Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Low dosage tricyclic antidepressants for depression.

BACKGROUND Tricyclic antidepressants are still extensively prescribed worldwide. Evidence for the recommended dosage of tricyclics, however, is poor. OBJECTIVES To compare the effects and side effects of low dosage tricyclic antidepressants with placebo and with standard dosage tricyclics in acute phase treatment of depression. SEARCH STRATEGY Electronic search of the Cochrane Collaboration Depression, Anxiety and Neurosis Controlled Trials Register (CCDANCTR), incorporating results of group searches of MEDLINE (1966-), EMBASE (1980-), CINAHL (1982-), PsycLIT (1974-), PSYNDEX (1977-) and LILACS (1982-1999) and hand searches of major psychiatric and medical journals. Reference search and SciSearch of the identified studies. Personal contact with authors of significant papers. SELECTION CRITERIA All randomised controlled trials 1) comparing low dosage TCA (=< 100 mg/d on average at the end of trial) with placebo or 2) comparing low and standard dosages of the same TCA, in acute phase treatment of depressive disorder DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS Two independent reviewers examined eligibility of the identified studies, and extracted data for outcomes at 1 week, 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 6-8 weeks and later. Main outcome measures were relative risk of response in depression (random effects model), according to the original authors' definition but usually defined as 50% or greater reduction in severity of depression according to the last-observation-carried-forward intention-to-treat method, and relative risks of overall dropouts and dropouts due to side effects. Other outcome measures included worst-case-scenario intention-to-treat analysis of response as defined above (in which dropouts were considered non-responders in the active treatment group and as responders in the comparison group), and standardised weighted mean scores of continuous depression severity scales (usually calculated by last-observation-carried-forward method). MAIN RESULTS 35 studies (2013 participants) compared low dosage tricyclics with placebo, and six studies (551 participants) compared low dosage tricyclics with standard dosage tricyclics. Low dosage tricyclics, mostly between 75 and 100 mg/day, were 1.65 (95% confidence interval 1.36 to 2.0) and 1.47 (1.12 to 1.94) times more likely than placebo to bring about response at 4 weeks and 6-8 weeks, respectively. Standard dosage tricyclics failed, however, to bring about more response but produced more dropouts due to side effects than low dosage tricyclics. REVIEWER'S CONCLUSIONS Treatment of depression in adults with low dose tricyclics is justified. However, more rigorous studies are needed to definitively establish the relative benefits and harms of varying dosages.
Analysis of women participation in cassava production and processing in Imo state, southeast Nigeria

Abstract The study examined the participation of women in cassava production and processing in Imo State, Nigeria. Stratifi ed and simple random samplings were used to select 60 women that engage in the enterprise in the state. Descriptive statistics, participation index and an econometric tool were used to analyze data. The main enterprise objective of the women was household consumption. A grand mean participation index of 3.02 obtained is an indication that the women always participated in the enterprise in the state. The dominant activities of the women were cultivation, cutting of cassava sticks, frying and fi re preparation. Level of education, number of visits by extension agents, access to farm credit, farm income, and cooperative membership were the statistically (p < 0.05) signifi cant factors that affect the respondents in the state. The major constraints faced by the respondents were non-ownership of farm land, pre-occupation with household chores, inadequate farm size and high cost of processing. It is recommended that the respondents should belong to cooperative associations, and form effective linkage with agricultural extension agencies in the area. There is need to review the existing system of land acquisition and ownership in the area in order to give women greater access to and control of productive resources.
The Incidence of Spondylolysis and Spondylolisthesis in Children With Osteogenesis Imperfecta

Background: Spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis are common abnormalities of the lumbar spine. The incidence of these diagnoses is recognized in the healthy population. However, their incidence in osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) patients is less well defined. Methods: This is a retrospective radiographic review of patients treated in the OI clinic from a single institution. Lateral radiographs were reviewed on all available patients to assess the incidence of spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis in this patient population. The morphology of the pedicle and pars interarticularis was also evaluated to identify any abnormalities or dysplasia of these structures. Results: One hundred ten of the 139 patients treated in the OI clinic met the inclusion criteria for this study. Of these patients, 79% (87 of 110) were ambulatory. The overall incidence of spondylolysis in this pediatric OI population was found to be 8.2% (9 of 110) at an average age of 7.5 years. The incidence of spondylolisthesis was 10.9% (12 of 110) at an average age of 6.5 years with 75% (3 of 12) being isthmic type and 25% (3 of 12) dysplastic. The combined incidence of spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis was 19.2%. Incidentally, the pedicle length was noted to be elongated in 40.0% (44 of 110) of this OI population. Conclusions: This study found that the incidence of spondylolysis in a group of children with OI was much higher than in the normal pediatric population, which has been reported to be 2.6% to 4.0%. This incidence was also found to be higher than previously reported incidence of spondylolysis in OI patients (5.3%). The incidence of spondylolisthesis was also found to be much higher than that of the normal pediatric population (4.2%). It is important to recognize this higher incidence of these abnormalities and to anticipate future associated symptoms and potential worsening listhesis that can clinically affect the lifestyles of these children and potentially require surgical treatment. The clinical significance of these findings will necessitate long-term follow-up.
FORMULATION AND EVALUATION OF MUCOADHESIVE MICROSPHERES OF METFORMIN HYDROCHLORIDE

