Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Gender-Related Differences in the Physiology of the Stratum Corneum

Background: Only few studies on gender-related differences in skin physiology have been performed – and they provided conflicting results. Objective: In the present study, the effect of gender on the physiology of the stratum corneum was studied. Methods: The physiological parameters transepidermal water loss, pH value, hydration and sebum content were determined on the flexor forearms of 6 female and 6 male volunteers. In addition, stratum corneum samples, removed by tape stripping, were studied for amount, spectroscopic properties, protein content, and mass. Results: The skin of women was characterized by a significantly higher pH value (5.6 ± 0.4) than that of men (4.3 ± 0.4, p < 0.05). Protein absorption was the only other parameter significantly dependent on gender (p < 0.05). Both effects might be caused by differences in human biology, such as hormonal status. Conclusion: Therefore, the gender of the volunteers should be considered in dermatologic studies.
Comparison of heart rate and QTc duration in patients of cirrhosis of liver with non-cirrhotic controls.

OBJECTIVE To compare QTc duration and Heart Rate (HR) in patients with cirrhosis with non-cirrhotic controls. DESIGN Cross-sectional analytical study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY Civil Hospital and Lyari General Hospital, Karachi, from March 2004 to February 2006. PATIENTS AND METHODS Confirmed patients of cirrhosis were selected and allocated to Group-I. An equal number of non-cirrhotic patients were taken as control and were allocated to Group-II. ECG was recorded and values of HR and QTc were calculated. Comparison of increased frequency of HR and prolongation of QTc were done using Chi-square test or Fisher's Exact Test with significance level at <or= 0.05. ROC curves of HR and QTc were plotted for the presence of cirrhosis. RESULTS Seventy-eight confirmed patients of cirrhosis of liver were inducted in Group-I with same number of non-cirrhotic patients as control in Group-II. The mean +/- SD of QTc of Group-I was 0.438 +/- 0.015 sec and that in Group-II was 0.432 +/- 0.010 sec and that for HR in Group-I and II were 78.34 +/- 12.15 and 74.98+/-8.03 b/min respectively. The mean QTc and HR values were significantly more in Group-I as compared to Group-II with p = 0.006 and p = 0.043 respectively. CONCLUSION Means of both HR and QTc were significantly higher in cirrhotic patients as compared with non-cirrhotic controls.
Tubal sterilization and risk of cancer of the endometrium.

OBJECTIVE Surgical sterilization is a common method of contraception among U.S. women. Most surgical sterilizations are tubal ligations, but few studies have investigated their potential impact on endometrial cancer risk. METHODS A case-control study included 405 women diagnosed with endometrial cancer at 5 U.S. medical centers between 1987 and 1990 and 297 age-, race-, and location-matched controls who were identified by random-digit-dialing. Questionnaires ascertained information on tubal sterilization, and logistic regression models generated odds ratios (ORs) to estimate relative risk. RESULTS The OR and 95% confidence interval for tubal sterilization, which was reported by 47 cases and 40 controls, was 0.9 (0.6-1.4) before adjustment and 1. 4 (0.8-2.4) after adjustment for age, parity, and oral contraceptive use. Age at surgery, years since surgery, or calendar years of surgery were not associated with endometrial cancer, and associations did not vary according to parity or stage of disease at diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS Tubal sterilization is not substantially associated with endometrial cancer.
A Convergent Nonconforming Adaptive Finite Element Method with Quasi-Optimal Complexity

In this paper, we prove convergence and quasi-optimal complexity of a simple adaptive nonconforming finite element method. In each step of the algorithm, the iterative solution of the discrete system is controlled by an adaptive stopping criterion, and the local refinement is based on either a simple edge residual or a volume term, depending on an adaptive marking strategy. We prove that this marking strategy guarantees a strict reduction of the error, augmented by the volume term and an additional oscillation term, and quasi-optimal complexity of the generated sequence of meshes.
Mechanisms of Schistosoma mansoni egg excretion: Parasitological observations in immunosuppressed mice reconstituted with immune serum

