Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Targeting the underserved for breast and cervical cancer screening: the utility of ecological analysis using the National Health Interview Survey.

OBJECTIVES This study tested the utility of ecological variables created from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) for strategic targeting of health services for the underserved. METHODS Ecological variables were created using the 1989-1991 survey years of the NHIS public use data files. Segments, the NHIS secondary sampling units, permit computation of secondary sampling characteristics by percentage Black, percentage Hispanic, percentage below poverty, percentage unemployed, median education, median income, median age, and percentage residing in the United States for 5 years or less. These variables were analyzed with the NHIS Health Promotion and Disease Prevention 1990 supplement reporting mammogram, clinical breast examination, and Pap test use. RESULTS Median education of areas was inversely related to never having mammograms. Areas with a high proportion (70%-100%) of Hispanic respondents also were more likely not to have mammograms. Women residing in areas with moderate or high proportions of Hispanic respondents were more likely never to have clinical breast examinations and Pap tests, as were those in areas with low income, poverty, and respondents who had resided in the United States 5 years or less. CONCLUSIONS The new methodology of constructing ecological variables using the NHIS demonstrates an application that may help identify underserved areas or areas with underutilized services. More studies using this methodology are warranted.
New genetic markers for male infertility

Purpose of review The purpose of this review is to highlight the most important advances in the field of genetics of male infertility, with particular attention to primary articles dealing with the identification of new genetic and epigenetic markers that could be translated into clinical practice in the near future. Recent findings Copy number variations (CNVs) of the Y chromosome (gr/gr) deletions could already be included in the diagnostic workup of infertile men, although confirming studies are needed for CNVs on the X chromosome, as well for polymorphisms in some autosomal genes and telomere length in sperm. Methods need to be further standardized before sperm DNA analysis could be included in clinical practice, although they can help in defining some forms of idiopathic infertility. Epigenetic biomarkers are potentially important in elucidating the cause of idiopathic male infertility. Polymorphisms in FSHB/FSHR could be used in clinical practice to diagnose some forms of male infertility and as a pharmacogenetic marker for FSH treatment. Summary New genetic causes and genetic risk factors have been identified in recent years and new technologies for genomic and postgenomic analyses (arrays, next-generation sequencing, proteomics, metabolomics, global methylome analysis and so on) are promising research fields. It is presumed that some of these genetic and epigenetic tests will be introduced in clinical practice in the near future.
New performance indicators for BMX riders

BMX racing is an Olympic sport which requires a generation of a high power level (Zabala et al. 2009). This level of power is widely used to evaluate athletes’ explosive power what may be poorly exploited during the race. The explosive muscular power characterises the athlete’s capacity to increase with a high rate the power output value generated on the pedals. A new powermeter, GCOg (Rennen Design Group, Middleboro, MA, USA), has been developed with a high sampling rate of 250 Hz. Some studies have analysed its reliability (Bertucci et al. 2012; Chiementin et al. 2012). Due to this high sampling rate, this study develops new performance indicators to quantify coordination, sequencing and management of the dead centre of the pedalling.
CYP2D6 Polymorphisms and Codeine Analgesia in Postpartum Pain Management: A Pilot Study

Background: Codeine, a common opiate prescribed for pain postcesarean section (c-section), is biotransformed by the highly polymorphic Cytochrome P450 enzyme 2D6 (CYP2D6). Ultrarapid metabolizers (UMs), individuals with multiple active copies of CYP2D6, can biotranform up to 50% more codeine into morphine than normal individuals can. In contrast, poor metabolizers (PMs), individuals who have no active CYP2D6 genes, convert almost no codeine into morphine and as a result may take multiple doses of codeine without attaining analgesia. Objective: The aim was to study the relationship between CYP2D6 genotype and codeine analgesia among women recovering from c-section. Methods: Forty-five mothers prescribed codeine provided a blood sample for CYP2D6 genotyping and recorded their pain level 4 times a day for 3 days immediately after a c-section. Codeine was used on an as-needed basis; doses and times were recorded. The relationship between CYP2D6 genotype, pain scores, need for codeine, and adverse events was studied. Theoretical morphine dose, based on CYP2D6 genotype, was estimated. Results: Women at the genotypic extremes reported codeine effects consistent with their genotype: the 2 PMs of codeine reported no analgesia as a result of taking codeine, whereas 2 of the 3 UMs reported immediate pain relief from codeine but stopped taking it due to dizziness and constipation. Much larger numbers are needed to study similar correlations among extensive and intermediate metabolizers. Conclusions: In this pilot study, the extreme CYP2D6 genotypes (PMs and UMs) seemed to predict pain response and adverse events. Larger sample sizes are needed to correlate the range of genotypes with pain response.
Evaluation of the systemic micro- and macrovasculature in stable angina: A case-control study

