Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Attitudes toward Methadone among Out-of-Treatment Minority Injection Drug Users: Implications for Health Disparities

Injection drug use (IDU) continues to be a significant public health issue in the U.S. and internationally, and there is evidence to suggest that the burden of injection drug use and associated morbidity and mortality falls disproportionately on minority communities. IDU is responsible for a significant portion of new and existing HIV/AIDS cases in many parts of the world. In the U.S., the prevalence of HIV and hepatitis C virus is higher among populations of African-American and Latino injection drug users (IDUs) than among white IDUs. Methadone maintenance therapy (MMT) has been demonstrated to effectively reduce opiate use, HIV risk behaviors and transmission, general mortality and criminal behavior, but opiate-dependent minorities are less likely to access MMT than whites. A better understanding of the obstacles minority IDUs face accessing treatment is needed to engage racial and ethnic disparities in IDU as well as drug-related morbidity and mortality. In this study, we explore knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about methadone among 53 out-of-treatment Latino and African-American IDUs in Providence, RI. Our findings suggest that negative perceptions of methadone persist among racial and ethnic minority IDUs in Providence, including beliefs that methadone is detrimental to health and that people should attempt to discontinue methadone treatment. Additional potential obstacles to entering methadone therapy include cost and the difficulty of regularly attending a methadone clinic as well as the belief that an individual on MMT is not abstinent from drugs. Substance use researchers and treatment professionals should engage minority communities, particularly Latino communities, in order to better understand the treatment needs of a diverse population, develop culturally appropriate MMT programs, and raise awareness of the benefits of MMT.
The other modality: Auditory stimuli in language switching

Language switching studies typically implement visual stimuli and visual language cues to trigger a concept and a language response, respectively. In the present study we set out to generalise this to another stimulus modality by investigating language switching with auditory stimuli next to visual stimuli. The results showed that switch costs can be obtained with both auditory and visual stimuli. Yet, switch costs were relatively larger with visual stimuli than with auditory stimuli. Both methodological and theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.
The Inorganic Phase in Dentinogenesis imperfecta

High resolution TEM, X-ray diffraction analysis, infrared absorption spectroscopy, thermogravimetry, and chemical and electron microprobe analyses showed that in dentinogenesis imperfecta the mineral phase is a carbonated apatite with crystallites of normal size, but less numerous than in normal dentin. Losses of Ca, P, and Mg, and a higher Ca/P ratio and water content were recorded.
Clothing size as an indicator of adiposity, ischaemic heart disease and cardiovascular risks.

OBJECTIVE To relate subjects' clothing sizes to waist circumference, body mass index (BMI) and to the risks of ischaemic heart disease, hypertension and diabetes mellitus, and to derive cut-off levels of clothing size that correspond to increased health risks. DESIGN Cross-sectional study. Setting Glasgow Royal Infirmary. PARTICIPANTS A stratified subsample of 201 men and 161 women aged 27-67 years from the Glasgow monitoring coronary (MONICA) risk factor survey. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Measured waist, weight and height, blood pressure and history of ischaemic heart disease (angina, myocardial infarction or angioplasty), hypertension and diabetes mellitus, and medications. RESULTS There were 15.5% of men and 11.2% of women with ischaemic heart disease, 14.9% of men and 12.4% of women with hypertension, and 4.5% of men and 3.1% of women with diabetes mellitus. Age and smoking adjusted prevalences of these cardiovascular risks, as well as increased adiposity (waist circumference > or =102 cm in men, > or =88 cm in women or BMI > or = 30 kg m(-2)) rose with increasing clothing size. Clothing size correlated (P < 0.001) linearly with indices of adiposity. Clothing sizes which correspond to waist circumference action level 1 (94 cm in men, 80 cm in women) and action level 2 (102 cm in men, 88 cm in women) or to standardized BMI cut-offs (25 and 30 kg m(-2)) were estimated. Height has minimal influences on clothing size. Compared with men with trouser waist below 36 inches or women with UK dress size below 16, the age and smoking adjusted odds ratios for the risk of having at least one of the major health problems (ischaemic heart disease, hypertension or diabetes mellitus) were 3.9 (95% CI: 1.8-8.3) in men and 7.0 (95% CI: 2.5-19.4) in women who had trouser size > or =38 inches or UK dress size > or =18, respectively. CONCLUSIONS The present study showed that men and women with large clothing size are at increased risk of ischaemic heart disease, hypertension and diabetes mellitus. Men's trouser size equal or larger than 38 in the UK and USA or 97 in Europe and women's dress size equal or larger than 18 in the UK or 16 in the USA or 48 in Europe could be used to promote self-awareness of increased health risks by the general public.
Effects of Galantamine Versus Donepezil on Sleep in Patients With Mild to Moderate Alzheimer Disease and Their Caregivers: A Double-Blind, Head-to-Head, Randomized Pilot Study

