Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Tongue Microbiota and Malodour: Effects of Metronidazole Mouthrinse on Tongue Microbiota and Breath Odour

Thirty-two healthy, dentate volunteers with unexplained non-systemic halitosis took part in this blind, 2-cell (metronidazole and quinine control), randomised, single rinse, crossover study. The effects of both mouthwashes on the tongue bacterial microbiota, salivary microbiota, breath odour and the odour generating potentials of subjects' saliva were measured. Metronidazole mouthwash reduced both breath odour and incubated salivary odour to a significantly greater extent (p<0.05) than did the quinine control. The odour reduction was associated with a significant reduction in the bacterial counts per unit area of tongue surface. In particular, the reductions in the strict anaerobic species (up to 1.5 log-fold) and proportions of sulphide-producing organisms, were highly significant (p<0.001), even up to 24 hours post-rinse. This study confirmed the highly selective nature of metronidazole. The concomitant reduction of both breath odour and recovery of strict anaerobes from the tongue (correlation, r.
ASSESSING THE HEALTH STATUS OF ELDERLY PEOPLE IN THE PROVINCE OF QOM (2007)

iAbstract Background: Recognition of elderly health status is the first step toward the prevention of chronic diseases and promotion of health level among aged people. Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the elderly heath status in Qom province (Iran). The practical goal of the present work was to assess the health needs in elderly and prevention of common disease among the aged society. Methods: This was a descriptive analytical study in which 151 individuals aged 60 or more and living in the province of Qom were included. The sampling method used was the random simple method. Data collection was carried out using a questionnaire. The data were further analyzed using descriptive statistics. Findings: Based on findings, 57.6% of older adults were at the risk of nutrition deficiency, 35.8% with normal nutrition and 6.6% with malnutrition. The GHQ scale revealed that 48.3% of elderly were with depression, 86.7% with anxiety, 8.6% with social dysfunctions, and 86.7% with physical signs. The risk of bed sore was 4.6%. The activities of daily living were found to be without any dependence in 97.2% of population and 9% with relative dependence and 1% with complete dependence. Conclusion: The high frequency of problems among the elderly of Qom province is indicating that the aged group of this community is in need of a rehabilitation and treatment program. The education priorities to be recommended for this age group include prevention of musculoskeletal and cardiovascular disease, bed sore, healthy nutrition and life style that can be presented through workshops, bulletins and educational pamphlets.
Protective and Anti-oxidant Activity of the Euryops arabicus against Paracetamol Induced Hepatorenal Toxicity in Rats

Paracetamol overdose is a predominant cause of hepatorenal toxicity in both humans and experimental animals. The extract of Euryops arabicus was evaluated for its protective and anti-oxidant effect against paracetamol-induced hepatic and renal injuriesin rats. The extract of Euryops arabicus was administered at100 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg followed by paracetamol at 1g/kg for seven days. The animals were sacrificed after 24 hrs of paracetamol challenge . Indices of liver such as aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), total bilirubin (TB), serum albumin (SA) and renal indices blood urea (BU) and serum creatinine (SC) were measured. Liver and kidney homogenates were analyzed for oxidative stress biomarkers namely Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances TBARS. Finally, histopathological examinations of both previous organs were examined. The significantly disturbed liver and kidney functions by paracetamol toxicity were restored to almost normal values by administration of Euryops arabicus. Also, the elevated TBARS in groups received paracetamol alone decreased in groups given paracetamol and Euryops arabicus. Histological effect of paracetamol on liver and kidney was also markedly abolished by co-administration of Euryops arabicus. These results suggest that Euryops arabicus may protectfrom paracetamol-induced liver and kidney toxicity.
An affective guide robot in a shopping mall