Summary CBA mice which had been deprived of their T cells by a combination of adult thymectomy and injection of rabbit anti‐mouse thymocyte serum failed to excrete as many Schistosoma mansoni eggs in their faeces as immunologically intact controls. This failure of parasite egg excretion was not obviously attributable to any marked change in the amount of faecal matter produced, or to a change in the size of the worm burden, or to the number or distribution of eggs in the tissues as a result of T‐cell deprivation. S. mansoni eggs freshly isolated from T‐cell‐deprived mice and injected intravenously into normal animals, induced lung granulomas which were the same size as those induced by injection of eggs from normal donors. The rate of S. mansoni egg excretion was not affected by the density of eggs in the tissues, in as much as there was a linear relationship between the number of tissue‐bound eggs and the number of eggs detected in the faeces. Treatment of infected mice with the immunosuppressant hydrocortisone acetate also induced a marked reduction in the rate of egg excretion. Injections of serum derived from chronically infected normal mouse donors increased the rate of egg excretion in both T‐cell‐deprived and steroid‐treated mice, but the degree of reconstitution obtained by daily serum injections was only partial relative to normal egg excretion rates. Treatment of infected normal or deprived serum‐treated mice with cobra venom factor to reduce serum complement C3 levels had no effect on the rate of S. mansoni egg excretion.
Mechanisms of mutation formation with long‐wave ultraviolet light (UVA)

Long‐wave ultraviolet (UV) A light is able to damage DNA, to cause mutations, and to induce skin cancer, but the exact mechanisms of UVA‐induced mutation formation remain a matter of debate. While pyrimidine dimers are well established to mediate mutation formation with shortwave UVB, other types of DNA damage, such as oxidative base damage, have long been thought to be the premutagenic lesions for UVA mutagenesis. However, pyrimidine dimers can also be generated by UVA, and there are several lines of evidence that these are the most important premutagenic lesions not only for UVB‐ but also for UVA‐induced mutation formation. C→T transition mutations, which are generated by pyrimidine dimers, are called UV‐signature mutations. They cannot be interpreted to be solely UVB‐induced, as they are induced by UVA as well. Furthermore, there is no consistent evidence for a separate UVA‐signature mutation that is only generated with UVA. We hypothesize that a weaker anti‐mutagenic cellular response, but not a different type of DNA damage, may be responsible for a higher mutation rate per DNA photoproduct with UVA, as compared with UVB.
Analysis of AC Losses in a CS Conductor Sample for the ITER Project

The cable-in-conduit conductors (CICCs) that will be adopted for the ITER central solenoid (CS) coil of the ITER machine have been extensively characterized in the SULTAN facility in Villigen, Switzerland, by means of DC and AC tests. The AC measurements were performed superimposing a sinusoidal magnetic field, with the amplitude of 0.2–0.3 T and frequency in the range of 0.1–5 Hz, to a background constant magnetic flux density of 2 T and 9 T. This paper describes the analysis of the AC loss SULTAN tests of one CICC, identical to that used for the manufacturing of the CS Insert tested in 2015 in the CSMC facility in Naka, Japan. The numerical analysis of these experiments was performed by means of the THELMA code, by developing three models at different levels of discretization (sub-cables of different cabling stages and strands). The comparison between measured and computed losses allows one to estimate the interstrand contact conductances of the tested sample. The model provides a useful insight on the time and space distribution of the power dissipated in the conductor.
Metabolism of naphthalene, 2-methylnaphthalene, salicylate, and benzoate by Pseudomonas PG: regulation of tangential pathways

