Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Relationship between lipid peroxidation or carcinoembryonic antigen and risk factors for non-communicable diseases in women at midlife and beyond.

BACKGROUND Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) constitute leading cause of morbidity, disability and premature mortality. Oxidative processes are involved in the pathogenesis of NCDs. OBJECTIVES To investigate the relationship between lipid peroxidation (LPO), an index of oxidative damage to membrane lipids, or carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), a tumor marker, and potential risk factors for NCDs in women at midlife and beyond. METHODS Data on lifestyle, such as dietary habits, smoking, physical activity, etc. and medical history, were assessed by a questionnaire in 323 female outpatients of the Regional Centre of Menopause and Osteoporosis - Outpatient Department of Endocrinology, Lodz (Poland), at midlife and beyond. Blood serum LPO and CEA levels, as well as anthropometric measurements were evaluated. RESULTS Positive correlations between LPO level and body mass or body mass index or hip circumference were found. LPO level was increased in women who did not declare regular menstrual cycles. CEA level was increased in women who smoked (and positively correlated with duration of smoking), who consumed pickled food every day and over-consumed animal fats, who had not breastfed in the past, as well as in women with malignancy in anamnesis. Logistic regression analysis has revealed that LPO constitutes the independent positive determinant, whereas CEA constitutes the independent negative determinant, of obesity. Moreover, CEA was independently associated with malignancy in anamnesis, cigarette smoking and animal fat over-consumption. CONCLUSION Both LPO and CEA are independently associated with certain modifiable risk factors for NCDs.
Hepatic venous congestion after living donor liver transplantation with right lobe graft: two-phase CT findings.

PURPOSE To describe and determine clinical importance of two-phase computed tomographic (CT) findings of hepatic venous congestion after living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) with right lobe graft. MATERIALS AND METHODS Forty-eight patients underwent two-phase (hepatic arterial phase and portal venous phase [PVP]) CT at 1, 2, and 4 weeks after LDLT. Images were evaluated for hepatic attenuation difference in areas of hepatic venous congestion, opacification of hepatic and peripheral portal veins in those areas, and changes in findings at follow-up CT. CT findings were correlated with serum bilirubin level. Fisher exact test and mixed model were applied. Histopathologic specimens were obtained in six patients. RESULTS Thirty patients (62%) had attenuation difference in segments V and VIII of right lobe transplant at initial CT scanning. Opacification of hepatic or peripheral portal veins was seen in 17 (63%) and 27 (100%) hyperattenuating areas of congestion during PVP and in none and three (19%) of 16 hypoattenuating areas, respectively. At 4-week follow-up CT, attenuation difference decreased in volume in 11 of 16 patients with hypoattenuation during PVP. All 14 patients with hyperattenuation showed no change in volume, but attenuation difference had decreased or disappeared. Histopathologic specimens showed evidence of hepatic venous congestion in all six patients. Hypoattenuation was seen at PVP CT in all three patients with severe hepatic venous congestion at histopathologic examination. Serum bilirubin level was significantly different between patients with hypoattenuation and those with hyperattenuation during PVP (P =.035) and between patients with hypoattenuation and those without attenuation difference (P =.009). CONCLUSION Areas possibly related to hepatic venous congestion after LDLT have variable attenuation at CT; decreased enhancement during PVP correlates with increased postoperative serum bilirubin level, which indicates severity of hepatic venous congestion.
Comparation Interferon-Inducing and Antiviral Properties of 2-Amino-5-Bromo-6-Methyl-4-Pyrimidinol (U-25,166), Tilorone Hydrochloride, and Polyinosinic-Polycytidylic Acid