Objective:To examine the effects of galantamine and donepezil on patient and caregiver sleep. Methods:In this randomized, 8-week, double-blind, parallel-group, multicenter, pilot comparison of galantamine and donepezil, safety and efficacy data were collected. Objective and subjective changes in sleep of patients (N = 63) and their caregivers were measured. Clinicians assessed changes in patient global function. As this was a pilot study, only descriptive statistics are presented. Results:In general, neither galantamine nor donepezil, at stable doses, were associated with decrements in actigraphy sleep measurements. However, mean scores in all measures of sleep showed a tendency for minimal improvements in galantamine-treated patients and minimal decrements in the donepezil-treated patients. The same tendencies were present in caregiver sleep measures. Global function either improved or remained stable in a higher percentage of patients treated with galantamine than with donepezil. Galantamine and donepezil were both well tolerated and safe. Conclusions:This pilot study was the first to compare the effects of these drugs on sleep in patients or caregivers. Both drugs were safe and well tolerated. Neither galantamine nor donepezil negatively affected sleep; however, on every measure, there were suggestions of slightly more benefit associated with galantamine treatment. Although these results are suggestive of a differential effect of the drugs on sleep, further research is needed to confirm the clinical significance.
Regulation of an IMP Dehydrogenase Gene and Its Overexpression in Drug-sensitive Transcription Elongation Mutants of Yeast*

IMP dehydrogenase is a rate-limiting enzyme involved in the synthesis of GTP. In mammalian cells it is regulated with respect to growth rate and is the target of numerous therapeutic agents. Mutations in the RNA polymerase II elongation machinery render yeast sensitive to inhibitors of IMP dehydrogenase and defective in inducing transcription of one of the IMP dehydrogenase-encoding genes,IMD2. Here we show that loss of IMD2, but notIMD1, IMD3, or IMD4, conferred upon yeast the same drug sensitivity found in elongation mutants. We tested whether the drug sensitivity of elongation mutants is due to their inability to induce IMD2 by providing them with exogenous copies of the gene. In some elongation mutants, overexpression reversed drug sensitivity and a transcriptional defect. Overexpression in mutants with a more severe phenotype partially suppressed drug sensitivity but was inconsequential in reversing a defect in transcription. These findings suggest that the drug sensitivity of elongation mutants is largely but not solely attributable to defects in the ability to induce IMD2, because transcription is compromised even when IMD2 mRNA levels are adequate. We describe two DNA sequence elements in the promoter of the gene that regulate it. We also found that IMD2 mRNA abundance is coupled to cell growth rate. These findings show that yeast possess a conserved system that gauges nucleotide pools and cell growth rate and responds through a uniquely regulated member of the IMD gene family.
Crystal Structure of the Human FOXK1a-DNA Complex and Its Implications on the Diverse Binding Specificity of Winged Helix/Forkhead Proteins*

