Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Six‐month natural history of oral versus cervical human papillomavirus infection

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is etiologically associated with a subset of oral cancers, and yet, the natural history of oral HPV infection remains unexplored. The feasibility of studying oral HPV natural history was evaluated by collecting oral rinse samples on 2 occasions at a 6‐month interval from 136 HIV‐positive and 63 HIV‐negative participants. Cervical vaginal lavage samples were concurrently collected for comparison. HPV genomic DNA was detected in oral and cervical samples by consensus primer PCR and type‐specified for 37 HPV types. The six‐month cumulative prevalence of oral HPV infection was significantly less than for cervical infection (p < 0.0001). HIV‐positive women were more likely than HIV‐negative women to have an oral (33 vs. 15%, p = 0.016) or cervical (78 vs. 51%, p < 0.001) infection detected. Oral HPV infections detected at baseline were as likely as cervical infections to persist to 6 months among HIV‐negative (60% vs. 51%, p = 0.70) and HIV‐positive (55% vs. 63%, p = 0.27) women. Factors that independently elevated odds for oral HPV persistence differed from cervical infection and included current smoking (OR = 8, 95% CI = 1.3–53), age above 44 years (OR = 20, 95% CI = 4.1–83), CD4 < 500 (OR = 6, 95% CI = 1.1–26), use of HAART therapy (OR = 12, 95% CI = 1.0–156), and time on HAART therapy (trend p = 0.04). The rate of oral HPV infections newly detected at follow‐up was significantly lower than cervical infection among HIV‐positive (p < 0.001) and HIV‐negative women (p < 0.001). Our study not only demonstrates that it is feasible to study the natural history of oral HPV infection with oral rinse sampling, but also indicates that oral and cervical HPV natural history may differ. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Efficacy of Anastrozole in a Consecutive Series of Advanced Breast Cancer Patients Treated with Multiple Prior Chemotherapies and Endocrine Agents: M. D. Anderson Cancer Center Experience

▪ Abstract: Anastrozole is a highly selective, nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitor approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in January 1996 for the treatment of advanced breast cancer in postmenopausal women with disease progression following tamoxifen therapy. To date, information on anastrozole’s use has been limited to breast cancer patients with minimal prior therapy. The purpose of this review was to determine, in clinical practice, the benefits of anastrozole in advanced breast cancer patients treated with multiple prior cytotoxic and endocrine therapies. This was a retrospective review of a consecutive series of 117 patients who received anastrozole after marketing in January 1996. As this was not a prospective study, rigorous response criteria could not be applied. Responses were categorized as improvement in disease (ID), stable disease (SD), or progressive disease (PD). One hundred eight patients were evaluable for response with a median age of 61 years and the number of prior therapies ranging from one to nine. Response, defined as improvement of disease or stable disease 8 weeks, was seen in 59% of patients. Patients with three or more prior endocrine therapies demonstrated a 61% response (ID + SD) and patients with ER‐negative tumors demonstrated 50% response. Patients with prior aminoglutethamide therapy exhibited similar response rates to the overall group. One male patient received anastrozole without benefit. This data determines the activity of anastrozole even in heavily pretreated patients and suggests that patients who have tumors that are ER‐negative may also benefit from anastrozole therapy. ▪
Major Histocompatibility Complex class IIb polymorphism influences gut microbiota composition and diversity

