Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Rethinking Communication in the E-health Era

There is substantial epidemiological evidence that widespread adoption of specific behavior changes can significantly improve population health. Yet, health communication efforts, while well intentioned, have often failed to engage people to change behavior within the complex contexts of their lives. `E-health communication', health promotion efforts that are mediated by computers and other digital technologies, may have great potential to promote desired behavior changes through unique features such as mass customization, interactivity and convenience. There is growing initial evidence that e-health communication can improve behavioral outcomes. However, we have much to learn about whether the technical promise of e-health communication will be effective within the social reality of how diverse people communicate and change in the modern world. This article examines current evidence concerning e-health communication and evaluates opportunities for e-health applications.
An insight into adolescents' knowledge and attitudes on low back pain and its occurrence

Background/aims This study aims to assess adolescents' level of knowledge and attitudes towards low back pain (LBP) as this is required for effective prevention. As knowledge and attitude can influence occurrence, this study correlates adolescents' level of knowledge and attitude towards LBP with its occurrence in Mangalore, India. Methods A cross-sectional survey with a self-administered questionnaire was conducted among 605 students from four pre-university colleges to evaluate their knowledge of, attitude to, and the occurrence of LBP. Results This study revealed a moderate level of knowledge (45.39%) and a good attitude (61.95%) towards LBP. The lifetime prevalence of LBP among adolescents is 30.5%. No correlation was found between knowledge and the occurrence (χ2=5.03, P=0.17) but a correlation exists between adolescents' attitudes and the occurrence of LBP (χ2=14.64, P=0.002). Conclusion Even with a moderate knowledge and a good attitude, the number of adolescents with LBP is considerable in this re.
Chronic Pain: Management Strategies That Work

The perception of pain is a complex interaction that involves sensory, psychological, and environmental factors. Thus, patient selection for various treatment options depends heavily on a rigorous multidisciplinary assessment of the foregoing factors and careful weighing of the relative contributions of the factors in these three major areas. A consideration of the potential for methods to reduce pain is of obvious importance to the patient, as is the likely persistence of such pain relieving effects over time. Of equal importance should be a consideration of the likely contribution to the restoration of physical and mental function; it is very likely that more than one measure will be required to meet these objectives (1). It is important to emphasize that there has been a major “sea change” in the conceptual framework on which consideration of the options for treatment of chronic pain is made. It is no longer appropriate to consider a “hard wired” system with a pure “stimulus response” relationship. Recent expansion of knowledge concerning peripheral and central sensitization has raised awareness of the plasticity of the nervous system, along with the multidimensional aspects of chronic pain. Thus it is crucial to consider the patient’s pain in the context of a bio-psycho-social model of pain. The use of temporary or permanent neural blockade techniques, neuroablative surgery, neurostimulation or other treatment methods based on the Descartes model of pain has a high chance that the patient will not only fail to achieve the desired end point but also has a significant chance of adverse outcome (1–3). This presentation will consider the use of various strategies in chronic pain, however applications in a cancer pain or acute pain setting will not be considered. Evidence Based Medicine and Chronic Pain
Fluconazole Susceptibility in Cryptococcus gattii Is Dependent on the ABC Transporter Pdr11

