Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Clinical pharmacy faculty interventions in a pediatric intensive care unit: an eight-month review.

OBJECTIVES The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Society of Critical Care Medicine have documented the importance of pharmacist involvement in pediatric care. Numerous studies have reported the impact of clinical pharmacy interventions in various adult care settings. However, in the pediatric critical care setting, the impact has not been well documented. The purpose of this study was to describe clinical pharmacy faculty interventions in a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). METHODS A pediatric clinical pharmacy faculty member performed and documented clinical interventions in a level I, 18-bed, tertiary care PICU. Information gathered included medication name, specific intervention performed, basic patient demographics, and length of stay from May to December 2009. RESULTS During the study period, there were 893 interventions performed on 159 patients over 66 days of service. (Average of 5.5 interventions/patient, and 34 interventions/100 patient PICU days.) Dosing recommendations and pharmacokinetics were the most common type of intervention (28.8% and 21.4%, respectively). Antibiotics and sedatives/analgesia were the most common drug classes in which interventions were made (34.4% and 20.3%, respectively). Ninety-eight percent of all interventions were accepted by the medical staff. The estimated annual cost savings from these interventions was $119,700. CONCLUSIONS The average number of interventions per patient in this study was higher than that reported in the literature to date. Dosing recommendations and pharmacokinetics were the most commonly recommended interventions documented. Although this study showed considerable cost savings by a pharmacy clinical faculty member, further study of economic benefits is needed.
Differential sensitivity to Bacillus thuringiensis var. Israelensis and temephos in field mosquito populations of Ochlerotatus cataphylla (diptera: Culicidae): Toward resistance?

In the present study, four populations of the same field mosquito species, Ochlerotatus cataphylla, were sampled over the Rhône‐Alpes region (France), and their respective sensitivity to the organophosphate temephos and the bacterio‐insecticide Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis (Bti) was measured. The results obtained in toxicological tests showed significant differences in the larval sensitivities of the four populations for both insecticides. These differences appeared to be related to the activity of the three main families of detoxifying enzymes: Cytochrome P450 monooxygenases, glutathione‐S‐transferases (GSTs), and esterases. All three enzyme families were significantly overexpressed in the less susceptible larval population, and after multiple regressions, GSTs and esterases came out as the most explicative variables of the larval sensitivity. Considering these results and the chemical history of the sites in terms of insecticide treatments, the hypothesis of cross‐effects of insecticides leading to resistance acquisition to Bti in field organisms emerges.
A Comparative Evaluation of Guttapercha Removal by Various Rotary Files: An in Vitro Study

Aim: To compare the efficacy of different rotary instruments for removing obturating material from root canals. Materials and Methods: Thirty extracted human premolar teeth having a single canal were selected. The biomechanical preparation of the root canals was done with Protaperrotary file and obturation was done with corresponding guttapercha cone. The samples were divided into three groups according to the rotary file used for removing the obturating material: Group I – Neoniti; Group II – Protaper D; Group III – Hyflex. The amount of remaining filling material after the retreatment procedure was checked under stereomicroscope. The data was statistically analysed by One way Anova test. Results: Group I(Neoniti) left less remaining filling material compared with group II (Protaper D) and group III (Hyflex). Conclusion: The Neoniti file was most effective in removing the gutta-percha from the root canal.
Celiac disease: advances in diagnosis

ABSTRACT Celiac disease (CD) is characterized by small intestinal damage, which is mediated by a gluten-driven inflammatory response. Establishing a robust diagnosis is critical for improved quality of life and prevention of co-morbidities, although treatment is associated with a substantial life-long burden of care for patients and families. Unfortunately, CD remains a challenging diagnosis. As awareness of the disease increases, more diagnoses of CD are being made by primary care physicians. In fact, many patients may not present to a gastroenterologist because their symptoms are not clearly linked to a gastrointestinal pathology. Also, many patients are starting a gluten-free diet without prior testing, a circumstance that leads to even more confusion. Lastly, the number of serologic and genetic tests, and the role of endoscopy, can be confusing. The purpose of this review is to examine diagnostic testing strategies, focusing on published guidelines, for the evaluation of patients with suspected CD.
Influence of Growth Medium on Hydrogen Peroxide and Bacteriocin Production of Lactobacillus Strains