Naphthalene is metabolized by Pseudomonas PG through 1,2-dihydroxynaphthalene and salicylate to catechol, which is then degraded by the meta pathway. 2-Methylnaphthalene, but not 1-methylnaphthalene, also serves as a growth substrate and is metabolized by the same route, through 4-methylcatechol. The same nonspecific meta pathway enzymes appear to be induced by growth on either naphthalene or 2-methylnaphthalene. The level to which 2-hydroxymuconic semialdehyde hydrolase is induced is low and probably of no metabolic significance. Growth on salicylate or catechol, both intermediates of naphthalene degradation, or benzoate results in induction of the ortho pathway, the alternative route for catechol dissimilation. No induction of 1,2-dihydroxynaphthalene oxygenase was found in salicylate-grown cells. Anaerobic growth on a succinate-nitrate medium in the presence of various inducers indicates that cis, cis-muconate, or one of its metabolites is the inducer of the ortho pathway enzymes. The inducer or inducers of the early enzymes of naphthalene degradation and of the meta pathway enzymes must be an early intermediate of the naphthalene pathway above salicylate.
Extremal laws for the real Ginibre ensemble

The real Ginibre ensemble refers to the family of n n matrices in which each entry is an independent Gaussian random variable of mean zero and variance one. Our main result is that the appropriately scaled spectral radius converges in law to a Gumbel distribution as n! 1. This fact has been known to hold in the complex and quaternion analogues of the ensemble for some time, with simpler proofs. Along the way we establish a new form for the limit law of the largest real eigenvalue.
Clinical evidence of cross‐sensitivity between thiosalicylic acid, a contact allergen, and piroxicam, a photoallergen

We were not able to identify the sensitizing component(s) of oleyl polypeptide. In fact, varying attempts were carried out by means of pretreatment with trichloroacetic acid and ether, which gave an emulsion subsequently filtered on Sepac. The extract obtained was studied by column chromatography. It turned out that oleyl polypeptide was a mixture not resolvable by means of the system adopted. Since triethanolamine fatty acid polypeptides are widely used as surfactants and stabilizers is shampoos, cleansers and some medicaments (8), it is possible that the induction phase of the sensitization could occur from the use of such products, as reported by de Padova et a! (5) and by Valsecchi & Cainelli (6).
Technical and functional assessment of 10 office spirometers: A multicenter comparative study.

STUDY OBJECTIVES To investigate the technical properties and user friendliness of 10 office spirometers devoted for use in general practice, and to compare the results with standard diagnostic spirometers. DESIGN Multicenter study. SETTING Ten spirometer models were tested independently in three pulmonary function laboratories and by three general practitioners (GPs). MEASUREMENTS The laboratories studied the technical quality of the office spirometers in terms of precision and agreement with standard spirometers, whereas the three GPs assessed their user friendliness. The spirometers tested were as follows: Spirobank (Medical International Research; Rome, Italy); Simplicity (Puritan Bennett; Pleasanton, CA); OneFlow (Clement Clarke International; Harlow, Essex, UK); Datospir 70 (Sibelmed; Barcelona, Spain); Datospir 120 (Sibelmed); SpiroPro (SensorMedics; Yorba Linda, CA); EasyOne (NDD; Zurich, Switzerland); MicroLoop (Micro Medical; Chatham, Kent, UK); SpiroStar (Medikro; Kuopio, Finland); and Pneumotrac (Vitalograph; Maids Moreton, Buckingham, UK). FVC and FEV1 were measured in 399 subjects. User friendliness was assessed by the three GPs using a questionnaire. RESULTS The precision of FEV1 of the office and standard spirometers was comparable, but three office spirometers had > 200 mL limits of precision for FVC. Some devices presented a proportional difference on the FEV1 with standard spirometers, underestimating the small values. The limits of agreements between standard and some office spirometers for FEV1/FVC ratio was > 10%. The overall user friendliness was estimated as good. CONCLUSIONS The global quality and user friendliness of several office spirometers make them acceptable for the detection of COPD, although differences between the laboratory and some of the office spirometers values suggest that the misclassification rates may be increased when using some models of office spirometers.
EFFECT OF SUPPLEMENTATION OF LINSEED OIL , VITAMIN E AND SELENIUM IN DIET ON MEAT QUALITY OF GROWING RABBITS

