Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke among pregnant women in the Dominican Republic: an exploratory look into attitudes, beliefs, perceptions, and practices.

INTRODUCTION The purpose of this study is to assess the attitudes, beliefs, perceptions, and practices regarding tobacco use and exposure among pregnant women in the Dominican Republic. METHODS The survey was conducted in two public health hospitals in Santiago, Dominican Republic, and was administered to a convenience sample of 192 women during prenatal care visits. Analyses examined pregnant women's tobacco use, secondhand smoke exposure (SHS), knowledge about risks of smoking and benefits of quitting, and attitudes toward women's tobacco use. All data were collected between April and August 2009. RESULTS Respondents' age ranged from 18 to 41 years, with a mean age of 25 years (SD = 4.59), a high literacy level (82%), low educational levels (48% less than high school education), and a high unemployment rate (65%). Levels of ever having experimented with cigarettes were 14%, and 5% had ever been a regular smoker. Among all respondents, 3% of women reported being current smokers. When respondents were asked if they would try smoking next year, 7% responded yes, maybe, or don't know. Rates of self-reported SHS among pregnant women were 16%, and 14% reported their young children being exposed to secondhand smoke. More than half of the pregnant women in this study allowed smoking in their home (76%). CONCLUSIONS This study provides a preliminary understanding of tobacco use and exposure among pregnant women and its potential impact on the Dominican Republic's public health efforts that include improving maternal and child health.
Painful lumbosacral melorheostosis treated by fusion.

STUDY DESIGN A case report of low back pain associated with a diagnosis of melorheostosis of the lumbosacral spine. OBJECTIVE To describe a rare presentation of melorheostosis and subsequent successful surgical treatment. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA Melorheostosis is a rare condition and spinal pain has not been described in association with the condition. METHODS A patient with disabling low back pain and suspected melorheostosis of the lumbosacral spine responded favorably to diagnostic facet joint blocks. Treatment was lumbosacral fusion and biopsy of the abnormal bone. The densely sclerotic bone presented technical difficulties requiring modification of surgical technique. RESULTS Dramatic pain and disability reduction occurred following lumbosacral fusion. Histologic examination was consistent with melorheostosis. CONCLUSION Melorheostosis rarely causes severe low back pain that can respond favorably to fusion surgery.
Magnetic Resonance Guided Localization and Biopsy of Suspicious Breast Lesions

Contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is being used increasingly as a complementary diagnostic modality in breast imaging of preselected patients. The exclusion of multicentricity before surgery and the differentiation between a scar and a carcinoma are well-accepted indications of this method. Problems result when suspicious lesions found with MRI cannot be visualized with mammography or ultrasonography. In these cases, MRI-based guidance systems are needed to guide needle biopsy or allow localization of the lesion before surgery. At our institution. 167 MR-guided interventions (35 percutaneous biopsies and 132 preoperative localizations) have been performed with the use of different types of add-on devices during the past 3 years. Percutaneous biopsy (31 fine needle aspiration and four core biopsies) revealed 24 benign and 8 malignant lesions, 3 biopsies were insufficient. Histologic examination after MR-guided wire localization showed benign findings in 68 lesions (52%) and malignancy in 64 lesions (48%). Technical aspects, experiences, advantages, and disadvantages of our system as well as those of other devices are reported and discussed. MR-compatible equipment for interventions of the breast is demonstrated. In conclusion, we perform MR-guided interventions of the breast routinely in indicated cases at a rate of −3–5% for all patients undergoing diagnostic contrast-enhanced MRI of the breast.
Implicit Stereotypes, Gender Identification, and Math-Related Outcomes

This study examined the effects of gender identification and implicit and explicit gender stereotyping among undergraduate women enrolled in college-level calculus courses. Women's gender identification and gender stereotyping regarding math aptitude were assessed after the course's first midterm exam. Implicit, but not explicit, stereotyping interacted with gender identification to affect women's performance on their final exams and their desire to pursue math-related careers. Women who showed low gender identification and low implicit gender stereotyping performed best on the final exam, and women with high scores on both factors were the least inclined to pursue math-based careers. Implications for the under-representation of women in math and the hard sciences are discussed.
Platelet participation in the increased severity of endotoxin‐induced pulmonary injury in aged rats

