Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of feeding and body condition score on multiple ovulation and embryo production in zebu cows.

The aim of this study was to standardize the feeding regimen and the body condition score (BCS) for maximum superovulatory responses in indigenous zebu cows. Ten regularly cycling 5-8-year-old dry cows, weighing 176--260 kg with BCS 2.5--4.5 were divided into two equal groups at random. The groups were maintained on either a good-nutrition or a high-nutrition diet. The feedstuffs were analysed by proximate feed analysis and the metabolizable energy content was estimated. After 3 months feeding, individual cows were injected (i.m) with 1500 IU pregnant mare's serum gonadotrophin (PMSG) at day 10 or day 11 of the oestrous cycle (day of oestrus = day 0). Alfaprostol (6 mg) was injected (i.m) 48 h after the injection of PMSG to induce oestrus. At day 6 or day 7 (day of insemination = day 1), the contents of individual uterine horns were flushed with 150-200 ml of phosphate-buffered saline + 0.2% bovine serum albumin using a two-way Foley catheter. The embryos were identified, evaluated and graded as excellent, good, fair or poor under a stereomicroscope. For the good- and high-nutrition diets, the daily intake of green grass, straw, concentrate, dry matter, crude protein and estimated metabolizable energy by individual cows were 5 and 6 kg, 3 and 3 kg, 1.5 and 3.5 kg, 4.87 and 6.82 kg, 0.39 and 0.74 kg, and 39.60 and 59.12 MJ, respectively. The protein content was 8 and 11% in the good- and high-nutrition diets, respectively. The two groups of cows on different nutritional diets differed significantly with regard to body weight, body condition score and number of palpated corpora lutea (p < 0.01). For cows on the good-nutrition diet, the median number of recovered embryos and transferable quality embryos were three and two, respectively. The recovery rate of embryos was 79.30% of palpated corpora lutea. Cows on the high-nutrition diet did not yield any embryos. The indigenous zebu cows fed on the good-nutrition diet with BCS 2.5-3 were considered suitable for the induction of superovulation, the cows on the high-nutrition diet with BCS 4-4.5 were unsatisfactory and were more prone to cyst formation in the ovaries.
The chronological sequence of somatic mutations in early gastric carcinogenesis inferred from multiregion sequencing of gastric adenomas

Mutation profiles and intratumoral heterogeneity are not well understood for benign gastric adenomas, some of which progress into malignant gastric adenocarcinomas. In this study, we performed whole-exome sequencing of three microsatellite stable (MSS) and two microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) gastric adenomas with three regional tumor biopsies per case. We observed that the mutation abundance of benign gastric adenomas was comparable to those of gastric adenocarcinomas, suggesting that the mutational makeup for gastric carcinogenesis may already be achieved in benign adenomas. The extent of intratumoral heterogeneity was more substantial for MSS genomes in that only 1% - 14% of somatic mutations were common across the regional biopsies or ‘public’, while 50% - 94% of mutations were public in MSI-H gastric adenomas. We observed biallelic, loss-of-functional events of APC with truncating mutations and/or 5q losses for all cases, mostly as public events. All MSS gastric adenomas also harbored ARID2 truncating mutations, often as multiple, region-specific ones indicative of convergent evolution. Hotspot missense mutations on known cancer genes such as ERBB2 and KRAS were largely observed as region-specific aberrations. These findings suggest that biallelic functional APC inactivation initiates the gastric carcinogenesis and is followed by mutations of histone modifiers and then activation of known cancer-related genes. As the first exome-wide multi-region mutational profiling of gastric adenomas, our study provides clues on the chronological sequence of somatic mutations and their clonal architectures in early gastric carcinogenesis.
One-Year Adherence to Exercise in Elderly Patients Receiving Postacute Inpatient Rehabilitation After Cardiac Surgery

