Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Breastfeeding by Chinese Mothers in Australia and China

Background: Breastfeeding practices might be influenced by migration to another country. Although the “healthy migrant effect” is commonly reported in epidemiology, evidence for it in breastfeeding practices is weak. Objectives: This study aimed to compare the initiation and duration of breastfeeding between Chinese Australian migrants and Chinese mothers in mainland China and test the healthy migrant effect in Chinese Australian migrants in Perth, Western Australia. Methods: A survey was undertaken of 239 Chinese mothers living in Perth and 1844 mothers living in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, PR China, with a response rate of 96.7% and 87.8%, respectively. Results: The breastfeeding initiation rate in Chinese Australian mothers (94.1%) was higher than in mothers in China (86.2%, P < .001). Chinese Australian mothers also had a longer breastfeeding duration, greater “full breastfeeding” rate at 6 months, and greater “any breastfeeding” rates at 6 and 12 months. After controlling for potential confounding variables, the results of the binary logistic regression analysis showed that the location of the mother (Australia or China) was associated with breastfeeding practices. Chinese mothers living in Chengdu were less likely to initiate breastfeeding (odds ratio = 0.47, 95% confidence interval, 0.25-0.89) and breastfeed their babies at 12 months (odds ratio = 0.48, 95% confidence interval, 0.33-0.69) than Chinese mothers in Perth. Conclusion: The higher breastfeeding initiation and longer breastfeeding duration by Chinese migrant mothers in Perth than mothers in Chengdu suggest a “healthy migrant effect. ”
Molecular probe for identification of medically important Candida species and Torulopsis glabrata

A cloned DNA fragment from Candida albicans containing the gene for the protein actin was used to probe the molecular structure of the actin gene of several medically important yeasts (C. albicans, Candida stellatoidea, Candida tropicalis, Candida pseudotropicalis, Candida krusei, Candida parapsilosis, Candida guilliermondii, and Torulopsis glabrata). Whole-cell DNA from each species was digested with restriction endonucleases, electrophoresed on agarose gels, and transferred to nitrocellulose. Radioactively labeled C. albicans actin gene was hybridized to the DNA fragments on the nitrocellulose. The C. albicans probe produced a strong signal with all of the Candida DNAs tested, indicating considerable conservation of this gene. In addition, the actin genes of all of the species tested were found to have no internal EcoRI or SalI restriction sites. With the exception of C. guilliermondii, all of the species tested had a single internal HindIII recognition site. However, the location of flanking restriction sites was found to be species specific. For all of the enzymes tested, the locations of the flanking restriction sites in C. albicans and C. stellatoidea were identical; all of the other strains yielded fragments clearly distinct from one another. These differences provide a molecular tool for the differentiation of medically important Candida species.
Urinary excretion of lithocholic acid and its conjugates by the bile duct–ligated rat

The 3‐O‐glucuronide of lithocholic acid has been shown to be a potent cholestatic agent in rats. However, even after the onset of lithocholic acid glucuronide–induced cholestasis, little of the administered material was recovered in urine. To determine whether this phenomenon was related to the steroid moiety or the form of conjugation, small doses of radiolabeled lithocholic acid glucuronide, lithocholic acid, taurolithocholic acid and/or lithocholic acid sulfate were administered to rats with ligated bile ducts. Urinary excretion of isotope was followed for 24 hr and urinary metabolites of the administered compounds were identified by thin‐layer chromatography. Lithocholic and taurolithocholic acids were slowly but relatively efficiently excreted in urine with 73% and 91% of the dose, respectively, recovered in urine over 24 hr. More than 80% of the label in urine from animals receiving these two compounds was in the form of taurine‐conjugated β‐muricholic acid. In contrast, lithocholic acid 3‐glucuronide and 3‐sulfate were poorly excreted: 9% and 12% of the administered doses, respectively, were recovered in urine in 24 hr. Of the small amount of label in urine from rats given the glucuronide, 90% was identified as lithocholic and taurolithocholic acid glucuronides. When lithocholic acid sulfate was given, thin‐layer chromatography of urine showed two peaks, which were tentatively identified as tauromurideoxycholic and taurolithocholic acid sulfates. More definitive identification was not possible because of the small amount of the administered dose excreted in urine in these forms. It is apparent from the results that conjugation of the 3‐hydroxy group of lithocholic acid with sulfate or glucuronide severely impairs the additional hydroxylation of the steroid nucleus that is a prerequisite for effective renal excretion, resulting in the retention of these toxic metabolites in the body. (HEPATOLOGY 1991;14:690–695.)
Mutations in the Newcastle disease virus hemagglutinin-neuraminidase protein that interfere with its ability to interact with the homologous F protein in the promotion of fusion.

