Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Immunization status of children under 7 years in the Vikas Nagar area, North India.

BACKGROUND Immunization has played a major part in reducing childhood morbidity and mortality worldwide. Knowledge of vaccine coverage and reasons for poor uptake are essential for the achievement of herd immunity. METHOD An observational study was carried out in September 2003, in 10 villages in the Vikas Nagar area around Herbertpur Christian Hospital in Uttaranchal, North India. We aimed to assess vaccination rates and potential socio-cultural, economic and religious influences on vaccine uptake. A total of 470 families were visited and details of immunization status of the oldest child under 7 years in each household were taken. Age range of children included was 9 months to 6 years. RESULTS The overall primary immunization rate was 77.2%, children receiving the first booster was 73.1% and children receiving the second booster was 58.4%. The most common vaccinations to be missed were the diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus at 18 months and diphtheria, tetanus at 5 years. Measles was the most frequently omitted vaccination in the primary course (19.4%). Poor education was the most frequent reason given by parents for failure to vaccinate. Immunization rates did not differ according to gender of the child. A lower immunization rate was found in Muslim families (65.4% primary) compared with Hindu (85.2%). Parental literacy had a beneficial effect such that up to 20% more children were immunized. CONCLUSION These results highlight the potential importance of literacy, and religious or cultural influences on the success of the Expanded Programme of Immunization, and will have important implications for areas with similar cultural demographics.
Congenital blepharophimosis, joint contractures, and muscular hypotonia

NARROW PALPEBRAL FISSURES (blepharophimosis) , multiple joint contractures, and abnormality of skeletal muscle have been described in several children.1-9 It has been suggested that these abnormalities may represent a syndrome,lO but it seems unlikely that this is a homogeneous group. In some patients these abnormalities were present a t birth while in others they appeared later. Some of these children exhibited m y o t o n i a 2 ~ ~ ~ 9 and other abnormalities, e.g., skeletal dysgenesk2 The purpose of this communication is to describe the clinical and laboratory investigation of an infant whose prominent clinical signs included blepharophimosis, joint contractures, and muscular hypotonia.
Gender Specific Association between Serum Fibroblast Growth Factor 23/α-Klotho and Coronary Artery and Aortic Valve Calcification.

AIM Fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) and α-Klotho have been recently identified to play a crucial role in calcium/phosphate metabolism. We herein investigated the possible relation between serum FGF23/α-Klotho levels and coronary artery calcification (CAC) and aortic valve calcification (AVC). METHODS Among subjects with diagnosed or suspected coronary artery disease (CAD), CAC and AVC were estimated via the Agatston score of 320-detector computed tomography images, and serum FGF23 and α-Klotho levels were measured. RESULTS In total, 157 subjects were enrolled (75 women and 82 men). We performed logistic regression using CAC as a dependent variable; the highest FGF23 tertile (＞ 52.5 pg/mL) was significantly positively associated with CAC with an odds ratio of 6.61 versus the lowest FGF23 tertile (＜ 35.3 pg/mL) in women after the adjustment for potential confounding variables including age, renal function, hypertension, statin use, diuretic use, and calcium/phosphate metabolism related factors. In addition, the highest α-Klotho tertile (＞ 561 pg/mL) was significantly associated with AVC with an odds ratio of 6.31 versus the lowest α-Klotho tertile (＜ 306 pg/mL) in men after adjusting for the same variables. On the other hand, the association between FGF23 and CAC/AVC in men or that between α-Klotho and CAC/AVC in women was nonsignificant. CONCLUSION Among subjects with diagnosed or suspected CAD, serum FGF23 was positively associated with CAC in women and serum α-Klotho was positively associated with AVC in men independent of the confounding variables, including the renal function and calcium/phosphate metabolism-related factors.
Data Quality Issues in Environmental Sensing with Smartphones

