXX on timescales of months. Next, we construct a simple joint model for VXX and VIX which replicates all the key characteristics of these two time series, but in which VIX and VXX are related only via a correlated error term. Therefore, VIX cannot be used as a predictor of VXX and there is no apparent trading profit opportunity.
T-Cell Profiling and the Immunodiagnosis of Latent Tuberculosis Infection in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Background:Factors associated with performance of interferon-&ggr; release assays (IGRA) and the tuberculin skin test (TST) in screening for latent tuberculosis infection in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are still poorly understood. The influence of peripheral T-cell subset counts on the results also remain unclear. Methods:Prospective single-center study in 205 patients with IBD. Latent tuberculosis infection screening included a chest radiograph, TST (retest if negative), and 2 IGRAs: QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube (QFT-GIT) and TSPOT-TB (TSPOT). T-cell subpopulations were determined by flow cytometry. Results:Twenty-one (10.2%) patients had an abnormal chest radiograph, 55 (26.8%) had a positive TST, 16 (7.8%) had a positive QFT-GIT, and 25 (12.6%) had a positive TSPOT. TST positivity was lower in patients on ≥2 immunosuppressants compared with the controls (5-aminosalicylic acid treatment) (10.4% versus 38.2%, respectively) (P = 0.0057). No other drugs influenced TST or IGRA positivity. In patients on corticosteroid treatment, anti-TNF treatment, or ≥2 immunosuppressants, IGRAs detected 10 cases of latent tuberculosis infection not identified by TST. TSPOT and QFT-GIT increased yield by 56% and 22%, respectively. No significant differences in T-cell subpopulations were found between patients with positive or negative TST or TSPOT results. However, patients with positive QFT-GIT findings had more CD8+ T cells (mean, 883 ± 576 versus 484 ± 385 cells per microliter in patients with negative results) (P = 0.022). Conclusions:IGRAs can improve TST-based screening in patients with IBD on immunosuppressive therapy. A low CD8+ count can affect QFT-GIT results. We suggest combining TSPOT and TST screening in patients with IBD on immunosuppressants.
The perverse effect of sin taxes: the rise of illicit white cigarettes

ABSTRACT In this paper, we define illicit white cigarettes as cigarettes that are legal in the country of production, but that are illegally smuggled into other markets without the payment of applicable taxes. This paper analyzes whether taxes create a price wedge between legal and illicit cigarettes and thereby affect the availability and trade of illicit whites across markets. Through original, self-conducted point-of-sale surveys and discarded pack collections across 18 cities, we find that cigarette taxes significantly affect the market for illicit whites. Moreover, based on a smoker survey, we find that the illicit white market is supported by consumers’ willing to purchase illicit products for their reduced prices. It is beyond the scope of this paper to ascertain the optimal tax rates on cigarettes or the stringency of enforcement measures to reduce smoking rates (the desired health outcome). However, gaining a better understanding of the effects of taxes on illicit white trade and consumption is vital because our research suggests that current ‘sin taxes’ drive illicit activity and therefore reduce the effectiveness of higher taxes in curbing the use of cigarettes.
Changes in the proton T2 relaxation times of cerebral water and metabolites during forebrain ischemia in rat at 9.4 T

Proton T2 relaxation times of cerebral water and metabolites were measured before, during, and after transient forebrain ischemia in rat at 9.4 T using localized proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H‐MRS) with Hahn echoes formed at different echo times (TEs). It was found that the T2 values of water and N‐acetyl aspartate (NAA) methyl, but not total creatine (tCr) methyl, decrease significantly (∼10%) during ischemia, and this T2 reduction is reversed by reperfusion. The T2 reduction observed for NAA was most likely caused by the extravascular component of the blood oxygenation level‐dependent (BOLD) effect induced by a drastically increased deoxyhemoglobin content during ischemia. The absence of T2 changes for tCr can probably be explained by the fact that the BOLD‐related T2 decrease was counterbalanced by the conversion of phosphocreatine (PCr) to creatine (Cr), which has a longer T2 than PCr, during ischemia. The changes in T2 should be taken into account for the quantification of metabolite concentrations during ischemia. Magn Reson Med 49:979–984, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The analysis of capital structure for property-liability insurers: a quantile regression approach

By using a two-stage quantile regression approach (2SQR), this study demonstrates how the insurer’s leverage is determined across various quantiles. The evidence shows that the influence of the business concentration and marketing channel at the lower leverage quantiles is opposite to that at the higher leverage quantiles, which proposes that the mean effects of the two-stage ordinary least squares method are insufficient to capture the effects of business strategies on the insurer’s capital structure determination. Moreover, the 2SQR evidence also shows that the magnitude of the impacts for some determinations varies among the different leverage quantiles. In sum, the evidence suggests that these two competing approaches should be viewed as complementary functions when discussing the insurer’s capital structure.
Identification of an inducible catabolic system for sialic acids (nan) in Escherichia coli