Aims The diagnosis of stable angina involves the use of probability estimates based on clinical presentation, age, gender and cardiovascular risk factors. In view of the link between the cardiac and systemic vasculature we tested whether non-invasive measures of systemic micro- and macrovascular structure and function differentiate between individuals with flow-limiting coronary artery disease (CAD) and those with normal coronary arteries (NCA). Methods and results We recruited 84 patients undergoing elective coronary angiography for investigation of symptoms of stable angina. Patients were selected for either having significant CAD or NCA (n = 43/41; age, 56±7 vs 57±7 years, P = 0.309). Only microvascular endothelial function, measured using the Endo-PAT2000 device to determine reactive hyperaemia index (CAD vs. NCA; 1.9 [1.5; 2.3] vs. 2.1 [1.8; 2.4], P = 0.03) and sonographic carotid plaque score (CAD vs. NCA; 3.0 [1.5; 4.5] vs. 1.2 [0; 2.55], P<0.001) were significantly different between patients with CAD and NCA. No significant differences were detected in reflection magnitude (CAD vs. NCA; 1.7 [1.5; 1.8] % vs 1.7 [1.5; 1.9] %, P = 0.342), pulse wave velocity (CAD vs. NCA; 7.8±1.4 m/sec vs. 8.3±1.5 m/sec, P = 0.186), carotid intima-media thickness (CAD vs. NCA; 0.73±0.10 mm vs. 0.75±0.10 mm, P = 0.518) or carotid distensibility (CAD vs. NCA; 3.8±1.2 10-3/kPa vs. 3.4±0.9 10-3/kPa, P = 0.092). Also, the c-statistic of the pre-test probability based on history and traditional risk factors (c = 0.665; 95% CI, 0.540–0.789) was improved by the addition of the inverse RHI (c = 0.720; 95% CI, 0.605–0.836), carotid plaque score (c = 0.770, 95% CI, 0.659–0.881), and of both markers in combination (c = 0.801; 95% CI, 0.701–0.900). Conclusion There are distinct differences in the systemic vasculature between patients with CAD and NCA that may have the potential to guide diagnostic and therapeutic decisions. Carotid artery plaque burden and microvascular function appear to be most promising in this context.
Impacts of long‐term enteral nutrition on clinical and endoscopic disease activities and mucosal cytokines during remission in patients with Crohn's disease: A prospective study

Background: Long‐term enteral nutrition may maintain clinical and endoscopic remission in patients with Crohn's disease (CD). The aim of this prospective study was to investigate the impacts of long‐term enteral nutrition on clinical and endoscopic disease activities and mucosal tissue cytokines in patients with quiescent CD. Methods: Forty patients with CD who achieved clinical remission were included. Of these, 20 received continuous elemental diet (Elental) infusion during the nighttime and a low‐fat diet during the daytime (EN group) and 20 received neither nutritional therapy nor food restriction (non‐EN group). With these regimens, all 40 patients were monitored for 1 year. Further, ileocolonoscopy was performed at entry, at 6 and 12 months, and mucosal biopsies were taken for cytokine assays. Results: On an intention‐to‐treat basis, 5 patients (25%) in the EN group and 13 (65%) in the non‐EN group had a clinical relapse during the 1‐year observation (P = 0.03). The mean endoscopic inflammation (EI) scores were not significantly different between the groups at both entry and 6 months, but at 12 months EI scores were significantly higher in the non‐EN group than in the EN group (P = 0.04). Additionally, the mucosal tissue interleukin (IL)‐1&bgr;, IL‐6, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‐&agr; levels significantly increased with time in the non‐EN group (entry versus 12 months, IL‐1&bgr;, P = 0.02; IL‐6, P = 0.002; TNF‐&agr;, P = 0.001). In the EN group these cytokines did not show a significant increase. Conclusions: Long‐term enteral nutrition in patients with quiescent CD has a clear suppressive effect on clinical and endoscopic disease activities and the mucosal inflammatory cytokine levels. (Inflamm Bowel Dis 2007)
An IT2FLS-Based Malware Analysis Mechanism: Malware Analysis Network in Taiwan (MiT)

