Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Risk factors for low sexual function among urban Chinese women: a hospital-based investigation.

INTRODUCTION Sexual dysfunction is a common problem affecting women's quality of life. However, reports on sexual dysfunction and its risk factors in Chinese women are scarce in the literature. AIM To identify the potential risk factors for low sexual function in urban Chinese women. METHODS A cross-sectional hospital-based survey was conducted in Nanjing, China. Data on sexual function and related variables of 1,457 women from the urban district of Nanjing city were obtained. Potential risk factors for low sexual function were determined using multiple logistic regression analysis. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE The Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) was used to evaluate sexual function, and the median of the FSFI score was used as a cutoff to define women with low sexual function. RESULTS The mean FSFI total score was 23.25 ± 4.00 (median = 22.8). Multivariate analysis showed that age (odds ratio [OR] 1.840 for 40-49 years; 5.006 for 50-60 years), depression (OR 1.896), low education level (primary or secondary school only, OR 1.450), alcohol use (OR 2.671), menopause or postmenopause (OR 3.157), chronic medical disease (OR 1.605), poor health status of partner (OR 3.358), presence of sexual dysfunction in partner (OR 4.604), dystocia (OR 3.109), and living apart from the partner (OR 1.316) were independent risk factors for low sexual function of women in urban China. By contrast, better communication with the partner regarding sex (OR 0.531) was a protective factor. CONCLUSION Low sexual function for urban Chinese women was associated with multiple variables. Women who communicated more frequently with their partner were less likely to have low sexual function.
Epidural anaesthesia and cardiovascular responses to static exercise in man.

1. In human subjects, sustained static contractions of the knee extensors were performed in one leg with the same absolute (10% of the initial maximal voluntary contraction) and relative (30% of the maximal voluntary contraction immediately prior to the static exercise) intensities before and during epidural anaesthesia. Epidural anaesthesia reduced strength to 62 +/‐ 8% of the control value and partially blocked sensory input from the working muscles. During contractions performed with the same relative force, the increases in mean arterial pressure and heart rate were greater during control contractions than during epidural anaesthesia. During contractions at the same absolute force, there was no significant difference in magnitude of cardiovascular responses between control contractions and contractions performed during epidural anaesthesia. 2. The metabolic role in the exercise pressor reflex was assessed by applying an arterial leg cuff 10 s before cessation of exercise and through the following 3 min of recovery. Although mean arterial pressure and heart rate decreased immediately after cessation of exercise, application of the arterial occlusion cuff resulted in higher post‐exercise mean arterial pressure and heart rate values. Control and epidural mean arterial pressures during arterial occlusion were not significantly different. 3. The results of this study suggest that the reflex neural mechanism rather than the intended effort (central command) is important in determining the blood pressure and heart rate responses to static exercise in man. That is, when epidural anaesthesia diminishes sensory feedback and produces muscular weakness, central command does not determine the cardiovascular response. This conclusion, however, is opposite to that derived from experiments with partial neuromuscular blockade which demonstrated the importance of central command in determining the cardiovascular response to static exercise (Leonard, Mitchell, Mizuno, Rube, Saltin & Secher, 1985). Taken together, these two studies are complementary and support the concept that both central and reflex neural mechanisms play roles in regulating arterial blood pressure and heart rate during static exercise in man.
Motor imagery in patients with a right hemisphere stroke and unilateral neglect

Introduction: In the last decade new treatments based on mental imagery have been developed for patients with stroke. Whether this therapy works for patients with neglect is currently unclear. Objective: To investigate whether patients with a right hemisphere stoke complicated with unilateral neglect were less capable of performing motor imagery as compared to patients with a right hemisphere stroke without unilateral neglect. Methods: In a patient-control study, 20 patients with a right hemisphere stroke were included. Twelve patients were diagnosed on admission with neglect and eight without neglect. The ability to perform motor imagery was tested using mental rotation tasks, based on either a visual (CMIA ‘Hand Rotation’ test) or a verbal (Questionnaire d’Imagerie Mentale: Rotation des Mains) instruction. In both tasks subjects were instructed to generate a mental image of their hand. Results: Patients with neglect scored significantly less (p = 0.02) as compared to patients without neglect on the visual mental rotation task, but not on the mental rotation task with verbal instruction. Conclusion: Patients with a right-hemisphere stroke and neglect seem less capable of performing visual mental rotation tasks in comparison to patients with a stroke without neglect.
Efficient Oxidative Dechlorination and Aromatic Ring Cleavage of Chlorinated Phenols Catalyzed by Iron Sulfophthalocyanine

