Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of Intentional Weight Loss on Physical and Cognitive Function in Middle-Aged and Older Obese Participants: A Pilot Study

Objectives: Obesity is a risk factor for cognitive decline and dementia. Whether weight loss improves cognition in older obese adults is not known. The objective was to investigate the effects of intentional weight loss on physical and cognitive function in middle-aged and older obese adults attending a weight loss clinic. Method: Eleven male and 39 female nonsmoking, adult obese (body mass index 30–50 kg/m2) participants were recruited. Participants were stratified by age: middle aged (30–59 years) and older aged (≥60 years). The weight loss target for each subject was 8% to 12% of initial body weight. Information on anthropometry, bioelectrical impedance, hand-grip strength, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire (SPMSQ), and Trail-Making Test (TMT) A and B were collected at baseline and after weight loss. Results: At baseline, older participants showed a nonsignificant trend for lower global cognitive function (MMSE, SPMSQ) and significantly slower processing speed (TMT-A). Twenty-one participants completed the weight loss study. The average weight loss relative to baseline was 9.7% ± 2.1%. Weight loss was associated with significant improvements in hand-grip strength and cognitive function (MMSE, TMT-A, and TMT-B). MMSE scores improved significantly only in older obese participants (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Weight loss in middle-aged and in older obese participants has a beneficial effect on cognitive and physical function. If confirmed in future trials, weight loss can significantly affect public health strategies for the prevention of dementia as well as on the clinical management of obesity.
Capturing changes: applying the Oxford system to further understand the movement of metal in Shang China

The Bronze Age China presents to us a significant contrast to the rest of Eurasia in two aspects, the great commitment to the complicated bronze ritual vessels and the immense scale of production. Both features reached their zenith in the late Shang period in the late second millennium BC but left a delicate puzzle to archaeologists: through what trajectories was the metal moved and engaged with human societies in China? The traditional approach is heavily confined to either cultural-historic paradigms or text-oriented researches. Whilst the increasing number of scientific studies in recent decades allows scholars to be more precisely focused on bronze artefacts, their sometimes overwhelming obsession on the provenance of metal provokes criticism in many ways. Drawing from approximately 3000 alloying analyses, 1000 trace elemental data and 1100 lead isotopes, this thesis delivers a series of systematic comparative studies on copper-based artefacts with the newly developed Oxford system. The waning and waxing of various types of metal in different time and space depict a constantly and unpredictably changing pattern. People inhabited along the borderlands appeared to be greatly dependent on local supply of metal whereas Anyang undoubtedly absorbed metal from a variety of regions. Intriguingly, seen from the current database, very little evidence can be highlighted in support of some large-scale mixing or recycling, particularly for ritual vessels of top elites at Anyang. The newly discovered compositional difference of bronzes between Zhengzhou and Panlongcheng calls into question on the classical model on the relation between the two sites. Striking domination of clean copper in southwestern China shed new light on the issues of local production and local supply of metal. In conclusion, the chemical and isotopic analyses of copper-based objects carry a huge amount of information not just on provenance but many others. People living in various parts of China had chosen differing strategies to obtain metal. The elaborate data structures are a result of a highly efficient and dynamic network supplying system. Through combining the changes in metal compositions with other archaeological information, it becomes viable to reveal more subtle knowledge about this remote world and give us better-defined questions.
Product Heterogeneity: Moderating Effect on Online Consumer Behavior

The main goal of this study is to investigate moderating effects of product heterogeneity on online consumer behavior. It is hypothesized that relationships between shopping motives, emotions, and behavioral intention of online consumers that shop for agro products (high product heterogeneity) must be different from those of consumers who shop for regular industrial products (low product heterogeneity). A literature review supports this hypothesis, providing theoretical background that the perceived risk increases when consumers shop for high heterogeneity products). A structural equation model was proposed and examined through survey research. Data was collected from customers of two leading B2C e-marketplaces in Korea (N=279). One sub-group of the sample was the low-heterogeneity-product purchasing group, and another one was the high-heterogeneity-product purchasing group. Moderating effects of online product heterogeneity in the model were investigated. The findings show that product heterogeneity has a strong influence on online consumer buying behavior
[Fuchs' heterochromic cyclitis. Clinico-histopathologic findings of nodular iritis].