Malware is one of the problems really existing in the modern post-industrial society. Hackers continuously develop novel techniques to intrude into computer systems for various reasons, so many security researchers should analyze and track new malicious program to protect sensitive information for the computer system. In this paper, we integrate the Interval Type-2 Fuzzy Logic System (IT2FLS) with malware behavioral analysis: Malware Analysis Network in Taiwan (MAN in Taiwan, MiT, and http://MiT.TWMAN.ORG). The core techniques of MiT are as follows: (1) automatically collect the logs the difference operation system to extract unknown behavior information. Also, MiT is able to automatically provide and share samples and reports via the cloud storage mechanism, (2) integrate with IT2FLS to construct the malware analysis domain knowledge for the malware behavior. Simulation results show that the proposed approach can effectively execute the malware behavior analysis, and the constructed system has also been released under GNU General Public License version 3.
The attestation of corporate turnaround plans in Italy: operating problems and possible solutions

The manifold recent reform acts of bankruptcy law in Italy are more clearly oriented towards preserving the going concern of firms, besides granting the par condicio among creditors. Companies have broader opportunities to plan the restructuring, with the constraint of making it advantageous for creditors. In this context, the role of the independent attester is of prime and increasing importance to assure that the restructuring plan pursues creditors' and stakeholders' interests. This paper presents insights from both the authors' practical experiences and the review of the literature. It is addressed to managers, practitioners and scholars, interested in understanding turnarounds in the Italian context. The specificities of the attester's activity in analysing the data truthfulness and the feasibility of the recovery plan are deeply analysed. The article has a qualitative value and is based on a normative methodological approach, which links bankruptcy law with crisis management and auditing. The result is a systematic model of the attestation process.
CEOs and CFOs on IPOs: The Process and Success of Going Public

We conducted 46 interviews with CEOs and CFOs who were closely involved in an initial public offering (IPO) in the Netherlands. Among other things, we find that pre-existing relationships are a primary consideration in the selection of the lead manager and other syndicate members. Pre-marketing feedback figures prominently throughout the pricing process. The width of the price range of book-built IPOs is especially driven by valuation uncertainty. There is evidence of strategic underpricing in anticipation of subsequent equity issues and because of management’s interest in satisfying new shareholders. Many interviewees believe that the lead manager’s business interests have had a strong influence on the allocation of shares. Managerial perceptions of IPO success are largely driven by how well the firm fared in terms of stock price performance, changes in media attention and visibility, and changes related to the retention and recruitment of staff.
Hepatic and splenic phagocytosis in female B6C3F1 mice implanted with morphine sulfate pellets.

Morphine sulfate has previously been shown to produce a dose-dependent decrease in hepatic phagocytosis when administered as 8-, 25- and 75-mg pellets implanted subcutaneously. This study was undertaken to determine the time course of suppression of hepatic and splenic phagocytosis after subcutaneous implantation of morphine sulfate pellets. Mice were implanted with either 75 mg of morphine sulfate or placebo pellets. The uptake of chromated sheep red blood cells by the liver and spleen was taken as an index of phagocytosis by resident Kupffer cells or macrophages, respectively. The results indicate that maximum suppression of hepatic phagocytosis by 67% occurred 18 hr after implantation of 75 mg of morphine sulfate. Hepatic phagocytic capacity returned to control levels within 48 hr of implantation. The initial time course of suppression of splenic phagocytosis by 41% was similar to that of the liver (maximum at 12 hr). However, splenic phagocytic capacity returned toward placebo levels over a longer period of time reaching control after 4 days after implantation. The opiate receptor antagonist, naltrexone (30-mg pellet), completely blocked the ability of morphine to suppress either hepatic or splenic phagocytosis. Corticosterone is known to increase in parallel with plasma morphine levels presumably through a hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. The glucocorticoid receptor antagonist RU 486 was used to block the actions of corticosterone and investigate its possible role in morphine sulfate-induced suppression of phagocytosis. RU 486 (200 mg/kg) completely blocked morphine sulfate's ability to suppress splenic phagocytosis. In contrast, RU 486 only partially blocked morphine-induced suppression of hepatic phagocytosis. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
The EPIC Project: rationale and study design. European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition.