Recent studies have demonstrated that aged rats are more susceptible to the lethal effects of endotoxin as compared with young rats. The morphogenesis of early endotoxin‐induced pulmonary injury in young (6 months) and aged (24 months) rats was examined by combined light and transmission electron microscopy to elucidate cell populations that may be responsible for these effects. Pulmonary endothelial cell injury was of greater severity and occurred at earlier time periods in aged rats as compared with young rats. Platelet sequestration and aggregation were observed only in aged rats in this study, and occurred in conjunction with the initial degenerative changes in the endothelium. Morphological evidence of granulocyte degranulation and fragmentation was also observed only in aged rats. These results suggest that pulmonary endothelial cells of aged rats are more susceptible to endotoxin‐induced injury and that platelets may play an important role in the enhancement of initial endothelial damage. Furthermore, the extent of injury to the endothelial cell population may play an important role in accounting for differences in endotoxin‐induced mortality between young and aged rats.
Validity of Glycemic Index Estimates in the Insulin Resistance Atherosclerosis Study

The article by Liese et al. (1) investigated the association of glycemic index, glycemic load, and total carbohydrate and fiber intake with direct measures of insulin sensitivity, insulin secretion, and adiposity in a cohort of 979 adults with normal and impaired glucose tolerance. The authors concluded that there were no significant associations of glycemic index, glycemic load, and carbohydrate intake with any measure of insulin sensitivity or secretion. In their study, usual dietary intake was assessed via a 114-item food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) that had been previously “validated” in a subsample of the Insulin Resistance Atherosclerosis Study (IRAS) population. Unfortunately, …
Proinflammatory cytokine profiling of tears from dry eye patients by means of antibody microarrays.

PURPOSE In the pathogenesis of keratoconjunctivitis sicca, immune processes are thought to play an important role. However, the exact details of the pathomechanisms are still unknown. In this study, the expression patterns of proinflammatory cytokines in the tears of patients with different subtypes of dry eye were analyzed. METHODS One hundred forty-three subjects subdivided into healthy controls (CTRL, n = 38), patients with aqueous-deficient dry eye (DRYaq, n = 35), patients with changes of the lipid layer (DRYlip, n = 36), and patients with a combination of both (DRYaplip, n = 34) were examined. Expression patterns of proteins (e.g., IL-1β, IL-6, ITNF-α, and IFN-γ) were examined using an advanced antibody microarray approach. RESULTS Several highly significant differences in the cytokine levels of dry eye patients compared with healthy controls were detected. Patients with DRYaq or those with DRYaplip showed elevated levels for most of the tested proteins. For example, IL-1β was found to be elevated 2.4-fold in DRYaq patients and 2.75-fold in DRYaqlip patients (both P < 8.00E-6). The detected amounts of protein in DRYlip patients and in healthy controls showed only minimal differences (fold increase/decrease for all proteins >1.2; P > 5.00E-1). CONCLUSIONS The similarity between the profiles of healthy controls and DRYlip patients justifies the assumption that the pathomechanism of this dry eye subtype is based on mechanisms other than inflammation, whereas it seems to be the case for DRYaq patients.
1 Physiology of Astigmatism

We know that the expression emmetropia is a conventional one and that in fact all normal human eyes have mild degrees of spherocylindrical errors (Shilo, 1997) or consist of a bitoric optical system, i.e. have principal meridians of relatively higher and lower powers at right angles. It is generally accepted that genetic factors have a significant role in determining ocular refractive status as well as astigmatism (Hammond et al., 2001) but many conditions and procedures such as surgery, suturing, wound healing, and ocular comorbidities modify the cylindrical status of the eye. Induced astigmatism and surgical correction of astigmatism are extensively addressed in other chapters of this book. Manifest astigmatism is the vectorial sum of anterior corneal toricity and internal astigmatism. A variety of factors change the magnitude and shift the meridians of these cylindrical components and the perceived subjective astigmatism throughout life. Astigmatism is an extremely dynamic phenomenon, and changes in the shape of optical interfaces, refractive index, optical aperture, eyeball-extraocular structures (eyelids and extraocular muscles) interaction, visual tasks, accommodation, binocularity, tear film status, and even body position induce and modify baseline ocular astigmatism. In this chapter we shall focus on factors that determine baseline, diurnal, functional, and dynamic aspects of ‘physiological astigmatism’.
Attenuation of Monochromatic X-Rays by Normal and Abnormal Breast Tissues