BACKGROUND Despite the fact that in 1906 Fuchs described the first case of Fuchs' heterochromic cyclitis histopathologic reports of this disease are still rare. PATIENT AND METHODS A clinicopathologic correlation of findings in Fuchs' heterochromic cyclitis is presented. In a patient with a history of Fuchs' heterochromic cyclitis for 15 years a secondary open-angle glaucoma developed. Several operations were performed including intracapsular cataract extraction, goniotrephanation (Elliot) and repeated cyclocryotherapy. The eye finally had to be enucleated because of a painful absolute glaucoma. RESULTS Clinical hallmarks of Fuchs' heterochromic cyclitis in this patient include cataract formation and secondary open-angle glaucoma. Histology revealed accumulations of mononuclear cells on the surface of the iris and the corneal endothelium, as well as sparse inflammatory cells within the anterior chamber. The trabecular meshwork showed an infiltration of mononuclear inflammatory cells, chiefly lymphocytes and plasma cells. DISCUSSION Accumulations of mononuclear cells on the surface of the iris, which histopathologically have not been described before, could represent the clinicopathologic correlate of Koeppe and Busacca nodules. Histologically, the cell deposits on the iris were similar to those in the anterior chamber and to larger corneal precipitates. It is supposed that the cells, which originally emigrated from the iris vessels, may form primary cell deposits on the iris surface or endothelium. Such iris precipitates may also be secondarily attracted by the endothelium in whole. An autoimmune-reaction against the corneal endothelium may be the underlying reason.
An antagonist‐insensitive P2X receptor expressed in epithelia and brain.

A cDNA was cloned which encodes a new ATP‐gated ion channel (P2X4 receptor). ATP induces a cationic current in HEK293 cells transfected with the P2X4 receptor. However, the current is almost completely insensitive to antagonists effective at other P2X receptors. Sensitivity to two of these antagonists (pyridoxalphosphate‐6‐azophenyl‐2′,4′‐disulfonic acid and pyridoxal 5‐phosphate) is restored by replacement of Glu249 by lysine, which occurs at the equivalent position in P2X1 and P2X2 receptors. P2X4 RNA is found by in situ hybridization in the brain, peripheral ganglia and epithelia including serosal cells of salivary glands. Recordings from rat submandibular gland cells showed ATP‐induced currents that are also insensitive to antagonists. These results define a further member of P2X receptor family, and they identify an amino acid residue involved in antagonist binding. They also introduce a new phenotype for ATP responses at P2X receptors–insensitivity to currently known antagonists.
The effects of dietary valine on performance, serum antibody titre and bone mineralization in broiler chicks.

The present study was carried out to examine the effect of supplemental dietary valine in the starter diet of broilers (0-15 d of age) on performance, antibody response to Newcastle disease virus vaccination and bone mineralization. The experiment was conducted using 300 Ross 308 male broilers. One-day-old chicks were rando mly allotted to 3 groups; each group consisted of 5 replicate pens with 20 birds per pen. Chickens were fed one of three dietary treatments with varying concentrations of valine; the first diet was adequate in valine (0% valine), the second and third diets had an excess in valine (0.08% and 0.16% synthetic valine in diet) because valine was added in place of inert filler. The results showed that supplemental dietary valine did not alter either feed intake, body weight gain or feed conversion ratio. Hemagglutination Inhibition titre was significantly increased when valine was added to the diet (P<0.05). The supplemental dietary valine had a signific ant effect on the calcium concentration in bone (P<0.05), but there was no significant effect on the phosphorus concentration in bone.
The causal impact of economic growth on material use in Europe