Summary This study was conducted to investigate the inhibitory effect of bacteriocin and the production of hydrogen peroxide by four non-starter lactic acid bacteria, Lactobacillus plantarum 2142, Lactobacillus curvatus 2770, Lactobacillus curvatus 2775, Lactobacillus casei subsp. pseudoplantarum 2750 and the probiotic strain Lactobacillus casei Shirota, propagated in de Man Rogosa Sharpe (MRS) and tomato juice (TJ) broth. The methods were a commonly used agar diffusion technique and a microtiter assay method. The best peroxide-producing Lactobacillus strain was selected for screening the inhibitory activity against Listeria monocytogenes, Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli and the activity of bacteriocins against Lactobacillus sakei and Candida glabrata. All of the investigated lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains grown in MRS broth produced the highest concentration of hydrogen peroxide ranging from 2–6 g/mL after 72 h of storage. L. plantarum 2142 produced enough hydrogen peroxide already after 24 h at 5 °C in phosphate buffer to inhibit the growth of L. monocytogenes and B. cereus. Crude bacteriocin suspension from the investigated LAB inhibited only slightly the growth of L. sakei, however, the same suspension from MRS completely inhibited the 6-fold diluted yeast suspension. The concentrated bacteriocin suspensions from the both broths inhibited the growth of L. sakei completely. Among the strains, L. plantarum 2142 seemed to be the best peroxide and bacteriocin producer, and the antimicrobial metabolite production was better in MRS than in TJ broth.
Socio-Economic Transformation Due to Soybean Cultivation

Soybean also known as "Golden Bean" has brought evolutionary changes in the socio-economic status of the farmers in Madhya Pradesh. The soybean cultivation has mostly expanded on fallow lands in kharif in M.P. Soybean farming has revolutionized the rural economy and has resulted in improved socio-economic industry, its cultivation has generated notable employment opportunities in the country. The adoption of soybean in cropping systems by marginal as well as resource rich farmers in India has been of significance in national agriculture. In order to ascertain the socio-economic transformation of soybean growers, the present study was carried out by selecting 75 soybean growers and 75 non-soybean growers from five villages in Seoni Panchayat Samiti of Seoni district in Madhya Pradesh state. Findings indicate the majority of the soybean growers were middle age group, college of education and possessing medium land holding. The maximum percentage of non-soybean growers were from old age group, higher secondary education level and were having land in between 2.1 to 4.0 ha. etc.
Exposure to ELF magnetic and ELF‐modulated radiofrequency fields: The time course of physiological and cognitive effects observed in recent studies (2001–2005)

In 2002, we published a review of the cognitive and physiological effects of extremely low frequency magnetic fields (ELF MFs) and ELF‐modulated radiofrequency fields associated with mobile phones. Since the original preparation of that review, a significant number of studies have been published using techniques such as electroencephalography, event‐related potentials and positron emission tomography to investigate electromagnetic field effects upon human physiology and various measures of performance (cognitive, perceptual, behavioral). We review these recent studies, and when effects were observed, we reference the time course of observed effects (immediate or delayed). In our concluding remarks, we discuss a number of variables that are not often considered in human bioelectromagnetics studies, such as personality, individual differences and the specific laterality of ELF MF and mobile phone exposure over the brain. We also consider the sensitivity of various physiological assays and performance measures in the study of biological effects of electromagnetic fields. Bioelectromagnetics 27:613–627, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Oral supplementation with whey proteins increases plasma glutathione levels of HIV‐infected patients

HIV infection is characterized by an enhanced oxidant burden and a systemic deficiency of the tripeptide glutathione (GSH), a major antioxidant. The semi‐essential amino acid cysteine is the main source of the free sulfhydryl group of GSH and limits its synthesis. Therefore, different strategies to supplement cysteine supply have been suggested to increase glutathione levels in HIV‐infected individuals. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of oral supplementation with two different cysteine‐rich whey protein formulas on plasma GSH levels and parameters of oxidative stress and immune status in HIV‐infected patients.
In-situ characterization of the acoustic impedance of vegetated roofs

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A gender-specific HIV/STD risk reduction intervention for women in a health care setting: Short- and long-term results of a randomized clinical trial

This study assessed the short- and long-term effect of a gender-specific group intervention for women on unsafe sexual encounters and strategies for protection against HIV/STD infection. Family planning clients (N = 360) from a high HIV seroprevalence area in New York City were randomized to an eight-session, a four-session or a control condition and followed at one, six and 12 months post-intervention. Using an intention-to-treat analysis, women who were assigned to the eight-session group had about twice the odds of reporting decreased or no unprotected vaginal and anal intercourse compared to controls at one month (OR = 1.93, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.07, 3.48, p = 0.03) and at 12-month follow-up (OR = 1.65, 95% CI = 0.94, 2.90, p = 0.08). Relative to controls, women assigned to the eight-session condition reported during the previous month approximately three-and-a-half (p = 0.09) and five (p < 0.01) fewer unprotected sex occasions at one- and 12-month follow-up, respectively. Women in the eight-session group also reduced the number of sex occasions at both follow-ups, and had a greater odds of first time use of an alternative protective strategy (refusal, outercourse, mutual testing) at one-month follow-up. Results for the four-session group were in the expected direction but overall were inconclusive. Thus, gender-specific interventions of sufficient intensity can promote short- and long-term sexual risk reduction among women in a family planning setting.
Predictors of postpartum depression.