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES.A prior study indicated that differences in the x-ray linear attenuation coefficients of cancerous and normal breast tissues tend to increase as the energy of the incident beam decreases. The authors investigated x-ray energies down to 20 keV. In the current study, the linear attenuation coefficients for normal and selected cancerous breast tissues within the energy range of 14 to 18 keV were determined. METHODS.Fifty breast biopsy specimens consisting of a mixture of breast malignancies, normal tissues, fat specimens, and tumors grown in rats were used. X-ray linear attenuation coefficients were measured for each sample within the energy range of 14.15 to 18 keV, using monoenergetic x-rays from beamline X-19A at the National Synchrotron Light Source at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Each sample was measured at 130 different energies starting at 14.15 keV with step sizes of 0.030 keV. Correlation of the measured attenuation coefficients for cellular makeup was performed. RESULTS.The mean of linear attenuation coefficients for samples classified as “cancers” was 10.9% higher than the mean of samples classified as “normal” breast tissues and was 66.5% higher than the mean of samples classified as normal breast fat. CONCLUSIONS.Differences in the linear attenuation coefficients of monochromatic x-rays between 14.15 and 18 keV do exist between normal and cancerous tissues, but there is some degree of overlap.
Cost-utility Analysis of the EOX Drug Regimen versus the DCF Drug Regimen for Patients with Advanced Gastric Cancer

Background: Cancer is one of the major causes of mortality and as an effectivefactor in the burden of diseases for the future. Among all cancers, gastric cancer is thefourth most common and the second leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide. Inthis study, we aim to evaluate the cost-utility of two chemotherapy regimens –epirubicin, oxaliplatin, and capecitabine versus docetaxel, cisplatin, and fluorouracilin patients with advanced gastric cancer in a hospital in southern Iran.Method: This cross-sectional study was an economic evaluation of cost-utility typethat included all patients at Amir Hospital (Shiraz, Iran) who had advanced gastric cancerand received either the epirubicin, oxaliplatin, and capecitabine or docetaxel, cisplatin,and fluorouracil chemotherapy regimen. All costs and the quality-adjusted life yearswere calculated, followed by one-way sensitivity analysis to verify the results.Results:A total of 54 patients participated in this study, amongst whom 20 receivedthe epirubicin, oxaliplatin, and capecitabine regimen and 34 received the docetaxel,cisplatin, and fluorouracil regimen. The mean quality of life of patients that receiveddocetaxel, cisplatin, and fluorouracil was 0.747, whereas it was 0.836 for patients thatreceived epirubicin, oxaliplatin, and capecitabine. The docetaxel, cisplatin, andfluorouracil treatment group ($5573) was more expensive than the epirubicin, oxaliplatin,and capecitabine group ($3108). The results obtained from the cost-utility analysisshowed that the epirubicin, oxaliplatin, and capecitabine drug regimen was costeffectivedue to lower cost and higher utility than the docetaxel, cisplatin, andfluorouracil regimen. One-way sensitivity analysis confirmed the accuracy of theseresults.Conclusion: Due to the cost-effectiveness of the epirubicin, oxaliplatin, andcapecitabine drug regimen compared to docetaxel, cisplatin, and fluorouracil, werecommend that oncologists use this regimen to treat gastric cancer patients.
The effect of defibrotide on thromboembolism in the pulmonary vasculature of mice and rabbits and in the cerebral vasculature of rabbits