Mucoadhesive microspheres of metformin hydrochloride were prepared by orifice ionic gelation method to target the drug absorption in the stomach and upper part of intestine by increasing the residence time of drug in upper part of gastro intestinal tract and to control the drug release in therapeutic range for a longer period of time. Here sodium alginate was used as crosslinking agent and carbopol 934P and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose were used as mucoadhesive polymers in the formulation step. The surface morphology of the microspheres was characterized by scanning electron microscopy. The prepared microspheres were discrete, spherical in shape and showed free flowing properties and exhibited good mucoadhesive property in the in vitro wash-off test. Among all the formulation, Formulation F4 containing carbopol 934P and F8 containing hydroxy propyl methyl cellulose (HPMC K-100M) showed a high drug entrapment efficiency of 84.15 ± 0.01% and 78.21 ± 0.09% and a percentage swelling index of 148.1 ± 1.45% and 197.4 ± 1.20%. Percentage mucoadhesion after 10 h was 40 ± 2 % and 35 ± 2 % for F4 and F8 respectively . The drug release from the formulations F4 and F8 controlled for more than 12 h. The data obtained thus suggest that mucoadhesive microspheres can successfully design for controlled delivery of metformin hydrochloride and to improve patient compliance. The mechanism of drug release was evaluated using the linear regression coefficient.
An intervention programme for children with moderate learning difficulties.

BACKGROUND Children with learning difficulties typically demonstrate problems generalising what they have learned in specific contexts to new situations. Intervention programmes that teach children regulatory skills have been shown to overcome these problems for children with reading difficulties. This study applies the principles that underlie such interventions to the design of a programme for children with more general learning difficulties. AIM The aim of the study reported here was to design and evaluate an intervention programme which would facilitate the transfer of skills learned over the course of the intervention to different types of task. SAMPLE A total of 41 children (aged 13-16 yrs; 14 females, 27 males) with moderate learning difficulties participated in the intervention programme. METHOD The children participated in a twelve-week intervention programme designed to promote regulatory strategies over a range of activities. The children worked in pairs and were guided by an adult who provided explicit instruction and modelled appropriate strategies. The children were assessed before and after the programme to determine whether improvements in strategic behaviour were evident and whether this generalised to new situations. RESULTS Gains made in regulatory skills over the course of the intervention were accompanied by improvements in other performance measures such as reading and IQ. CONCLUSIONS Even after a relatively short intervention, which focused on the development of regulatory skills, significant improvements on a range of tasks were observed for a group of children with moderate learning difficulties.
A non-contact heart rate estimation method using video magnification and neural networks

Heart rate (HR) monitoring is a significant task in many medical, sports and aged care in assisted living applications, among other disciplines. In the literature, several works have reported effectiveness in addressing the measurement of HR using contact sensors such as adhesive or dry electro-conductive electrodes. However, there are several issues associated with contact sensors like portability problems, skin irritation, discomfort and body movement constraints. In this regard, this paper presents a non-contact HR estimation method using vision-based methods and neural networks. This work uses a bio-inspired Eulerian motion magnification approach to highlight the blood irrigation process of the cardiac pulse, which is later inputted to a feed-forward neural network trained to estimate the HR. For experimental analysis, we compare two magnification procedures, based on Gaussian and Hermite decomposition, over video recordings collected from the wrists of five subjects. Results show that the Hermite-based magnification method is robust under noise analysis (4.24 bpm of root mean squared-error in the worst case scenario). Furthermore, our results demonstrate that the Hermite-based method is competitive in the state-of-the-art (1.86 bpm in average of root mean squared-error) and can be implemented using a single camera for contactless HR estimation.
Risk for suicidal ideation and attempt among a primary care sample of adolescents engaging in nonsuicidal self-injury.