ABSTRACT Cryptococcus gattii isolates from the Pacific Northwest have exhibited higher fluconazole MICs than isolates from other sites. The mechanism of fluconazole resistance in C. gattii is unknown. We sought to determine the role of the efflux pumps Mdr1 and Pdr11 in fluconazole susceptibility. Using biolistic transformation of the parent isolate, we created a strain lacking Mdr1 (mdr1Δ) and another strain lacking Pdr11 (pdr11Δ). Phenotypic virulence factors were assessed by standard methods (capsule size, melanin production, growth at 30 and 37°C). Survival was assessed in an intranasal murine model of cryptococcosis. Antifungal MICs were determined by the M27-A3 methodology. No differences in key virulence phenotypic components were identified. Fluconazole susceptibility was unchanged in the Mdr1 knockout or reconstituted isolates. However, fluconazole MICs decreased from 32 μg/ml for the wild-type isolate to <0.03 μg/ml for the pdr11Δ strain and reverted to 32 μg/ml for the reconstituted strain. In murine models, no difference in virulence was observed between wild-type, knockout, or reconstituted isolates. We conclude that Pdr11 plays an essential role in fluconazole susceptibility in C. gattii. Genomic and expression differences between resistant and susceptible C. gattii clinical isolates should be assessed further in order to identify other potential mechanisms of resistance.
Polymyxin Susceptibility in Pseudomonas aeruginosa Linked to the MexXY-OprM Multidrug Efflux System

ABSTRACT The ribosome-targeting antimicrobial, spectinomycin (SPC), strongly induced the mexXY genes of the MexXY-OprM multidrug efflux system in Pseudomonas aeruginosa and increased susceptibility to the polycationic antimicrobials polymyxin B and polymyxin E, concomitant with a decrease in expression of the polymyxin resistance-promoting lipopolysaccharide (LPS) modification loci, arnBCADTEF and PA4773-74. Consistent with the SPC-promoted reduction in arn and PA4773-74 expression being linked to mexXY, expression of these LPS modification loci was moderated in a mutant constitutively expressing mexXY and enhanced in a mutant lacking the efflux genes. Still, the SPC-mediated increase in polymyxin susceptibility was retained in mutants lacking arnB and/or PA4773-74, an indication that their reduced expression in SPC-treated cells does not explain the enhanced polymyxin susceptibility. That the polymyxin susceptibility of a mutant strain lacking mexXY was unaffected by SPC exposure, however, was an indication that the unknown polymyxin resistance ‘mechanism’ is also influenced by the MexXY status of the cell. In agreement with SPC and MexXY influencing polymyxin susceptibility as a result of changes in the LPS target of these agents, SPC treatment yielded a decline in common polysaccharide antigen (CPA) synthesis in wild-type P. aeruginosa but not in the ΔmexXY mutant. A mutant lacking CPA still showed the SPC-mediated decline in polymyxin MICs, however, indicating that the loss of CPA did not explain the SPC-mediated MexXY-dependent increase in polymyxin susceptibility. It is possible, therefore, that some additional change in LPS promoted by SPC-induced mexXY expression impacted CPA synthesis or its incorporation into LPS and that this was responsible for the observed changes in polymyxin susceptibility.
Clinical and Microbiological Characteristics of Breakthrough Candidemia in Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Recipients in a Japanese Hospital

ABSTRACT Few data on breakthrough candidemia (BC), defined as candidemia that develops on administration of antifungal agents (AFAs), in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (allo-HSCT) recipients are available. The medical and microbiological records of recipients of an allo-HSCT obtained between December 2008 and December 2014 were reviewed. Of 768 allo-HSCT cases, 26 developed BC. Among the 26 causative strains, 22 strains were stored and identified by sequencing. The following species were isolated: Candida parapsilosis (9 strains), C. glabrata (4 strains), C. guilliermondii (3 strains), and other Candida species (6 strains). The AFAs being used when BC developed were micafungin (17 cases), liposomal amphotericin B (5 cases), itraconazole (2 cases), and voriconazole (2 cases). All 17 cases who developed BC during micafungin administration were administered 150 mg/day of micafungin. The susceptibilities of the causative Candida species to the administered AFAs when breakthrough occurred ranged from susceptible to resistant. Especially, 85% of the Candida species that caused BC during micafungin administration were susceptible to micafungin. Additionally, 75% of the strains were wild type for susceptibility to the administered AFAs when breakthrough occurred. Systemic steroid administration and a longer severe neutropenic phase (≥5 days) were independent risk factors for BC (P = 0.016 and P = 0.015, respectively). BC developed in allo-HSCT recipients even when they received a sufficient dose of AFA, including micafungin, to which the causative Candida species were susceptible and/or had wild-type susceptibility in vitro. Systemic steroid administration and a longer severe neutropenic phase were host-based factors associated with BC.
How Do You Feel?