Animals harbour diverse communities of symbiotic bacteria, which differ dramatically among host individuals. This heterogeneity poses an immunological challenge: distinguishing between mutualistic and pathogenic members of diverse and host‐specific microbial communities. We propose that Major Histocompatibility class II (MHC) genotypes contribute to recognition and regulation of gut microbes, and thus, MHC polymorphism contributes to microbial variation among hosts. Here, we show that MHC IIb polymorphism is associated with among‐individual variation in gut microbiota within a single wild vertebrate population of a small fish, the threespine stickleback. We sampled stickleback from Cedar Lake, on Vancouver Island, and used next‐generation sequencing to genotype the sticklebacks’ gut microbiota (16S sequencing) and their MHC class IIb exon 2 sequences. The presence of certain MHC motifs was associated with altered relative abundance (increase or decrease) of some microbial Families. The effect sizes are modest and entail a minority of microbial taxa, but these results represent the first indication that MHC genotype may affect gut microbiota composition in natural populations (MHC‐microbe associations have also been found in a few studies of lab mice). Surprisingly, these MHC effects were frequently sex‐dependent. Finally, hosts with more diverse MHC motifs had less diverse gut microbiota. One implication is that MHC might influence the efficacy of therapeutic strategies to treat dysbiosis‐associated disease, including the outcome of microbial transplants between healthy and diseased patients. We also speculate that macroparasite‐driven selection on MHC has the potential to indirectly alter the host gut microbiota, and vice versa.
Comparative in vitro activity of cefmenoxime, cefotaxime, cefuroxime, cefoxitin, and penicillin against Neisseria gonorrhoeae

The in vitro activity of a new beta-lactam antibiotic, cefmenoxime, was compared with those of cefotaxime, cofuroxime, cefoxitin, and penicillin against 72 beta-lactamase-negative and 26 beta-lactamase-positive Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Cefmenoxime was as active as cefotaxime and more active than the other three antimicrobial agents. It inhibited all isolates, regardless of beta-lactamase activity, at a concentration of less than or equal to 0.015 microgram/ml.
Complex partial seizures on closed‐circuit television and EEG: A study of 691 attacks in 79 patients

Automatisms of 691 complex partial seizures in 79 patients were studied on closed‐circuit television (CCTV) and by electroencephalography. Simple stereotyped perseverative automatisms such as chewing, swallowing, and fumbling with clothes or sheets followed an initial motionless stare and lapse of consciousness in type I attacks. Ambulatory automatisms, bilateral arm and leg perseverative movements, and tonic adversive head or eye movements (or both) characterized type II attacks, in which a motionless stare was not observed. Type III started with a drop attack followed by confusion, amnesia, and gradual recomposure. Some type II and III attacks are suspected to begin in areas outside the temporal lobe, while type I attacks are thought to originate from the temporal lobe. Further studies using CCTV and depth electrode recordings are necessary to verify these suspicions.
Prompt Diagnosis of Ectopic Pregnancy in an Emergency Department Setting

Objective: To evaluate quantitative hCG measurements and transvaginal ultrasound in the diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy in patients presenting to the emergency department. Methods: A discriminatory zone for detecting the presence or absence of an intrauterine pregnancy by transvaginal ultrasound was established prospectively. Women presenting to the emergency department were evaluated prospectively using a diagnostic algorithm consisting of clinical examination, quantitative serum hCG, and transvaginal ultrasound. Finally, ectopic pregnancies diagnosed over a 22-month period were evaluated prospectively. Results: All viable intrauterine pregnancies were identified in those subjects with hCG levels of 1500 mlU/mL (First International Reference) or greater. One thousand two hundred sixty-three subjects were evaluated prospectively; 59.8% were diagnosed with intrauterine pregnancy, 26.8% with spontaneous abortion, and 7.8% with ectopic pregnancy. At presentation, 13.2% of intrauterine pregnancies were diagnosed by clinical examination, whereas 82.9% were diagnosed by transvaginal ultrasound. Only 4% of normal intrauterine pregnancies were not confirmed on initial visit. Of 205 ectopic pregnancies diagnosed, 81.5% were hemodynamically stable; of these, 49.1% were diagnosed on initial presentation. Of all ectopics, 59% never reached an hCG level of 1500 mlU/mL and 35.8% had an hCG lower than the level at presentation. This protocol diagnosed ectopic pregnancies with a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 99.9%. Conclusion: A protocol of quantitative hCG levels (available within hours of presentation to an emergency department) combined with transvaginal ultrasound is effective in diagnosing ectopic pregnancy. (Obstet Gynecol 1994;84: 1010-5)
Daytime hormonal rhythms in practitioners of the transcendental meditation-Sidhi program