Macchi C, Polcaro P, Cecchi F, Zipoli R, Sofi F, Romanelli A, Pepi L, Sibilio M, Lipoma M, Petrilli M, Molino-Lova R: One-year adherence to exercise in elderly patients receiving postacute inpatient rehabilitation after cardiac surgery. Objective: Promoting an active lifestyle through an appropriate physical exercise prescription is one of the major targets of cardiac rehabilitation. However, information on the effectiveness of cardiac rehabilitation in promoting lifestyle changes in elderly patients is still scant. Design: In 131 patients over the age of 65 yrs (86 men, and 45 women, mean age 75 yrs ± 6 SD) who have attended postacute inpatient cardiac rehabilitation after cardiac surgery, we tested the 1-yr adherence to the physical exercise prescription received at the end of the cardiac rehabilitation by using a questionnaire on physical activity and the 6-min walk test. Results: All of the 36 patients who reported an active lifestyle and 49 of the 95 patients who reported a sedentary lifestyle in the year preceding the cardiac operation reported at least 1 hr/day on 5 days each week of light regular physical activity in the year after the cardiac rehabilitation. Further, the distance walked at the follow-up 6-min walk test was significantly related to the physical activity score gathered from the questionnaire. Conclusions: Our data show that 65% of the elderly patients who have attended postacute inpatient cardiac rehabilitation after cardiac surgery are still capable of recovering or even increasing their regular physical activity and of maintaining these favorable lifestyle changes at least for 1 yr.
High-resolution double arterial phase hepatic MRI using adaptive 2D centric view ordering: initial clinical experience.

OBJECTIVE The objective of our study was to evaluate a new 3D fast spoiled gradient-recalled echo (FSPGR) sequence referred to as modified liver acceleration volume acquisition (LAVA) for high-resolution gadolinium-enhanced dual arterial phase liver MRI and to determine the effect of this technique on the timing of the contrast bolus and lesion detection. MATERIALS AND METHODS Gadolinium-enhanced dual arterial phase liver MRI was performed in 109 patients using a modified LAVA sequence that supports adaptive 2D centric view ordering, efficient 2D autocalibrated acceleration, and partial-Fourier to achieve faster scan times while maintaining the same slice thickness, resolution, and coverage as single-phase imaging. After a fixed 20-second scan delay, a modified LAVA acquisition required a single 24- to 26-second breath-hold for two arterial phases with 56-60 slices per pass. Images were reviewed for timing relative to liver enhancement, lesion conspicuity, and lesion detection. Liver lesion depiction was evaluated qualitatively and quantitatively. A control group of 109 patients underwent imaging using a single arterial phase 3D FSPGR sequence, which was also performed with a fixed 20-second scan delay. RESULTS The single arterial phase images produced optimal timing in the middle or late arterial phase in 79 (72%) of the 109 control group patients compared with 99 (91%) of the 109 study group patients who underwent imaging using a dynamic modified LAVA dual arterial phase sequence. For the modified LAVA sequence, the first-pass images were obtained during the mid arterial phase in 34 patients (31%). The second-pass images were obtained during the mid arterial phase in 51 patients (47%) and late arterial phase in 26 patients (24%). Sixty-two patients had liver lesions showing greater conspicuity--on the first phase in 17 patients (27%) and second phase in 45 patients (73%). Hypovascular lesions were more conspicuous on second-phase images in 24 (86%) of 28 patients. Hypervascular lesions were more conspicuous on first-phase images in 13 patients (38%) and on second-phase images in 21 (62%) of 34 patients. The first-phase images detected 165 and 155 liver lesions, respectively, for two observers compared with 233 and 224 lesions on the second-phase images, whereas the combined dual arterial phase images detected 256 and 248 hepatic lesions. CONCLUSION High-resolution dual arterial phase 3D FSPGR MRI improves the timing of the arterial phase of liver enhancement and provides additional information for liver lesion detection.
Effects of instruction in jumping technique and experience jumping on ground reaction forces.