The objective of our study was to examine the fatty acid (FA) profile and the selenium (Se) and vitamin E contents of meat from rabbits fed on a diet enriched with linseed oil, vitamin E and Se. Supplemented diets were enriched with 180 mg vitamin E/kg, whereas Se content was increased from 0.1 to 0.46 mg/kg and 3% linseed oil replaced the same amount of sunflower oil. Rabbits were weaned at the age of 5 weeks, and the supplementation (S) was fed for 1 (S1), 2 (S2), 3 (S3) or 4 weeks (S4) in the pre-slaughter period. The control group (C) was fed a non-supplemented diet throughout the study. Rabbits were slaughtered at 11 weeks of age and Longissimus dorsi (MLD) meat and thigh (HL) were sampled. The ∑n-6 FA content of HL of S4 was significantly lower than the other groups (P<0.01); this decrease was continuous and statistically significant (P<0.001) in the MLD for all groups. The n-3 FA content increased, compared to the C group, of 2.5, 4.8, 4.8 and 3.6-fold in the HL, and of 2.0, 2.8, 3.1 and 3.7-fold in the MLD, for groups S1, S2, S3 and S4, respectively. The larger increment was found between groups C and S4 for C20:5 n-3 (increased by 5.9 and 5.7-fold), which was followed by C18 n-3 (increased by 4.0 and 4.7-fold), by C22:5 n-3 (increased by 2.8 and 3.1-fold), and by C22:6 n3 (increased by 2.0 and 2.5-fold) in the HL and MLD, respectively. The n-6/n-3 ratio decreased after 2 weeks of S feeding from 14.8 and 13.6 to 4.5 and 4.2, and in the S4 group to 2.3 and 2.4, for HL and MLD respectively. The vitamin E content increased significantly from C and S3 and S4 only in the MLD, whereas in the HL its concentration was lower in the S3 group compared to C and S1. In the meat of the S diet-fed-rabbits the Se concentration increased parallelly with the feeding time interval. Compared to the C group, S1, S2, S3 and S4 groups the Se increment was of 1.4, 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0-fold in the HL, and of 1.4, 1.4, 1.6 and 2.0-fold in the MLD. Results have proven that 2-3 weeks of dietary supplementation of linseed oil, vitamin E and Se increases significantly their content in the rabbit meat, improving the functional value of the rabbit meat.
Efficient and Reliable Dissemination in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks by Location Extrapolation

Data dissemination is an important service in mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs). The main objective of this paper is to present a dissemination protocol, called locBcast, which utilizes positioning information to obtain efficient dissemination trees with low-control overhead. This paper includes an extensive simulation study that compares locBast with selfP, dominantP, fooding, and a couple of probabilistic-/counter-based protocols. It is shown that locBcast behaves similar to or better than those protocols and is especially useful in the following challenging environments: the message sizes are large, the network is dense, and nodes are highly mobile.
The First Community Health Centers: A Model of Enduring Value

Community health centers in the United States, first launched as a federal initiative in 1965, were rooted in models from South Africa, the American civil rights struggle, and a national commitment to address poverty. The first 2 centers, one serving a rural population in the Mississippi Delta and another a public housing project in Boston, incorporated such core principles as provision of primary care to a defined area or population; public health interventions addressing social determinants of health; emphasis on community participation; community empowerment leading to control of the new institutions; epidemiologic methods to identify problems and guide decisions; new combinations of clinical and public health personnel; and reduction of disparities in health and healthcare of the poor and minorities. The continuing relevance of these principles in today's greatly expanded health center network is reviewed.
Verbal Working Memory Load Affects Regional Brain Activation as Measured by PET

