Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cost-effectiveness of a lifestyle intervention in preventing Type 2 diabetes

Objectives: Previous research has suggested people with impaired fasting glucose (IFG) are less likely to develop Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) if they receive prolonged structured diet and exercise advice. This study examined the within-trial cost-effectiveness of such lifestyle interventions. Methods: Screen-detected participants with either newly diagnosed T2DM or IFG were randomized 2:1 to intervention versus control (usual care) between February and December 2009, in Norfolk (UK). The intervention consisted of group based education, physiotherapy and peer support sessions, plus telephone contacts from T2DM volunteers. We monitored healthcare resource use, intervention costs, and quality of life (EQ-5D). The incremental cost per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gain (incremental cost effectiveness ratio [ICER]), and cost effectiveness acceptability curves (CEAC) were estimated. Results: In total, 177 participants were recruited (118 intervention, 59 controls), with a mean follow-up of 7 months. Excluding screening and recruitment costs, the mean cost was estimated to be £551 per participant in the intervention arm, compared with £325 in the control arm. The QALY gains were –0.001 and –0.004, respectively. The intervention was estimated to have an ICER of £67,184 per QALY (16 percent probability of being cost-effective at the £20,000/QALY threshold). Cost-effectiveness estimates were more favorable for IFG participants and those with longer follow-up (≥4 months) (ICERs of £20,620 and £17,075 per QALY, respectively). Conclusions: Group sessions to prevent T2DM were not estimated to be within current limits of cost-effectiveness. However, there was a large degree of uncertainty surrounding these estimates, suggesting the need for further research.
Single-Laboratory Validation for the Determination of Flavonoids in Hawthorn Leaves and Finished Products by LC-UV

Abstract Suitably validated analytical methods that can be used to quantify medicinally active phytochemicals in natural health products are required by regulators, manufacturers, and consumers. Hawthorn (Crataegus) is a botanical ingredient in natural health products used for the treatment of cardiovascular disorders. A method for the quantitation of vitexin-2″-O- rhamnoside, vitexin, isovitexin, rutin, and hyperoside in hawthorn leaf and flower raw materials and finished products was optimized and validated according to AOAC International guidelines. A two-level partial factorial study was used to guide the optimization of the sample preparation. The optimal conditions were found to be a 60-minute extraction using 50 : 48 : 2 methanol : water : acetic acid followed by a 25-minute separation using a reversed-phased liquid chromatography column with ultraviolet absorbance detection. The single-laboratory validation study evaluated method selectivity, accuracy, repeatability, linearity, limit of quantitation, and limit of detection. Individual flavonoid content ranged from 0.05 mg/g to 17.5 mg/g in solid dosage forms and raw materials. Repeatability ranged from 0.7 to 11.7 % relative standard deviation corresponding to HorRat ranges from 0.2 to 1.6. Calibration curves for each flavonoid were linear within the analytical ranges with correlation coefficients greater than 99.9 %. Herein is the first report of a validated method that is fit for the purpose of quantifying five major phytochemical marker compounds in both raw materials and finished products made from North American (Crataegus douglasii) and European (Crataegus monogyna and Crataegus laevigata) hawthorn species. The method includes optimized extraction of samples without a prolonged drying process and reduced liquid chromatography separation time.
Sewer and drain swabbing as a means of investigating salmonellosis

SUMMARY The use of gauze swabs in drains or sewers to clarify the path followed by a salmonella from source to human host has been reviewed in the light of experience gained in Cardiff over 15 years. This period has seen a marked change in attitudes to salmonella epidemiology in that infected food is now regarded as of greater importance than infected food handlers. In these 15 years, butchers, abattoirs and knackers' yards, markets and bakehouses have been monitored. In the bakehouse survey the existence of staff infection was demonstrated by sewage examination. Sewage investigation has also been used to show frequent entry of salmonellas into households in a residential estate. The estate was carefully chosen to exclude salmonellas from industrial sources and shops. The frequent finding of infection in this sewage implies that a commonly consumed heavily infected food item is involved. The wide range of serotypes isolated suggests an animal usually fed on infected animal feed. Poultry and pigs are put forward as animals liable to spread salmonellosis to man. It is hoped that clarification of the salmonella pathway may eventually lead to measures likely to prevent the transmission of infection to man. It is also suggested that swabs placed in abattoir drains serve as an economical method of obtaining warning of a persistent build-up of contamination. The persistence of a serotype in an abattoir is not infrequently followed by human infection.
Impact of organizational politics on employee performance in public sector organizations