To explore possible robot tasks in daily life, we developed a guide robot for a shopping mall and conducted a field trial with it. The robot was designed to interact naturally with customers and to affectively provide shopping information. It was also designed to repeatedly interact with people to build a rapport; since a shopping mall is a place people repeatedly visit, it provides the chance to explicitly design a robot for multiple interactions. For this capability, we used RFID tags for person identification. The robot was semi-autonomous, partially controlled by a human operator, to cope with the difficulty of speech recognition in a real environment and to handle unexpected situations. A field trial was conducted at a shopping mall for 25 days to observe how the robot performed this task and how people interacted with it. The robot interacted with approximately 100 groups of customers each day. We invited customers to sign up for RFID tags and those who participated answered questionnaires. The results revealed that 63 out of 235 people in fact went shopping based on the information provided by the robot. The experimental results suggest promising potential for robots working in shopping malls.
Meeting the information needs of psychiatric inpatients: Staff and patient perspectives

Background: Inadequacy of information and consequent exclusion from discussion and decisions about treatment are enduring complaints of users of mental health services. Aims: To investigate ongoing patient concerns about the provision of medication information on acute psychiatric wards and involve a wide range of stakeholders in the formulation of ways of improving the quality and accessibility of patient information materials. Method: Focus group study of patients, carers and health professionals. Results: Lay and professional focus groups agreed that current provision of written and verbal information was inadequate and should be improved. Patients and relatives accorded this a higher priority than most professionals. Staff were often ambivalent about patients having access to information, tending to emphasize the potentially negative consequences they anticipated this could have on compliance. The study identified features of professional hierarchy and organizational complexity that further restricted patients' access to information from staff. Conclusion: A greater professional awareness of patients' understanding and experience of their illness and concerns about treatment and an understanding of how these relate to patients' wider goals and problems of living is necessary for improving treatment information for patients and to promote a change in the professional culture required for the development of a more patient centred medical practice. Declaration of interest: KP and JG were supported by the Concordance Research Fellowship which is funded by the Department of Health as part of its policy research programme and administered by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain. Conflicting interests: none.
Bats coordinate sonar and flight behavior as they forage in open and cluttered environments

Echolocating bats use active sensing as they emit sounds and listen to the returning echoes to probe their environment for navigation, obstacle avoidance and pursuit of prey. The sensing behavior of bats includes the planning of 3D spatial trajectory paths, which are guided by echo information. In this study, we examined the relationship between active sonar sampling and flight motor output as bats changed environments from open space to an artificial forest in a laboratory flight room. Using high-speed video and audio recordings, we reconstructed and analyzed 3D flight trajectories, sonar beam aim and acoustic sonar emission patterns as the bats captured prey. We found that big brown bats adjusted their sonar call structure, temporal patterning and flight speed in response to environmental change. The sonar beam aim of the bats predicted the flight turn rate in both the open room and the forest. However, the relationship between sonar beam aim and turn rate changed in the forest during the final stage of prey pursuit, during which the bat made shallower turns. We found flight stereotypy developed over multiple days in the forest, but did not find evidence for a reduction in active sonar sampling with experience. The temporal patterning of sonar sound groups was related to path planning around obstacles in the forest. Together, these results contribute to our understanding of how bats coordinate echolocation and flight behavior to represent and navigate their environment.
Breast pathologies: Kaleidoscope of conventional mammography, sonography, magnetic resonance mammography, and histopathology features

Breast can be the seat of a number of benign and malignant pathologies. Even though digital mammography - with or without correlative ultrasonography - is still largely the mainstay of breast imaging, the newer technique of magnetic resonance mammography has come of age. Capable of capturing wide and varied morphology of diverse breast lesions, it can contribute in a major way to the diagnosis and management of some patients. Characteristic magnetic resonance mammography features can help obviate the need of a biopsy in lesions like hamartomas, and benign virginal hyperplasia, whereas in conditions like invasive lobular carcinoma and Paget′s disease, it can make a significant difference to the surgical plan. This pictorial kaleidoscope presents the imaging and histopathology characteristics of many usual and unusual breast lesions.
Spirometric Changes following Open-Heart Surgery on Rheumatic Mitral Valves