ABSTRACT Several scholars and policy-makers have claimed that Europe, and Western Europe in particular, has managed to ‘decouple’ economic growth from material use. We identify and address one major limitation in the existing literature – failure to take the endogeneity of economic growth into account. Based on a panel data-set of 32 European countries from 2000 to 2014, we estimate the causal impact of gross domestic product (GDP) on domestic material consumption (DMC) applying an instrumental variable approach. We use the number of storm occurrences as an instrument for GDP, which we show is both relevant and valid. Our results provide new evidence that increasing the GDP growth rate causes the DMC growth rate to increase for Western Europe, whereas the effect is insignificant for the Eastern European economies and Europe as a whole. As our results partly question current wisdom on the achievements of ‘decoupling’, especially among European policy-makers, we offer two explanations that are consistent with these results.
Initial Insights into Structure-Activity Relationships of Avian Defensins*

Background: Avian defensins are antimicrobial peptides of a bird's immunity. Results: The target of chicken AvBD2 defensin is not chiral. Its structure is not amphipathic. The reduced and AvBD2-K31A forms dramatically decrease antibacterial activity. Conclusion: AvBD2 may disrupt the bacterial membrane through a nonchiral, nonspecific interaction. Significance: Knowledge of the structure-function relationships of avian defensins is a prerequisite for their use as alternatives to antibiotics. Numerous β-defensins have been identified in birds, and the potential use of these peptides as alternatives to antibiotics has been proposed, in particular to fight antibiotic-resistant and zoonotic bacterial species. Little is known about the mechanism of antibacterial activity of avian β-defensins, and this study was carried out to obtain initial insights into the involvement of structural features or specific residues in the antimicrobial activity of chicken AvBD2. Chicken AvBD2 and its enantiomeric counterpart were chemically synthesized. Peptide elongation and oxidative folding were both optimized. The similar antimicrobial activity measured for both l- and d-proteins clearly indicates that there is no chiral partner. Therefore, the bacterial membrane is in all likelihood the primary target. Moreover, this work indicates that the three-dimensional fold is required for an optimal antimicrobial activity, in particular for Gram-positive bacterial strains. The three-dimensional NMR structure of chicken AvBD2 defensin displays the structural three-stranded antiparallel β-sheet characteristic of β-defensins. The surface of the molecule does not display any amphipathic character. In light of this new structure and of the king penguin AvBD103b defensin structure, the consensus sequence of the avian β-defensin family was analyzed. Well conserved residues were highlighted, and the potential strategic role of the lysine 31 residue of AvBD2 was emphasized. The synthetic AvBD2-K31A variant displayed substantial N-terminal structural modifications and a dramatic decrease in activity. Taken together, these results demonstrate the structural as well as the functional role of the critical lysine 31 residue in antimicrobial activity.
Optimal management of primary retroperitoneal sarcoma: an update

Soft tissue sarcomas are a group of heterogeneous neoplasms with more than 50 histological subtypes exhibiting major differences in terms of pathogenesis, genetic alterations and clinical behavior. Sarcomas represent approximately 1% of malignancies with retroperitoneal sarcomas representing 10–15% of all soft tissue sarcomas. Surgery is currently the only modality which offers the chance of cure. Surgery for retroperitoneal sarcomas presents specific challenges due their location in a complex space surrounded by vital structures and visceral organs often prohibiting resection with wide margins. Furthermore, even after complete resection local recurrence is common and the leading cause of death. In this article the authors describe the initial investigations, prognostic factors and optimal surgical management. The evidence and current research as regards the role of multimodality treatment is reviewed and discussed.
Strongyloides stercoralis Infection: A Case Series from a Tertiary Care Center in India