Interleukin enhancer binding factor (ILF) is a human transcription factor and a new member of the winged helix/forkhead family. ILF can bind to purine-rich regulatory motifs such as the human T-cell leukemia virus-long terminal region and the interleukin-2 promoter. Here we report the 2.4 Å crystal structure of two DNA binding domains of ILF (FOXK1a) binding to a 16-bp DNA duplex containing a promoter sequence. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay studies demonstrate that two ILF-DNA binding domain molecules cooperatively bind to DNA. In addition to the recognition helix recognizing the core sequences through the major groove, the structure shows that wing 1 interacts with the minor groove of DNA, and the H2-H3 loop region makes ionic bonds to the phosphate group, which permits the recognition of DNA. The structure also reveals that the presence of the C-terminal α-helix in place of a typical wing 2 in a member of this family alters the orientation of the C-terminal basic residues (RKRRPR) when binding to DNA outside the core sequence. These results provide a new insight into how the DNA binding specificities of winged helix/forkhead proteins may be regulated by their less conserved regions.
The effect of rumen chitinolytic bacteria on cellulolytic anaerobic fungi

J. KOPEČNÝ, B. HODROVÁ AND C. S. STEWART. 1996. The polycentric anaerobic fungus Orpinomyces joyonii A4 was cultivated on microcrystalline cellulose alone and in association with the rumen chitinolytic bacterium Clostridium sp. strain ChK5, which shows strong phenotypic similarity to Clostridium tertium. The presence of strain ChK5 significantly depressed the solubilization of microcrystalline cellulose, the production of short‐chain fatty acids (SCFA) and the release of endoglucanase by the fungus. Co‐culture of the monocentric anaerobic fungus Neocallimastix frontalis strain RE1, Neocallimastix sp. strain G‐1 and Caecomyces sp. strain SC2 with strain ChK5 also resulted in depressed fungal cellulolysis. Cell‐free supernatant fluids from strain ChK5 inhibited the release of reducing sugars from carboxymethylcellulose by cell‐free supernatant fluids from O. joyonii strain A4. Strain 007 of the cellulolytic anaerobe Ruminococcus flavefaciens was also shown to produce small amounts of soluble products upon incubation with colloidal chitin. Mixtures of culture supernates from this bacterium and from O. joyonii strain A4 showed cellulase activity that was less than that of the component cultures. It is suggested that the ability of some rumen bacteria to hydrolyse or transform chitin may be an important factor in the interactions between bacteria and fungi in the rumen.
Risk stratification of patients with acute chest pain without a rise in troponin: current practice in England

Background Patients presenting with acute chest pain without a rise in cardiac troponins are considered to be at low risk of adverse cardiac events and are often considered for early discharge without further inpatient investigation. However, there is evidence that this commonly encountered patient group has a significant rate of early acute myocardial infarction and death. Objective To assess current practice in the risk stratification of patients presenting with acute chest pain to emergency departments (EDs) in England who do not develop a rise in cardiac markers. Methods A postal survey was sent to all 193 EDs. This contained 21 questions related to the assessment of patients presenting with acute chest pain. Results 141 EDs returned completed questionnaires. 27% of responding departments routinely used objective clinical risk scoring as part of their risk stratification. Less than 16% carried out exercise stress testing on the majority of patients prior to discharge from hospital. Conclusions The use of troponin as a diagnostic test and risk stratification tool appears to be used universally in England. However, the further risk stratification of patients presenting with acute chest pain without a rise in cardiac troponin is inconsistent.
Estimating the value of the World Heritage Site designation: a case study from Sagarmatha (Mount Everest) National Park, Nepal