An efficient method has been developed for the catalytic oxidation of pollutants that are not easily degraded. The products of the hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) oxidation of 2,4,6,-trichlorophenol (TCP) catalyzed by the iron complex 2,9,16,23-tetrasulfophthalocyanine (FePcS) were observed to be chloromaleic, chlorofumaric, maleic, and fumaric acids from dechlorination and aromatic cycle cleavage, as well as additional products that resulted from oxidative coupling. Quantitative analysis of the TCP oxidation reaction revealed that up to two chloride ions were released per TCP molecule. This chemical system, consisting of an environmentally safe oxidant (H2O2) and an easily accessible catalyst (FePcS), can perform several key steps in the oxidative mineralization of TCP, a paradigm of recalcitrant pollutants.
Abnormal Dividend-Yield Returns and Investment Strategy

ABSTRACT Using the Fama-French three-factor model, we set out in this study to verify the existence of abnormal dividend-yield returns in the Taiwan stock markets. The results of our tracking of the sources of abnormal returns indicate that (1) investors are strongly in favor of high-dividend-yield stocks during the first half of the year; and (2) the information effect of dividend announcements may be the major source of abnormal returns. Our forecasts based on dividend-yield forecasts indeed capture most of the abnormal returns. Finally, our results are found to be robust to a wide variety of portfolio formation settings.
Proteoglycan expression correlates with the phenotype of malignant and non-malignant EBV-positive B-cell lines

The involvement of proteoglycans (PGs) in EBV-host interactions and lymphomagenesis remains poorly investigated. In this study, expression of major proteoglycans (syndecan-1, glypican-1, perlecan, versican, brevican, aggrecan, NG2, serglycin, decorin, biglycan, lumican, CD44), heparan sulphate (HS) metabolic system (EXT1/2, NDST1/2, GLCE, HS2ST1, HS3ST1/2, HS6ST1/2, SULF1/2, HPSE) and extracellular matrix (ECM) components (collagen 1A1, fibronectin, elastin) in primary B cells and EBV carrying cell lines with different phenotypes, patterns of EBV-host cell interaction and viral latency stages (type I-III) was investigated. Primary B cells expressed a wide repertoire of PGs (dominated by serglycin and CD44) and ECM components. Lymphoblastoid EBV+ B cell lines (LCLs) showed specific PG expression with down-regulation of CD44 and ECM components and up-regulation of serglycin and perlecan/HSPG2. For Burkitt's lymphoma cells (BL), serglycin was down-regulated in BL type III cells and perlecan in type I BL cells. The biosynthetic machinery for HS was active in all cell lines, with some tendency to be down-regulated in BL cells. 5′-aza-dC and/or Trichostatin A resulted in transcriptional upregulation of the genes, suggesting that low expression of ECM components, proteoglycan core proteins and HS biosynthetic system is due to epigenetic suppression in type I cells. Taken together, our data show that proteoglycans are expressed in primary B lymphocytes whereas they are not or only partly expressed in EBV-carrying cell lines, depending on their latency type program.
In Vivo Modulation of Intestinal CYP3A Metabolism by P-Glycoprotein: Studies Using the Rat Single-Pass Intestinal Perfusion Model

