Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of three different testosterone formulations in female-to-male transsexual persons.

INTRODUCTION Gender dysphoria is characterized by a strong discomfort with the gender assigned at birth and the urge to live as a member of the opposite gender. The acquisition of phenotypic features of the desired gender requires the use of cross-sex hormones. Female-to-male (FtM) transsexual persons are treated with testosterone to induce virilization. AIM The aim of the study was to assess the effects of three different testosterone formulations on body weight and composition and metabolic and bone parameters. METHODS Forty-five FtM transsexuals were randomly assigned to receive testoviron depot (i.m.: 100 mg/10 days; n = 15), testosterone gel (50 mg/die; n = 15), and testosterone undecanoate (i.m.: 1,000 mg every 6 weeks for the first 6 weeks and then every 12 weeks, n = 15). FtM individuals were studied before, at week 30, and at week 54 of testosterone treatment. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Anthropometric, metabolic, bone, hematological, and biochemical parameters were evaluated at baseline and after 12 months of treatment. RESULTS Lean body mass significantly increased and fat mass decreased in all groups. No modifications were reported in fasting insulin and insulin sensitivity index. High-density plasma lipoprotein levels declined significantly and low-density lipoprotein concentrations increased significantly in the three groups. The activated partial thromboplastin time and factor I did not change while prothrombin time significantly increased in all groups. At week 54, all subjects were amenorrheic and time to amenorrhea did not differ between the three groups. Current general life satisfaction was increased in all subjects after 1 year of treatment. CONCLUSIONS One-year testosterone administration in FtM transsexuals appears to be very safe with no differences among the testosterone formulations used. Our study is preliminary, and the detection of subtle or long-term differences in the effects of the three formulations may require further larger and longer term studies in this and other populations.
The Theory of Planned Behavior and Intention to Repeat Mammography Among African-American Women

Abstract Because minority women remain underusers of mammography screening, strategies to increase preventive health behavior may involve affordable screening as well as cultural determinants. Most studies have used a theoretical model inconsistently to assess characteristics, such as attitudes, beliefs, and perceptions about adherence to screening, whereas other studies have lacked sociocultural dimensions that may be relevant in promoting repeat screening in certain populations. This two-phase study examined adherence to mammography screening among 150 African-American women aged 40 to 49 years who had received one to five mammograms. Phase I included an elicitation procedure, a focus group, and pretests as steps in constructing a telephone interview. In Phase II, 150 telephone interviews were completed. Women's intentions regarding repeat mammography screening were assessed using the theory of planned behavior, expanded to include socio-cultural, religious, and psychological variables. Only the attitude and perceived behavioral control components of the theory explained the women's intentions. In the expanded model, a positive previous experience with mammography, low income and educational level, positive beliefs about breast health, and lack of trust in health care providers explained increased intention to have another mammogram. The study's clinical and policy implications were positive: When low-income African-American women are exposed to screening programs that provide positive experiences with mammography and include a strong component to enhance adherence, their intention to seek repeat screening increases. This level of health care needs to be adopted as standard practice for optimal breast health among all women.
Daily associations between partner responses and sexual and relationship satisfaction in couples coping with provoked vestibulodynia.

INTRODUCTION Women with provoked vestibulodynia (PVD) experience a recurrent vulvo-vaginal pain triggered primarily during sexual intercourse. Although affected couples report adverse effects on their sexual and global romantic relationships, few studies have examined interpersonal factors that may influence their sexual and relationship satisfaction. Cross-sectional studies have shown that greater partner solicitous and negative responses and lower facilitative responses are associated with poorer sexual and relationship satisfaction in women with PVD. AIM The aim of this study was to investigate the within-person associations between partner responses to painful intercourse and the sexual and relationship satisfaction of affected couples. METHODS In a dyadic daily experience study, 69 women (M(age) = 28.46, SD = 6.66) diagnosed with PVD and their cohabitating male partners (M(age) = 30.29, SD = 8.13) reported on male partner responses, as well as sexual and relationship satisfaction on sexual intercourse days (M = 6.81; SD = 5.40) over 8 weeks. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Dependent measures were the (i) Kansas Marital Satisfaction Scale and (ii) Global Measure of Sexual Satisfaction Scale. RESULTS On sexual intercourse days when women perceived more facilitative partner responses than usual and on days when they perceived lower negative partner responses than usual, they reported higher sexual and relationship satisfaction. On sexual intercourse days when men reported more solicitous responses than usual, both they and their female partners reported lower sexual satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS Interventions aimed at improving the day-to-day sexual and relationship satisfaction of couples with PVD should target increasing facilitative and decreasing negative and solicitous partner responses.
Double Cut and Join with Insertions and Deletions

Many approaches to compute the genomic distance are still limited to genomes with the same content, without duplicated markers. However, differences in the gene content are frequently observed and can reflect important evolutionary aspects. While duplicated markers can hardly be handled by exact models, when duplicated markers are not allowed, a few polynomial time algorithms that include genome rearrangements, insertions and deletions were already proposed. In an attempt to improve these results, in the present work we give the first linear time algorithm to compute the distance between two multichromosomal genomes with unequal content, but without duplicated markers, considering insertions, deletions and double cut and join (DCJ) operations. We derive from this approach algorithms to sort one genome into another one also using DCJ operations, insertions and deletions. The optimal sorting scenarios can have different compositions and we compare two types of sorting scenarios: one that maximizes and one that minimizes the number of DCJ operations with respect to the number of insertions and deletions. We also show that, although the triangle inequality can be disrupted in the proposed genomic distance, it is possible to correct this problem adopting a surcharge on the number of non-common markers. We use our method to analyze six species of Rickettsia, a group of obligate intracellular parasites, and identify preliminary evidence of clusters of deletions.
The development of a mother's internal working model of feeding.