2-Amino-5-bromo-6-methyl-4-pyrimidinol (U-25,166), polyinosinic acid-polycytidylic acid [poly(I:C)], and tilorone HCl induced high levels of serum interferon in mice. Each consequently protected mice against infection with several viruses. After daily injection of inducer, mice developed a reduced interferon response (hyporeactivity) to each compound. However, hyporeactivity developed more slowly to U-25,166 and poly(I:C) than to tilorone HCl. After onset of hyporeactivity, 5 to 6 days without each inducer were required before normal serum interferon levels could be stimulated. Animals also developed a hyporeactive state as a consequence of Semliki Forest or encephalomyocarditis virus infections. By day 2 of either infection, mice had a suppressed interferon response to tilorone HCl, but remains responsive to poly(I:C) or U-25,166 until day 4. In vivo, poly(I:C) stimulated interferon production in a variety of cells and organs, whereas the tilorone HCl and U-25,166 responses involved a nonlymphoid component of the reticuloendothelial system. In vitro, poly(I:C) induced interferon in a variety of murine cells, U-25,166 was active in murine thymus and spleen organ cultures, and tilorone was inactive. These data indicate that U-25,166 is an interesting low-molecular-weight interferon inducer.
99mTc-labeled ubiquicidin scintigraphy

Summary Aim: Hip prosthesis implantation has witnessed a significant increase in recent years. Despite the advantages of this surgical procedure, it has some complications, the most serious of which is prosthetic infection. This study was conducted to investigate the feasibility of 99mTc-UBI scintigraphy in detection of infectious foci in painful hip prosthesis. UBI (Ubiquicidin 29–41) is an antimicrobial peptide fragment with the ability to target the bacterial colony directly. Patients, methods: 34 patients, aged 20–79 years, with painful hip prosthesis were included. 99mTc-UBI scan and three phase bone scan were performed and two nuclear medicine specialists interpreted the UBI scans with and without bone scan results at hand. Both qualitative and semiquantitative methods were used to interpret the 30 minute post injection images. The patients were actively followed up. According to the surgical findings, microbiological culture and active follow up, final diagnosis was made. Results: 24 negative and 10 positive UBI scans were recorded. The sensitivity, specificity, negative and positive predictive values and accuracy of the study were all 100%. Bone scan did not have any influence on UBI interpretation. We were able to achieve excellent differentiation between infected and non-infected prostheses with a cut off value of 1.8 for target to non target (T/NT) ratio. No adverse effects were noticed following UBI scan. Conclusion: Based on the findings, the authors believe that 99mTc-UBI scintigraphy, with its high sensitivity and specificity, provides the physician with an excellent tool for differentiating infection from aseptic loosening of hip prostheses. Using this radiopharmaceutical, it is possible to obtain highly accurate results only 30 minutes after the beginning of the study.
Fractal and stereological analyses of insulin-induced rat exocrine pancreas remodelling.

BACKGROUND The effect of insulin on the endocrine pancreas has been the subject of extensive study, but quantitative morphometric investigations of the exocrine pancreas are scarce. This study was therefore undertaken to investigate the effect of acute and chronic insulin administration (two doses, 0.4 IU and 4 IU) on the morphology of rat pancreas acini. MATERIALS AND METHODS Semi-fine sections stained with methylene blue and basic fuchsine or haematoxylin and eosin-stained 5-micrometer thick paraffin sections were used for fractal and stereological analysis of exocrine acini. Acute insulin treatment, independent of applied doses increased fractal dimension in line with decreased lacunarity of pancreas acini. Chronic low dose insulin decreased fractal dimension and increased lacunarity of pancreas acini, but a high dose had the opposite effect. The volume densities (Vv) of cytoplasm, granules and nucleus are affected differently: acute low dose and high chronic dose significantly decreased granules Vv, and in line increased cytoplasmic Vv, whereas other examined structures showed slight changes without statistical significance. RESULTS The results obtained from this investigation indicate that insulin treatment induced structural remodelling of the exocrine pancreas suggesting a substantial role of insulin in its functioning. CONCLUSIONS Additionally, we showed that fine architectural changes in acini could be detected by fractal analysis, suggesting this method as an alternative or addition to routine stereology.
Local intraoral autologous bone harvesting for dental implant treatment: alternative sources and criteria of choice.

