Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Severity of menopausal symptoms and use of both conventional and complementary/alternative therapies

Objective To describe the prevalence and correlates of using conventional therapies, complementary and alternative therapies, or a combination of both types of therapies for menopausal symptoms and to examine the association between severity of symptoms and type of therapy use. Design Data on 2,602 women aged 45 years or older were gathered through a cross-sectional telephone survey conducted in Florida, Minnesota, and Tennessee during 1997 and 1998 using the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Participants were asked a series of questions about their menopausal status, menopausal symptoms, healthcare provider selection in relation to menopause, and therapies used for menopausal symptoms. Results Of the eight menopausal symptoms assessed, the highest prevalence estimates were reported for hot flashes (62.9%), night sweats (48.3%), and trouble sleeping (41.1%). The average number of symptoms (range 0–8) was 3.10 (SD ± 2.25) and, for women reporting symptoms, the average symptom severity score (range 1–24) was 6.78 (SD ±4.63). About 45% of the women had not consulted with a healthcare provider for treatment of menopausal symptoms or for medical conditions related to menopause even though only 16.3% did not report any of the symptoms included in the survey. Forty-six percent of the women used complementary/alternative therapy either alone or in combination with conventional therapies. Age-adjusted average symptom severity scores were significantly higher among women who had undergone a hysterectomy, with removal of the ovaries (7.73; 95% CI 7.33,8.12) or without (7.60; 95% CI 7.16,8.05), than among women who experienced a natural menopause (6.42; 95% CI 6.14,6.71). Average severity scores were significantly higher among women who used both conventional and complementary/alternative therapies in relation to menopause (8.61; 95% CI 8.26,8.96) than among women who used only conventional therapies (7.09; 95% CI 6.67,7.50). This statistically significant association persisted when adjusted for age, education, income, race/ethnicity, state of residence, and menopausal category. Conclusions In this sample, 46% of the women used complementary/alternative therapy either alone or in combination with conventional therapies, whereas a third of the women did not use any therapy in relation to menopause. Although causal inferences cannot be made, the menopausal symptom severity score was significantly higher among women who reported using a combination of conventional and complementary/alternative therapies than among women who used only conventional therapy, only complementary/alternative, or no therapy.
Characterization of a 16 Mb interstitial chromosome 7q21 deletion by tiling path array CGH

We report on a 42‐year‐old female patient with an interstitial 16 Mb deletion in 7q21.1‐21.3 and a balanced reciprocal translocation between chromosomes 6 and 7 [karyotype 46,XX,t(6;7)(q23.3;q32.3)del(7)(q21.1q21.3)de novo]. We characterized the size and position of the deletion by tiling path array comparative genomic hybridization (CGH), and we mapped the translocation breakpoints on chromosomes 6 and 7 by FISH. The clinical features of this patient—severe mental retardation, short stature, microcephaly and deafness—are in accordance with previously reported patients with 7q21 deletions. Chromosome band 7q21.3 harbors a locus for split hand/split foot malformation (SHFM1), and part of this locus, including the SHFM1 candidate genes SHFM1, DLX5, and DLX6, is deleted. The absence of limb abnormalities in this patient suggests either a location of the SHFM1 causing factor distal to this deletion, or reduced penetrance of haploinsufficiency of a SHFM1 factor within the deleted interval. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Seasonal asymmetries in wholesale–retail cost pass-through

ABSTRACT This article investigates the extent of seasonal asymmetries in wholesale to retail cost pass-through in the Canadian apple market. We model nonlinearity in cost pass-through in a panel two-regime error correction model. The model employs weekly store-level retail matching wholesale price data for a major US retail chain. Our results reveal distinct seasonal asymmetries in cost pass-through. Retail prices adjust faster during the fall indicating significantly higher pass-through in response to a change in input composition and seasonal expansion of alternative marketing channels. This input composition effect on cost pass-through highlights the general importance of time-variant market conditions and their respective determinants in explaining cost pass-through dynamics in commodity markets.
Indirect rebound involving embodied energy use in re-spending decisions : how do we treat negative multiplier effects in energy supply chains?