BACKGROUND The most consistent result of epidemiological studies on diet and cancer is that a diet rich in vegetables, fruit and, more generally, in plant foods is associated with a reduced risk of cancer at several anatomical sites. Epidemiological studies have been less consistent regarding the putative increase in risk related to consumption of fat or meat. In addition it has not been possible to identify clearly the biological role of specific nutrients or non-nutrient food components in the prevention or causation of cancer. Limitations in the precision and validity of traditional dietary intake measurements and limited use of biomarkers combined with narrow ranges of variations in dietary habits within single populations, have been the main reasons for the limited success in identifying more specific diet and cancer links. METHODS EPIC is a multi-centre prospective cohort study designed to investigate the relation between diet, nutritional and metabolic characteristics, various lifestyle factors and the risk of cancer. The study is based in 22 collaborating centres in nine European countries and includes populations characterized by large variations in dietary habits and cancer risk. Data are collected on diet, physical activity, sexual maturation and reproductive history, lifetime consumption of alcohol and tobacco, previous and current illnesses and current medication. Following a common protocol and using identical equipment, blood samples are collected, aliquoted into plasma, serum, white blood cells and erythrocytes, and stored in liquid nitrogen at -196 degrees C for future laboratory analyses on cancer cases and matched healthy controls. Anthropometric measurements are taken according to a standard protocol. It is planned to include around 400,000 middle-aged men and women. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS The collection of questionnaire data, anthropometric measurements and blood samples is under way. Almost 340,000 subjects had been included in the study by mid-1996, and recruitment is expected to be almost complete by 1997. Follow-up for cancer incidence and total mortality has started and it is expected that about 23000 cancer cases will be identified during the first 10 years of follow-up.
Light-directed 5'-->3' synthesis of complex oligonucleotide microarrays.

Light-directed synthesis of high-density microarrays is currently performed in the 3'-->5' direction due to constraints in existing synthesis chemistry. This results in the probes being unavailable for many common types of enzymatic modification. Arrays that are synthesized in the 5'-->3' direction could be utilized to perform parallel genotyping and resequencing directly on the array surface, dramatically increasing the throughput and reducing the cost relative to existing techniques. In this report we demonstrate the use of photoprotected phosphoramidite monomers for light-directed array synthesis in the 5'-->3' direction, using maskless array synthesis technology. These arrays have a dynamic range of >2.5 orders of magnitude, sensitivity below 1 pM and a coefficient of variance of <10% across the array surface. Arrays containing >150,000 probe sequences were hybridized to labeled mouse cRNA producing highly concordant data (average R(2) = 0.998). We have also shown that the 3' ends of array probes are available for sequence-specific primer extension and ligation reactions.
Single nucleotide polymorphisms in the FADS gene cluster are associated with delta-5 and delta-6 desaturase activities estimated by serum fatty acid ratios[S]