The aim of the study was to evaluate the daytime rhythm of hormones in subjects who are practitioners of the advanced meditation technique TM-Sidhi. The study group consisted of five subjects, two women and three men, with at least two years of experience in the practice of the technique. Blood samples were taken at hourly intervals from 09:00h to 21:00h. The subjects practiced meditation for one hour between 12:00h and 13:00h. Cortisol and ACTH levels were measured using radioimmunoassay methods, whereas catecholamines concentrations were determined by high performance liquid chromatography. Cortisol showed a normal rhythm, with values significantly higher in the morning than in the afternoon (p=0.003, Kruskal-Wallis test), with a non significant decline in the levels during the period of meditation. For ACTH, there were no diurnal variations (p= 0.4), but with elevated levels of the hormone after meditation. Catecholamines showed no significant differences between the morning and afternoon concentrations (p= 0.09 for NE, p= 0.08 for E). After the TM-Sidhi program their values declined, reaching the minimum level at 14:00h. The present study found patterns of the daytime secretion of ACTH and catecholamines in practitioners of the TM-Sidhi technique that were different from those normally described. After the period of meditation, there was an increase in the levels of the hypophyseal hormone to reach its maximum daytime concentration. This was associated with decreased plasma catecholamines levels. The technique of meditation seems to have a significant effect on the sympathetic-adrenal medullary system and the neuroendocrine axis
COMPARATIVE OBSERVATIONS ON MOTOR AND SENSORY FIBERS WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO REPETITIOUSNESS

While experimenting with spinal root preparations of the bullfrog it was found that during the passage of a constant current a repetitive response was obtained more commonly from the sensory than from the motor fibers. The present paper presents evidence indicating that this difference is characteristic, and also experiments having as their end attempts to disclose other differences between motor and sensory fibers, in particular such as might prove to be of interest relative to the difference in repetitiousness. PREPARATION AND METHODS IN GENERAL. The root pairs (usually the VIIIth or IXth, the VIIth occasionally), together with the trunk formed by their union, were studied either immediately upon removal or after refrigeration in Ringer’s solution. In the refrigerator irritability was retained for as long as two weeks, and responses to all appearances continued normal. The preparations were suspended vertically in the moist chamber, under the tension of their own weight, from threads tied to the root ends. The roots deviated from the vertical only by enough to keep them apart on their respective electrodes. The positions of all supports and electrodes were adjustable from without the moist chamber. The electrodes were of silver excepting when used to convey constant current; then in most of the experiments calomel half-cells were employed. Except where otherwise stated, stimuli were break shocks from coreless Porter coils. The methods of expressing shock and constant current strengths are those described in previous publications (Erlanger and Blair, 1936; Erlanger and Gasser, 1937). There will be found also descriptions of our amplifying and recording techniques. The root preparation is peculiarly suited to a comparative study of the properties of motor and sensory fibers, since in the trunk the two kinds of fibers are exposed to the same conditions, while from the roots their conducted responses can be recorded separately. A comparison can also be
The thermostable β-1,3-1,4-glucanase from Clostridium thermocellum improves the nutritive value of highly viscous barley-based diets for broilers

1. Microbial β-1,3-1,4-glucanases improve the nutritive value of barley-based diets for poultry by effectively decreasing the degree of polymerisation of the anti-nutritive soluble β-glucans. Glycoside hydrolases (GHs) acting on recalcitrant polysaccharides display a modular architecture comprising a catalytic domain linked to one or more non-catalytic Carbohydrate-Binding Modules (CBMs). 2. GHs and CBMs have been classified in different families based on primary structure similarity (see CAZy webpage at http://www.cazy.org). The role of CBMs is to anchor the appended GHs into their target substrates, therefore eliciting the efficient hydrolysis of structural carbohydrates. 3. Here we describe the biochemical properties of the family 16 GH from Clostridium thermocellum, termed CtGlc16A. CtGlc16A is a thermostable enzyme that specifically acts on β-1,3-1,4-glucans with a remarkable catalytic activity (38000 U/mg protein). 4. CtGlc16A, individually or fused to the family 11 β-glucan-binding domain of cellulase CtLic26A-Cel5E of C. thermocellum, was used to supplement a highly viscous barley-based diet for broilers. 5. The data showed that birds fed on diets supplemented with the recombinant enzymes displayed an improved performance when compared with birds given diets not supplemented with exogenous enzymes. However, inclusion of the non-catalytic CBMs had no influence on the capacity of CtGlc16A to reduce the anti-nutritive effects of soluble β-1,3-1,4-glucans. 6. The data suggest that at elevated dosage rates, CBMs might be unable to potentiate the catalytic activity of appended catalytic domains; this effect may only be revealed when feed enzymes are incorporated at low levels.
The Five-Factor Narcissism Inventory: A Five-Factor Measure of Narcissistic Personality Traits