A growing area of research into rebound effects from increased energy efficiency involves the application of demand-driven input-output models to consider indirect rebound associated with re-spending decisions by households with reduced energy spending requirements. However, there is often a lack of clarity in applied studies as to how indirect rebound effects involving energy use embodied in supply chains have been calculated. We focus on a theoretical debate regarding the treatment of reduced energy requirements by energy producers and their up-stream supply chains as energy spending decreases with improved efficiency. We show that both the magnitude and direction of embodied energy rebound effects are highly sensitive to what is assumed to be part of potential energy savings, which we argue should be considered in terms of energy savings anticipated by decision makers. We also extend the focus of most studies of rebound effects via embodied energy impacts to consider impacts on energy use and CO2 emissions embedded in international supply chains and consider how these are reflected in alternative definitions of rebound.
Family governance and family firm outcomes

We are pleased to present this Special Issue on Family Governance in the Journal of Family Business Management. The focus of the six articles in this Special Issue is on family governance, idiosyncratic family firm behavior, strategies, and performance. This Guest Editor’s note synthesizes the contributing authors’ propositions and findings concerning family governance and provides future research directions. Many firms around the world exhibit family governance via family ownership, family’s involvement in management and/or board, and other forms which can in turn substantially influence their strategies, behavior, and performance. When family business members pursue particularistic goals and strategies, these reflect on to firm strategies, behavior, and performance. For instance, the particularistic pursuit of family-centered non-economic goals create intentions to preserve socioemotional wealth (SEW), including family control and influence, binding social ties, emotional attachment, family members’ identification with the firm, and renewal of family bonds to the firm through dynastic succession (Berrone et al., 2012; Carney, 2005). The achievement of non-economic goals is contingent upon the family’s control of the firm through family governance mechanisms (Chrisman et al., 2014). Hence, when SEW is coupled with family governance components such as family ownership, they are influential on firm strategies, behavior, and performance. Accordingly, some of the articles in the Special Issue suggest and show that the family governance driven by SEW preservation concerns shape strategic behaviors such as innovation and different types of innovators (i.e. limited, intended, potential, and active) (Li and Daspit, 2016) and unique family controlled Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITS) driven by SEW perform differently depending on CEO founder vs successor in charge (Chang and Noguera, 2016).
Hepatitis B virus transcript produced by RNA splicing

A new hepatitis B virus (HBV) transcript of about 2.2 kilobases was identified in HBV DNA-transfected human hepatoma cells. The 5' terminus of this viral RNA appears to map at one or more of the precore initiation sites, contains a deletion of 1,223 bases corresponding to the last codon of the core gene to the middle of the surface antigen gene, and terminates at the 3' polyadenylation site used by the other known HBV RNAs. The junction region of the deleted sequences showed the conserved splice donor and acceptor GT-AG sequences. Moreover, when a mutant HBV DNA in which the splice acceptor site was changed from AG to CG was transfected into human hepatoma cells, no 2.2-kilobase RNA was detected, further suggesting that this RNA represents a spliced transcript. The core gene, although an amino acid shorter, still encoded a functional viral core protein in complementation experiments. Sequence analysis of the cDNA of the 2.2-kilobase RNA suggests that this transcript can potentially encode a new protein that comprises the reverse transcriptase domain of HBV. However, genetic analysis using a transient DNA transfection system suggests that the gene product(s) of this transcript is not essential for viral replication. The function of this transcript remains to be studied.
Confounding, ascertainment bias, and the blind quest for a genetic ‘fountain of youth’