STUDY DESIGN Randomized, controlled trial. OBJECTIVE To determine the roles that augmented feedback from instruction in jumping technique and sensory feedback from experience jumping play in assisting individuals to land softly from a jump. BACKGROUND Jumping and landing activities play a major role in many sports and daily activities. Feedback may assist individuals in decreasing landing forces and thus reduce the chances of sustaining an injury. METHODS AND MEASURES Nonimpaired subjects (n = 91) were randomly assigned to either an augmented or sensory feedback condition. All subjects were asked to jump from a box 300 mm in height and land as softly as possible on a force plate. Pre-intervention ground reaction forces (GRF) were recorded. Subjects in the augmented feedback condition were then given instructions to focus on hip and knee joint motion as well as a forefoot landing technique for their next jump. Subjects in the sensory feedback condition were asked to use the experience of their first jump to land softly for their next jump. Post-intervention GRFs were recorded and all GRFs were expressed as a multiple of body weight. RESULTS Those in the augmented condition significantly reduced their GRF scores from pre-(mean = 4.53 +/- 1.51) to post-(mean = 3.57 +/- 1.10) jump, whereas those in the sensory condition did not (mean pre GRF = 4.51 +/- 1.77; mean post GRF = 4.33 +/- 1.54). CONCLUSIONS High ground reaction forces may be a precipitating factor associated with an injury, where the site of tissue damage would benefit from decreased forces. These findings support the use of instructions related to joint motion to reduce landing forces.
Thermal Modelling of an Induction Motor

The comparison of motor losses is a significant item in the study of inverter control strategies for variable frequency, variable speed ac drives. For our study, since it is necessary to differentiate small changes in loss, we have decided to use steady state temperature rise as a direct indicator of loss rather than measurement as the small difference between input and output power. An essential preliminary, the determination of temperature rise with normal sinusoidal voltages, is described here. It has established that a simple thermal model could define the steady state temperature rise with acceptable repeatability and accuracy.
Correlates of health-promoting lifestyle behaviors among Vietnamese female immigrants in Taiwan

ABSTRACT Immigration is a demanding and challenging life event that may cause married immigrant women to be likely to adopt unhealthy lifestyle behaviors. The aim of the authors of this study was to assess the prevalence of health-promoting lifestyle behaviors and their correlates among Vietnamese female immigrants in Taiwan. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 140 Vietnamese female immigrants from November 2012 to October 2013. Measures included demographic information, the Chinese Health Questionnaire, the General Functioning Scale of the Family Assessment Device, and a short version of the Chinese Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile. Data analyses included descriptive statistics, Pearson’s product-moment correlation coefficients, t-tests, one-way analysis of variance, and a hierarchical multiple regression analysis. Vietnamese female immigrants with better individual health status, higher education from their original country, greater communication ability, better health status of the husband, and adaptive family functioning demonstrated greater participation in health-promoting lifestyle behaviors. Particularly, better husband’s health status and family functioning correlated with greater practices of health-promoting lifestyle behaviors after controlling for individual characteristics and experiences, with 38% of the total variance explained. Findings may serve to guide and design culturally specific, family-focused health promotion interventions to assist Vietnamese female immigrants and their families.
Web-Based Programs for the Display and Analysis of Transmembrane α-Helices in Aligned Protein Sequences

We developed novel programs for displaying and analyzing the transmembrane α-helical segments (TMSs) in the aligned sequences of homologous integral membrane proteins. TMS_ALIGN predicts the positions of putative TMSs in multiply aligned protein sequences and graphically shows the TMSs in the alignment. TMS_SPLIT (1) predicts the positions of TMSs for each sequence; (2) allows a user to select proteins with a specified number of TMSs, and (3) splits the sequences into groups of TMSs of equal numbers. TMS_CUT works like TMS_SPLIT, but it can cut sequences with any combination of TMSs. The BASS program similarly allows comparison of protein repeat elements, equivalent to TMS_SPLIT plus IC, but it provides the comparison data expressed in BLAST E values. These programs, together with the IntraCompare program, facilitate the identification of repeat sequences in integral membrane proteins. They also facilitate the estimation of protein topology and the determination of evolutionary pathways.
Association between Polymorphisms in Interleukins 4 and 13 Genes and Chronic Periodontitis in a Han Chinese Population