This study provides convergent, discriminant, and incremental validity data for a new measure of narcissistic personality traits created from the perspective of the Five-factor model (FFM) of general personality structure. Fifteen scales were constructed as maladaptive variants of respective facets of the FFM (e.g., Reactive Anger as a narcissistic variant of angry hostility), with item selection made on the basis of a criterion-keying approach using results from 167 undergraduates. On the basis of data from 166 additional undergraduates, the convergent validity of these 15 scales was tested with respect to 8 established measures of narcissism (including measures of both grandiose and vulnerable narcissism) and the respective facets of the FFM. Discriminant validity was tested with respect to facets from other FFM domains. Incremental validity was tested with respect to the ability of the FFM narcissism trait scales to account for variance in 2 alternative measures of narcissism, after variance accounted for by respective NEO PI–R facet scales and other established measures of narcissism were first removed. The findings support the validity of these new scales as measures of narcissistic personality traits and as maladaptive variants of the FFM.
Familiality and diagnostic patterns of subphenotypes in the National Institutes of Mental Health Bipolar sample

Bipolar‐related subphenotypes that cluster within families may help identify subsets of patients that are more genetically homogeneous. Environmental or assessment factors that segregate by family may influence estimates of familiality. We aimed to determine familiality of subphenotypes of bipolar disorder (BP), accounting for effects of age, sex, diagnosis, and site/wave of ascertainment. We studied 589 sibships with 1416 siblings affected with bipolar I (BPI), schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type (SAB), bipolar II (BPII), or recurrent unipolar depression (RUDD). Sibships were from families with ≥2 BPI cases collected by the NIMH Bipolar Genetics Initiative (NIMHBGI). Rapid cycling showed the strongest evidence for familiality [odds ratio (OR) (95%CI) = 2.02 (1.43, 2.85), P = 6.0 × 10−5] in a model including age, sex, diagnosis, and site/wave of ascertainment. Additional significantly familial traits were comorbid alcohol abuse/dependence (P = 2 × 10−4) and comorbid panic disorder (P = 8 × 10−3), as well as psychosis, suicidal thoughts, and rapid mood switching (P = 6 × 10−3 − 0.03). Omission of the effect of site/wave of ascertainment from the model inflated the significance level of the apparent familial association of almost all subphenotypes from one to four orders of magnitude. We have found evidence of familiality for subphenotypes of BP. In multicenter samples, familiality may be overestimated if variability in diagnosis of subphenotypes between site/wave of ascertainment is not considered. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Crystal structure of ammonium 3′-azido-3′-deoxythymidine-5′-aminocarbonylphosphonate hemihydrate: an anti-HIV agent

The asymmetric unit of the title compound contains one 3′-azido-3′-deoxythymidine-5′aminocarbonylphosphonate (ACP–AZT) anion, half on an NH4 + cation lying on a twofold rotation axis and, in another position occupied with equal probabilities of 0.5, an NH4 + cation and a water molecule.
Performance evaluation of optimization models in the determination of wastewater treatment efficiencies inside watersheds

