Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Adult attachment and parenting stress among parents of toddlers

Objective: The aim was to revise the dimensionality of the Relationship Scales Questionnaire (RSQ) assessing adult attachment and relate it to parenting stress within a large sample of parents of toddlers. Methods: As part of a longitudinal population-based study, 8122 parents (97% mothers) completed the 18-item version of RSQ and the Swedish Parenthood Stress Questionnaire (SPSQ) when their child was 2–3 years of age. Results: Exploratory factor analyses gave three uncorrelated RSQ factors named (1) Importance of Independence, (2) Relationship-related Anxiety, and (3) Discomfort with Closeness, with Cronbach’s α ⩾ 0.65. In a linear regression Parenting Stress was most closely related to Relationship-related Anxiety (b = 0.20, t = 39.0), weaker associations were found with the attachment dimensions capturing avoidance: Importance of Independence (b = 0.07, t = 13.40) and Discomfort with Closeness (b = 0.07, t = 12.04). The SPSQ subscales Incompetence (R 2 = 17%) and Social Isolation (R 2 = 22%) showed stronger association with adult attachment than the remaining three. Conclusion: The agreement with previous findings in other study populations indicates that substantial and meaningful dimensions of attachment have been captured. Attachment anxiety and discomfort with closeness seem to have an important relationship with the perception of parenting stress, especially concerning feelings of incompetence and social isolation.
Cardioprotection by pre-infarct angina: training the heart to enhance myocardial salvage.

By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail. (Benjamin Franklin) Timely reperfusion of the acutely ischaemic myocardium in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is associated with enhanced myocardial salvage and improved survival rates.1,2 Despite the overwhelming evidence in favour of prompt reperfusion with primary percutaneous coronary intervention, other factors, such as the size of the area at risk, collateral circulation, pre-infarction angina (PA) as well as pre and postconditioning, have been also shown to influence the results of infarct size reduction studies.3 The most powerful intervention in experimental studies which augments the benefits of rapid reperfusion following coronary occlusion is ischaemic preconditioning.4,5 The possibility that an innate mechanism of myocardial protection might be inducible in the human heart …
Study of the pharmacokinetic interaction of vildagliptin and metformin in patients with type 2 diabetes*

ABSTRACT Objective: Metformin is widely used for treating patients with type 2 diabetes, often as first-line therapy; however, many patients with type 2 diabetes are unable to maintain adequate glycemic control with metformin alone. Vildagliptin, an orally active, potent and selective dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-4) inhibitor, may represent an appropriate antihyperglycemic agent for combination with metformin to improve glycemic control in such patients. This study assessed the effects of coadministration of vildagliptin and metformin on the steady-state pharmacokinetics of each drug. Research design and methods: In this open-label, single-center, randomized, three-period, three-treatment crossover study, 17 patients with type 2 diabetes received vildagliptin 100 mg once daily; metformin 1000 mg once daily; or vildagliptin 100 mg once daily plus metformin 1000 mg once daily. Blood samples for pharmacokinetic sampling were taken frequently on the final day (Day 5) of each treatment period. Lack of pharmacokinetic interaction was defined as the ratio of geometric mean (GMR) and 90% confidence interval (CI) for combination:monotherapy being within the range 0.80–1.25. Results: Coadministration with metformin had no effect on vildagliptin AUC0–24 (GMR, 0.94; 90% CI 0.90, 0.99) although there was an 18% decrease in vildagliptin Cmax (GMR 0.82; 90% CI 0.73, 0.91). Coadministration with vildagliptin had no effect on metformin Cmax (GMR 1.04; 90% CI 0.94, 1.16). but caused a 15% increase in AUC0–24 (GMR 1.15; 90% CI 1.06, 1.25). Both monotherapies and combination therapy were well tolerated. Seven patients reported a total of 10 adverse events; none was serious. Conclusions: Coadministration of vildagliptin and metformin had a small effect on the pharmacokinetics of each drug in patients with type 2 diabetes; however, this is not likely to be clinically relevant. This small, open-label trial suggests that vildagliptin could be coadministered with metformin without any dose adjustment for either agent.
Association between Ambient Carbon Monoxide Levels and Hospitalizations for Congestive Heart Failure in the Elderly in 10 Canadian Cities