Chronic periodontitis (CP) is one of the most common chronic inflammatory diseases and cytokines play a pivotal role in the regulation of immune response. Interleukin-4 (IL-4) and interleukin-13 (IL-13) are anti-inflammatory cytokines and several polymorphisms of them have been proved involved in periodontal disease. This study aimed to evaluate whether three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), rs2070874 and rs2243248 from IL4 and rs1800925 from IL13, are associated with CP in a Han Chinese population consisting of 440 moderate or severe CP patients and 324 healthy controls. Genomic DNA extracted from buccal epithelial cells of the included participants were genotyped using a matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry method. No significant association between rs2070874 or rs1800925 and CP was found, while the frequencies of rs2243248 and two haplotypes C-G-T and C-T-T showed significant differences between the two groups. The results suggest that the polymorphism rs2243248 and haplotypes C-G-T and C-T-T may be associated with CP susceptibility in the present Han Chinese population.
Towards adaptive IMRT sequencing for the MR-linac

The MRI linear accelerator (MR-linac) that is currently being installed in the University Medical Center Utrecht (Utrecht, The Netherlands), will be able to track the patient’s target(s) and Organ(s) At Risk during radiation delivery. In this paper, we present a treatment planning system for intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT). It is capable of Adaptive Radiotherapy and consists of a GPU Monte Carlo dose engine, an inverse dose optimization algorithm and a novel adaptive sequencing algorithm. The system is able to compensate for patient anatomy changes and enables radiation delivery immediately from the first calculated segment. IMRT plans meeting all clinical constraints were generated for two breast cases, one spinal bone metastasis case, two prostate cases with integrated boost regions and one head and neck case. These plans were generated by the segment weighted version of our algorithm, in a 0 T environment in order to test the feasibility of the new sequencing strategy in current clinical conditions, yielding very small differences between the fluence and sequenced distributions. All plans went through stringent experimental quality assurance on Delta4 and passed all clinical tests currently performed in our institute. A new inter-fraction adaptation scheme built on top of this algorithm is also proposed that enables convergence to the ideal dose distribution without the need of a final segment weight optimization. The first results of this method confirm that convergence is achieved within the first fractions of the treatment. These features combined will lead to a fully adaptive intra-fraction planning system able to take into account patient anatomy updates during treatment.
Knowledge and attitude of doctors and nurses regarding indication for catheterization and prevention of catheter-associated urinary tract infection in a tertiary care hospital

Background and Aims: Catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) is one of the most common health care acquired infection encountered in clinical practice. The present study was planned to assess the knowledge and attitude of health care providers regarding the indications for catheterization and methods of preventing CAUTI. Methods: A prospective questionnaire-based survey was done from March 2011 to August 2011. A structured questionnaire comprising of 41 items related to demographic details of the respondents, their knowledge regarding indications for catheterization and methods of preventing CAUTI was given to 54 doctors and 105 nurses. The response was evaluated for statistical correlation using a computer software. Results: The mean years of experience of the respondents in the health care setup was 6.8 years. Only 57% of the respondents could identify all the measures for prevention of CAUTI. The knowledge regarding the indication for catheterization though suboptimal was significantly better amongst the doctors as compared to nurses. Conclusion: The knowledge regarding indication and preventive measures was suboptimal in our study group. There is a tremendous scope of improvement in catheterization practices in our hospital and education induced intervention would be the most appropriate effort toward reducing the incidence of CAUTI.
Erythrocyte zinc content in critically ill patients