Recent evidence suggests that the attachment (HN) and fusion (F) glycoproteins of Newcastle disease virus interact at the cell surface in a virus-specific manner to promote syncytium formation. Consistent with the existence of such an interaction, we have shown that it is possible to coimmunoprecipitate (co-IP) the two proteins from the surface of transiently expressing cells using a monoclonal antibody to either protein. Further, we show that a point mutation in the globular domain of HN that abolishes its receptor recognition and neuraminidase (NA) and fusion activities also abolishes its ability to interact with F in the co-IP assay. The mechanism by which this mutation might interfere with the interaction between the two proteins is discussed in terms of the postulate that recognition by HN of cellular receptors triggers its interaction with F and the apparently conflicting evidence for an interaction between the two proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum. Also, characterization of a set of chimeric HN proteins, having short overlapping sequences from a heterologous HN protein in the F-specific domain in the protein stalk, reveals that a weakened interaction between HN and F is still sufficient to trigger fusion.
Simultaneous Blood Oxygenation Level-Dependent and Cerebral Blood Flow Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging during Forepaw Stimulation in the Rat

The blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) contrast mechanism can be modeled as a complex interplay between CBF, cerebral blood volume (CBV), and CMRO2. Positive BOLD signal changes are presumably caused by CBF changes in excess of increases in CMRO2. Because this uncoupling between CBF and CMRO2 may not always be present, the magnitude of BOLD changes may not be a good index of CBF changes. In this study, the relation between BOLD and CBF was investigated further. Continuous arterial spin labeling was combined with a single-shot, multislice echo-planar imaging to enable simultaneous measurements of BOLD and CBF changes in a well-established model of functional brain activation, the electrical forepaw stimulation of a-chloralose-anesthetized rats. The paradigm consisted of two 18- to 30-second stimulation periods separated by a 1-minute resting interval. Stimulation parameters were optimized by laser Doppler flowmetry. For the same cross-correlation threshold, the BOLD and CBF active maps were centered within the size of one pixel (470 µm). However, the BOLD map was significantly larger than the CBF map. Measurements taken from 15 rats at 9.4 T using a 10-millisecond echo-time showed 3.7 ± 1.7% BOLD and 125.67 ± 81.7% CBF increases in the contralateral somatosensory cortex during the first stimulation, and 2.6 ± 1.2% BOLD and 79.3 ± 43.6% CBF increases during the second stimulation. The correlation coefficient between BOLD and CBF changes was 0.89. The overall temporal correlation coefficient between BOLD and CBF time-courses was 0.97. These results show that under the experimental conditions of the current study, the BOLD signal changes follow the changes in CBF.
Monoclonal antibodies as agonists: an expanded role for their use in cancer therapy.