We examined the role that ambient air pollution plays in exacerbating cardiac disease by relating daily fluctuations in admissions to 134 hospitals for congestive heart failure in the elderly to daily variations in ambient concentrations of carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, ozone, and the coefficient of haze in Canada's 10 largest cities for the 11‐year period 1981–1991 inclusive. We adjusted the hospitalization time series for seasonal, subseasonal, and weekly cycles and for hospital usage patterns. The logarithm of the daily high‐hour ambient carbon monoxide concentration recorded on the day of admission displayed the strongest and most consistent association with hospitalization rates among the pollutants, after stratifying the time series by month of year and adjusting simultaneously for temperature, dew point, and the other ambient air pollutants. The relative risk for a change from 1 ppm to 3 ppm, the 25th and 75th percentiles of the exposure distribution, was 1.065 (95% confidence interval = 1.028–1.104). The regression coefficients of the other air pollutants were much more sensitive to simultaneous adjustment for either multiple pollutant or weather model specifications.
Dysplasia of the Systemic and Pulmonary Arterial System with Tortuosity and Lengthening of the Arteries: A New Entity, Diagnosed During Life, and Leading to Coronary Death in Early Childhood

This article describes the case of a boy, 1 year and 5 months old, with generalized tortuosity and lengthening of all major arteries, including the coronary arteries and the pulmonary artery. The early death of the patient was attributed to coronary insufficiency and multiple severe peripheral pulmonary stenoses.The pathological changes were confined to the elastic arteries and the first part of the muscular arteries. The wall of the aorta was thickened and there was an increase of the elastic fibers. The same changes were present in the main pulmonary artery. In the large muscular arteries, the characteristic changes were thickening of the intima with hyperplasia of the elastic fibers and degenerative fragmentation of the internal elastic membrane. The walls of the coronary arteries were thickened and their lumina were narrow.
Comparison of a finite-element multigroup discrete-ordinates code with Monte Carlo for radiotherapy calculations

Radiotherapy calculations often involve complex geometries such as interfaces between materials of vastly differing atomic number, such as lung, bone and/or air interfaces. Monte Carlo methods have been used to calculate accurately the perturbation effects of the interfaces. However, these methods can be computationally expensive for routine clinical calculations. An alternative approach is to solve the Boltzmann equation deterministically. We present one such deterministic code, Attila™. Further, we computed a brachytherapy example and an external beam benchmark to compare the results with data previously calculated by MCNPX and EGS4. Our data suggest that the presented deterministic code is as accurate as EGS4 and MCNPX for the transport geometries examined in this study.
X-chromosome activity in naive human pluripotent stem cells-are we there yet?

A major goal for stem cell research and its clinical applications is to derive high quality human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC) lines that recapitulate in culture the properties of epiblast cells from human blastocyst embryos. Recent developments in derivation and culture conditions have allowed establishing so-called naive pluripotent hPSCs, which mimic closely the in vivo state on multiple levels like gene expression and differentiation potential. An epigenetic hallmark associated with naive pluripotency in female mouse cells is the reactivation of the X-chromosome and it was believed that this would be also the case for human naive cells. However, new evidence accumulates showing that the situation is not quite as simple. In this perspective, we describe the latest developments on this question and focus in particular on two recent studies by Sahakyan et al. and Vallot et al. (1,2), as they describe for the first time in detail the X-chromosome state of naive hPSCs. They provide important ground-work for studying human X-chromosome dynamics in vitro and for using the epigenetic X-chromosome state as a diagnostic tool for further refining the culture conditions of naive hPSCs.
The Effects of Different Maceration Techniques on Nuclear DNA Amplification Using Human Bone