Abstract Abnormalities in thyroid hormone metabolism are common in critically ill patients. However, it is not known if these patients are truly hypothyroid at tissue level. Erythrocyte zinc has been shown to be a tissue marker of thyroid hormone status. In this study we have measured the erythrocyte zinc in critically ill patients. In this observational study we measured the zinc content of young erythrocytes in blood samples from 33 healthy subjects, 26 hypothyroid patients, four hyperthyroid patients, and 44 patients in the intensive care unit – 22 of these were admitted after a major surgical procedure (surgical group) and the other 22 patients had a variety of conditions (non-surgical group). Erythrocytes were separated according to age by centrifugation. Plasma thyroid hormone concentrations were abnormal in 70% of the critically ill group. Erythrocyte zinc was significantly lower in hyperthyroid patients and higher in hypothyroid patients. In the non-surgical patients, erythrocyte zinc of young cells (median 256μmol/L of cells) was significantly higher than (p<0.01) the corresponding cells in the healthy controls (202μmol/L of cells), whereas in the surgical group it was not different (197μmol/L of cells). We conclude that in non-surgical critically ill patients, erythrocyte zinc content is higher, suggesting that these patients may be hypothyroid at tissue level.
Use of Quality‐Adjusted Life Year Weights with Dose‐Response Models for Public Health Decisions: A Case Study of the Risks and Benefits of Fish Consumption

Risks associated with toxicants in food are often controlled by exposure reduction. When exposure recommendations are developed for foods with both harmful and beneficial qualities, however, they must balance the associated risks and benefits to maximize public health. Although quantitative methods are commonly used to evaluate health risks, such methods have not been generally applied to evaluating the health benefits associated with environmental exposures. A quantitative method for risk‐benefit analysis is presented that allows for consideration of diverse health endpoints that differ in their impact (i.e., duration and severity) using dose‐response modeling weighted by quality‐adjusted life years saved. To demonstrate the usefulness of this method, the risks and benefits of fish consumption are evaluated using a single health risk and health benefit endpoint. Benefits are defined as the decrease in myocardial infarction mortality resulting from fish consumption, and risks are defined as the increase in neurodevelopmental delay (i.e., talking) resulting from prenatal methylmercury exposure. Fish consumption rates are based on information from Washington State. Using the proposed framework, the net health impact of eating fish is estimated in either a whole population or a population consisting of women of childbearing age and their children. It is demonstrated that across a range of fish methylmercury concentrations (0–1 ppm) and intake levels (0–25 g/day), individuals would have to weight the neurodevelopmental effects 6 times more (in the whole population) or 250 times less (among women of child‐bearing age and their children) than the myocardial infarction benefits in order to be ambivalent about whether or not to consume fish. These methods can be generalized to evaluate the merits of other public health and risk management programs that involve trade‐offs between risks and benefits.
Cumulative exposure to stimulants and immune function outcomes among HIV-positive and HIV-negative men in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study

We examined associations between stimulant use (methamphetamine and cocaine) and other substances (nicotine, marijuana, alcohol and inhaled nitrites) with immune function biomarkers among HIV-seropositive (HIV +) men taking highly active antiretroviral therapy (ART) and HIV-seronegative (HIV−) men in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study. Among HIV + men, cumulative adherence to ART (4.07, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.52, 4.71, per 10 years of adherent ART use), and recent cohort enrolment (1.38; 95% CI: 1.24, 1.55) were multiplicatively associated with increase in CD4+/CD8+ ratios. Cumulative use of methamphetamine (0.93; 95% CI: 0.88, 0.98, per 10 use-years), cocaine (0.93; 95% CI: 0.89, 0.96, per 10 use-years) and cumulative medical visits (0.99; 95% CI: 0.98, 0.99, per 10 visit-years), each showed small negative associations with CD4+/CD8+ ratios. Among HIV− men, cumulative medical visits (0.996; 95% CI: 0.993, 0.999), cumulative number of male sexual partners (0.999; 95% CI: 0.998, 0.9998, per 10 partner-years) and cigarette pack-years (1.10; 95% CI: 1.02, 1.18, per 10 pack-years) were associated with CD4+/CD8+ ratios over the same period. ART adherence is associated with a positive immune function independent of stimulant use, underscoring the influence of ART on immune health for HIV+ men who engage in stimulant use.