Many promises have been made about the impact of the Human Genome Project on clinical practice and public health, yet despite massively funded efforts over the past decade, little headway has been made in elucidating the specific genetic factors which have major impact on the risk of developing common complex traits. There are two fundamental reasons for this abject failure as follows: 1) studies have been inadequately designed to identify such genetic risk factors; 2) the genetic factors that do exist are individually of small marginal importance, and are charac‐terized by extensive heterogeneity. If 2) is the truth, there is little we can do about it, so we emphasize the importance of 1) in this article, while recognizing that 2) probably is not far from the truth. Genetic studies, in contrast to epidemiological studies, use confounding and ascertainment bias to help identify weak etiologic signal due to genes, since gene mapping is fundamentally a hypothesis‐free science. This strategy makes it possible to identify genetic risk factors, but makes it impossible to quantify the size of their effect on risk. Classical epidemiological study designs are of minimal value for gene identification, but may be of use in estimation of the effect size of genetic risk factors once they are identified in more appropriately designed genetic studies. However, if the effects are so weak that we need this strong, systematic ascertainment bias to find them, their relevance to public health may be of questionable immediate value, raising many questions about the rhetoric and promises being made to the public as justification for ‘big science’ approaches to dissecting the hypothetical role of genes in complex traits.
Dexfenfluramine treatment of obesity: a double blind trial with post trial follow up.

OBJECTIVE As successful weight management demands a long term approach, a better understanding of weight changes during and for significant periods after cessation of dexfenfluramine therapy is essential to the evaluation of the drug's effectiveness in clinical practice. This study aimed to investigate additional benefits to weight loss during 6 months treatment with dexfenfluramine in 60 patients enrolled in a weight loss programme. DESIGN Sixty obese subjects (21 males; 39 females) were randomised to dexfenfluramine (15 mg twice daily) or placebo for six months. Fifty one (27 dexfenfluramine; 24 placebo) subjects completed the double blind, randomised, placebo controlled clinical trial. RESULTS After a one month 'run in' phase and six months treatment, weight loss in the dexfenfluramine group was significantly greater than placebo, 9.7 +/- 1.1 kg vs 4.9 +/- 0.9 kg (mean +/- s.e.m.); P = 0.002. Reduction in body fat, 5.0 +/- 0.7 kg vs 1.0 +/- 0.9 kg; P = 0.002 and waist circumference, 10.5 +/- 1.9 cm vs 5.7 +/- 1.1 cm; P = 0.04 was also greater in the dexfenfluramine group. Despite significant weight loss, waist to hip ratio (WHR) did not change in either group. The dexfenfluramine group reported a significantly greater incidence of nausea, dry mouth and dizziness which tended to decrease as treatment progressed. No subjects withdrew due to drug induced side effects. Reduction in serum triglyceride levels and an increase in HDL cholesterol (in female subjects) in conjunction with a reduction in fasting insulin, collectively support an improved cardiovascular risk profile in the dexfenfluramine group. Despite significant weight loss, these risk factor measurements worsened in the placebo group. After cessation of dexfenfluramine therapy, there was a significantly greater weight regain indicating a loss of treatment effect. By 5 months after cessation of dexfenfluramine, the treatment effect was negated with weight loss in the dexfenfluramine (6.0 +/- 1.6 kg) and placebo (6.2 +/- 1.3 kg) group, similar. CONCLUSION The results of this study support the longer term use of dexfenfluramine therapy for patients with chronic obesity.
Safety and Efficacy of the S-1/Temozolomide Regimen in Patients with Metastatic Neuroendocrine Tumors