Determination of sewage treatment plants pollutant removal efficiencies, considering the protection of water resources, is very difficult because it involves complex analysis that must take into account multiple discharges into watercourses presenting different self depuration capacities. The research aimed to evaluate different optimization models for determination of minimum sewage treatment efficiencies for plants located in a watershed. The analyzed optimization models involves minimization of the sum of treatment efficiencies and minimization of inequity between sewage treatment efforts. Water quality mathematical model and Genetic Algorithm were combined in a MatLab software computing environment. The Pardo river watershed is the study area. Pardo river is a tributary of the Itapemirim river, important watercourse located in the southern part of Espirito Santo State, in Brazil. The results indicate that the optimization models that incorporate measurement of equity as a problem restriction did not generate consistent answers, probably because of the wide range of sewage loads values considered in the Pardo river watershed. The models that incorporate equity measures in the objective function showed satisfactory performance and resulted in very close values for minimum sewage treatment efficiencies.
Cancellable fuzzy vault with periodic transformation for biometric template protection

Nowadays, biometrics-based authentication is playing a potential approach for many modern applications such as banking, homeland security etc. However, the end-users may feel uncomfortable to deploy this technology because of not well-solved accurate rate and security problems. To overcome these issues, some significant techniques have been proposed such as biometric template protection, reducing biometric extraction noise etc. Fuzzy vault is one of the most popular methods for biometric template security, which binds a secret key with biometric features and produces one kind of data, called the helper data, for recovering the secret key. Unfortunately, the major drawback of this approach is the lacking of cancellable property. Furthermore, most of the fuzzy vault schemes are performed on two biometrics modalities: fingerprints and iris. Some techniques were introduced to transform the original biometric feature to cancellable one. However, the computational cost of these proposals was quite large. In this research, the authors introduce a periodic transformation attached to fuzzy vault to produce the new cancellable scheme. Their transformation is not only simpler but also suitable for many kinds of biometrics modalities. The experiments demonstrate that this approach is practical with a little better error rate in comparison with the original biometric feature.
Side effects of atypical antipsychotics: a brief overview

This paper reviews the available evidence concerning the side effects of atypical antipsychotics, including weight gain, type II diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, QTc interval prolongation, myocarditis, sexual side effects, extrapyramidal side effects and cataract. Some recommendations about how to prevent and manage these side effects are also provided. It is concluded that atypical antipsychotics do not represent a homogeneous class, and that differences in side effects should be taken into account by clinicians when choosing an antipsychotic for an individual patient.
Disruption of coding regions by IS6110 insertion in Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

SETTING The insertion sequence IS6110 is widely used as a DNA fingerprinting probe for the classification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains. This study has focused on the characterization of regions disrupted by insertion of the IS6110 element. OBJECTIVE To characterize IS6110 insertion loci in clinical isolates of M. tuberculosis, in terms of their genomic location and genetic identity, to ascertain whether IS6110 transposition could be a mechanism driving phenotypic change. DESIGN Thirty-three IS6110 insertion loci were cloned from 8 clinical isolates of M. tuberculosis. Clones representing DR locus insertions were identified by hybridization (n = 4), and all other clones were characterized by DNA sequencing (n = 29). The sequence data was analyzed in conjunction with that of 43 other insertion loci identified in published literature and DNA sequence databases. RESULTS The 76 sequences analyzed represented 66 unique insertion loci (including 9 unique insertions into the ipl locus). When mapped to the H37Rv genome, the majority of unique insertion loci demonstrated disruption of coding regions by IS6110 (n = 42; including the ipl insertions), while the remainder either occurred within intergenic regions (n = 17), or could not be mapped to the H37Rv genome sequence (n = 7). Mapping of the insertion loci reveals distribution throughout the chromosome, with isolated preferential insertion loci. CONCLUSIONS This study has demonstrated the occurrence of 66 unique IS6110 insertion loci dispersed throughout the M. tuberculosis genome, with an unexpectedly high incidence of IS6110 insertions occurring within coding regions. However, the IS6110-mediated coding region disruptions identified here may only have limited impact on phenotype, as most of the coding regions disrupted are members of multiple gene families. Disruption of individual members of a family of genes may have no effect on phenotype or could have a minor or major impact, depending on the specificity and activity of the encoded protein.