The development of technologies to generate MAbs3 (1) created considerable excitement in oncology because of their potential use for tumor therapy. The initial rationale was to harness the exquisite specificity of antibodies to bind to tumor-specific antigens and, thereby, to kill tumor cells by means of conventional effector mech anisms that have been perfected during the long evolution of the mammalian immune system, e.g., opsonization, ADCC, or comple ment-mediated lysis (2, 3). When MAbs were evaluated for cross reactivity with normal tissues, however, it became apparent that the majority of tumor-associated antigens were not tumor specific (4), thus creating an apparent obstacle to the above strategy. However, the density of such antigens (e.g., interleukin receptors and carbohydrate moieties peculiar to tumors) was often increased on cells from par ticular tumors (5â€”7),thereby providing an operational window of specificity. In addition, lineage-specific antigens can serve as targets, provided that stem cells in the lineage are antigen-negative and, hence, able to reconstitute the cellular compartment or the tissue involved. Subsequent to selection for MAbs of suitable specificity, the isotypes of such MAbs were then selected to maximize effector functions such as ADCC (8). Despite this initial intellectual appeal, the general therapeutic effi cacy of tumor-reactive MAbs has been disappointing. In particular, the results of clinical studies in patients with solid tumors showed little efficacy (9â€”13),except in the setting of minimal disease (14). This relates in part to the fact that patients in Phase I trials usually have large tumors with poor access to circulating MAb. In addition, the above criteria for selecting MAbs may not have been optimal, as will be discussed in this article. In contrast to results with carcinomas, significant success has been reported in treating NHL and T-cell leukemias with tumor-reactive antibodies. Levy and Miller (15) and Hamblin et a! (16) have used anti-idiotope MAbs to treat NHL and chronic lymphocytic leukemia, respectively. In the majority of cases of NHL, there have been partial or complete remissions using single anti-idiotopic antibodies. Re lapses frequently indicated the emergence of idiotope-negative van ants (17, 18). Dyer et aL (2) have also obtained impressive anti-tumor effects in NHL with anti-CD52. Finally, anti-CD25 has shown some efficacy in the treatment of human T-celi lymphotrophic virus I-in duced adult T-cell leukemia (19). These results have demonstrated both the effectiveness of some antibodies in eliminating neoplastic
Genetic and Physiological Effects of Noncoherent Visible Light Combined with Hydrogen Peroxide on Streptococcus mutans in Biofilm

ABSTRACT Oral biofilms are associated with the most common infections of the oral cavity. Bacteria embedded in the biofilms are less sensitive to antibacterial agents than planktonic bacteria are. Recently, an antibacterial synergic effect of noncoherent blue light and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) on planktonic Streptococcus mutans was demonstrated. In this study, we tested the effect of a combination of light and H2O2 on the vitality and gene expression of S. mutans embedded in biofilm. Biofilms of S. mutans were exposed to visible light (wavelengths, 400 to 500 nm) for 30 or 60 s (equivalent to 34 or 68 J/cm2) in the presence of 3 to 300 mM H2O2. The antibacterial effect was assessed by microbial counts of each treated sample compared with that of the control. The effect of light combined with H2O2 on the different layers of the biofilm was evaluated by confocal laser scanning microscopy. Gene expression was determined by real-time reverse transcription-PCR. Our results show that noncoherent light, in combination with H2O2, has a synergistic antibacterial effect through all of the layers of the biofilm. Furthermore, this treatment was more effective against bacteria in biofilm than against planktonic bacteria. The combined light and H2O2 treatment up-regulated the expression of several genes such as gtfB, brp, smu630, and comDE but did not affect relA and ftf. The ability of noncoherent visible light in combination with H2O2 to affect bacteria in deep layers of the biofilm suggests that this treatment may be applied in biofilm-related diseases as a minimally invasive antibacterial procedure.
The prevalence and correlates of low sexual functioning in women on hemodialysis: A multinational, cross-sectional study