P-Glycoprotein (P-gp) has been hypothesized to modulate intestinal drug metabolism by increasing the exposure of drug to intracellular CYP3A through repeated cycles of drug absorption and efflux. The rat single-pass intestinal perfusion model was used to study this interplay in vivo. N-Methyl piperazine-Phe-homoPhe-vinylsulfone phenyl (K77), a peptidomimetic cysteine protease inhibitor (CYP3A/P-gp substrate), and midazolam (CYP3A substrate) were each perfused through a segment of rat ileum alone and with the P-gp inhibitorN-{4-[2-(1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-6,7-dimethoxy-2-isoquinolinyl)-ethyl]-phenyl}-9,10-dihydro-5-methoxy-9-oxo-4-acridine carboxamine (GG918). Samples were obtained continuously from the outlet perfusate and the mesenteric vein at 5-min intervals for 40 to 60 min. The parent drug and two main metabolites of K77 (N-desmethyl and N-oxide) and midazolam (1-OH and 4-OH) were quantitated by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. K77 appearance in the mesenteric blood (P blood = 5 ± 3 × 10−6 cm/s) was increased 3-fold with GG918, whereas midazolam permeability (P blood = 1.1 ± 0.3 × 10−4 cm/s) was unchanged by GG918. K77 metabolites were preferentially excreted into the lumen, 4-OH midazolam was found equally in lumen and blood, and 1-OH was mainly excreted into blood. The extent of metabolism was estimated by calculating the fraction metabolized = 1 −P blood/P lumen and the extraction ratio (ER) determined from the direct measurement of known metabolites as ER = sum metabolitesall/(sum metabolitesall + drug in blood). When P-gp was inhibited, the fraction metabolized for K77 was decreased (95 to 85%) and the ER tended toward a decrease, whereas no differences in either parameter were observed for midazolam (not a P-gp substrate). These data support a role for P-gp in modulating the extent of intestinal metabolism in vivo by controlling drug access to the enzyme.
Workplace empowerment, incivility, and burnout: impact on staff nurse recruitment and retention outcomes.

AIM The aim of this study was to examine the influence of empowering work conditions and workplace incivility on nurses' experiences of burnout and important nurse retention factors identified in the literature. BACKGROUND A major cause of turnover among nurses is related to unsatisfying workplaces. Recently, there have been numerous anecdotal reports of uncivil behaviour in health care settings. METHOD We examined the impact of workplace empowerment, supervisor and coworker incivility, and burnout on three employee retention outcomes: job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intentions in a sample of 612 Canadian staff nurses. RESULTS Hierarchical multiple linear regression analyses revealed that empowerment, workplace incivility, and burnout explained significant variance in all three retention factors: job satisfaction (R(2) = 0.46), organizational commitment (R(2) = 0.29) and turnover intentions (R(2) = 0.28). Empowerment, supervisor incivility, and cynicism most strongly predicted job dissatisfaction and low commitment (P < 0.001), whereas emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and supervisor incivility most strongly predicted turnover intentions. CONCLUSIONS In our study, nurses' perceptions of empowerment, supervisor incivility, and cynicism were strongly related to job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intentions. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT Managerial strategies that empower nurses for professional practice may be helpful in preventing workplace incivility, and ultimately, burnout.
The effect of adrenergic agonists and antagonists on the expression of proteins in rat submandibular and parotid glands.