This paper presents the results of a study about the performance and, consequently, challenges of using smartphones as data gatherers in mobile sensing campaigns to environmental monitoring. It is shown that there are currently a very large number of devices technologically enabled for tech-sensing with minimal interference of the users. On other hand, the newest devices seem to broke the sensor diversity trend, therefore making the approach of environmental sensing in the ubiquitous computing scope using smartphones sensors a more difficult task. This paper also reports on an experiment, emulating different common scenarios, to evaluate if the performance of environmental sensor-rich smartphones readings obtained in daily situations are reliable enough to enable useful collaborative sensing. The results obtained are promising for temperature measurements only when the smartphone is not being handled because the typical use of the device pollutes the measurements due to heat transfer and other hardware aspects. Also, we have found indicators of data quality issues on humidity sensors embedded in smartphones. The reported study can be useful as initial information about the behaviour of smartphones inner sensors for future crowdsensing application developers.
Assessing Knowledge Sharing Behaviour among Employees in SMEs: An Empirical Study

The purpose of this study is to present and tests the key factors of knowledge sharing behavior of employees in the SMEs in Malaysia. A survey was designed and interview conducted with employees in the manufacturing companies from Melaka and Johor states. Survey questions designed from the literature to examine employee perceptions of all variables were identified. Data from 305 respondents were used to validate the measures and test our research model. The results of the study show that reward system, culture, trust and technology are the four key factors which influencing the knowledge sharing behavior in the firms. Finally, the recommendation for HR executives are discussed in this research may help the firms in guiding their efforts to build knowledge based firms in Malasia.
Clarithromycin Inhibits NF-κB Activation in Human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells and Pulmonary Epithelial Cells

ABSTRACT Macrolide antibiotics modulate the production of proinflammatory cytokines in vivo and in vitro. Transcription of the genes for these proinflammatory cytokines is regulated by nuclear factor κB (NF-κB). We examined whether or not clarithromycin inhibits the activation of NF-κB induced by tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) or staphylococcal enterotoxin A (SEA) in human monocytic U-937 cells, a T-cell line (Jurkat), a pulmonary epithelial cell line (A549), and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). Flow cytometry revealed that clarithromycin suppresses NF-κB activation induced by TNF-α in U-937 and Jurkat cells in a concentration-related manner. Western blot analysis also demonstrated that clarithromycin inhibits NF-κB activation induced by TNF-α in U-937, Jurkat, and A549 cells and PBMC and by SEA in PBMC. Western blot analysis of cytoplasmic extracts of A549 cells revealed that this inhibition is not linked to preservation of expression of the IκBα protein. The chloramphenicol acetyltransferase assay indicated that NF-κB-dependent reporter gene expression is suppressed in U-937 cells pretreated with clarithromycin. These findings are consistent with the idea that clarithromycin suppresses the production of proinflammatory cytokines via inhibition of NF-κB activation.
Does Calcium in Drinking Water Modify the Association Between Trihalomethanes and the Risk of Death from Colon Cancer?

The objectives of this study were (1) to examine the relationship between total trihalomethanes (TTHM) levels in public water supplies and mortality attributed to colon cancer and (2) to determine whether calcium levels (Ca) in drinking water modify the effects of TTHM on risk to develop colon cancer. A matched cancer case-control study was used to investigate the relationship between the risk of death attributed to colon cancer and exposure to TTHM in drinking water in 53 municipalities in Taiwan. All colon cancer deaths in the 53 municipalities from 1998 through 2007 were obtained from the Bureau of Vital Statistics of the Taiwan Provincial Department of Health. Controls were deaths from other causes and were pair-matched to the cancer cases by gender, year of birth, and year of death. Each matched control was selected randomly from the set of possible controls for each cancer case. Data on TTHM levels in drinking water were collected from the Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration. Information on the levels of Ca in drinking water was obtained from the Taiwan Water Supply Corporation. The municipality of residence for cancer cases and controls was presumed to be the source of the subject's TTHM and Ca exposure via drinking water. Relative to individuals whose TTHM exposure level was <4.9 ppb, the adjusted OR (95% CI) for colon cancer was 1.14 (1.01–1.28) for individuals who resided in municipalities served by drinking water with a TTHM exposure ≥4.9 ppb. Data demonstrated evidence of an interaction between drinking-water TTHM concentrations and Ca intake via drinking water. Our findings showed that the correlation between TTHM exposure and risk of colon cancer development is influenced by Ca in drinking water. Increased knowledge of the interaction between Ca and TTHM in reducing colon cancer risk will aid in public policymaking and standard setting.
Mood states when playing alone or in cooperation: two unequal motor and affective experiences.