Dental implants are established alternatives for replacing missing teeth. In case of alveolar bone resorption, implant placement may be prevented unless the volume of hard tissues is increased before or during implantation. Autologous bone graft is still regarded as the "gold standard" in alveolar reconstruction. , but many factors may influence the final outcome. The success of intraoral bone grafts, in fact, depends, among other factors, on the choice of donor graft material as well as on how the material is handled. The evidence supporting the use of autogenous intramembranous bone with or without the use of barrier membranes is briefly reviewed. The rational of donor site choice is also presented. Advantages and disadvantages of different harvesting site are discussed.
Mortality and morbidity in Birmingham during the 1976 heatwave.

The total deaths by day in Birmingham were analysed in relation to several weather variables from 24 June to 8 July, 1976 when the mean daily dry-bulb temperature remained continuously above 22°C, and for the preceding and following cooler fortnights. The average number of daily deaths reported to the Registrar increased significantly by nearly 20 per cent during this hot fortnight and by over 30 per cent from 3 to 5 July. The excess deaths were mainly of elderly men and women with cardiovascular or cerebrovascular disease. The daily mortality correlated best with the maximum daily drybulb temperature and then with the mean temperature compared with the five other weather variables tested. The mean wet-bulb temperature on days one and three before death was the only measure of humidity tested to correlate significantly with daily deaths. The smaller number of these deaths which were also reported to the Coroner were analysed separately. There was a threefold and statistically significant increase during the heatwave in deaths of women aged 70 to 79, but deaths of men in this age group and of men and women over 80 did not increase. There was a notable increase in deaths from violence of men aged 20 to 39. Morbidity in the working population, judged by new sickness benefit claims, did not increase during the hot weather. There were significantly more hospital emergency admissions from 24 June to 8 July 1976 than for the same period in 1975 or 1974. Episodes of sickness in two large Birmingham general practices showed a modest increase.
Performance measures from 10 years of breast screening in the Ontario Breast Screening Program, 1990/91 to 2000

Performance measures for the Ontario Breast Screening Program (OBSP) by age group, time period and screening modality from 10 years of breast screening were evaluated. Data were available from routine information collected on 283 962 women aged 50 to 69 screened at 73 screening centres between 1 July 1990 and 31 December 2000. Although, initially, participation in the OBSP was low, this rate increased over time and the majority of women screened returned for subsequent screening. Abnormal call rates increased slightly over the time period, were higher in women aged 50 to 59, and for women with mammographic abnormalities. Detection rates of invasive cancer were higher and prognostic features of cancers were better for women age 60 to 69, and those referred by mammography. Along with the prognostic features of cancers, the benign to malignant surgical ratio and diagnostic interval improved over the time periods and for women aged 60 to 69. Greater proportions of women had shorter diagnostic intervals and were more likely to have a diagnosis of breast cancer after surgery if they were referred by both clinical breast examination and mammography. Although some enhancements of the programme are necessary, the OBSP met or exceeded Canadian targets for most performance measures.
A hierarchical model for the ages of Galactic halo white dwarfs

In astrophysics, we often aim to estimate one or more parameters for each member object in a population and study the distribution of the fitted parameters across the population. In this paper, we develop novel methods that allow us to take advantage of existing software designed for such case-by-case analyses to simultaneously fit parameters of both the individual objects and the parameters that quantify their distribution across the population. Our methods are based on Bayesian hierarchical modelling which is known to produce parameter estimators for the individual objects that are on average closer to their true values than estimators based on case-by-case analyses. We verify this in the context of estimating ages of Galactic halo white dwarfs (WDs) via a series of simulation studies. Finally, we deploy our new techniques on optical and near-infrared photometry of ten candidate halo WDs to obtain estimates of their ages along with an estimate of the mean age of Galactic halo WDs of [11.25, 12.96] Gyr. Although this sample is small, our technique lays the ground work for large-scale studies using data from the Gaia mission.
Assessment for deaths in out-of-hospital heroin overdose patients treated with naloxone who refuse transport.