Self-esteem has been demonstrated to predict health and well-being in a number of samples and domains using retrospective reports, but little is known about the effect of self-esteem in daily life. A community sample with asthma (n = 97) or rheumatoid arthritis (n = 31) completed a self-esteem measure and collected Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) data 5x/day for one week using a palmtop computer. Low self-esteem predicted more negative affect, less positive affect, greater stress severity, and greater symptom severity in daily life. Naturalistic exploration of mechanisms relating self-esteem to physiological and/or psychological components in illness may clarify causal relationships and inform theoretical models of self-care, well-being, and disease management.
Ceftaroline versus Isolates from Animal Bite Wounds: Comparative In Vitro Activities against 243 Isolates, Including 156 Pasteurella Species Isolates

ABSTRACT More than 5 million Americans are bitten by animals, usually dogs, annually. Bite patients comprise ∼1% of all patients who visit emergency departments (300,000/year), and approximately 10,000 require hospitalization and intravenous antibiotics. Ceftaroline is the bioactive component of the prodrug ceftaroline fosamil, which is FDA approved for the treatment of acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSIs), including those containing methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). There are no in vitro data about the activity of ceftaroline against Pasteurella multocida subsp. multocida and Pasteurella multocida subsp. septica, other Pasteurella spp. , or other bite wound isolates. We therefore studied the in vitro activity of ceftaroline against 243 animal bite isolates. MICs were determined using the broth microdilution method according to CLSI guidelines. Comparator drugs included cefazolin, ceftriaxone, ertapenem, ampicillin-sulbactam, azithromycin, doxycycline, and sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim (SMX-TMP). Ceftaroline was the most active agent against all 5 Pasteurella species, including P. multocida subsp. multocida and P. multocida subsp. septica, with a maximum MIC of ≤0.008 μg/ml; more active than ceftriaxone and ertapenem (MIC90s, ≤0.015 μg/ml); and more active than cefazolin (MIC90, 0.5 μg/ml) doxycycline (MIC90, 0.125 μg/ml), azithromycin (MIC90, 0.5 μg/ml), ampicillin-sulbactam (MIC90, 0.125 μg/ml), and SMX-TMP (MIC90, 0.125 μg/ml). Ceftaroline was also very active against all S. aureus isolates (MIC90, 0.125 μg/ml) and other Staphylococcus and Streptococcus species, with a maximum MIC of 0.125 μg/ml against all bite isolates tested. Ceftaroline has potential clinical utility against infections involving P. multocida, other Pasteurella species, and aerobic Gram-positive isolates, including S. aureus.
Coping with the Challenges of Recovery from Stroke

Recovery from stroke poses significant physical and psychological challenge. To develop appropriate psychological support interventions, increased understanding of the challenge and coping behaviours that promote adjustment is critical. This study presents results from a series of focus groups with stroke support group members. The evolution of challenges faced during hospitalization, rehabilitation and into the longer term is described. The active, social and cognitive coping strategies reported as helpful are explored. In the long term, acceptance of life changes, engagement in new roles and activities and the presence of social support appear to be key factors in post-stroke adjustment.
Social Representations of Female Orgasm

This study examines women's social representations of female orgasm. Fifty semi-structured interviews were conducted with British women. The data were thematically analysed and compared with the content of female orgasm-related writing in two women's magazines over a 30-year period. The results indicate that orgasm is deemed the goal of sex with emphasis on its physiological dimension. However, the women and the magazines graft onto this scientifically driven representation the importance of relational and emotive aspects of orgasm. For the women, particularly those who experience themselves as having problems with orgasm, the scientifically driven representations induce feelings of failure, but are also resisted. The findings highlight the role played by the social context in women's subjective experience of their sexual health.
Computation of penetration measures for convex polygons and polyhedra for graphics applications