The present study seeks to investigate the impact of organizational politics on employee performance in the public sector organizations. The study developed a framework on the basis of an extensive literature review which was then tested to provide an empirical insight about the proposed relationships. The data were collected from the employees of 15 public sector organizations in Pakistan. The data was statistically analyzed using regression analysis. The results revealed that organizational politics have a significant impact on employee performance. The findings of the study reinforce that the management needs to understand the perception of employees about the organizational politics prevailing in their organizations and have to adopt strategies that would minimize the perception of organizational politics and enhance employee performance. The present study has been conducted in a developing economy; therefore, the findings of the present study are partially generalized able to other developing economies as well. The future researchers can also perform the studies in other settings.
Assessing the banking systems’ performance and its determinants in EU28 countries

The paper approaches the issue of assessing the banking performance at the level of the national banking systems of the EU28 countries, in the period 2000-2013, aiming to identify and analyse the action of different determinants on it. Considering the return on assets, return on equity and net interest margin as estimators of banking performance, from financial perspective, there are analysed, using econometric methods, the impacts bank-specific, industryspecific and macroeconomic factors on these estimators. Our findings show that the banking systems performance is significantly enhanced by banks’ activity diversification, low competition and the economic growth, but also negatively influenced especially by the poor expenses management and credit risk, reflected in the ratio of bad loans. They prove also both the linkage between banking performance and the performance of the economy and suggest that banks should diversify more their activities and take actions to limit credit risk and improve asset quality.
The Ontario Leadership Framework for Catholic Principals and Vice-Principals: Purpose versus Practice

Education is a field that experiences a number of policy initiatives and changes all in an effort to improve the system. The success of these initiatives is dependent in large part on the way the policies have been received by those expected to implement the changes. This study explored the experiences of seven Catholic secondary principals and seven Catholic secondary vice-principals with the Ontario Leadership Framework (OLF) in one school district of Ontario. As a provincially mandated policy change, the OLF was part of an initiative to support and sustain current school leaders in their work by providing a catalogue of leadership practices and competencies that have been found to be highly effective both in the research literature of educational leadership and from current practitioners. A review of the policy implementation and educational change literature was used to provide a perspective on how innovations can be understood to go through a process that involves 3 phases: initiation, implementation, and institutionalization. Of particular interest to this study is the presence of factors that influence how an innovation is implemented. This conceptual framework was used to explore and understand the presence of these factors in the experiences of this study’s participants. Qualitative data
Development of high‐fat‐diet‐induced obesity in female metallothionein‐null mice