PURPOSE The purpose of the study was to describe changes in a mother's early internal working model of infant feeding. DESIGN AND METHODS In this qualitative study, 12 maternal responses to the semi-structured internal working model interview were audio-recorded, once in the neonatal intensive care unit after infants began oral feeding and once 2 weeks post-discharge. Interviews were analyzed using directed content analysis. RESULTS A change between mothers' early and later nipple feeding experiences was identified. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS Nurses and other clinicians can help mothers understand the infant's behaviors and focus on the infant's nutritional intake while simultaneously developing a relationship with the infant.
What a pilot study is and what it is not.

The literature is replete with pilot studies or research designated as pilot work. Whereas these small studies can play an important part in knowledge development, they are also “misused, mistreated, and misrepresented” (Lancaster, Dodd, & Williamson, 2004, p. 307). The purpose of this editorial is to review when it is appropriate to use the term pilot study in publishing research results and when it is not.
Korean Suicide Risk Screening Tool and its Validity

The early detection of suicidal ideation is essential for the prevention of suicide. This study aimed to develop a brief screening tool that can be easily administered in medical settings. The Suicide Risk Screening Tool was designed for use by physicians to provide a screening process that would be reliable, standardized, quick and feasible to implement. A 2-item screening tool was derived from the Screening for Depression and Thoughts of Suicide in the Norton Sound region of Alaska, USA. The scale was modified to reflect the current situation in Korea including the elimination of the personal identification number, and was labeled the Korean Suicide Risk Screening Tool. Its reliability and applicability for medical setting were examined by explanatory study of 7 clinicians. Its validity was examined among a further 325 patients of four different medical institutions, using the results of interviewer-administered survey included demographic, clinical characteristics, and present mental status as the external criterion. A brief 2-item suicide risk screening tool can be used by mental and non-mental health clinicians to accurately detect suicidality in patients.
Different psychometric properties of the Emotional Reaction Instrument‐English (ERI‐E) between hospitalized African American and Caucasian children

PURPOSE To demonstrate the psychometric properties of the Emotional Reactions Instrument-English (ERI-E) between hospitalized African American and Caucasian children aged 7-12 years. DESIGN AND METHOD A methodological study was conducted to examine validity and reliability of the ERI-E with 230 hospitalized African American and Caucasian children. Data were collected with sociodemographic and clinical forms, and using the ERI-E, and the Facial Affective Scale (FAS). RESULTS Different factor structures were found between hospitalized African American and Caucasian children. In psychometric testing of the ERI-E with African American children, four items, alone, lonely, shy, and bored, were removed from the original 16-item ERI-E after exploratory factor analysis. Three factors, including Fear, Anxiety, and Distress, were identified explaining 60.71% of the total variance. Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the revised 12-item scale was 0.85. Six items, happy, sad, afraid, frightened, hurt, and uncomfortable, in the ERI-E were significantly correlated with the FAS (r = 0.20-0.59) as evidence of concurrent validity. In the sample with hospitalized Caucasian children, two items, bored and uncomfortable, were eliminated from the original ERI-E after exploratory factor analysis. Four factors including Fear, Anxiety, Distress, and Loneliness were extracted with 62.61% of total variance. Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the revised 14-item in the ERI-E was 0.84 for hospitalized Caucasian children. As evidence of concurrent validity, 10 items, happy, sad, afraid, frightened, bad, lonely, scary, bored, hurt, and uncomfortable, in the ERI-E were significantly correlated with the FAS (r = 0.20-0.69). PRACTICE IMPLICATION Because children with different cultural backgrounds understand or use words differently, healthcare providers should assess the cultural norms of pediatric patients and ensure steps have been taken to ensure clear, effective communication with pediatric patients. In addition, healthcare providers should evaluate the meanings of faces in the FAS before using it in a clinical setting because faces have different cultural connotations. The explosive growth of ethnic minority children in the United States makes it paramount for healthcare providers and researchers to consider the measurement equivalence of any measure to better serve different racial and cultural groups.
Consultant psychiatrists who retired prematurely in 1995 and 1996