The present investigation was undertaken to study the effect of adrenoreceptor modulators on the expression of salivary proteins. Sprague-Dawley rats were treated for 10 consecutive days with adrenergic agonists isoproterenol, dobutamine, terbutaline, salbutamol, methoxyphenamine, or methoxamine. Antiserum to selected salivary proteins was used to compare the concentration of these proteins in the submandibular and parotid glands of treated animals. Chronic treatments of rats (50 mumol/kg body weight for 10 d) with either isoproterenol or dobutamine induced synthesis of a cysteine-proteinase inhibitor (cystatin) in the submandibular glands. When isoproterenol was injected concomitantly with the mixed beta-antagonist propranolol or the beta 1-adrenergic antagonists metaprolol, protocol, or atenolol, the induction of cystatin was totally suppressed. However, the beta 2-antagonist, ICI-118551, produced only partial reduction in cystatin induction elicited by isoproterenol. On the contrary, rats treated with either isoproterenol or beta 1-agonists demonstrated a significantly reduced concentration of serine-proteinase kallikrein in submandibular glands. The decrease observed in submandibular kallikrein of rats treated with isoproterenol was prevented by concomitant treatment with beta 1-antagonists but not with beta 2-antagonists. Because kallikreins are produced by ductal cells and cystatins are produced by acinar cells of submandibular glands, these observations suggest that there may be differential control of expression of proteins synthesized by ductal and acinar cells. Chronic treatment of rats with nonselective beta-agonist isoproterenol or beta 1-selective agonists increased markedly the proline-rich proteins (PRP) in parotid glands, but the parotid amylase concentration was not significantly affected by beta-adrenergic agonists. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Scanning Electron and Confocal Scanning Laser Microscopy Imaging of the Ultrastructure and Viability of Vaginal Candida albicans and Non-Albicans Species Adhered to an Intrauterine Contraceptive Device

Abstract Although bacterial biofilms have been studied in detail, adhesion of Candida albicans and non-albicans species to an intrauterine contraceptive device (IUD) is not clear. The objective of this study was to evaluate aspects of imaging of the ultrastructure and viability of vaginal yeasts adhered to different parts of an IUD, through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and confocal scanning laser microscopy (CSLM). We studied yeasts isolated from different patients with vulvovaginal candidiasis: C. albicans, C. glabrata, C. guillermondii, C. parapsilosis, C. tropicalis, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. A suspension of the each yeast was prepared and incubated with IUD parts (tail, without copper, and copper-covered). SEM and CSLM showed that all the vaginal yeasts adhered to all the parts of the IUD and demonstrated viability, including 30 days after contact for C. albicans. Possibly irregularities of IUD surface contribute to the adherence process. Although all of the IUD parts contribute to retention of yeasts in the genital tract, high concentration of yeast cells on the tail may indicate the importance of this segment in maintaining the colonization by yeast cells because the tail forms a bridge between the external environment, the vagina that is colonized by yeast cells, and the upper genital tract where there is no colonization.
Men of Prayer: Spirituality of Men With Prostate Cancer

Spirituality plays a powerful role in cancer treatment and recovery; it has been identified by hospitalized patients as one of their top priorities of care. However, health care providers struggle to find ways to address the spirituality of their patients. The purposes of this study were to discover what spirituality means for men with prostate cancer and how it influences their treatment. Eleven men, ages 54 to 71, with prostate cancer were interviewed within several days following radical prostatectomy with bilateral lymph node staging. This grounded theory methodology generated three categories of spirituality: (a) praying, (b) receiving support, and (c) coping with cancer. The basic social process, coping with cancer, occurred in four phases: facing cancer, choosing treatment, trusting, and living day by day. These results were validated by four of the participants for truthfulness. The findings of this study provide holistic nurses with knowledge and a midrange theory of spirituality that can be usedin building a research-based practice.
Measurement of Cortical Bone Thickness in Adults by Cone-beam Computerized Tomography for Orthodontic Miniscrews Placement

Hong ZHAO (赵 弘), Xiao-ming GU (顾晓明), Hong-chen LIU (刘洪臣), Zhao-wu Wang(王照五) , Chun-lei XUN (寻春雷) Institute of Stomatology, Division of Clinical Surgery, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100853, China Center of Stomatology, General Hospital of Chinese Peoples Armed Police Forces, Beijing 100039, China Department of Orthodontics, Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology, Beijing 100081, China
Classification of Spinal Cord Arteriovenous Shunts: Proposal for a Reappraisal—The Bicêtre Experience with 155 Consecutive Patients Treated between 1981 and 1999