UNLABELLED Naloxone frequently is used to treat suspected heroin and opioid overdoses in the out-of-hospital setting. The authors' emergency medical services system has operated a policy of allowing these patients, when successfully treated, to sign out against medical advice (AMA) in the field. OBJECTIVES To evaluate the safety of this AMA policy. METHODS This is a retrospective review of out-of-hospital and medical examiner (ME) databases over a five-year period. The authors reviewed all ME cases in which opioid overdoses were listed as contributing to the cause of death. These cases were cross-compared with all patients who received naloxone by field paramedics and then refused transport. The charts were reviewed by dates, times, age, sex, location, and ethnicity when available. RESULTS There were 998 out-of-hospital patients who received naloxone and refused further treatment and 601 ME cases of opioid overdose deaths. When compared by age, time, date, sex, location, and ethnicity, there were no cases in which a patient was treated by paramedics with naloxone within 12 hours of being found dead of an opioid overdose. CONCLUSIONS Giving naloxone to patients with heroin overdoses in the field and then allowing them to sign out AMA resulted in no identifiable deaths within this study population.
GAW10: Simulated family data for a common oligogenic disease with quantitative risk factors

GAW10 Problem 2 involves a simulated common disease defined by imposing a threshold, T, on a quantitative trait, Q1. Every individual with a value of Q1 ≥ T (where T = 40) is defined as affected. Also thought to be associated with the disease as intervening variables are four other quantitative traits (Q2, Q3, Q4, and Q5) and an environmental factor (EF). Each individual has genotypes for 367 highly polymorphic markers on 10 chromosomes. The tasks for GAW10 were to characterize the genetic and environmental contribution to Q1 (and the disease), Q2, Q3, Q4, and Q5, and to localize any single genes that have detectable effects. Multiple replicates provided an opportunity to address questions of power and false positive rates. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Enhancing Landscape Connectivity in Detroit through Multifunctional Green Corridor Modeling and Design

Maintaining habitats is important for plants and animals. However, habitats in urban environments are fragmented due to urbanization. The fragmentation is a barrier for wildlife movement because landscape connectivity is decreased in urban environments. Previous studies in conservation ecology paid more attention to natural landscapes than urban environments. Other studies aimed at improving urban landscape connectivity were not practical because of restrictions in fully developed urban environments. This study provides practical conservation methods by taking advantage of existing vacant land to develop green infrastructure and increase landscape connectivity. The city of Detroit is chosen as a case study because of its large potential to redevelop existing vacant land. The paper includes examining structural and functional connectivity by FRAGSTATS and Conefor, selecting core patches in ArcGIS, identifying potential corridors by the least-cost-path and evaluating corridors by gravity model. By comparing data before and after corridor built-up, results show that census tract-level connectivity metrics would be improved by developing proposed corridors. To further link research results with the city of Detroit, multi-functional green infrastructure typologies for vacant land re-development are provided. This paper provides a systematic and scientific method for developing vacant lands and other available lands by green infrastructure network, which benefits both humans and wildlife. By developing green infrastructure network, both social connection and ecology connection will be achieved. Furthermore, this paper connects research with real world situations, providing a founded and practical strategy for other cities having similar vacant lands situation to Detroit to redevelop.
Antibodies to Infliximab and Risk of Infusion Reactions in Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Objectives:Antibodies to infliximab (ATIs) have been associated with a risk of infusion reactions in some studies of patients with inflammatory bowel disease. However, many factors, such as immunomodulators and dosing schedule, may influence this association. The aim of this article was to provide a pooled estimate of the risk of infusion reactions according to patients’ ATI status and analyze the relationship of immunomodulators to this risk. Design:Public databases were searched for eligible studies. Quality assessment was undertaken for all studies using Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation criteria. Raw data from studies meeting inclusion criteria were pooled for meta-analysis of effect estimates. Sensitivity analysis was performed for all outcomes. Funnel plot was performed to assess for publication bias. Results:Eight studies met the inclusion criteria, with a pooled total of 1351 subjects. Seven of the 8 studies had a high risk of bias in at least 1 quality domain. The cumulative data indicated that there was a higher risk ratio (RR) of any acute infusion reaction (RR 2.4; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.5–3.8, P < 0.001) and severe infusion reactions (RR 5.8, 95% CI 1.7–19, P = 0.004) in patients with ATIs when compared with patients without ATIs. The RR of delayed hypersensitivity reactions was not significantly different between ATI+ and ATI− patients (RR 2.8, 95% CI 0.2–33, P = 0.4). Patients prescribed immunomodulators during maintenance infliximab therapy had a reduction in their risk for ATI development (RR 0.6, 95% CI 0.4–0.9, P = 0.02) and infusion reactions (RR 0.6, 95% CI 0.4–0.8, P < 0.001). Conclusions:The presence of ATIs is associated with a significantly higher risk of acute infusion reactions, but not delayed hypersensitivity reactions, in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Concomitant immunomodulators reduce this risk.
Keratoacanthoma: a tumor in search of a classification