OBJECTIVE To examine sociodemographic factors, pregnancy-associated psychosocial stress and depression, health risk behaviors, prepregnancy medical and psychiatric illness, pregnancy-related illnesses, and birth outcomes as risk factors for post-partum depression (PPD). METHODS A prospective cohort study screened women at 4 and 8 months of pregnancy and used hierarchical logistic regression analyses to examine predictors of PPD. The study sample include 1,423 pregnant women at a university-based high risk obstetrics clinic. A score of ≥10 on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) indicated clinically significant depressive symptoms. RESULTS Compared with women without significant postpartum depressive symptoms, women with PPD were significantly younger (p<0.0001), more likely to be unemployed (p=0.04), had more pregnancy associated depressive symptoms (p<0.0001) and psychosocial stress (p<0.0001), were more likely to be smokers (p<0.0001), were more likely to be taking antidepressants (ADs) during pregnancy (p=0.002), were less likely to drink any alcohol during pregnancy (p=0.02), and were more likely to have prepregnancy medical illnesses, including diabetes (p=0.02) and neurologic conditions (p=0.02). CONCLUSION Specific sociodemographic and clinical risk factors for PPD were identified that could help physicians target depression case finding for pregnant women.
In-treatment midwall and endocardial fractional shortening predict cardiovascular outcome in hypertensive patients with preserved baseline systolic ventricular function: the Losartan Intervention For Endpoint reduction study

Background Endocardial fractional shortening (EFS) and midwall shortening (MWS) are impaired in patients with left ventricular hypertrophy. However, it remains unknown whether improvement of left ventricular systolic function during treatment reduces cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in hypertensive patients with preserved left ventricular function. Methods Echocardiograms were performed yearly in 840 hypertensive patients with electrocardiographic left ventricular hypertrophy and baseline left ventricular ejection fraction more and equal to 50%. Baseline and annual in-treatment levels of EFS, MWS and blood pressure (BP) were related to occurrence of a composite endpoint (cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction or stroke) and the component endpoints during 3914 patient-years of follow-up. Results Adjusting for in-treatment BP, left ventricular mass, relative wall thickness and randomized treatments, higher in-treatment EFS was associated with lower risk of myocardial infarction (by 35% per standard deviation [4.5%], P = 0.004) and heart failure (49%, P < 0.001), but in-treatment stress-corrected EFS predicted only incident heart failure (41%, P = 0.014) but not other endpoints. Higher in-treatment MWS tended to be associated with lower risk of composite endpoints (16% per standard deviation [1.8%], P = 0.07) and was significantly associated with myocardial infarction (33%, P = 0.004) and heart failure (43%, P < 0.001). Higher in-treatment stress-corrected MWS was associated with lower rates of myocardial infarction (35%, P = 0.021) and heart failure (50%, P = 0.001). Conclusion These results support a prognostic role for left ventricular myocardial function, as estimated by stress-corrected MWS, during aggressive BP lowering in hypertensive patients with preserved ejection fraction at baseline evaluation.
Ownership Structure, Incentives, and Asset Prices

We show how firms' ownership structures, managerial contracts, and asset prices interact in a dynamic equilibrium model. Our framework distinguishes a firm's small shareholders from its large shareholders, who play the role of mediators by determining managerial contracts, while also influencing asset prices through their dynamic trades. Agency conflicts between large shareholders and managers lead to more volatile and higher expected stock returns. Risk sharing through managerial incentive contracts, however, makes block ownership dynamics effectively insulated from fluctuations in firm-specific parameters. We derive a number of testable implications for the endogenous relations among ownership concentration, managerial incentives, and stock returns.
Risk score elaboration for mediastinitis after coronary artery bypass grafting.