1 Administration of bovine thrombin (100 u kg−1) into the carotid artery of rabbits induces a sustained accumulation of 111Indium‐labelled platelets within the cranial vasculature over the subsequent 3 h. 2 Intracarotid (i.c.) administration of defibrotide (64 mg kg−1 bolus plus 64 mg kg−1 h−1 for 1 h) prior to i.c. thrombin (100 u kg−1) significantly reduces the ability of thrombin to induce cranial thromboembolism in rabbits. 3 Intravenous (i.v.) administration of thrombin (20 u kg−1) in rabbits induces a reversible accumulation of radiolabelled platelets into the thoracic circulation which is significantly reduced by i.v. administration of defibrotide (64 mg kg−1 bolus plus 64 mg kg−1 h−1 for 1 h) prior to i.v. thrombin. In contrast, platelet accumulation in response to adenosine diphosphate (ADP; 20 μg kg−1, i.v.) or platelet activating factor (PAF; 50 ng kg−1, i.v.) is not significantly affected by this treatment. 4 Intravenous administration of the nitric oxide (NO)‐synthase inhibitor NG‐nitro‐l‐arginine methyl ester (l‐NAME; 10 mg kg−1) potentiates platelet accumulation induced by low dose thrombin (10 u kg−1, i.v.) within the pulmonary vasculature of rabbits. The potentiated response is significantly abrogated following pretreatment with defibrotide (64 mg kg−1 bolus plus 64 mg kg−1 h−1 for 1 h, i.v.). 5 Intravenous injection of human thrombin (1250 u kg−1) to mice induces death within the majority of animals which is significantly reduced by pretreatment with defibrotide (150–175 mg kg−1, i.v.). In contrast, death induced by i.v. collagen (1.25 mg kg−1) plus adrenaline (75 μg kg−1) is not significantly affected by defibrotide pretreatment. 6 The inhibitory effect of defibrotide in mice is abolished following concomitant treatment with the inhibitor of fribrinolysis, tranexamic acid (100 mg kg−1, i.v.), but is unaffected following treatment with the cyclo‐oxygenase inhibitor, aspirin (300 mg kg−1, i.p.). 7 The protective effect of defibrotide against thrombin‐induced thromboembolism in the mouse is potentiated by recombinant tissue‐plasminogen activator (rt‐PA; 1 mg kg−1, i.v.) or unfractionated heparin (10 u kg−1, i.v.) administration. 8 The results suggest that defibrotide may possess antithrombotic activity on thrombin‐induced thromboembolism which, at least in the mouse, may be partially mediated via induction of the fibrinolytic pathway.
Generation of toxic degradation products by sonication of Pluronic® dispersants: implications for nanotoxicity testing

Abstract Poloxamers (known by the trade name Pluronic®) are triblock copolymer surfactants that contain two polyethylene glycol blocks and one polypropylene glycol block of various sizes. Poloxamers are widely used as nanoparticle dispersants for nanotoxicity studies wherein nanoparticles are sonicated with a dispersant to prepare suspensions. It is known that poloxamers can be degraded during sonication and that reactive oxygen species contribute to the degradation process. However, the possibility that poloxamer degradation products are toxic to mammalian cells has not been well studied. We report here that aqueous solutions of poloxamer 188 (Pluronic® F-68) and poloxamer 407 (Pluronic® F-127) sonicated in the presence or absence of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) can became highly toxic to cultured cells. Moreover, toxicity correlated with the sonolytic degradation of the polymers. These findings suggest that caution should be used in interpreting the results of nanotoxicity studies where the potential sonolytic degradation of dispersants was not controlled.
Staphylococcus aureus chronic and relapsing infections: Evidence of a role for persister cells

Staphylococcus aureus is an opportunistic pathogen capable of causing a variety of diseases including osteomyelitis, endocarditis, infections of indwelling devices and wound infections. These infections are often chronic and highly recalcitrant to antibiotic treatment. Persister cells appear to be central to this recalcitrance. A multitude of factors contribute to S. aureus virulence and high levels of treatment failure. These include its ability to colonize the skin and nares of the host, its ability to evade the host immune system and its development of resistance to a variety of antibiotics. Less understood is the phenomenon of persister cells and their role in S. aureus infections and treatment outcome. Persister cells occur as a sub‐population of phenotypic variants that are tolerant to antibiotic treatment. This review examines the importance of persisters in chronic and relapsing S. aureus infections and proposes methods for their eradication.
The causes of abnormal pulmonary function in Parkinson's disease.