Evaluation of pulmonary function by spirometry in adult patients undergoing cardiac surgery is a simple test to assess pulmonary reserve that has important implications in the operative morbidity. Pulmonary function was studied preoperatively, before discharge, and at the 3-month follow-up in 22 randomly selected patients who underwent open-heart surgery for rheumatic mitral valve disease (2 reconstructions, 20 replacements). The mean preoperative cardiothoracic ratio was 0.58. Lung function was found to be impaired preoperatively in all 22 patients and the majority suffered from restrictive lung disease. Better preoperative lung function was seen in nonsmokers, patients with a cardiothoracic ratio of less than 0.50, and those with a normal pulmonary artery pressure. After mitral valve surgery, the mean pulmonary artery pressure was 20.6 ± 2.9 mm Hg, the mean mitral valve pressure gradient was 3.6 ± 2.4 mm Hg, and the mean cardiothoracic ratio was 0.52 ± 0.09. A significant deterioration was seen in the predischarge spirometric values of forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume in one second, peak expiratory flow rate, flow rate at 25% to 75% of expired vital capacity, and maximum volume ventilation. The deterioration was greater in smokers and those who had prolonged cardiopulmonary bypass (more than 80 minutes). No correlation was found with ventilation because all patients were electively ventilated overnight. There was an overall improvement in spirometric parameters at the 3-month follow-up although the values remained lower than predicted. Spirometry was found to be useful for assessing lung function in patients undergoing mitral valve surgery and we recommended it as a routine test.
Among-species variation in the energy budgets of reef-building corals: scaling from coral polyps to communities

ABSTRACT The symbiosis between corals and dinoflagellates promotes the rapid growth of corals in shallow tropical oceans, and the high overall productivity of coral reefs. The aim of this study was to quantify and understand variation in carbon acquisition and allocation among coral species. We measured multiple physiological traits (including symbiont density, calcification, photosynthesis and tissue composition) for the same coral fragments to facilitate direct comparisons between species (Stylophora pistillata, Pocillopora damicornis, Galaxea fascicularis, Turbinaria reniformis and Acropora sp.). Tissue protein content was highly sensitive to the availability of particulate food, increasing in fed colonies of all species. Despite among-species variation in physiology, and consistent effects of feeding on some traits, overall energy allocation to tissue compared with skeleton growth did not depend on food availability. Extrapolating from our results, estimated whole-assemblage carbon uptake varied >20-fold across different coral assemblages, but this variation was largely driven by differences in the tissue surface area of different colony morphologies, rather than by differences in surface-area-specific physiological rates. Our results caution against drawing conclusions about reef productivity based solely on physiological rates measured per unit tissue surface area. Understanding the causes and consequences of among-species variation in physiological energetics provides insight into the mechanisms that underlie the fluxes of organic matter within reefs, and between reefs and the open ocean. Summary: Coral species vary in their reliance on particulate food sources but food availability affects only certain aspects of coral physiology. Changes in species composition of reefs are likely to affect the fluxes of organic matter between reefs and the open ocean.
Low-Income Mothers' Experience with Poor Health, Hardship, Work, and Violence

Welfare reform in 1996 increased work requirements for welfare recipients. Poor mothers face multiple barriers to work, among them poor health and abuse. In a sample (N = 504) of low-income mothers of children with chronic illnesses, women who had experienced violence had significantly worse health, experienced increased hardship, and faced more barriers to employment than women who did not experience violence. Battered women's health outcomes were assessed in the context of welfare policies that emphasize work without making reasonable accommodations for health and other employment barriers, including violence.
Respiratory function and mechanics in pinnipeds and cetaceans