This study analyzed the effect of the variables: game type (individual or cooperative), competition, gender, students' association type and beginning-end of the session on the university students' moods. 201 Physical Education college students participated. After having received an initial instruction concerning moods, participants executed 2 sessions involving cooperative games and 2 individual games. The POMS scale was filled in both at the beginning and at the end of each session. The data were analyzed using generalized estimating equations. Among the main findings, we can point out that positive emotional states increase significantly when cooperative games are applied, with competition. Negative moods are more present in individual games, with no competition, when practiced by men and when they are organized in separate groups. All these factors contribute towards knowing the influence of play on the training of the future teachers of a modern physical education, in which there is the intention of promoting such important aspects as socioemotional well-being and co-education.
NEUROPATHIC PAIN: REDEFINITION AND A GRADING SYSTEM FOR CLINICAL AND RESEARCH PURPOSES

I read the article by Treede et al.1 with interest. The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) definition of neuropathic pain—“pain from a lesion or dysfunction of the nervous system”—is inadequate as patients displaying pain behavior and sensorimotor phenomena without demonstrable neuropathophysiology lack evidence of disease. However, the clinical resemblance between patients with and without such evidence has been taken to indicate that both profiles are neuropathic, but the second profile is …
Distinct Roles of Multiple NDH-1 Complexes in the Cyanobacterial Electron Transport Network as Revealed by Kinetic Analysis of P700+ Reduction in Various ndh-Deficient Mutants of Synechocystis sp. Strain PCC6803

ABSTRACT While methyl viologen had only a small effect on P700+ rereduction kinetics after far-red pulses in KCN-treated wild-type Synechocystis sp. strain PCC6803 and an NdhF3/NdhF4 (NdhF3/F4)-defective mutant, it involved a rather slow P700+ rereduction in an NdhF1-defective mutant. This strongly indicates that (i) active electron flow from metabolites to plastoquinone is suppressed upon deletion of ndhF1 and (ii) photosystem 1-mediated cyclic electron transport is dependent on NdhF3/F4-type NDH-1 complexes.
Cerebrovascular reserve capacity in patients with occlusive cerebrovascular disease: assessment with dynamic susceptibility contrast-enhanced MR imaging and the acetazolamide stimulation test.

PURPOSE To quantitatively assess cerebrovascular reserve capacity in patients with occlusive cerebrovascular disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS In 21 symptomatic patients with occlusive cerebrovascular disease, magnetic resonance (MR) imaging was performed with a 1.5-T system. Before, during, and after a brief bolus injection of gadopentetate dimeglumine into the antecubital vain, a series of 32 rapid T2*-weighted gradient-echo images of two different sections were acquired simultaneously to measure the concentration-time-curves in the brain tissue and in the brain-feeding arteries. Principles of indicator dilution analysis were applied to compute regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) and volume. Each patient underwent two examinations, the first before and the second after acetazolamide stimulation. RESULTS In the asymptomatic hemisphere, a mean increase in rCBF value of 47.1% was observed after acetazolamide stimulation. In the affected areas of the symptomatic hemisphere, a statistically significantly reduced response to acetazolamide stimulation was found, indicating a severely compromised cerebrovascular reserve capacity. CONCLUSION MR imaging with the described techniques provides quantitative information about the cerebrovascular reserve capacity in patients with occlusive cerebrovascular disease.
The Evolution of Selfing in Arabidopsis thaliana

Unlike most of its close relatives, Arabidopsis thaliana is capable of self-pollination. In other members of the mustard family, outcrossing is ensured by the complex self-incompatibility (S) locus,which harbors multiple diverged specificity haplotypes that effectively prevent selfing. We investigated the role of the S locus in the evolution of and transition to selfing in A. thaliana. We found that the S locus of A. thaliana harbored considerable diversity, which is an apparent remnant of polymorphism in the outcrossing ancestor. Thus, the fixation of a single inactivated S-locus allele cannot have been a key step in the transition to selfing. An analysis of the genome-wide pattern of linkage disequilibrium suggests that selfing most likely evolved roughly a million years ago or more.
Growth factors induce early pre‐replicative changes in senescent human fibroblasts.