Sexual dysfunction may affect 80% of women in hemodialysis. However the specific patterns and clinical correlates of sexual functioning remain poorly described. The aim of this study was to assess prevalence and correlates of the individual domains of sexual functioning in women treated with hemodialysis. We recruited, into this multinational cross-sectional study, women treated with long-term hemodialysis (Collaborative Working Group on Depression and Sexual dysfunction in Hemodialysis study). Self-reported domains of sexual functioning were assessed by the Female Sexual Function Index, which is routinely administered within the network of dialysis patients followed by the working group. Lower scores represented lower sexual functioning. Socio-demographic and clinical correlates of each domain of sexual functioning were identified by stepwise multivariable linear regression. Sensitivity analyses were restricted to women who reported being sexually active. We found that of 1309 enrolled women, 659 (50.3%) provided complete responses to FSFI survey questions and 232 (35%) reported being sexually active. Overall, most respondents reported either no sexual activity or low sexual functioning in all measured domains (orgasm 75.1%; arousal 64.0%; lubrication 63.3%; pain 60.7%; satisfaction 60.1%; sexual desire 58.0%). Respondents who were waitlisted for a kidney transplant reported scores with higher sexual functioning, while older respondents reported scores with lower functioning. The presence of depression was associated with worse lubrication and pain scores [mean difference for depressed versus non-depressed women (95% CI) -0.42 (-0.73 to -0.11), -0.53 (-0.89 to -0.16), respectively] while women who had experienced a previous cardiovascular event reported higher pain scores [-0.77 (-1.40- to -0.13)]. In conclusion, women in hemodialysis reported scores consistent with marked low sexual functioning across a range of domains; the low functioning appeared to be associated with comorbidity.
The effect of control and self-medication of chronic gout in a developing country. Outcome after 10 years.

OBJECTIVE We describe a 10 year observation of the effect of control of hyperuricemia compared with self-medication alone in patients with chronic gout. METHODS We studied 299 consecutively self-referred Malayo-Polynesian men with chronic gout, mean age 35 +/- 14.3 SD years. Subjects comprised 228 cases with chronic gout without tophi or urolithiasis (Group 1) and 71 with those complications (Group 2). Attacks of acute gouty arthritis were treated with nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAID) and/or corticosteroids. After acute arthritis had settled, urate-lowering drugs were instituted in both groups combined with low dose colchicine and/or low dose NSAID for at least 0.5-2 years. Urate levels were maintained longterm at a mean of < 5 mg/dl. After 10 years, the dropouts were traced and evaluated for comparison with baseline and those who remained in the study. In Group 2 the urate-lowering drugs were continued. RESULTS Control of gout and hyperuricemia was achieved in all patients who remained under control: 91.6% of the 299 patients for at least 2 years (short-term), up to 5 years in 87.5% (medium term), and up to 10 years in 79.6% (longterm). In Group 1 (chronic gout without complication) only 36.8% had no attacks during 8 years, after they had tapered urate-lowering drug after the first 2 years of the study. In the 61 dropouts the intermittent symptomatic treatment and/or self-medication without longterm control of hyperuricemia resulted after 1 decade in chronic gout with more complications and associated conditions leading to increased morbidity, disability, and comorbidity, and 3 early mortalities. CONCLUSION By controlling hyperuricemia, improvement of the prognosis of chronic gout, comorbidity, and early death was achieved compared with self-medication alone. Self-medication in a developing country if continued unchecked may become a public health problem in a population with a high prevalence rate of gout.
A Feature Based Algorithm for Face Image Description

The process of automatic identification or verification of the human face is a very interesting problem in both sociology and industry. The way of gathering biometric information is non intrusive and easy to perform. Systems that can scan faces in big public places like the airport in search of the offender's face are becoming more and more popular. This paper studies the use of the modified Toeplitz matrices as a face descriptor and shows results of classification using classifiers like kNN, Naive Bayes and Discriminant Analysis. Many face recognition algorithms are based on statistical approach like PCA, LDA, ICA and their modifications, other statistical approaches include ASM, AAM and others. Points obtained form i.e. ASM may be used as an input to create the feature vectors of the face image. The proposed way of the face description was successfully used in written text recognition but it was never shown as a fully successful descriptor in the face identification purposes.
Numerical model for the simulation of fixed wings aeroelastic response