Oxidative stress accelerates adipocyte differentiation and lipid accumulation, leading to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, which causes insulin resistance. Because metallothionein (MT) has a role in prevention of oxidative and ER stress, we examined the effects of MT on the development of obesity induced by 27 wk of a high‐fat diet (HFD) in female MT‐I‐ and MT‐II‐null (MT−/−) and wild‐type (MT+/+) mice. Body weight, fat mass, and plasma cholesterol increased at a greater rate in MT−/− mice fed an HFD than in MT −/− mice fed a control diet (CD) and MT+/+ mice fed an HFD, indicating that MT−/− mice fed an HFD became obese and hypercholesterolemic and that MT could prevent HFD‐induced obesity. The observed increases in the levels of plasma leptin and leptin mRNA in the white adipose tissue of MT−/− mice fed the HFD suggested a leptin‐resistant state. Enhanced expression of a mesoderm‐specific transcript, which regulates the enlargement of fat cells, was accompanied by enlarged adipocytes in the white adipose tissue of young MT −/− mice before obesity developed after 3 and 8 wk of feeding the HFD. Thus, MT may have a preventive role against HFD‐induced obesity by regulating adipocyte enlargement and leptin signaling. —Sato, M. , Kawakami, T. , Kondoh, M. , Takiguchi, M. , Kadota, Y. , Himeno, S. , Suzuki, S. Development of high‐fat‐diet‐induced obesity in female metallothionein‐null mice. FASEBJ. 24, 2375–2384 (2010). www.fasebj. org
Dysregulated Renin-AngioteNsin System Contributes to acute Lung Injury Caused by Hind-limb Ischemia-Reperfusion in Mice

ABSTRACT The mechanism of acute lung injury (ALI) following limb ischemia-reperfusion (LIR) is not yet clear. We speculate that the unbalanced expression of angiotensin-converting enzymes (ACE and ACE2) and angiotensins [Ang II and Ang-(1–7)] in the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) is a major cause of ALI. To prove this hypothesis, pathological changes, lung edema, and permeability of wild-type mice at different time points within 12 h of reperfusion after 2 h of hind-limb ischemia were first detected by morphological method, measurements of wet-to-dry weight ratio, and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Meanwhile, the changes of lung ACE/ACE2 mRNA and protein expression were surveyed by the methods of real-time reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction, Western blotting, and immunohistochemistry. Angiotensin II/Ang-(1–7) levels in the blood serum and lung tissue were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Then the effects of ACE2 gene insertion and deletion on the previously mentioned parameters were investigated in the mice being exposed to hind-limb 2-h ischemia and 4-h reperfusion. The results revealed that lung injuries in the wild-type mice were gradually aggravated, and the expression of ACE in lung tissue was progressively increased, whereas that of ACE2 decreased within 12 h after LIR. Unexpectedly, both Ang II and Ang-(1–7) in the lung tissue were obviously increased after LIR, showing Ang-(1–7) higher than Ang II in the early stage of reperfusion but lower than Ang II at the late stage of reperfusion. Unlike local Ang II/Ang-(1–7) changes, circulating Ang-(1–7) became greatly descending, and Ang II was markedly ascending from the start of reperfusion, corresponding to local ACE/ACE2 unbalanced expression. ACE2 transgenosis improved the imbalance of ACE/ACE2 and Ang II/Ang-(1–7) expression and alleviated lung injuries, whereas ACE2 knockout further aggravated the imbalance of ACE/ACE2 and Ang II/Ang-(1–7) expression and made lung injuries more serious in the post-LIR mice. The results indicate that the dysregulation of local and circulating RAS with increased expression of ACE/Ang II and decreased expression of ACE2/Ang-(1–7) contribute to ALI caused by LIR in mice. Maintaining RAS homeostasis through upregulating ACE2 expression may lessen lung injury, which provides a new idea for the treatment of posttraumatic ALI.
Effect of high-dose ibuprofen in patients with cystic fibrosis.