Abstract: Forensic anthropologists routinely macerate human bone for the purposes of identity and trauma analysis, but the heat and chemical treatments used can destroy genetic evidence. As a follow‐up to a previous study on nuclear DNA recovery that used pig ribs, this study utilizes human skeletal remains treated with various bone maceration techniques for nuclear DNA amplification using the standard Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) markers. DNA was extracted from 18 samples of human lower leg bones subjected to nine chemical and heat maceration techniques. Genotyping was carried out using the AmpFℓSTR® COfiler® and AmpFℓSTR® Profiler Plus® ID kits. Results showed that heat treatments via microwave or Biz/Na2CO3 in sub‐boiling water efficiently macerate bone and produce amplifiable nuclear DNA for genetic analysis. Long‐term use of chemicals such as hydrogen peroxide is discouraged as it results in poor bone quality and has deleterious effects on DNA amplification.
Warm Thoughts

Recent work on embodied cognition has shown that perceptions of interpersonal intimacy are conceptually grounded in physical temperature. For example, holding warm (vs. cold) beverages increases perceptions of social proximity (IJzerman & Semin, 2009), and social isolation promotes perception of temperature as colder (Zhong & Leonardelli, 2008). Such results suggest that temperature and intimacy are psychologically interchangeable (cf. Williams & Bargh, 2008). Activating one, through either physical experience or semantic priming (e.g., IJzerman & Semin, 2010), produces changes in the other. Such results are also reminiscent of classic work on the importance of temperature for attachment bonds (Harlow, 1958), which means that they may be useful for understanding attachment processes. Might individuals with high levels of attachment anxiety, given their enhanced sensitivity to intimacy cues (Mikulincer, Birnbaum, Woddis, & Nachmias, 2000), also show an enhanced sensitivity to temperature cues? In the present research, I tested the hypothesis that attachment anxiety positively predicts sensitivity to temperature cues, with the aim of integrating research on associations between temperature and intimacy with perspectives on adult attachment.
Evaluation of Analgesic Effect of Caudal Epidural Tramadol, Tramadol-Lidocaine, and Lidocaine in Water Buffalo Calves (Bubalus bubalis)

Aim of this study was to compare the analgesic effect of tramadol and a combination of tramadol-lidocaine with that produced by lidocaine administration in the epidural space in buffalo calves. In a prospective randomized crossover study, ten male buffalo calves were used to compare the epidural analgesic effect of tramadol (1 mg/kg) and tramadol-lidocaine combination (0.5 mg/kg and 0.11 mg/kg, resp.) with that produced by 2% lidocaine (0.22 mg/kg). Loss of sensation was examined by pin-prick test. Onset time, duration, and degree of analgesia and ataxia were recorded after each treatment. Heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), rectal temperature, and haematobiochemical parameters were recorded after all treatments. Time to onset and duration of analgesia, respectively, were as follows: tramadol 11 ± 2 min and 208 ± 15 min; tramadol-lidocaine 6 ± 2 min and 168 ± 9 min; lidocaine 4 ± 1 min and 67 ± 13 min. Onset time and duration were significantly longer with tramadol than the other treatments. Duration was significantly longer with tramadol-lidocaine than lidocaine. Ataxia was mildly observed in tramadol-lidocaine and was moderate in lidocaine. HR, RR, and rectal temperature did not differ significantly from baseline after any treatment. Haematobiochemical parameters returned to basal levels by 24 h after all treatments. This combination might be clinically useful to provide analgesia in buffalo for long-duration surgical procedures.
Relationships of Work and Practice Environment to Professional Burnout: Testing a Causal Model

Background: Research has established clear links between nurses' experience of professional burnout and many qualities of work environments but more work is needed to clarify interrelationships among aspects of complex organizational settings. Objective: To test a nursing worklife model that defined structured relationships among professional practice environment qualities and burnout. Methods: Hospital-based nurses in Canada (N = 8,597) completed an assessment of worklife (Nursing Work Index, NWI) and burnout (Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Service Scale, MBI-HSS). Results: A causal model was used to confirm the factor structure of the Professional Environment Scale (NWI-PES) on a subset of NWI items and the factor structure of the MBI-HSS. The analysis provided support for a structural model (nursing worklife model) linking the five worklife factors used to define a fundamental role for nursing leadership in determining the quality of worklife regarding policy involvement, staffing levels, support for a nursing model of care, and physician-nurse relationships. The analysis supported a direct path (negatively weighted) from staffing to emotional exhaustion and a direct path (positively weighted) from nursing model of care to personal accomplishment. Discussion: Implications for refining a model of worklife are discussed. Implications for enhancing the quality of worklife and supporting engagement with work are considered.
Antimicrobial resistance pattern of bacterial isolates from burn wounds in an Iranian University Hospital