We report an experiment that assesses the effect of variations in memory load on brain activations that mediate verbal working memory. The paradigm that forms the basis of this experiment is the n-back task in which subjects must decide for each letter in a series whether it matches the one presented n items back in the series. This task is of interest because it recruits processes involved in both the storage and manipulation of information in working memory. Variations in task difficulty were accomplished by varying the value of n. As n increased, subjects showed poorer behavioral performance as well as monotonically increasing magnitudes of brain activation in a large number of sites that together have been identified with verbal working-memory processes. By contrast, there was no reliable increase in activation in sites that are unrelated to working memory. These results validate the use of parametric manipulation of task variables in neuroimaging research, and they converge with the subtraction paradigm used most often in neuroimaging. In addition, the data support a model of working memory that includes both storage and executive processes that recruit a network of brain areas, all of which are involved in task performance.
Cigarette smoking and hemagglutination inhibition response to influenza after natural disease and immunization.

Vaccination, illness, and smoking history were compiled for a young adult male population. The relationship of cigarette smoking to hemagglutination inhibition antibody response after exposure to a new antigen was assessed in serum specimens collected from 289 volunteers after the 1968 A2/Hong Kong/68 influenza epidemic. Titers were minimally increased among smokers who were sick compared with those of nonsmokers. Among smokers who remained well, titers were significantly increased, probably because of more frequent subclinical infection. The persistence of hemagglutination inhibition antibody after natural infection or vaccination with A2 antigens was significantly decreased among cigarette smokers, as were titers two weeks after vaccination. Serologic response to vaccination did not significantly differ between smoking groups. Smoking, vaccine history, and morbidity status during an influenza epidemic were significant factors in explaining variations in hemagglutination inhibition antibody titers.
Comparison of sampling methods for the assessment of indoor microbial exposure.

UNLABELLED Indoor microbial exposure has been related to allergy and respiratory disorders. However, the lack of standardized sampling methodology is problematic when investigating dose-response relationships between exposure and health effects. In this study, different sampling methods were compared regarding their assessment of microbial exposures, including culturable fungi and bacteria, endotoxin, as well as the total inflammatory potential (TIP) of dust samples from Danish homes. The Gesamtstaubprobenahme (GSP) filter sampler and BioSampler were used for sampling of airborne dust, whereas the dust fall collector (DFC), the electrostatic dust fall collector (EDC), and vacuum cleaner were used for sampling of settled dust. The GSP assessed significantly higher microbial levels than the BioSampler, yet measurements from both samplers correlated significantly. Considerably higher levels of fungi, endotoxin, and TIP were found in the EDC compared with the DFC, and regarding fungi, the EDC correlated more strongly and significantly with vacuumed dust than the DFC. Fungi in EDC and vacuum dust correlated most strongly with airborne dust, and in particular, the measurements from the EDC associated well with those from GSP. Settled dust from the EDC was most representative of airborne dust and may thus be considered as a surrogate for the assessment of indoor airborne microbial exposure. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS Significant discrepancies between sampling methods regarding indoor microbial exposures have been revealed. This study thus facilitates comparison between methods and may therefore be used as a frame of reference when studying the literature or when conducting further studies on indoor microbial exposure. Results also imply that the relatively simple EDC method for the collection of settled dust may be used as an alternative to otherwise tedious and time-consuming airborne dust sampling.
Changes in Blood Markers of Serotoninergic Activity Following High Intensity Cycle Ergometer Exercise

The purpose of this study was to measure concentrations of adrenaline (A), noradrenaline (NE), free tryptophan (f-Trp), prolactin (PRL), nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA), and blood lactate following 30 s of high-intensity cycle ergometer exercise. Adrenaline (A) and NE concentrations increased immediately postexercise (P < 0.05) and returned to levels observed at baseline 24 h later. Plasma f-Trp concentration decreased by 23.5% immediately following exercise (P < 0.05). There were no changes observed in serum concentrations of PRL. Plasma NEFA concentrations decreased immediately following exercise by 46% (P < 0.05) and returned to baseline values 24 h later. Whole blood lactate concentrations increased immediately post exercise (P < 0.05), and were higher than those measured 24 h later (P < 0.05). These findings indicate that blood markers of serotoninergic activity were unaltered by a single 30 s bout of maximal cycling.