BACKGROUND Since the inflammatory response to chronic infection contributes to lung destruction in patients with cystic fibrosis, we hypothesized that anti-inflammatory therapy might slow the progression of lung disease. METHODS In a double-blind trial, 85 patients, 5 to 39 years of age, with mild lung disease (forced expiratory volume in one second [FEV1], > or = 60 percent of the predicted value) were randomly assigned to receive ibuprofen or placebo orally twice daily for four years. Doses were adjusted individually to achieve peak plasma concentrations of 50 to 100 micrograms per milliliter. Changes in pulmonary function, the percentage of ideal body weight, the chest-radiograph score, and the frequency of hospitalization were assessed. RESULTS Patients randomly assigned to ibuprofen had a slower annual rate of change in FEV1 than the patients assigned to placebo (mean [+/- SE] slope, -2.17 +/- 0.57 percent vs. -3.60 +/- 0.55 percent in the placebo group; P = 0.02), and weight (as a percentage of ideal body weight) was better maintained in the former group (P = 0.02). Among the patients who took ibuprofen for four years and had at least a 70 percent rate of compliance, the annual rate of change in FEV1 was even slower (-1.48 +/- 0.69 percent vs. -3.57 +/- 0.65 percent in the placebo group, P = 0.03), and this group of patients also had a significantly slower rate of decline in forced vital capacity, the percentage of ideal body weight, and the chest-radiograph score. There was no significant difference between the ibuprofen and placebo groups in the frequency of hospitalization. One patient was withdrawn from the study because of conjunctivitis, and one because of epistaxis related to ibuprofen. CONCLUSIONS In patients with cystic fibrosis and mild lung disease, high-dose ibuprofen, taken consistently for four years, significantly slows the progression of the lung disease without serious adverse effects.
Individual characteristics of students with autism spectrum disorders and school refusal behavior

This study compared social, executive, emotional, and behavioral characteristics of students with autism spectrum disorder who did and did not display school refusal behavior. The participants were 62 students with autism spectrum disorder without intellectual disability aged 9–16 years attending inclusive schools. Parents first completed questionnaires assessing social and executive functioning as well as emotional and behavioral problems. They then documented their child’s school refusal behavior for a period of 20 days. Compared to students without school refusal behavior (n = 29), students with school refusal behavior (n = 33) were significantly less socially motivated; displayed more deficits in initiating tasks or activities, in generating ideas, responses, or problem-solving strategies; and displayed more withdrawn and depressive symptoms. Assessing social and executive functioning, as well as emotional problems, may help professionals provide tailored interventions for students with autism spectrum disorder and school refusal behavior, which will further be valuable in recognizing characteristics associated with school refusal behavior.
Relations between attachment styles, ageism and quality of life in late life

ABSTRACT Background: This study is the first to explore the relations between attachment styles, ageism, and quality of life (QoL) among elderly people. The attachment theory describes how human beings relate to each other, according to their attachment style. Previous studies have examined the connection between attachment styles and prejudice toward distinctive social groups and minorities. Ageism as a form of prejudice is a way of relating negatively to people because they are old. QoL among the elderly was found to be associated with negative age-perceptions. It was therefore hypothesized that QoL, attachments styles, and demographic characteristics can explain ageism among the elderly. Methods: Four questionnaires were administered: Fraboni Scale of Ageism (FSA), which comprises four scales (separation, affective, stereotype, and intergeneration); Experiences in Close Relationships Scale, which measures four attachment styles (secure, dismissive, fearful, and preoccupied); SF-36 health status inventory (eight scales); and sociodemographic questions. Ninety-four elderly men and women aged 64–85 years living in the community completed the questionnaires. Results: MANCOVAS indicated that securely attached individuals score higher on separation than fearfully attached individuals, and that securely and dismissively attached individuals score higher than fearful and preoccupied individuals on seven QoL scales. Multiple regression analyses showed that attachment styles, age, gender, and some QoL scales contribute to the explained variance of ageism. Conclusions: Secure attachment in late life seems to be related to less ageism and a better QoL. The enhancement of a secure attachment base in elderly people may assist in moderating ageism and improving older people's QoL.
Evaluation by patients with heart failure of the effects of enalapril compared with hydralazine plus isosorbide dinitrate on quality of life. V-HeFT II. The V-HeFT VA Cooperative Studies Group.