Objective: About 73% of death cases in the first 5 days after burning are due to infection complications. The aim of this study was to identify the causing agents of infections in burn patients and the sensitivity pattern of them to the commonly used antimicrobials in an Iranian Burn center University Hospital. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, patients who were admitted to one of the Iranian Burn center University hospitals in 2009 and had nosocomial infection due to burn wound, whom received antimicrobial agents for therapeutic reasons, with a hospitalization period of more than 48 hours were enrolled. Gram stain analyses were performed to help identifying growing colonies. Differential tests for identification of pathogenic bacteria species were performed following primary tests. E-test strips of each antimicrobial were placed on the culture medium plate in order to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration Studied antimicrobials for isolated Gram-negative bacteria were meropenem, piperacillin/tazobactam, ceftriaxone, cotrimoxazole, and for Staphylococcus aureus, vancomycin, piperacillin/tazobactam, cotrimoxazole, and cephalothin. Findings: Only 16% of Pseudomonas aeruginosa species were sensitive to meropenem, and 13% were sensitive to piperacillin/tazobactam. Ten out of 29 Klebsiella species (34%) were sensitive to meropenem and piperacillin/tazobactam. All isolated strains of Staphylococcus aureus were sensitive to vancomycine while they were all resistant to cotrimoxazole. Conclusion: Pseudomona, Klebsiella and Staphylococcoci are the most common species causing burn infection in this medical center. Results showed the importance of limiting irrational use of wide-spectrum antimicrobials and recommends strict management of infections in burn injury centers.
Requirement of transforming growth factor beta-activated kinase 1 for transforming growth factor beta-induced alpha-smooth muscle actin expression and extracellular matrix contraction in fibroblasts.

OBJECTIVE Fibrosis is believed to occur through normal tissue remodeling failing to terminate. Tissue repair intimately involves the ability of fibroblasts to contract extracellular matrix (ECM), and enhanced ECM contraction is a hallmark of fibrotic cells in various conditions, including scleroderma. Some fibrogenic transcriptional responses to transforming growth factor beta (TGFbeta), including alpha-smooth muscle actin (alpha-SMA) expression and ECM contraction, require focal adhesion kinase/Src (FAK/Src). The present study was undertaken to assess whether TGFbeta-activated kinase 1 (TAK1) acts downstream of FAK/Src to mediate fibrogenic responses in fibroblasts. METHODS We used microarray, real-time polymerase chain reaction, Western blot, and collagen gel contraction assays to assess the ability of wild-type and TAK1-knockout fibroblasts to respond to TGFbeta1. RESULTS The ability of TGF to induce TAK1 was blocked by the FAK/Src inhibitor PP2. JNK phosphorylation in response to TGFbeta1 was impaired in the absence of TAK1. TGFbeta could not induce matrix contraction or expression of a group of fibrotic genes, including alpha-SMA, in the absence of TAK1. CONCLUSION These results suggest that TAK1 operates downstream of FAK/Src in mediating fibrogenic responses and that targeting of TAK1 may be a viable antifibrotic strategy in the treatment of certain disorders, including scleroderma.
A diagnostic and therapeutic scheme for a solitary cysticercus granuloma