Journal of Global Infectious Diseases ¦ Volume 9 ¦ Issue 2 ¦ April-June 2017 86 Sir, Strongyloidiasis remains a neglected tropical disease as reflected by the paucity of published literature from India. [1,2] We conducted a retrospective, descriptive study on thirty patients, who were diagnosed with strongyloidiasis in our hospital. The patients were diagnosed using wet mount microscopy. The majority of the patients diagnosed with strongyloidiasis were in the age group of 31–40 years (10/30, 33%). The proportion of diseased males (24/30, 80%) was significantly higher than the females (6/30, 20%). Eighteen of the thirty patients had other coexisting conditions [Table 1]. HIV infection was most commonly associated with strongyloidiasis in our study, which was in concordance with another study from our country. [3] Increasing number of cases with strongyloidiasis reported in transplant settings has encouraged recommendations for a pretransplant screening. [4] The mean number of larvae detected from the samples of immunosuppressed versus immunocompetent patients was 21.7/cover slip area and 2.9/cover slip area, respectively. There were five patients with severe manifestations and increased load of rhabditiform larvae in stool. Four of these five patients with severe manifestations had HIV infection while one was a liver transplant recipient. A definite diagnosis of hyperinfection syndrome was possible in only one of these patients in whom Strongyloides stercoralis Infection: A Case Series from a Tertiary Care Center in India
Decomposing the Cross-Sex Misprediction Bias of Dating Behaviors: Do Men Overestimate or Women Underreport Their Sexual Intentions?

Men typically predict women’s sexual intentions to be higher than women say they are (Haselton & Buss, 2000). It is debated whether this cross-sex bias is because of men overestimating women’s intentions (Murray et al., 2017), women underreporting their own intentions (Perilloux & Kurzban, 2015, 2017), or both. To unify the current debate, we decompose the part of the bias attributable to women underreporting versus men overestimating by using a survey method intervention to reduce underreporting of sensitive information: eliciting estimates about others before sensitive self-reports. First, we calibrate the current measurement instrument to assess the overall size of the misprediction bias (Study 1). Then, we manipulate the order-of-elicitation of self- and other-reports (Studies 2 and 3): Women report significantly higher own sexual intentions when they are asked about other targets’ intentions before their own, suggesting that 48 to 69% of the overestimation bias is attributable to women underreporting their own sexual intentions. Analogous analyses for the misprediction bias about men suggest that women’s overestimation bias of men’s sexual intentions is entirely because of men underreporting their own sexual intentions. The findings have important implications for the current debate in the literature on cross-sex misprediction biases and the literature on asking sensitive survey questions.
Consanguinity and Eye Diseases with a Potential Genetic Etiology. Data from a Prevalence Study in Andhra Pradesh, India

Purpose: To determine the prevalence of consanguinity and its potential associations with eye diseases in Andhra Pradesh state of south India. Methods: As part of a demographic interview schedule, prior to clinical examinations, trained investigators collected information regarding consanguinity of the parents from subjects randomly chosen for a population-based cross-sectional epidemiological study. Each subject underwent a detailed ocular examination including visual acuity measurements, anterior segment examinations with slit-lamp biomicroscopy, and posterior segment examinations. Adjusted odds ratios (OR), attributable risks (AR) and population attributable risks (PAR) were estimated. Results: We obtained details regarding consanguinity of the parents from 10,290 of the 10,293 subjects who were enumerated and examined in the study. Parental consanguinity was reported by 1822 (24.7%) rural subjects and 782 (32.9%) urban subjects. Eighty (0.008%, 95% CI: 0.006, 0.010) of the 9757 subjects had an ocular disease with a potential genetic basis. We found microcornea to be significantly associated with both an uncle-niece relationship (adjusted OR: 7.32, 95% CI: 1.73, 30.97, AR = 86.34%, PAR = 42.11%) and a first-cousin relationship between the parents (adjusted OR 4.51, 95% CI: 1.05, 19.40, AR = 77.83%, PAR = 29.02%). Retinitis pigmentosa was significantly associated with a first-cousin relationship between the parents (adjusted OR: 5.31, 95% CI: 1.00, 28.25, AR = 81.17%, PAR = 33.43%). Conclusions: The high prevalence of consanguinity in this population does not appear to translate into a high prevalence of ocular malformations; however, studies with larger sample sizes are required to further explore the strength of these associations.
Depression Scores Associate With Chronotype and Social Jetlag in a Rural Population