One in five adolescents in the United States has engaged in nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI), one in eight have had serious thoughts of suicide, and one in 25 have attempted suicide. Research suggests that NSSI may increase risk for suicide attempt, yet little is known about the relationship between NSSI and suicidal ideation or attempts. In a primary care setting, 1,561 youth aged 14-24 years completed a brief, comprehensive, mental health screen as part of a routine well visit to determine which factors were most likely to predict suicidal ideation and attempt among youth engaging in NSSI. Results of recursive partitioning revealed that current depression and history of alcohol use best differentiated youth engaging in NSSI with low versus high risk for suicidal ideation and attempts. This simple algorithm is presented as a clinical screening tool that might aid medical providers in determining which youth would benefit from more intensive assessment and intervention.
Consumer Adoption of Health Information Systems

At nearly 18 percent of the country’s GDP, the U.S. healthcare industry continues to wrestle with growing cost and a quality of care that does not match the increased spending. The dominant focus to date has been on promoting Health IT (HIT) system implementation and digitizing health records at the provider’s end, with scant attention to the role of the patient in the healthcare process. The source of inefficiency in the healthcare system is not only on account of shortcomings at the provider’s end but also due to non-compliance (such as failing to adhere to medication advice and follow-up visits) at the patient’s end. Because of this two-fold inefficiency, recent focus has been on engaging the patient to jointly work with the physicians in managing their health and wellness. There are several health related IT applications (popularly called as health apps) and online health communities directly targeted at the consumer for aiding self-management of one’s health and wellness. However, widespread adoption and usage of these systems by consumers is yet to happen, which underscores the need for a systematic study to identify the factors that drive consumer adoption and usage of these HIT systems. This dissertation focuses on the mechanisms underlying consumer adoption and usage of HIT systems through three essays. Together the three essays advance our knowledge of the factors that underlie consumer adoption and usage of HIT systems and the interventions through which adoption and usage of these systems can be further enhanced. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings and directions for future research are discussed. Future research that builds on the findings of this dissertation research will not only advance theory but also significantly impact policies that guide IT driven consumer health and wellness initiatives.
Association of Mechanical Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Device Use With Cardiac Arrest Outcomes: A Population-Based Study Using the CARES Registry (Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival).

The use of mechanical cardiopulmonary resuscitation devices (mCPR) to deliver CPR has become more widespread, although a survival advantage has not been demonstrated in randomized, controlled trials.1–3 Little is known about real-world use of mCPR or the association with outcomes. CARES (Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival), a US national registry of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest,4 was analyzed for adults with nontraumatic out-of-hospital cardiac arrest from January 2013 to December 2015. Patients treated with mCPR were compared with patients receiving manual CPR only. Time of arrest, time of first CPR, and timing of interventions were not reliably reported. However, patients had information about when return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) occurred before or after advanced life support (ALS) measures. As part of a subgroup analysis, patients with ROSC before ALS were excluded because of the decreased likelihood of these patients receiving mCPR. The primary outcome of interest was neurologically favorable survival at hospital discharge, defined as a Cerebral Performance Category of 1 or 2. This project was deemed exempt from review by the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and University of Pennsylvania Institutional Review boards. Statistical analyses included the Student t test and χ2 test as appropriate. A multivariable logistic regression model was created with the use of stepwise addition to control for Utstein-style arrest characteristics, …
Human CYP7A1 deficiency: progress and enigmas.

Studies of human mutations have paved the way toward understanding elevated plasma cholesterol levels, both by exposing the mechanisms of lipid transport and by focusing hypotheses for further studies (1, 2). In this issue, Pullinger et al. (3) studied a kindred with hypercholesterolemia and identified a mutation in CYP7A1, which encodes cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase, the first and rate-limiting step in the classical bile acid synthetic pathway (4). As has been the case before, this new mutation has simultaneously shed light on mechanisms of lipid metabolism and raised a welter of issues for future investigation. The study by Pullinger et al. (3) must have been supremely gratifying for the authors: They started with an imaginative hypothesis about hypercholesterolemia — one rooted in simple clinical findings — and, after some serious screening efforts, hit pay dirt. They hypothesized that CYP7A1 deficiency would reduce the conversion of cholesterol to bile acids, resulting in elevated liver cholesterol levels, downregulated LDL receptors, and hypercholesterolemia. They further hypothesized that the increased hepatic cholesterol levels would render these patients resistant to the hypocholesterolemic effect of statins and that CYP7A1 deficiency would cause premature gallstone disease, a result of reduced bile acid secretion rates. By screening appropriate patients from their lipid clinic, they identified two brothers, both with premature gallstone disease and statin-resistant hypercholesterolemia, who were homozygous for a frameshift mutation in CYP7A1 that abolished enzyme activity. A third homozygote also had hypercholesterolemia, and six heterozygotes had higher cholesterol levels than unaffected family members, leading the authors to conclude that CYP7A1 deficiency in humans causes hypercholesterolemia. This conclusion is consistent with population studies that have shown an association between plasma cholesterol levels and polymorphisms at the CYP7A1 locus (5, 6). While the guiding hypothesis of Pullinger et al. (3) is attractive, we believe that a cautionary note should be sounded about the hyperlipidemic phenotype. Because the authors identified a hyperlipidemic kindred within a tertiary care lipid clinic, the possibility of ascertainment bias must be considered, particularly since their kindred was not particularly large and since the conclusions were based on a limited number of lipid measurements. More kindreds with CYP7A1 mutations will be needed if the phenotype is to be defined conclusively. Assuming that the hypercholesterolemic phenotype is upheld by future studies, it will be crucial to explore mechanisms. Their hypothesis holds that CYP7A1-deficient subjects have elevated liver cholesterol levels leading to reduced LDL receptor activity and retarded removal of LDL from the bloodstream. This hypothesis must be tested. The VLDL and LDL turnover rates in CYP7A1-deficient subjects should be measured and compared with those in both normal controls and subjects with the heterozygous form of familial hypercholesterolemia.
Green Supply Chain Management in the Malaysian Automotive Industry: A Systems Thinking Perspective