Purpose: Both capecitabine alone and capecitabine in combination with temozolomide have activities against neuroendocrine tumors (NETs). However, the role of S-1 in NETs is still unknown. We performed a study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the S-1/temozolomide (STEM) regimen in patients with locally advanced or metastatic NETs. Methods: A retrospective review was conducted in 20 patients with locally advanced or metastatic NETs treated with the STEM regimen. Of the patients, 15 (75.00%) had failed 1 or more lines of treatment with somatostatin analogues, sunitinib, everolimus, anlotinib, or other chemotherapy regimens. The patients received S-1 at 40 mg/m2 orally twice daily on days 1-14 and temozolomide 200 mg orally once daily on days 10-14 of a 21-day cycle. The patients were followed up for evidence of object response, toxicity, and progression-free survival. Results: Response to treatment was assessed using RECIST 1.1. Eight patients (40.00%) achieved a partial response (PR), and another 8 (40.00%) had stable disease (SD). The clinical benefit rate (PR and SD) was 80.00%. The median progression-free survival was not achieved. Only 1 patient (5.00%) had grade 3 adverse events. Among the patients with NETs of different origins, 4 (40.00%) and 5 (50.00%) with pancreatic NETs attained PR and SD, respectively. Four (40.00%) and 3 patients (30.00%) with nonpancreatic NETs attained PR and SD, respectively. Conclusions: The STEM regimen is exceptionally highly active and well tolerated in patients with locally advanced or metastatic NETs. Even in patients who showed disease progression with previous therapies, it is still highly active. In this 20-patient study, the regimen appeared to be similarly active in pancreatic endocrine tumors and nonpancreatic NETs.
Parietal Dysgraphia: Characterization of Abnormal Writing Stroke Sequences, Character Formation and Character Recall

Objective: To characterize various dysgraphic symptoms in parietal agraphia. Method: We examined the writing impairments of four dysgraphia patients from parietal lobe lesions using a special writing test with 100 character kanji (Japanese morphograms) and their kana (Japanese phonetic writing) transcriptions, and related the test performance to a lesion site. Results: Patients 1 and 2 had postcentral gyrus lesions and showed character distortion and tactile agnosia, with patient 1 also having limb apraxia. Patients 3 and 4 had superior parietal lobule lesions and features characteristic of apraxic agraphia (grapheme deformity and a writing stroke sequence disorder) and character imagery deficits (impaired character recall). Agraphia with impaired character recall and abnormal grapheme formation were more pronounced in patient 4, in whom the lesion extended to the inferior parietal, superior occipital and precuneus gyri. Conclusion: The present findings and a review of the literature suggest that: (i) a postcentral gyrus lesion can yield graphemic distortion (somesthetic dysgraphia), (ii) abnormal grapheme formation and impaired character recall are associated with lesions surrounding the intraparietal sulcus, the symptom being more severe with the involvement of the inferior parietal, superior occipital and precuneus gyri, (iii) disordered writing stroke sequences are caused by a damaged anterior intraparietal area.
The Female Sexual Function Index: translation and validation of an Iranian version.

INTRODUCTION Female sexual dysfunction (FSD) is a prevalent problem in the female population in Iran. A subjective assessment instrument that allows cross-cultural comparison of FSD is urgently needed. AIM The aims of the study were to translate, validate, and enhance cross-cultural comparability of an Iranian version (IV) of the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI)-the IV-FSFI. METHODS A total of 448 women (19-54 years, mean 29.7, standard deviation 7.3) from five different Iranian outpatient obstetrics and gynecology clinics were eligible for this study. The IV-FSFI was developed through forward and backward translation, revision by a research team, and a subsequent pilot study. After an interview for clinical diagnosis of FSD based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, all participants completed the IV-FSFI for the validation study. Three hundred sixty-two women completed the IV-FSFI again, 4 weeks after the first visit. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Test-retest reliability was determined by Pearson's product-moment correlations. Reliability was tested using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Construct validity was evaluated by principal component analysis using varimax rotation and by subsequent confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Discriminant validity was assessed with between-groups analysis of variance. RESULTS The overall test-retest reliability coefficients were high for each domain of the IV-FSFI (r ranging from 0.73 to 0.86) and the internal consistencies within the acceptable range (α from 0.72 to 0.90). Principal component analysis with varimax rotation revealed a best fitting five-factor structure similar to the original FSFI (χ(2) = 2.1, degree of freedom = 17, P < 0.001). CFA confirmed the underlying domain structure, supporting the factorial validity of the IV-FSFI. CONCLUSIONS In conclusion, the newly developed IV-FSFI has demonstrated to be a reliable and valid instrument with good psychometric properties that allows a quick and accurate preliminary screening of women with unknown sexual health status in clinics and other medical settings.
Comparison of integrin, cadherin, and catenin expression in squamous cell carcinomas of the oral cavity