In public health, mood disorders are among the most important mental impairments. Patients with depressive episodes exhibit daily mood variations, abnormal patterns in sleep-wake behavior, and in the daily rhythms of several endocrine-metabolic parameters. Although the relationship between the sleep/circadian processes and mood disorders is poorly understood, clock-related therapies, such as light therapy, sleep deprivation, and rigid sleep schedules, have been shown to be effective treatments. Several studies investigated the relationship between circadian phenotype (chronotype) and depression. These focused mainly on urban populations and assessed diurnal preferences (Morningness-Eveningness score) rather than the actual timing of sleep and activity. Here, we used the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) in an essentially rural population (N = 4051), and investigated its relation to circadian phenotype (chronotype and social jetlag), assessed with the Munich Chronotype Questionnaire (MCTQ). In our study design, we (i) normalized both chronotype and BDI scores for age and sex (MSFsas and BDIas, respectively); (ii) calculated individual social jetlag (misalignment of the biological and social time); and (iii) investigated the relationship between circadian phenotypes and BDI scores in a population homogeneous in respect to culture, socioeconomic factors, and daily light exposure. A 15.65% (N = 634) of the participants showed mild to severe depressive BDI scores. Late chronotypes had a higher BDIas than intermediate and early types, which was independent of whether or not the participants were smokers. Both chronotype and BDIas correlated positively with social jetlag. BDIas was significantly higher in subjects with >2 h of social jetlag than in the rest of the population—again independent of smoking status. We also compared chronotype and social jetlag distributions between BDI categories (no symptoms, minimal symptoms, and mild to severe symptoms of depression) separately for men and women and for four age groups; specifically in the age group 31–40 yrs, subjects with mild to severe BDI scores were significantly later chronotypes and suffered from higher social jetlag. Our results indicate that misalignment of circadian and social time may be a risk factor for developing depression, especially in 31- to 40-yr-olds. These relationships should be further investigated in longitudinal studies to reveal if reduction of social jetlag should be part of prevention strategies. (Author correspondence: karla.allebrandt@med.uni-muenchen.de)
Concurrent robotic renal and prostatic surgery: initial case series and safety data of a new surgical technique.

INTRODUCTION In the era of prostate-specific antigen screening and frequent cross-sectional abdominal imaging, concurrent prostate cancer and renal masses are being identified and treated. Minimizing patient morbidity and cost by avoiding separate surgical procedures is advantageous, provided technical feasibility, and safety data. Our goal was to assess the feasibility and safety of single-setting robotic renal surgery and prostatectomy. We present our initial experience. PURPOSE To assess the feasibility and safety of single-setting concurrent robot-assisted renal surgery and radical prostatectomy utilizing the same port access scheme. PATIENTS AND METHODS From February 2009 to June 2009, we performed single-setting concurrent robot-assisted radical nephrectomy/partial nephrectomy and radical prostatectomy on two patients with synchronous kidney tumors and prostate cancer. Identical port sites were used during both aspects of the procedure with the exception of one additional port during prostatectomy. Prostate cancer clinical stage and Gleason scores were T1c and 6 and T2a and 7, respectively. Corresponding renal tumors were 5 cm, respectively. RESULTS Both operations were performed, with no conversion to open surgery. There were no intraoperative complications and the postoperative course was uneventful in both patients. Discharge was on postoperative day 2 and 3, respectively. Patient 2 had an episode of delayed bleeding on postoperative day 9, treated by selective angio-embolization. Mean operative time for nephrectomy and prostatectomy (135 and 139 minutes, respectively) and estimated blood loss (75 and 100 mL, respectively) were reasonable. We began with the renal portion utilizing a lateral decubitus position before re-positioning into the lithotomy position for the prostatic portion. Clamping time was 34 minutes during partial nephrectomy. CONCLUSION Single-setting robotic radical/partial nephrectomy and radical prostatectomy is technically feasible and safe in properly selected patients who present with synchronous primary renal and prostate malignancies.