This study examines the deployment of green supply chain management (GSCM) in the Malaysian automotive industry. Proponents of GSCM suggest that as an advanced corporate environmental governance practice, GSCM is an important corporate strategy deployed for sustainability particularly in the automotive industry. However, little is understood about the deployment of GSCM within an automotive industry operating in a developing country like Malaysia. The present study addresses this literature gap by focusing on both the GSCM deployment procedures and practices within the Malaysian automotive industry. The study adopts a qualitative research methodology, with data collected through semi-structured interviews, observation and document reviews from a single automotive manufacturing case firm operating in Malaysia. Consistent with the literature, our findings suggest that the case firm uses a holistic and systemic approach to deploy GSCM practices. This holistic GSCM deployment approach involves a structured regulated procedure–led method that directly supports systemic green practices.
Toward a Geography of Personality Traits

It has long been believed that personality traits vary by geographicallocation, but few studies have examined the worldwide distribution of personality profiles. Using the five-factor model of personality—a comprehensive and apparently universal trait structure—we conducted secondary analyses of data from 36 cultures. Distance from the equator and mean temperature were not meaningfully related to personality factors. However, cluster analysis showed that geographically proximatecultures often have similar profiles, and multidimensional scaling showed a clear contrast of European and American cultures with Asian and African cultures. The former were higher in extraversion and openness to experience and lower in agreeableness. A second dimension reflected differences in psychological adjustment. Observed differences between cultures may be the result of differences in gene pools or in features of culture; acculturation studies and the analyses of other natural experiments are needed to understand the origins of geographical differences in personality traits.
Beck Depression Inventory-II: College Population Study

This study expands on the normative data available for the newly revised Beck Depression Inventory-II. Data from both an outpatient, counseling-center sample (n = 152: 106 women, 46 men) and a classroom sample (n = 152: 79 women, 65 men) of college students are presented, including sex differences on the inventory. Means and standard deviations of individual items and total scores are reported, along with statistical tests of differences between groups. Comparisons of these data with norms reported by the authors of the inventory (Beck, Steer, & Brown, 1996) are offered. The lack of sex differences found in comparison of total scores for both samples is presented. Implications for the use of the inventory with college populations are discussed.
Gut feelings: Studying enteric nervous system development, function, and disease in the zebrafish model system

The enteric nervous system (ENS) is the largest part of the peripheral nervous system and is entirely neural crest–derived. It provides the intrinsic innervation of the gut, controlling different aspects of gut function, such as motility. In this review, we will discuss key points of Zebrafish ENS development, genes, and signaling pathways regulating ENS development, as well as contributions of the Zebrafish model system to better understand ENS disorders. During their migration, enteric progenitor cells (EPCs) display a gradient of developmental states based on their proliferative and migratory characteristics, and show spatiotemporal heterogeneity based on gene expression patterns. Many genes and signaling pathways that regulate the migration and proliferation of EPCs have been identified, but later stages of ENS development, especially steps of neuronal and glial differentiation, remain poorly understood. In recent years, Zebrafish have become increasingly important to test candidate genes for ENS disorders (e.g., from genome‐wide association studies), to identify environmental influences on ENS development (e.g., through large‐scale drug screens), and to investigate the role the gut microbiota play in ENS development and disease. With its unique advantages as a model organism, Zebrafish will continue to contribute to a better understanding of ENS development, function, and disease. Developmental Dynamics 247:268–278, 2018. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.