Background: Solitary cysticercus granuloma (SCG) is one of the most common forms of presentation of neurocysticercosis (NCC). The diagnostic workup and management approach to this condition remain uncertain and controversial. Objective: To review evidence and develop a consensus approach to the diagnosis and treatment of SCG. Methods: A multidisciplinary expert group meeting was convened in order to review and discuss various aspects of management of patients with SCG. Evidence reviewed was classified and a consensus was evolved according to standard protocols. Results: SCG is commonly recognized on CT as an enhancing lesion measuring <20 mm. Further evaluation with MRI does not add much information. The use of antihelminthic agents (specifically, albendazole in combination with corticosteroids) and corticosteroids alone have been shown to improve radiologic resolution and seizure outcome in patients with SCG. However, the sizes of the effects are modest. By convention, all patients with SCG presenting with seizures are initiated on antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). Available evidence suggests that withdrawal of AEDs after complete resolution of the SCG is safe. There is a high risk of seizure relapse after AED withdrawal in patients with calcific residue following resolution of the SCG. The duration of AED prophylaxis in these individuals is unclear. Conclusions: It is desirable to have large, multicenter trials with sufficiently long follow-up, comparing outcomes with the use of antihelminthics with or without corticosteroids and corticosteroids alone in order to dissect out the benefits accrued due to each of these classes of drugs.
Multi-Rank Adaptive Beamforming

This paper presents a multi-rank generalization of the Capon beamformer to accommodate model mismatch in situations where the unknown signal of interest lies in a multidimensional subspace. By expanding the beamforming subspace robustness (or diversity) is achieved at the expense of resolution. The generalization involves solving a quadratically-constrained quadratic minimization problem, and designing a constraint matrix. Three strategies for designing this constraint matrix are discussed. Simulation examples are presented to demonstrate the performance of the multi-rank Capon beamformer
Molecular dynamics simulation on thermal conductivity of single-walled carbon nanotubes

The thermal conductivity of finite-length singlewalled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) was investigated using non-equilibrium molecular dynamics (NEMD) simulations. The temperature and diameter dependence of thermal conductivity was studied in this paper. In this work, thermal conductivity of SWCNTs with the length of 24.5nm and different diameter - (6, 6), (7, 7), (8, 8), (10, 10), (15, 15) was studied at different temperature range from 200-700K. It was noted that thermal conductivity of SWCNTs decreased as temperature increasing at the temperature range of 200-700K, and the thermal conductivity reduced more smoothly. Different from the SWCNTs of small diameter, SWCNTs with the lager diameter had higher thermal conductivity.
Olfactory disturbances as the initial or most prominent symptom of multiple sclerosis.

two day history of headache, nausea, vomiting, and urinary and faecal incontinence. She had a fever of 39 2°C, a blood pressure of 92/48 mmHg, and a pulse of 98 beats/min. General examination showed mild diffuse lower abdominal tenderness. She was drowsy, but obeyed first order commands, and was localising pain, with mild nuchal rigidity, photophobia, and a pale right disc with a right afferent pupillary defect. Eye movements were normal other than a partial right sixth nerve palsy. She showed left sided hyperreflexia and a left
Carbon Catabolite Repression of Sucrose Utilization in Staphylococcus xylosus: Catabolite Control Protein CcpA Ensures Glucose Preference and Autoregulatory Limitation of Sucrose Utilization

Sucrose utilization in Staphylococcus xylosus is dependent on two genes, scrA and scrB; encoding a PTS permease and a sucrose phosphate hydrolase, respectively. The genes are encoded on separate loci and are transcribed from two promoters, PscrA and PscrB, both of which are controlled by the repressor ScrR by binding to the operator sequences OA and OB. In the scrA promoter region, a catabolite-responsive element (cre), operator for the global catabolite control protein CcpA, is also present, but its contribution to scrA regulation has not been determined. Using an integrative promoter probe plasmid, the activities of the promoters PscrA and PscrB were determined under different growth conditions. Both promoters are induced by sucrose and induction is prevented when glucose is also present. Without a functional CcpA, glucose-mediated prevention of induction is lost, clearly demonstrating that CcpA ensures hierarchical sugar utilization with glucose as preferred substrate. Measurements of promoter activities in the absence of a functional ScrR repressor indicated that CcpA also acts upon the operators OA and OB, albeit not as efficiently as on the genuine cre in PsrcA. Besides determining the choice of the carbon source, CcpA has a second effect on sucrose gene expression. When sucrose is the sole carbon source, sucrose catabolism activates carbon catabolite repression and CcpA prevents full induction of the sucrose utilization genes by partially repressing the scrA promoter. Thus, CcpA-dependent regulation serves as a built-in autoregulatory device to restrict sucrose uptake.