A significant obstructive ventilatory defect was detected in one third of 31 patients with severe Parkinson's disease. Patients with obstruction of expiratory flow had lower lung elastic recoil and higher airway resistance than patients writh normal expiratory flow despite similar degrees of neurologic impairment. The degree of air trapping and hyperinflation was similar in obstructed and nonobstructed patients as were thoracic and pulmonary compliances. After therapy with l-deoxyphenylalanine, significant neurologic improvement but no changes in expiratory flow or lung volume occurred. These data suggest that when expiratory flow obstruction occurs in Parkinson's disease, it is related to increased airway resistance or decreased lung elastic recoil consistent with coexisting chronic obstructive lung disease rather than to the neuromuscular dysfunction.
Using multiple-polarization L-band radar to monitor marsh burn recovery

Aircraft L-band VV-, HH-, and VH-polarizations were examined as tools for monitoring burn recovery in a coastal marsh. Significant relationships were observed between time-since-burn (difference between burn and image collection dates; 550-900 days after burn) and returns related to all polarizations. As marsh burn recovery progressed, VV returns decreased while HH and VH returns increased. Radar returns extracted from control sites adjacent to each burn-simulated nonburn marsh and were not individually or in combination significantly related to the time-since-burn. Normalized by the control data, VH-polarization explained up to 83% of the total variations. Overall, the L-band multipolarization radars estimated time-since-burn within /spl plusmn/59 to /spl plusmn/92 days.
Two-year evaluation of telepathology

We evaluated a dynamic telepathology system in routine use after a two-year developmental phase. In two three-month studies, two years apart, all intraoperative frozen sections were examined by one pathologist via the telepathology system. Laboratory technicians sampled tissues at gross examination and were connected with the pathologist by videoconference. Specimens were immediately reviewed after the telepathology diagnosis by the same diagnostician. In the second study there were 342 cases. The mean time required to diagnose small specimens such as biopsies was 8 min (range 4–14); for specimens with extensive gross examination it was 22 min (range 10–45). The telepathology and traditional frozen-section diagnoses agreed in 99.4% of cases, but telepathology took two to four times longer for gross and histological examinations, and up to 10 times longer for histological examination only. There were five false diagnoses (1.5%), two of which originated from telepathology (0.6%) and were recognized in the subsequent light microscopy review. Telepathology is not a replacement for light microscopy, but should be regarded as a complementary technique.
Underwater Acoustic Modems

Due to the growing interest using underwater acoustic networks, there are more and more research papers about underwater communications. These papers are mainly focused on deployments and studies about the constraints of the underwater medium. The underwater acoustic channel is highly variable and the signal transmission can change according to environmental factors, such as the temperature, pressure, or salinity of the water. For this reason, it is important to know how these devices are developed and the maximum distance and data transfer rates they can achieve. To this end, this paper presents an exhaustive study of existing underwater acoustic modems where their main features are highlighted. We also review the main features of their hardware. All presented proposals in the research literature are compared with commercial underwater acoustic modems. Finally, we analyze different programs and improvements of existing network simulators that are often used to simulate and estimate the behavior of underwater networks.
Elliptical Structures of Gravity Waves Produced by Typhoon Soudelor in 2015 near Taiwan

Tropical cyclones (TCs) are complex sources of atmospheric gravity waves (GWs). In this study, the Weather Research and Forecasting Model was used to model TC Soudelor (2015) and the induced elliptical structures of GWs in the upper troposphere (UT) and lower stratosphere (LS) prior to its landfall over Taiwan. Conventional, spectral and wavelet analyses exhibit dominant GWs with horizontal and vertical wavelengths, and periods of 16–700 km, 1.5–5 km, and 1–20 h, respectively. The wave number one (WN1) wind asymmetry generated mesoscale inertia GWs with dominant horizontal wavelengths of 100–300 km, vertical wavelengths of 1.5–2.5 km (3.5 km) and westward (eastward) propagation at the rear of the TC in the UT (LS). It was also revealed to be an active source of GWs. The two warm anomalies of the TC core induced two quasi-diurnal GWs and an intermediate GW mode with a 10-h period. The time evolution of dominant periods could be indicative of changes in TC dynamics. The FormoSat-3/COSMIC (Formosa Satellite Mission-3/Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate) dataset confirmed the presence of GWs with dominant vertical wavelengths of about 3.5 km in the UT and LS.