Escherichia coli K-12 and K-12 hybrid strains constructed to express a polysialic acid capsule, the K1 antigen, were able to efficiently use sialic acid as a sole carbon source. This ability was dependent on induction of at least two activities: a sialic acid-specific transport activity, and an aldolase activity specific for cleaving sialic acids. Induction over basal levels required sialic acid as the apparent inducer, and induction of both activities was repressed by glucose. Induction also required the intracellular accumulation of sialic acid, which could be either added exogenously to the medium or accumulated intracellularly through biosynthesis. Exogenous sialic acid appeared to be transported by an active mechanism that did not involve covalent modification of the sugar. Mutations affecting either the transport or degradation of sialic acid prevented its use as a carbon source and have been designated nanT and nanA, respectively. These mutations were located by transduction near min 69 on the E. coli K-12 genetic map, between argG and glnF. In addition to being unable to use sialic acid as a carbon source, aldolase-negative mutants were growth-inhibited by this sugar. Therefore, the intracellularly accumulated sialic acid was toxic in aldolase-deficient E. coli strains. The dual role of aldolase in dissimilating and detoxifying sialic acids is consistent with the apparent multiple controls on expression of this enzyme.
Dietary polyphenols in cancer prevention: the example of the flavonoid quercetin in leukemia

Increased consumption of fruit and vegetables can represent an easy strategy to significantly reduce the incidence of cancer. We recently demonstrated that the flavonoid quercetin, naturally present in the diet and belonging to the class of phytochemicals, is able to sensitize several leukemia cell lines and B cells isolated from patients affected by chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B‐CLL), in addition to apoptotic inducers (anti‐CD95 and rTRAIL). Further, it potentiates the effect of fludarabine, a first‐line chemotherapeutic drug used against CLL. The proapoptotic activity of quercetin in cell lines and B‐CLL is related to the expression and activity of Mcl‐1–antiapoptotic proteins belonging to the Bcl‐2 family. Quercetin downregulates Mcl‐1 mRNA and protein levels acting on mRNA stability and protein degradation. Considering the low toxicity of the flavonoids toward normal peripheral blood cells, our experimental results are in favor of a potential use of quercetin in adjuvant chemotherapy in CLL or other types of cancer.
Systemic Risk Network of Chinese Financial Institutions

Abstract The Chinese stock market crash in June 2015 has demonstrated necessary to improve understanding of systemic risk from the perspective of financial network. This study constructs a tail risk network to present overall systemic risk of Chinese financial institutions, given the macroeconomic and market externalities. Employing the Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) method of high-dimensional models, our results show that firm's idiosyncratic risk can be affected by its connectedness with other institutions. The risk spillover effect from other companies is the main driving factor of firm-specific risk, comparing with macroeconomic state, firm characteristics and historical price movement. The number of connections between institutions significantly increases during June 2014 to June 2016. Moreover, we utilize the Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistic to test significance of systemic risk beta based on tail risk and further rank the systemic risk contribution. Finally, we test the determinants of systemic risk contribution in a forward-looking way. Regulators could detect those firms that are most threatening to the stability of system.
Excision repair cross-complementation group 1 codon 118 polymorphism, micro ribonucleic acid and protein expression, clinical outcome of the advanced gastric cancer response to first-line FOLFOX-4 in Qinghai-Tibetan plateau population.

CONTEXT The excision repair cross-complementation group 1 (ERCC1) codon 118 C/T polymorphism has been associated with clinical outcome in cancer patients treated with platinum chemotherapy. Ethnic differences in the frequency of this polymorphism have been observed in Caucasian and African populations. AIM The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency and survival benefit of the ERCC1 codon 118 C/T polymorphism in a high-altitude population with advanced gastric cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism was used to determine the frequency of ERCC1 118 codon C/T polymorphism in 206 advanced gastric cancer patients residing in the high-altitude Qinghai-Tibetan plateau. The influence of the ERCC1 codon 118 C/T polymorphism on its micro ribonucleic acid (mRNA) and protein expression, clinicopathological features; response to the platinum-based combination chemotherapy, and the outcome was evaluated. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS The Kaplan-Meier method was used for survival analysis. The correlation of ERCC1 codon 118 polymorphism with ERCC1 mRNA and protein expression, clinicopathological characteristics, and first-line oxaliplatin, 5-fluorouracil, and leucovorin (FOLFOX-4) response was determined by χ(2)-test. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS ERCC1 codon 118 C/T polymorphism was not associated with ERCC1 mRNA and protein expression, FOLFOX-4 response, and progression-free survival (PFS) or overall survival (OS). High ERCC1 mRNA and protein expression levels were associated with significantly lower FOLFOX-4 responses, PFS, and OS. ERCC1 codon 118 C/T polymorphism is not an important prognostic marker for advanced gastric cancer. Determination of ERCC1 mRNA and protein levels may be beneficial in predicting the response and outcome of FOLFOX-4 therapy in gastric cancer.