ABSTRACT This paper estimates the economic value of World Heritage Site (WHS) designation for the Sagarmatha (Mount Everest) National Park, Nepal. In 2012, entrance fees were $30 per international visitor; lower fees apply to South Asian visitors, and no fees to domestic visitors. We surveyed 522 international visitors to the Park in 2011 to elicit their willingness to pay (WTP) for access, using the contingent valuation method. Logistic regression results show that bid amounts, gender, age, educational attainment, use of a guide, length of stay in the park, information about park substitutes, and knowledge about the park's WHS designation predicted visitors’ WTP decisions. The median WTP amount was US$90.93 per trip; 63.8% of visitors were willing to pay more than the existing entry fee. The revenue maximizing entry fee was $80 per trip. Knowledge about the park's WHS designation prior to their trip contributed $16.39 to the median WTP: better marketing of the site's WHS status could add up to US$ 566, 619 to the site's annual income. Given that many protected areas now suffer falling public sector financial help, accurate knowledge of WTP is increasingly key to supporting sustainable management in WHS sites, and in justifying tourism to them.
Conservation of transcriptional activation functions of the NF-kappa B p50 and p65 subunits in mammalian cells and Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The NF-kappa B transcription factor complex is composed of a 50-kDa (p50) and a 65-kDa (p65) subunit. Both subunits bind to similar DNA motifs and elicit transcriptional activation as either homo- or heterodimers. By using chimeric proteins that contain the DNA binding domain of the yeast transcriptional activator GAL4 and subdomains of p65, three distinct transcriptional activation domains were identified. One domain was localized to a region of 42 amino acids containing a potential leucin zipper structure, consistent with earlier reports. Two other domains, both acidic and rich in prolines, were also identified. Of perhaps more significance, the same minimal activation domains that were functional in mammalian cells were also functional in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Coexpression of the NF-kappa B inhibitory molecule, I kappa B, reduced the transcriptional activity of p65 significantly, suggesting the ability of I kappa B to function in a similar manner in S. cerevisiae. Surprisingly, while the conserved rel homology domain of p65 demonstrated no transcriptional activity in either mammalian cells or S. cerevisiae, the corresponding domain in p50 was a strong transcriptional activator in S. cerevisiae. The observation that similar domains elicit transcriptional activation in mammalian cells and S. cerevisiae demonstrates strong conservation of the transcriptional machinery required for NF-kappa B function and provides a powerful genetic system to study the transcriptional mechanisms of these proteins.
A semi-structured clinical interview for the assessment of diagnosis and mental state in the elderly: the Geriatric Mental State Schedule: II. A factor analysis

Synopsis One hundred geriatric psychiatric patients were examined with the Geriatric Mental State Schedule in New York and London, and a correlation procedure involving both clinical and statistical operations was carried out on the psychopathological data thus collected. Twenty-one factors were produced, including three dealing with cognitive impairment. Although it was found that elderly depressives show a profile of psychopathology quite different from that shown by patients with organic disorder, it was also found that patients with an apparently functional disorder may sometimes be diagnosed as an organic disorder, that subjective complaints of intellectual impairment are not good indicators of organic disorders and may be associated with a depressive factor, and that complaints that could be dismissed as attributes of ageing may actually be indicative of a depressive disorder in the elderly. The methodological implications, as well as the limitations of the sample size, are discussed.
Essays on Business Cycles and Monetary Policy

Both technology shocks and monetary policy shocks are important sources of economic fluctuations. My dissertation studies how these shocks affect the economy and how these shocks are propagated in the economy. A main theme is to detect the main propagation mechanisms of these shocks via both statistical approach and structural estimation approach. The first essay, The Accommodation of Monetary Policy to Technology Shocks, studies how dynamic responses of the U.S. economy to capital-embodied shocks, which affect only the efficiency of capital accumulation, differ from neutral technology shocks. I estimate a structural VAR model on U.S. data from 1960 to 2001 to show: inflation and output rise after a positive capital-embodied shock; output rises but inflation falls immediately following a positive neutral technology shock; output and labor hours respond initially more vigorously but with much less persistence to a positive capital-embodied shock than when the shock comes from the neutral technology. I then employ a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model (DSGE) to account for the differences. To do so, I estimate the DSGE model by matching the impulse response functions from the DSGE model and those from the VAR model. I show that the monetary authority accommodates capitalembodied shocks by lowering the nominal interest rate to actively stimulate aggregate demand, which then causes output and inflation to increase. In response ii to a neutral technology shock, however, the monetary authority raises the nominal interest rate, thus tempering the increase in aggregate demand. In summary, the expansionary effect of a capital-embodied technology is amplified by accommodative monetary policy, and my analysis also explains the formation of investment booms of the 1990s U.S. The second essay, ”The Effect of Monetary Policy Shocks on Industrial Output: Evidence from a Seasonal FAVE Study”, studies the effect of monetary policy shocks on industrial outputs in a factor-augmented vector autoregression (FAVAR) framework with quarter-dependent coefficients. Estimation results show that monetary policy shocks in the second quarter of the year have the largest effect on most industries. This finding is generally consistent with the conclusion reached by Olivei and Tenreyro (2007). Moreover, this paper finds the main source of the quarter-dependence in the industrial impulse responses to monetary policy shocks is the quarter-dependent impulse responses of common factors to the shock. In additional, comparisons between impulses responses of different industries reveal the following facts: 1) the responses of durable goods have stronger quarter-dependence than those of nondurable goods; 2) the quarterdependent pattern becomes strong in industries with high market concentration ratios; 3) monetary policy shocks have little effect on the high tech sector and the energy sector.
Urodynamic findings in postprostatectomy incontinence