As human fibroblasts in culture senesce their response to platelet‐derived growth factor (PDGF) becomes attenuated. To clarify at which level such cells are blocked in the pre‐replicative part of the cell cycle, we have analysed PDGF‐induced pre‐replicative events in senescent (phase III) cultures. We found that phase III cells retain a normal number of PDGF receptors and that these are functional with regard to PDGF‐induced receptor autophosphorylation. Phase III cells also respond to PDGF by rapid actin reorganization and increased levels of c‐fos and c‐myc mRNA, similar to growth‐arrested phase II fibroblasts. However, the expression of the nuclear antigen K‐67, which in phase II cell is induced in S‐phase and continues to be expressed throughout the cell cycle, is not induced in phase III cells in response to PDGF. We conclude that phase III human fibroblasts, although blocked with regard to proliferation, still retain a functional growth factor receptor system, and display early responses when exposed to growth factors, such as changes in the cytoskeleton and the expression of proto‐oncogenes.
The longitudinal course of posttraumatic stress disorder symptom clusters among war veterans.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to examine the long-term trajectories and interrelationships of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom clusters (intrusion, avoidance, and hyperarousal) in clinical and nonclinical groups of war veterans. METHOD Six hundred seventy-five Israeli veterans from the 1982 Lebanon War were assessed. The clinical group consisted of 369 who had combat stress reaction (CSR) during the war, and the nonclinical group consisted of 306 veterans with no antecedent CSR. The 2 groups were matched in age, education, military rank, and assignment. They were prospectively evaluated 1, 2, and 20 years after the war. RESULTS The clinical group endorsed a higher number of symptoms than the nonclinical group, both cross-sectionally and across time. In both the clinical and nonclinical groups, the clusters of intrusion, avoidance, and hyperarousal were interrelated at any given point in time and across 20 years. In both groups, avoidance was found to be a particularly stable symptom cluster over time. Finally, hyperarousal levels 1 year after the war were found to play an important role in both groups, as they predicted future avoidance and intrusion symptoms. CONCLUSIONS The findings of this study suggest that PTSD is not a monolithic disorder, as symptom clusters differ in several important aspects. Also, the course and severity of symptoms differ between clinical and nonclinical groups. Finally, practitioners are encouraged to focus on the identification and treatment of early hyperarousal due to its prominent role in the development of other PTSD symptoms.
Study of Wear Behavior of Aluminum Alloy Matrix Nanocomposites Fabricated by Powder Technology

In the present work, the dry sliding wear behavior of Al-12wt%Si matrix nanocomposites reinforced with single addition of 4wt. % Al 2O3 or 4wt. %TiO2 nanoparticles, and with hybrid addition of 4wt% (Al 2O3 +TiO2) nano particles is investigated. All nanocomposites samples were fabricated by powder technology by mechanical milling of the base alloy (Al-12wt%Si) powder and nanopowders of Al 2O3 and TiO2, followed by cold pressing at 100bar and sintering at 520 o C for 90min. Vickers hardness test was done by using Vickers hardness tester. Archimedes technique was used to measure the density of sintered samples and porosity calculated as physical tests of sintered samples. Also AFM, SEM were used to investigate the morphology of mixed powders and nanocomposites samples. Pin – on Disc wear tests were carried out at room temperature under dry sliding conditions with using different normal loads and sliding times. Worn surface micrographs were investigated based on the optical and scanning electron microscopy observations of wear tracks and wear debris morphology. It has been found that nanocomposite with 4wt% Al2O3 nanoparticles shows the highest hardness than other nanocomposites. It was observed that the wear rate or weight loss of the base alloy and nanocomposite samples increases with the increase in applied load and sliding time. But the nanocomposites samples showed lower wear rate than the base alloy within the same conditions .
Flecainide acetate: concentration-response relationships for antiarrhythmic and electrocardiographic effects.