Algorithms to compute measures of penetration between convex polygonal objects in /spl Rfr//sup 2/ and convex polyhedral objects in /spl Rfr//sup 3/ are presented. The algorithms are analyzed for their asymptotic complexity. Details of implementation on a single processor machine are given. Parallelization of the algorithms is discussed.
Beyond Expressive Writing

Pennebaker's expressive writing paradigm has helped to introduce the benefits of writing to health care. However, research in expressive writing has been largely dominated by an experimental and quantitative approach that does not take into account critical methodologies and approaches in health psychology, the increasingly complex ways in which creative writing is now being used in health care settings or recent research in the broader field of creative writing and personal development, health and well-being (developmental creative writing). This article contrasts expressive writing theories and methodologies with those evolving in the relatively new field of developmental creative writing. It investigates a number of theoretical and methodological problems with the expressive writing model and argues for a more critical approach to future research.
Distributed Energy Management in Smart Grid With Wind Power and Temporally Coupled Constraints

This paper investigates the problem of distributed energy management for both generation and demand sides in a smart grid by formulating the economic dispatch and demand response in a united framework. Our main contribution is to formulate a social welfare maximization problem for a more practical scenario by taking wind power, and temporally coupled constraints of the demands into account. The complexity lies in the nonquadratic cost function of wind power, the temporally coupled constraints of the demands, and the nonconvexity of the optimization problem. Meanwhile, a smart grid has to guarantee privacy and accommodates plug-and-play features. Aiming at these challenges, we first relax an equality constraint to obtain a new convex optimization problem. Because of the coupling in the constraint, the Lagrange duality method is then adopted to decompose the problem into subproblems for generators and demands, which are regarded as agents. As a result, each agent solves its subproblem by exchanging information with only neighbor agents, and coordinates with others using the global information discovered by a distributed finite-time consensus algorithm. We also prove the convergence and optimality of the proposed distributed energy management algorithm (DEMA). Finally, simulations are performed on the IEEE 39-bus system to illustrate the performance of our DEMA.
Objectification Processes and Disordered Eating in British Women and Men

The present study extended the applicability of Objectification Theory to predict disordered eating in British women and men. Participants completed measures of self-objectification, body surveillance, body shame and disordered eating. Path analyses indicated strong support for the theoretical model in women, with body shame fully mediating the relation between self-objectification and disordered eating. Patterns were similar for men with two exceptions; body shame increased with lower self-objectification and disordered eating was directly increased with higher self-objectification. Findings extend Objectification Theory as a useful framework for identifying sociocultural influences on disordered eating in British women and men.
Using Message Logs and Resource Use Data for Cluster Failure Diagnosis

Failure diagnosis for large compute clusters using only message logs is known to be incomplete. Recent availability of resource use data provides another potentially useful source of data for failure detection and diagnosis. Early work combining message logs and resource use data for failure diagnosis has shown promising results. This paper describes the CRUMEL framework which implements a new approach to combining rationalized message logs and resource use data for failure diagnosis. CRUMEL identifies patterns of errors and resource use and correlates these patterns by time with system failures. Application of CRUMEL to data from the Ranger supercomputer has yielded improved diagnoses over previous research. CRUMEL has: (i) showed that more events correlated with system failures can only be identified by applying different correlation algorithms, (ii) confirmed six groups of errors, (iii) identified Lustre I/O resource use counters which are correlated with occurrence of Lustre faults which are potential flags for online detection of failures, (iv) matched the dates of correlated error events and correlated resource use with the dates of compute node hang-ups and (v) identified two more error groups associated with compute node hang-ups. The pre-processed data will be put on the public domain in September, 2016.
Healthy-eater Identity and Self-efficacy Predict Healthy Eating Behavior: A Prospective View