Due to the large variability in the reported contribution of bladder dysfunction to postprostatectomy incontinence and the impact this dysfunction may have on the outcome of selected treatment, we retrospectively reviewed the videourodynamic findings of bladder and sphincteric function in patients with postprostatectomy incontinence. The contributions of bladder and sphincteric causes of incontinence are determined. Ninety‐two patients had multichannel videourdynamic testing performed as part of a comprehensive evaluation for incontinence at least 1 year after prostatectomy. Using a 6‐French double‐lumen catheter in the bladder and a 10‐French catheter in the rectum, all pressures were recorded continuously while in the upright position. Valsalva leak point pressures (VLPP) were measured in the absence of a bladder contraction at a 150‐ml volume and at 50‐ml increments thereafter until maximum functional capacity was reached. Bladder compliance and bladder capacity were determined and the presence of detrusor instability (DI) was documented. Sixty‐five patients (71%) presented after radical prostatectomy (RP) and 27 patients (29%) after transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP). The predominant urodynamic finding was sphincteric incompetence as VLPP were obtained in 85 patients (92%) and ranged from 12 to 120 cm water. DI was a common finding, occurring in 34 patients (37%), and classified as follows: a) phasic instability in 22/34, b) tonic instability in 3/34, and c) mixed phasic and tonic instability in 9/34. However, we found DI to be the sole cause of incontinence in only 3/92 patients (3.3%). There was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of sphincteric incompetence after RP or TURP; however, TURP patients had a higher incidence of DI, which was statistically significant (P = 0.019). There was no correlation of incontinence severity and VLPP when comparing preoperative pad usage to VLPP ⩽70 or ⩾71 cm water. Although bladder dysfunction may be contributing problem in patients with postprostatectomy incontinence, it is rarely the only mechanism for this disorder. VLPP does not correlate with incontinence severity. Although sphincteric incompetence is the most common mechanism contributing to incontinence after prostatectomy, bladder dysfunction may coexist or be an isolated cause of postprostatectomy incontinence. Therefore, urodynamic studies are important to illustrate the exact cause(s) of incontinence in each individual patient after prostatectomy. Neurol. Urodynam. 17:493–498, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Anomalous breakdown behavior in ultrathin oxides and oxynitrides under dynamic electrical stress

Time-dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB) and high-field stress-induced leakage behavior of ultrathin oxide (40-110 AA) under static and dynamic electrical stress conditions were investigated. Both thermally grown oxides and oxynitrides prepared by oxidation in N/sub 2/O were used for comparison. For thicker dielectrics, it was found that the charge-to-breakdown (Q/sub BD/) values are much larger when the dielectrics were stressed under bipolar waveform than those under unipolar. However, for thinner oxides (<60 AA), TBBD behavior is significantly worse under bipolar stressing. The anomalous behavior can be explained by the weak spot region of a fixed thickness at the polycrystalline silicon/oxide interface. <<ETX>>