In addition to their role in maintenance of tissue integrity, cell adhesion molecules regulate the growth and differentiation of stratified squamous epithelia. Reduced expression of E‐cadherin and the α2β1, α3β1 and α6β4 integrins is already reported to correlate with poor histological differentiation in oral squamous cell carcinomas. However, it is not clear how closely cadherin and integrin loss are related in any given tumour, nor whether cadherin loss is correlated with changes in expression of the cytoplasmic regulatory proteins known as catenins. Double‐label immunofluorescence has been used to stain a panel of 22 oral squamous cell carcinomas with antibodies to ten proteins, including E‐ and P‐cadherin, the major keratinocyte integrin subunits, and α‐, β‐ and γ‐catenin. Overall, E‐cadherin expression and integrin expression correlated well with tumour grade, while P‐cadherin staining was more variable. All tumours, regardless of differentiation status, showed reduced staining for at least two of the catenins, implying that the adhesive function of E‐ and P‐cadherin could be impaired even when cadherin expression is normal. It is concluded that in all squamous cell carcinomas, regardless of degree of histological differentiation, there is some perturbed expression of cell adhesion molecules and that integrin and E‐cadherin loss are closely related. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Physical functioning in patients with chronic kidney disease.

BACKGROUND Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) treated with dialysis have reduced levels of physical functioning. Little is known of the physical functioning in patients prior to initiation of renal replacement therapy (RRT). The purpose of the study was 2-fold: (i) to document physical functioning of patients with CKD not requiring RRT, using objective laboratory tests, physical performance measures and self-reported functioning; and (ii) to determine the correlations between these measures of physical functioning and renal function. METHODS Thirty-two patients with CKD (mean estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR] 29.9 +/- 17.0) were recruited for the study. Subjects completed symptom-limited treadmill test (peak oxygen uptake [VO2peak]), physical performance measures (gait speed, sit-to-stand and 6-minute walk) and the SF-36 Health Status Questionnaire (physical functioning scale [PF] and physical composite scale [PCS]). Descriptive and correlational analyses were performed on the data. RESULTS VO2peak (O2 17.8 +/- 6.7 ml/kg body weight per minute), physical performance measures and self-reported functioning were reduced compared with sedentary age-predicted norms. Significant correlations were found between VO2peak and all other physical functioning measures; however, only maximal gait speed and PCS correlated significantly with eGFR. CONCLUSIONS Patients with CKD have reduced physical functioning as measured using objective laboratory tests (VO2peak), physical performance measures and self-reported functioning. Given that low physical functioning predicts outcomes in dialysis patients, interventions to maintain or improve physical functioning are warranted prior to initiation of dialysis.
Adaptive constraint handling and Success History Differential Evolution for CEC 2017 Constrained Real-Parameter Optimization

This paper presents Success-History Based Adaptive Differential Evolution Algorithm (SHADE) including Linear population size reduction (L-SHADE), enhanced with adaptive constraint violation handling, applied to the benchmark for CEC 2017 Competition on Constrained Real-Parameter Optimization. The constraint handling method prioritizes the feasible solutions before infeasible, while disregarding the constraint violation values below an adaptive threshold, i.e. adaptive ϵ-constraint handling. The 28 constrained test functions on 10, 30, 50, and 100 dimensions are assessed on the benchmark and the required resulting final fitnesses, constraints violations, and success rates are reported for 25 independent runs of the proposed algorithm under the budget of fixed maximum number of fitness evaluations for 10, 30, 50, and 100 dimensional test functions.