BACKGROUND Two new questionnaires concerning the quality of life of patients with heart failure were used in a randomized, controlled trial to determine if the patients' perceptions of the effects of enalapril on their daily activities and sense of well-being were different from those of a group treated with hydralazine and isosorbide dinitrate. METHODS AND RESULTS The questionnaires were completed at baseline and at 3 months, 6 months, and subsequently every 6 months during follow-up, which averaged 2.5 years (range, 0.5-5.7 years). Data from the questionnaires were reliable as indicated by correlation coefficients between repeated baseline scores of 0.88 and 0.87. Both treatment groups showed a progressive deterioration in quality of life as measured by both questionnaires. The questionnaire scores of the two treatment groups were not significantly different at any follow-up visit. Furthermore, there were no differences between treatments among subgroups defined by baseline questionnaire scores, peak oxygen consumption, ejection fraction, previous vasodilator use, and plasma norepinephrine concentration. CONCLUSIONS Although several factors may limit the generalization of these results, the lack of a difference with regard to patients' quality of life is an important consideration for the evaluation of the relative therapeutic efficacy of these vasodilators.
Monthly administration of long-acting injectable risperidone and striatal dopamine D2 receptor occupancy for the management of schizophrenia.

OBJECTIVE Long-acting risperidone administered intramuscularly biweekly is approved for the management of schizophrenia. However, dosing of long-acting antipsychotics is frequently extended in clinical practice, and a recent clinical trial has lent support to monthly dosing of long-acting risperidone. The objective of this positron emission tomography (PET) study was to examine the striatal dopamine D(2) binding of long-acting risperidone administered intramuscularly once a month. METHOD Following at least 3 maintenance monthly injections of 50 mg long-acting risper-idone, 7 patients with a DSM-IV diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder under-went PET using [(11)C]raclopride to measure D(2) binding potential within 4 days of the next scheduled injection. Data were collected from May to October 2003. This PET study was part of a larger 52-week clinical study wherein individuals received long-acting risperidone once monthly over a 1-year interval. One-year follow-up data were obtained from the 52-week parent investigation. RESULTS The mean +/- SD D(2) receptor occupancy was 56% +/- 24% (range, 29%-82%). Of note, there were 4 subjects with less than 60% D(2) occupancy, none of whom relapsed over the course of the 1-year follow-up. The mean +/- SD total plasma level of risperidone plus 9-hydroxyrisperidone was 16.6 +/- 12.3 ng/mL (range, 5.7-40.8). CONCLUSION As with plasma levels, there was considerable variability in D(2) occupancy levels for individuals receiving long-acting risperidone. This work suggests a possibility that sustained D(2) occupancy at or above the accepted threshold with acute clinical response may not be necessary to maintain response, a hypothesis with important clinical implications as we consider antipsychotic dosing and future antipsychotic development. TRIAL REGISTRATION clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00236353.
Oct‐4 Expression in Adult Human Differentiated Cells Challenges Its Role as a Pure Stem Cell Marker

The Oct‐4 transcription factor, a member of the POU family that is also known as Oct‐3 and Oct3/4, is expressed in totipotent embryonic stem cells (ES) and germ cells, and it has a unique role in development and in the determination of pluripotency. ES may have their postnatal counterpart in the adult stem cells, recently described in various mammalian tissues, and Oct‐4 expression in putative stem cells purified from adult tissues has been considered a real marker of stemness. In this context, normal mature adult cells would not be expected to show Oct‐4 expression. On the contrary, we demonstrated, using reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction (PCR) (total RNA, Poly A+), real‐time PCR, immunoprecipitation, Western blotting, band shift, and immunofluorescence, that human peripheral blood mononuclear cells, genetically stable and mainly terminally differentiated cells with well defined functions and a limited lifespan, express Oct‐4. These observations raise the question as to whether the role of Oct‐4 as a marker of pluripotency should be challenged. Our findings suggest that the presence of Oct‐4 is not sufficient to define a cell as pluripotent, and that additional measures should be used to avoid misleading results in the case of an embryonic‐specific gene with a large number of pseudogenes that may contribute to false identification of Oct‐4 in adult stem cells. These unexpected findings may provide new insights into the role of Oct‐4 in fully differentiated cells.