Identity and Self-efficacy Theories were used to examine the relationship between healthy-eater identity, self-efficacy for healthy eating and healthy eating. Measures of healthy-eater identity, perception of healthy eating, nutrition knowledge, self-efficacy for both intake of fruits and vegetables and foods of low nutritional value were completed by 101 university students and staff. Two weeks later, participants recalled recent consumption of (a) fruits and vegetables and (b) foods of low nutritional value. For both eating outcomes, healthy-eater identity was a significant predictor after controlling for nutrition knowledge. The addition of self-efficacy improved prediction in the case of both eating outcomes.
Life Impact of Urologic Pain Syndromes

In order to explore the personal experience of chronic urologic pain we asked patients to journal in their own words their daily symptoms and the effects of those symptoms on home/family life, working life and social life. Journal responses were independently reviewed by three researchers and major themes summarized following an inductive approach. Three major themes were identified concerning symptoms, personal and interpersonal effects of symptoms and related role limitations. Fatigue emerged as a newly recognized symptom that may benefit from treatment. Role limitations are mediated by potentially modifiable personal and interpersonal effects currently not addressed in urologic pain treatment paradigms.
Aminophthalocyanine-Mediated Photodynamic Inactivation of Leishmania tropica

ABSTRACT Photodynamic inactivation of Leishmania spp. requires the cellular uptake of photosensitizers, e.g., endocytosis of silicon(IV)-phthalocyanines (PC) axially substituted with bulky ligands. We report here that when substituted with amino-containing ligands, the PCs (PC1 and PC2) were endocytosed and displayed improved potency against Leishmania tropica promastigotes and axenic amastigotes in vitro. The uptake of these PCs by both Leishmania stages followed saturation kinetics, as expected. Sensitive assays were developed for assessing the photodynamic inactivation of Leishmania spp. by rendering them fluorescent in two ways: transfecting promastigotes to express green fluorescent protein (GFP) and loading them with carboxyfluorescein succinimidyl ester (CFSE). PC-sensitized Leishmania tropica strains were seen microscopically to lose their motility, structural integrity, and GFP/CFSE fluorescence after exposure to red light (wavelength, ∼650 nm) at a fluence of 1 to 2 J cm−2. Quantitative fluorescence assays based on the loss of GFP/CFSE from live Leishmania tropica showed that PC1 and PC2 dose dependently sensitized both stages for photoinactivation, consistent with the results of a 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) cell viability assay. Leishmania tropica strains are >100 times more sensitive than their host cells or macrophages to PC1- and PC2-mediated photoinactivation, judging from the estimated 50% effective concentrations (EC50s) of these cells. Axial substitution of the PC with amino groups instead of other ligands appears to increase its leishmanial photolytic activity by up to 40-fold. PC1 and PC2 are thus potentially useful for photodynamic therapy of leishmaniasis and for oxidative photoinactivation of Leishmania spp. for use as vaccines or vaccine carriers.
The role of rumination in affective distress in people with a chronic physical illness

The role of maladaptive cognitive content among individuals with chronic physical illness has been acknowledged in cognitive models. Rumination has been documented as a key predictor of depression, and to a lesser extent of anxiety, in non-clinical samples. This paper provides a preliminary discussion of the potential role of rumination as a causal and maintaining factor for emotional distress in the setting of chronic physical illness. Although a number of methodological limitations exist, the current research on rumination may provide a useful framework for the extension of existing cognitive models in chronic illness.
The Impact of Gender and Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenal Activity on Depressive Symptoms Following Surgical Stress

The impact of gender and cortisol levels on depression following planned surgery was examined in 95 men and women. Patients were assessed prior to surgery and at one and three months following surgery. Higher cortisol levels conferred greater risk for depression at one and three months following surgery. This effect was stronger for men than women at one month following surgery, but did not differ between genders at three months post-surgery. Results support a mechanistic role of HPA alterations in depression following a surgical stressor that differs in strength between men and women.