OBJECTIVE Spinal cord arteriovenous shunts (SCAVSs) are currently classified according to their morphological features. Certain shunts cannot be fully integrated into the predetermined categories that are usually described, however. Can these classifications be reevaluated on the basis of recent anatomic, biological, and genetic advances? METHODS We reviewed the clinical and radiological files for 155 SCAVSs that were treated at Hôpital Bicêtre between 1981 and 1999. The lesions were examined with respect to their number (single or multiple), their primary architectural type (nidus or fistula), and their possible links with associated metameric lesions. RESULTS All SCAVSs were either arteriovenous malformations or fistulae, with the latter being either micro- or macrofistulae. All SCAVSs corresponded to three categories, i.e., genetic hereditary lesions (macrofistulae and hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia), genetic nonhereditary lesions (all of which were multiple lesions with metameric or myelomeric associations), and single lesions (which could represent incomplete presentations of one of the previous groups). Of the SCAVSs in our series, 81% were single lesions and 19% were multiple; among these, 59% were true intradural shunts with metameric features. Ten cases of Cobb syndrome, three cases of Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome, and two cases of Parkes-Weber syndrome, all with associated cord lesions, were observed. Nineteen percent of SCAVSs were fistulae; 23% of those were macrofistulae, of which 83% were related to Rendu-Osler-Weber disease. CONCLUSION It seems legitimate to propose a categorization that takes into consideration a primary malformation (nidus or fistula) that evolves with time and in which angioarchitectural changes occur. Recognition of the factors originally responsible for the shunt (e.g., genetic hereditary or genetic nonhereditary) allows a different classification of SCAVSs.
Designed for leisure … for all? Gendered experiences and practices of leisure at the architect designed second home

ABSTRACT In contrast to an inherited or repurposed second home, owners are able to stipulate how their leisure practices are catered for when they employ an architect to design their second home. This longitudinal study examines gendered experiences and practices of leisure at architect designed second homes in New Zealand, through an analysis of written and visual discourse in an architecture and lifestyle magazine over a period of 80 years. The identified themes were persistent over the 80 years, but the discourses evolved through time and indicate the socio-cultural context in which they were written. The findings suggest that although the opportunity to imagine a ‘life lived differently’ exists at the second home, for the second homeowners featured in the magazine articles at least, this does not extend to gender relations. This may be in part due to the very nature of the second home, whereby it is difficult to escape the deeply ingrained gender ideologies associated with home/work, productive/reproductive dichotomies.
Abatacept Reduces Levels of Switched Memory B Cells, Autoantibodies, and Immunoglobulins in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Objective. Abatacept (ABA) is a chimeric molecule, able to block the CD28-mediated costimulatory pathway. To evaluate the hypothesis that, through this mechanism of action, ABA may down-modulate the immune responses of B lymphocytes in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), we investigated the serum levels of immunoglobulins (Ig), free light chains (FLC), anticitrullinated protein antibodies (ACPA), and rheumatoid factor (RF), as well as the number of B lymphocytes differentiated into post-switch memory cells in patients treated with ABA. Methods. The serum levels of Ig, FLC, different ACPA, RF isotypes, and the B cell phenotype were longitudinally evaluated in 30 patients with RA treated with ABA. Results. At baseline, the proportion of total and post-switch memory B cells was lower in RA than in healthy individuals. After 6 months of ABA treatment we observed significant reductions of serum levels of IgG, IgA, and IgM, as well as FLC, with a normalization in many patients who had initially abnormal values. A significant reduction of the titers of IgG- and IgA-ACPA, as well as of IgM-, IgA-, and IgG-RF was also observed. A decrease of autoantibodies below the upper limits of normal values was found in 2 of 26 patients (8%) initially seropositive for IgG-ACPA, 1 of 14 (7%) for IgA-ACPA, 5 of 22 (23%) for IgM-RF, 7 of 22 (30%) for IgA-RF, and 5 of 16 (31%) for IgG-RF. After treatment, the proportion of circulating post-switch memory B cells was also further significantly decreased. Conclusion. ABA treatment in patients with RA can reduce signs of polyclonal B cell activation, inducing a trend toward normalization of serum levels of different classes of Ig and of FLC, decreasing titers of ACPA and RF, and percentages of post-switch memory B cells.