INTRODUCTION The mediastinitis is a serious postoperative complication of cardiac surgery, with an incidence of 0.4 to 5% and mortality between 14 and 47%. Several models were proposed to assess risk of mediastinitis after cardiac surgery. However, most of these models do not evaluate the postoperative morbidity. OBJECTIVE This study aims to develop a score risk model to predict the risk of mediastinitis for patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting. METHODS The study sample included data from 2,809 adult patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting between January 1996 and December 2007 at Hospital São Lucas -PUCRS. Logistic regression was used to examine the relationship between risk factors and the development of mediastinitis. Data from 1,889 patients were used to develop the model and its performance was evaluated in the remaining data (n=920). The definitive model was created with the data analysis of 2,809 patients. RESULTS The rate of mediastinitis was 3.3%, with mortality of 26.6%. In the multivariate analysis, five variables remained independent predictors of the outcome: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, obesity, surgical reintervention, blood transfusion and stable angina class IV or unstable. The area under the ROC curve was 0.72 (95% CI, 0.67-0.78) and P = 0.61. CONCLUSION The risk score was constructed for use in daily practice to calculate the rate of mediastinitis after coronary artery bypass grafting. The score includes routinely collected variables and is simple to use.
Incidence of Malformations following Influenza Epidemics

It is uncertain whether maternal influenza is a cause of human malformations, although defects of the nervous system and axial skeleton have been observed following the administration of the virus to chick embryos and pregnant mice (Hamburger and Habel, 1947; Shear, Heath, Imagawa, Jones and Adams, 1955; Adams, Heath, Imagawa, Jones and Shear, 1956; Williamson, Simonsen and Blattner, 1956). Several attempts have been made to determine whether malformations are commoner in children whose mothers had influenza in pregnancy than in other children, but the results of these inquiries are difficult to interpret. The published series (Table 1) include four in which births after influenza were not classified according to the stage in pregnancy at which infection occurred, and nine in which children born after influenza in the first trimester were considered separately. In seven of the nine series in the second group the incidence of malformations in births following first trimester influenza was higher than in other births. In three of the four series in which the time when infection occurred was not recorded, on the other hand, the malformation rate was not increased in births after overt influenza, but this finding cannot be taken to indicate that the rate was uninfluenced by infection: the mothers of most of the controls in two of these three series showed serological evidence of influenza although their histories were negative, and the incidence of malformations among their offspring was higher than in any other control group shown in Table I (opposite). Although these findings are suggestive, there are two reasons for doubting whether they indicate that influenza causes malformations:
Seasonal distribution of abortions.

At least one pregnancy in eight terminates in an abortion recognized as such and recalled by women when asked for a pregnancy history (McDonald, 1958; Warburton and Fraser, 1964). Some women have a greater tendency to abort than others (Warburton and Fraser, 1964) and a few abort repeatedly (Eastman and Hellman, 1961). Gross fetal malformation undoubtedly accounts for some spontaneous abortions, and recently chromosomal abnormalities, especially trisomy, have been demonstrated in a substantial proportion (Singh and Carr, 1967; Dhadial, Machin, and Tait, 1970). The association of fetal trisomy with advancing maternal age may partly explain the higher risk of abortion observed in older women (Warburton and Fraser, 1964). The epidemiology of spontaneous abortions needs to be understood if we are to attempt to prevent the loss of normal fetuses in desired pregnancies, and the relationship between fetal defect and abortion makes it especially important. One of the main reasons for our ignorance is the difficulty in distinguishing spontaneous from procured abortions which are often concealed. An association between febrile illnesses in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy and abortion was reported (McDonald, 1958) and was also found in another
Predictors of Breastfeeding Duration: Evidence From a Cohort Study

OBJECTIVE. To report the duration of breastfeeding among a population of Australian women and to identify factors that are associated with the duration of full breastfeeding to 6 months and any breastfeeding to 12 months. METHODS. Participants were 587 women who were recruited from 2 maternity hospitals in Perth and completed a baseline questionnaire just before or shortly after discharge from the hospital. Women were followed up by telephone interview at 4, 10, 16, 22, 32, 40, and 52 weeks postpartum. Data collected included sociodemographic, biomedical, hospital-related, and psychosocial factors associated with the initiation and the duration of breastfeeding. Cox's proportional hazards model was used to identify factors that were associated with the risk for discontinuing full breastfeeding before 6 months and any breastfeeding before 12 months. RESULTS. At 6 months of age, fewer than one half of infants were receiving any breast milk (45.9%), and only 12% were being fully breastfed. By 12 months, only 19.2% of infants were still receiving any breast milk. Breastfeeding duration was independently, positively associated with maternal infant feeding attitudes and negatively associated with breastfeeding difficulties in the first 4 weeks, maternal smoking, introduction of a pacifier, and early return to work. CONCLUSIONS. Relatively few women achieved the international recommendations for duration of full and overall breastfeeding. Women should receive anticipatory guidance while still in the hospital on how to prevent or manage common breastfeeding difficulties and should be discouraged from introducing a pacifier before 10 weeks, if at all. Improved maternity leave provisions and more flexible working conditions may help women to remain at home with their infants longer and/or to combine successfully breastfeeding with employment outside the home.