In order to evaluate the concentration-response relationship for either antiarrhythmic or electrocardiographic effects, 13 patients with symptomatic, stable, premature ventricular contractions (> 100/hour) were selected, and flecainide was administered as a single oral dose (200 mg) and as chronic treatment (150 mg b.i.d. for 21 days). In both settings a Holter monitoring, serial electrocardiogram (ECG) tracings and serum samples for flecainide concentrations were obtained; the relationships between drug levels, antiarrhythmic efficacy, and ECG modifications were analysed. The results obtained indicated that QRS and PR intervals lengthened significantly either after acute oral administration or after chronic treatment by 21-36% (mean values), and that the QRS interval changes were significantly correlated to serum flecainide concentrations (r = 0.68, p < 0.001 after acute and r = 0.79, p < 0.001 after chronic administration). However, for any given plasma concentration of flecainide, the percentage widening of QRS intervals was smaller after chronic treatment, as shown by the different slopes of the correlation lines (7.7 +/- 4.0% ml.micrograms -1 after acute dosing versus 3.8 +/- 1.1% ml.micrograms -1 after chronic treatment, p < 0.001). This finding suggests a relative reduction of flecainide's effects on ECG intervals during chronic treatment, while the antiarrhythmic efficacy was maintained (flecainide effective in 8/13 patients in acute and in 11/13 patients in chronic) without significant differences between flecainide's minimal effective concentrations (262 +/- 119 ng/ml and 319 +/- 276 ng/ml for acute vs chronic respectively). We conclude that during chronic treatment a dissociation seems to occur between the electrocardiographic and the antiarrhythmic effects and this could limit the clinical usefulness of monitoring QRS intervals.
Inhibition of the NF- (cid:2) B Pathway by Varicella-Zoster Virus In Vitro and in Human Epidermal Cells In Vivo

Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) is an alphaherpesvirus that causes varicella and herpes zoster. Using human cellular DNA microarrays, we found that many nuclear factor kappa B (NF- (cid:1) B)-responsive genes were down-regulated in VZV-infected ﬁbroblasts, suggesting that VZV infection inhibited the NF- (cid:1) B pathway. The activation of this pathway causes a cellular antiviral response, including the production of alpha/beta inter- feron, cytokines, and other proteins that restrict viral infection. In these experiments, we demonstrated that VZV interferes with NF- (cid:1) B activation in cultured ﬁbroblasts and in differentiated epidermal cells in skin xenografts of SCIDhu mice infected in vivo. VZV infection of ﬁbroblasts caused a transient nuclear translo- cation of p50 and p65, the canonical NF- (cid:1) B family members. In a process that was dependent upon the presence of infectious VZV, these proteins rapidly became sequestered in the cytoplasm of VZV-infected cells. Exclusion of NF- (cid:1) B proteins from nuclei was associated with the continued presence of I (cid:1) B (cid:2) , which binds p50 and p65 and prevents their nuclear accumulation. I (cid:1) B (cid:2) levels did not diminish even though the protein became phosphorylated and ubiquitinated, as determined based on detection of the characteristic high- molecular-weight form of the protein, and the 26S proteasome remained functional in VZV-infected cells. VZV infection also inhibited the characteristic degradation of I (cid:1) B (cid:2) that is induced by exposure of ﬁbroblasts to tumor necrosis factor alpha. As expected, herpes simplex virus 1 caused the persistent nuclear translocation of NF- (cid:1) B proteins, which has been shown to facilitate its replication, whereas VZV infection progressed without persistent NF- (cid:1) B nuclear localization. We suggest that VZV has evolved a mechanism to limit host cell antiviral defenses by sequestering NF- (cid:1) B proteins in the cytoplasm, a strategy that appears to be unique among the herpesviruses.
Female habitual self‐mutilators

ABSTRACT– Data are presented on 240 female habitual self‐mutilators. The typical subject is a 28‐year‐old Caucasian who first deliberately harmed herself at age 14. Skin cutting is her usual practice, but she has used other methods such as skin burning and self‐hitting, and she has injured herself on at least 50 occasions. Her decision to self‐mutilate is impulsive and results in temporary relief from symptoms such as racing thoughts, depersonalization, and marked anxiety. She now has or has had an eating disorder, and may be concerned about her drinking. She has been a heavy utilizer of medical and mental health services, although treatment generally has been unsatisfactory. In desperation over her inability to control her self‐mutilative behavior this typical subject has attempted suicide by a drug overdose.