Keratoacanthoma (KA) is a unique epidermal tumor characterized by rapid, abundant growth and a spontaneous resolution, with the classic presentation in middle-aged, light-skinned individuals in hair-bearing, sun-exposed areas. Since the 1950s, controversies have arisen about the real nature of the tumor. Is this exophytic lesion a pseudomalignancy with self-regressing potential? Or a pseudo-benign tumor progressing into an invasive squamous cell carcinoma (SCC)?
Prognosis for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients who receive long-term oxygen therapy.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the survival of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) receiving long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT). DESIGN Retrospective study of 124 patients (76 males and 48 females, mean age 68 years) using LTOT from 1990 to 1996, studied with lifetable analyses. Seventy-six patients with PaO2 < or = 7.3 kPa, and 48 patients with PaO2 > or = 7.4 kPa were allocated to Groups I and II, respectively. RESULTS The groups had similar FEV1 and FVC levels. The 2- and 5-year survival rates were 73% and 50%, respectively, in Group I, and 78% and 40% in Group II. PaCO2 and FVC were predictors of survival in Group II. Women lived significantly longer than men (Group I: P < 0.01, relative risk [RR] 0.341) but had better FEV1 (P < 0.01). Survival was significantly poorer for patients in the general hospital (P < 0.05, RR 2.096) compared with those at a university hospital. CONCLUSION Survival during LTOT was similar in patients with and without severe hypoxaemia at the same level of loss of lung function. Survival was poorer when LTOT was not prescribed and followed in a department of respiratory medicine.
Multidisciplinary health care professionals' perceptions of the use and utility of a symptom assessment system for oncology patients.

PURPOSE Despite growing implementation of electronic symptom assessment in oncology settings, few studies have described how standardized symptom assessment can enhance multidisciplinary care. The Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS) is a validated measure of symptom burden that has been adopted by Ontario's cancer centers to assess symptoms for patients with cancer. This study examines the perceived value of the ESAS among clinical teams and barriers to its use in enhancing multidisciplinary care. METHODS Self-completed surveys were administered online to clinical teams at various disease-site clinics at a cancer center in Ontario, Canada. RESULTS One hundred twenty-eight nurses, oncology physicians, and allied health professions completed the survey. The majority of nurses (89%), physicians (55%), and other providers (57%) reported referring to ESAS in clinic either "always" or "most of the time. " Many of those who either "never" or "rarely" looked at ESAS scores reported finding it more efficient to talk to the patient or do their own assessment to determine symptom issues. Although most of the nurses and allied health professions found the ESAS to enhance patient care, help patients to articulate their symptom issues, and facilitate follow-up with patients with past symptom issues, only approximately half of the physicians agreed with these statements. CONCLUSION Variable adoption of the ESAS by physicians may limit its potential to improve both interprofessional communication and comprehensive symptom control. To encourage consistent use, a symptom assessment system needs to be complementary to the perceived roles of all multidisciplinary team members, including physicians.