Genetic variability in the FADS1-FADS2 gene cluster [encoding delta-5 (D5D) and delta-6 (D6D) desaturases] has been associated with plasma long-chain PUFA (LCPUFA) and lipid levels in adults. To better understand these relationships, we further characterized the association between FADS1-FADS2 genetic variability and D5D and D6D activities in adolescents. Thirteen single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were genotyped in 1,144 European adolescents (mean ± SD age: 14.7 ± 1.4 y). Serum phospholipid fatty acid levels were analyzed using gas chromatography. D5D and D6D activities were estimated from the C20:4n-6/C20:3n-6 and C20:3n-6/C18:2n-6 ratios, respectively. Minor alleles of nine SNPs were associated with higher 18:2n-6 levels (1.9E-18 ≤ P ≤ 6.1E-5), lower C20:4n-6 levels (7.1E-69 ≤ P ≤ 1.2E-12), and lower D5D activity (7.2E-44 ≤ P ≤ 4.4E-5). All haplotypes carrying the rs174546 minor allele were associated with lower D5D activity, suggesting that this SNP is in linkage disequilibrium with a functional SNP within FADS1. In contrast, only the rs968567 minor allele was associated with higher D6D activity (P = 1.5E-6). This finding agrees with an earlier in vitro study showing that the minor allele of rs968567 is associated with a higher FADS2 promoter activity. These results suggest that rare alleles of several SNPs in the FADS gene cluster are associated with higher D6D activity and lower D5D activity in European adolescents.
Multi-Objective Decision Making for Vehicle Routing Problem with Fuzzy Due Time

In this study, a genetic algorithm is applied to obtain the best combination of transportation parameters for vehicle dispatching. The searching mechanism based on genetic algorithm can find several feasible solutions of dispatching parameters to proceed with transportation plan within constrained conditions. Besides, the concept of fuzzy due time is applied to replace that of time window so as to meet customers' preference and demand much better. A fuzzy vehicle routing and scheduling problem (FVRSP) is formulated with five parameters: load-focusing degree, space-utility, service satisfaction, waiting time, and transportation distance and proposed to solve it with a pure genetic algorithm method. In addition, the system can simultaneously calculate the residual loading capacity of weight and volume of each vehicle in order to provide the dispatcher with options to tune the dispatching operation. With the help of this system of acquiring the optimal solution to vehicle transportation, the promotion of the efficiency of transportation can thus be achieved.
The effect of a community sport program on health and social capital through sport participation

Evolutions in the public health, social and sport sector have made collaboration a bare necessity. Policy makers realize that these inter-sect collaborations are mandatory, but find little research to base their decisions on (Klesges, Dzewaltowski, & Glasgow, 2008). This study wants to provide empirical evidence to policy makers and practitioners by investigating the effectiveness of a community sport program in Flanders (i.e., the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium). This project aims at building community capacity to raise social capital and health by increasing sport participation and is directed to people who experience higher thresholds to engage in sports. Four communities implementing the community sport program were selected through stratified random sampling. Four control communities similar to the sport program communities were chosen to compare the results. Two hundred adults (aged 18-56 years) of each community were randomly selected. Potential respondents were visited at home and asked to respond to a questionnaire constituted of six parts: socio-demographics, physical activity, sport participation, community sport, health and social capital. At least 40 respondents per community needed to fill in the questionnaire. At the EURAM 2013 we intend to present the effects of this community sport program to sport participation and its effects on health and social capital.
Relay selection and power allocation for spectrum leasing in cooperative cognitive radio networks

Cognitive radio is a promising technology to relieve the pressure of spectrum crisis with the sharp increasement of wireless services. In this paper, the game model for spectrum leasing in cognitive radio network is considered, where the Primary Transmitter(PT) will choose some Secondary Transmitter(ST) as relay to resist multi-path fading and enhance the transmission efficiency. As a reward, the PT leases the authorized spectrum bands to the ST, which will use the authorized spectrum bands to communicate with the Secondary Receiver(SR). The PT attempts to get more help from STs, meanwhile, in order to enhance transmission capacity, each ST wants to get more access time for authorized spectrum bands. Therefore, game theory is employed to balance the profit between PT and ST. Different from previous works, we focus on the dynamic leasing time of the authorized spectrum, which is the key factor that affects the transmission efficiency both of PT and ST. By employing game theory, we derive the Nash bargaining solution: the optimal spectrum leasing time and allocated power of ST. Compared with traditional case that PT directly transmits data to Primary base(PB), the transmission efficiency of the PT in proposed model is improved significantly. Besides, the ST gets more transmission opportunities. Numerical results show that the proposed scheme is feasible and efficient.