ABSTRACT In this Review, we focus on the functional properties of the respiratory system of pinnipeds and cetaceans, and briefly summarize the underlying anatomy; in doing so, we provide an overview of what is currently known about their respiratory physiology and mechanics. While exposure to high pressure is a common challenge among breath-hold divers, there is a large variation in respiratory anatomy, function and capacity between species – how are these traits adapted to allow the animals to withstand the physiological challenges faced during dives? The ultra-deep diving feats of some marine mammals defy our current understanding of respiratory physiology and lung mechanics. These animals cope daily with lung compression, alveolar collapse, transient hyperoxia and extreme hypoxia. By improving our understanding of respiratory physiology under these conditions, we will be better able to define the physiological constraints imposed on these animals, and how these limitations may affect the survival of marine mammals in a changing environment. Many of the respiratory traits to survive exposure to an extreme environment may inspire novel treatments for a variety of respiratory problems in humans. Summary: This Review focuses on the physiological traits that have shaped the mechanical respiratory physiology of cetaceans and pinnipeds in response to the constraints imposed by the aquatic environment.
Prevalence and transmission of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) at the intensive care unit of Domat Al-Jandal Hospital, Al-Jouf, Saudi Arabia

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) often colonize the anterior nares. Nasal carriage thus remains the main source of bacterial dissemination. The prevalence and rate of acquisition of methicillin-resistant S. aureus in patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of Domat Al-Jandal Hospital were studied over one year in order to estimate the possible risk for those, who are initially free of the organism, of acquiring MRSA infection while maintained in the ICU. Of the 160 patients, 15 (9.4%) were colonized with MRSA in their anterior nares on admission to the ICU. Six of 140 (4.3%) patients were positive for MRSA in their blood cultures, while nine of 60 (15%) had MRSA in their wound cultures (Table 1). Eleven patients (7.1%) were initially negative, but acquired MRSA while they were at the ICU. Antibiotic sensitivity testing identified 30 (18.8%) S. aureus strains to be resistant to oxacillin, while all the strains were susceptible to vancomycin. In conclusion, screening of ICU patients for S. aureus colonization and infection, accompanied by antibiotic sensitivity testing of cultured isolates, is important to understand its epidemiology, and to develop preventive measures and treatment strategies.
Menthol-induced bleaching rapidly and effectively provides experimental aposymbiotic sea anemones (Aiptasia sp.) for symbiosis investigations

ABSTRACT Experimental manipulation of the symbiosis between cnidarians and photosynthetic dinoflagellates (Symbiodinium spp.) is crucial to advancing the understanding of the cellular mechanisms involved in host–symbiont interactions, and overall coral reef ecology. The anemone Aiptasia sp. is a model for cnidarian–dinoflagellate symbiosis, and notably it can be rendered aposymbiotic (i.e. dinoflagellate-free) and re-infected with a range of Symbiodinium types. Various methods exist for generating aposymbiotic hosts; however, they can be hugely time consuming and not wholly effective. Here, we optimise a method using menthol for production of aposymbiotic Aiptasia. The menthol treatment produced aposymbiotic hosts within just 4 weeks (97–100% symbiont loss), and the condition was maintained long after treatment when anemones were held under a standard light:dark cycle. The ability of Aiptasia to form a stable symbiosis appeared to be unaffected by menthol exposure, as demonstrated by successful re-establishment of the symbiosis when anemones were experimentally re-infected. Furthermore, there was no significant impact on photosynthetic or respiratory performance of re-infected anemones. Summary: An optimised method using menthol for the production of aposymbiotic Aiptasia sp. to further our understanding of the cnidarian–dinoflagellate symbiosis.
Acoustic communication in terrestrial and aquatic vertebrates