A numerical model for the simulation of fixed wings aeroelastic response is presented. The methodology used in the work is to treat the aerodynamics and the structural dynamics separately and then couple them in the equations of motion. The dynamic characterization of the wing structure is done by the finite element method and the equations of motion are written in modal coordinates. The unsteady aerodynamic loads are predicted using the vortex lattice method. The exchange of information between the aerodynamic and structural meshes is done by the surface splines interpolation scheme, and the equations of motion are solved iteratively in the time domain, employing a predictor-corrector method. Numerical simulations are performed for a prototype aircraft wing. The aeroelastic response is represented by time histories of the modal coordinates for different airspeeds, and the flutter occurrence is verified when the time histories diverge (i.e. the amplitudes keep growing). Fast Fourier Transforms of these time histories show the coupling of frequencies typical of the flutter phenomenon.
A cross‐sectional study of psychological morbidity in patients with acne, psoriasis and atopic dermatitis in specialist dermatology and general practices

Background There is considerable evidence for an association of skin diseases with psychological morbidity. This relationship is best established for acne, psoriasis and atopic eczema. Previous studies have mostly been performed in specialist dermatological practice, and there is a lack of studies that include patients from general practice and a lack of controlled studies employing multivariate analysis.
Prognostic Factors in Patients with Advanced Pancreatic Cancer Treated with Systemic Chemotherapy

The clinical features of 65 patients with advanced pancreatic cancer treated between 1984 and 1993 were analyzed retrospectively to identify the significant prognostic factors. All the patients had presented unresectable or metastatic disease on imaging diagnostic evaluation and had received systemic chemotherapy. The overall median survival time and 1-year survival rate were 3.9 months and 9.8%, respectively. The independent favorable prognostic factors identified by multivariate analysis using the Cox proportional hazards model were a performance status of 0–1, a serum carcinoernbryonic antigen level of < 10 ng/ml, and an absence of distant metastasis. A prognostic index calculated from the regression coefficients for these three factors was used to classify the patients into three groups, with good, intermediate, and poor prognoses. The median survival time for these three groups was 7.4, 3.5, and 2.0 months, respectively (p < 0.001). The results of this study may be useful in the design and analysis of future clinical trials of systemic chemotherapy for advanced pancreatic cancer.
Optimization of Generalized Mean-Square Error in Noisy Linear Estimation

A class of least squares problems that arises in linear Bayesian estimation is analyzed. The data vector ${\bf y}$ is given by the model ${\bf y} = {\bf P}({\bf H}\bm{\theta} + \bm{\eta}) + {\bf w}$, where ${\bf H}$ is a known matrix, while $\bm{\theta}$, $\bm{\eta}$, and ${\bf w}$ are uncorrelated random vectors. The goal is to obtain the best estimate for $\bm{\theta}$ from the measured data. Applications of this estimation problem arise in multisensor data fusion problems and in wireless communication. The unknown matrix ${\bf P}$ is chosen to minimize the expected mean-squared error ${\bf E}(\|\bm{\theta} - \hat{\bm{\theta}}\|^2)$ subject to a power constraint “trace $({\bf P}{\bf P}^*) \le P$,” where $\hat{\bm{\theta}}$ is the best affine estimate of $\bm{\theta}$. Earlier work characterized an optimal ${\bf P}$ in the case where the noise term $\bm{\eta}$ vanished, while this paper analyzes the effect of $\bm{\eta}$, assuming its covariance is a multiple of ${\bf I}$. The singular value decomposition of an optimal ${\bf P}$ is expressed in the form ${\bf V}\bm{\Sigma}\bm{\Pi}{\bf U}^*$ where ${\bf V}$ and ${\bf U}$ are unitary matrices related to the covariance of either $\bm{\theta}$ or ${\bf w}$, and singular vectors of ${\bf H}$, $\bm{\Sigma}$ is diagonal, and $\bm{\Pi}$ is a permutation matrix. The analysis is carried out in two special cases: (i) ${\bf H} = {\bf I}$ and (ii) covariance of $\bm{\theta}$ is ${\bf I}$. In case (i), $\bm{\Pi}$ does not depend on the power $P$. In case (ii), $\bm{\Pi}$ generally depends on $P$. The optimal $\bm{\Pi}$ is determined in the limit as the power tends to zero or infinity; a good approximation to an optimal $\bm{\Pi}$ is found for general $P$.