ABSTRACT Sound propagates much faster and over larger distances in water than in air, mainly because of differences in the density of these media. This raises the question of whether terrestrial (land mammals, birds) and (semi-)aquatic animals (frogs, fishes, cetaceans) differ fundamentally in the way they communicate acoustically. Terrestrial vertebrates primarily produce sounds by vibrating vocal tissue (folds) directly in an airflow. This mechanism has been modified in frogs and cetaceans, whereas fishes generate sounds in quite different ways mainly by utilizing the swimbladder or pectoral fins. On land, vertebrates pick up sounds with light tympana, whereas other mechanisms have had to evolve underwater. Furthermore, fishes differ from all other vertebrates by not having an inner ear end organ devoted exclusively to hearing. Comparing acoustic communication within and between aquatic and terrestrial vertebrates reveals that there is no ‘aquatic way’ of sound communication, as compared with a more uniform terrestrial one. Birds and mammals display rich acoustic communication behaviour, which reflects their highly developed cognitive and social capabilities. In contrast, acoustic signaling seems to be the exception in fishes, and is obviously limited to short distances and to substrate-breeding species, whereas all cetaceans communicate acoustically and, because of their predominantly pelagic lifestyle, exploit the benefits of sound propagation in a dense, obstacle-free medium that provides fast and almost lossless signal transmission. Summary: Aquatic and terrestrial vertebrates differ in their mechanisms of acoustic communication primarily because of their phylogenetic history and less so because of the physical differences between media.
Effects of high temperatures on threatened estuarine fishes during periods of extreme drought

ABSTRACT Climate change and associated increases in water temperatures may impact physiological performance in ectotherms and exacerbate endangered species declines. We used an integrative approach to assess the impact of elevated water temperature on two fishes of immediate conservation concern in a large estuary system, the threatened longfin smelt (Spirinchus thaleichthys) and endangered delta smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus). Abundances have reached record lows in California, USA, and these populations are at imminent risk of extirpation. California is currently impacted by a severe drought, resulting in high water temperatures, conditions that will become more common as a result of climate change. We exposed fish to environmentally relevant temperatures (14°C and 20°C) and used RNA sequencing to examine the transcriptome-wide responses to elevated water temperature in both species. Consistent with having a lower temperature tolerance, longfin smelt exhibited a pronounced cellular stress response, with an upregulation of heat shock proteins, after exposure to 20°C that was not observed in delta smelt. We detected an increase in metabolic rate in delta smelt at 20°C and increased expression of genes involved in metabolic processes and protein synthesis, patterns not observed in longfin smelt. Through examination of responses across multiple levels of biological organization, and by linking these responses to habitat distributions in the wild, we demonstrate that longfin smelt may be more susceptible than delta smelt to increases in temperatures, and they have little room to tolerate future warming in California. Understanding the species-specific physiological responses of sensitive species to environmental stressors is crucial for conservation efforts and managing aquatic systems globally. Highlighted Article: An integrative approach to assess the impact of elevated water temperature on fishes of immediate conservation concern highlights the vulnerability of longfin smelt relative to delta smelt.
Respiratory dysfunctions related to insecticide exposure among farmers in Sindh, Pakistan.

The insecticide effect on lung physiology is well reported. Data on respiratory dysfunction after insecticide exposure to farmers are scanty in Pakistan. Present study was designed to determine the frequency and reported respiratory symptoms among two groups of farmers. One group comprised of 'insecticide spray-workers' (n=324) and other group was of non users of agrochemical substances, i.e. the comparison group (n=209). Male farmers between the ages of 25 to 45 years, and who were non smokers were enrolled in the study from various areas of Sindh province (Pakistan) during agriculture crop season 2006-07. The farmers were introduced a questionnaire gleaning information on farming characteristics and respiratory symptoms. Spirometry was carried out to assess lung functions. Computer software Minitab 8.0 version was used to analyze data. A greater proportion of insecticide spray workers reported respiratory symptoms; dyspnea, bronchitis, asthma and rhinitis as compared to farmers who did not handle insecticides. Comparative values of FEV1 and FEV 1/FVC ratio were also significantly low in insecticide spray workers. The results suggest that obstructive and restrictive lung functions are more prevalent in the farmers who were exposed to insecticides than non user comparison group. These differences were statistically significant.