Owing to the large and increasing number of vacant consultant posts in psychiatry, and the suspicion that premature retirement was an important cause of this problem, a questionnaire was sent to all consultants who were believed to have retired from their National Health Service (NHS) posts before their 65th birthday during 1995 or 1996. One hundred and forty-two (82%) of 173 questionnaires were returned. Responses to these indicated that disenchantment with some aspect of the previous Conservative Government9s ‘NHS Reforms’ was a more important reason for retirement than Ill health, a wish to devote more time to other interests, or even bed closures. Increasing bureaucracy and paperwork was a key factor for many.
Integrating Bone Health Information Into Existing Health Education Efforts

Consuming recommended amounts of calcium and vitamin D and participating in bone-strengthening physical activities during childhood and adolescence can help prevent osteoporosis. Both the Surgeon General’s Report on Bone Health and Osteoporosis and the National Action Plan for Bone Health emphasized the importance of promoting bone-healthy behaviors during childhood and adolescence and integrating bone health information into other health promotion efforts. The Best Bones Forever! Three-Community Study enlisted community coalitions to (1) incorporate bone health information into community outreach and education activities and (2) implement BodyWorks, a nutrition and physical activity program for parents and daughters that was modified to include bone health content. Results indicated that the sites successfully exposed their communities to bone health information by integrating bone health messages into community outreach and education activities. Participants in the modified BodyWorks program showed sign.
From Imagination to Virtual Reality: The Future of Clinical Psychology

The possible role of virtual reality (VR) in clinical psychology derives prevalently from the central role occupied by the imagination and by memory in psychotherapy. These two elements, which are fundamental in the life of everyone, present absolute and relative limits to individual potential. Thanks to virtual experiences, it is possible to transcend these limits. The re-created world may be more vivid and real at times than the one that most subjects are able to describe through their own imagination and through their own memory. This article focuses on imaginative techniques to find new ways of applications in therapy. In particular, the way VR can be used to improve the efficacy of current techniques is explored. VR produces a change with respect to the traditional relationship between client and therapist. The new configuration of this relationship is based on the awareness of being more skilled in the difficult operations of recovery of past experiences through the memory and of foreseeing future experiences through the imagination. At the same time, subjects undergoing treatment perceive the advantage of being able to recreate and use a real experiential world within the confines of their therapists's clinical offices.
Time Distortion for Expert and Novice Online Game Players

Online game addiction is a new mental disorder. This disorder is difficult to describe because of its comprehensive nature. Many online game players have problems controlling their playing time. They cannot stop playing a game that they enjoy. This research surveyed the past literature on "flow" and time disorder theory. A time distortion experiment was conducted. This research invited 64 children, teenagers, and young adults to investigate player skill and playing time effects on online game break-off. The playing experience and degree of time distortion were measured and analyzed. The results showed that both novice and expert online game players were subject to time distortion. The participants had difficulty breaking off from the game without intrusion by others in the real world. This research also suggests eight questions for self-evaluation for online game addiction.
PRE-PREDICTION OF EPOC: A TOOL FOR MONITORING FATIGUE ACCUMULATION DURING EXERCISE?

At present, there are no useful methods for monitoring fatigue accumulation during training exercises. Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC) after exercise is the greater the more exhausting the exercise. PURPOSE: To pre-predict the amount of EPOC measured after exercise from information recorded before and during exercise. METHODS: Based on meta-analysis of 48 peer-reviewed studies including 158 subjects in different exercise settings (duration and intensity ranging from 2 to 90 minutes and 18% to 108% of VO2max, respectively) a computational model based on heart function (patent pending) for pre-predicting EPOC (EPOCpred) was constructed. A total of 32 healthy adult subjects (16 males, 16 females) with age of 38 ± 9 years (mean ± SD), weight 69.6 ± 10.8 kg, height 171.6 ± 8.5 and VO2max 44.0 ± 8.8 ml/kg•min, served as a separate validation set. Subjects carried out two 10-min constant load exercises at intensities of 40% and 70% VO2max and a maximal stepwise test to voluntary exhaustion. EPOCpred was pre-predicted from ECG RR-interval data collected with Polar RR-recorder. After exercises 15-min EPOC was measured (EPOCmeas) using Vmax analyzer (Sensor Medics). RESULTS: EPOCpred vs. EPOCmeas in 40%, 70% and maximal test conditions were 0.45 ± 0.21 vs. 0.96 ± 0.88 l (p<0.05), 1.94 ± 0.73 vs. 2.05 ± 1.06 l (ns), and 5.91 ± 1.64 vs. 6.28 ± 1.52 l (ns), respectively. Correlations between EPOCpred and EPOCmeas and Mean Absolute Error over all exercises and for maximal exercise were r = 0.889 (p<0.001) and 0.612 (p<0.001), and MAE = 0.96 l and 1.17 l, respectively. CONCLUSION: EPOC can be pre-predicted from RR interval data recorded during exercise. Consequently, EPOC pre-prediction may serve as a tool for monitoring fatigue accumulation during exercise.
The role of fine needle aspiration cytology in the diagnosis of orbital lesions

Context: Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) in orbital lesions has gained importance over the last 3 decades, especially with the advent of imaging studies. Aims: The study was undertaken to evaluate the role of FNAC as a diagnostic tool in patients presenting with orbital mass lesions. Subjects and Methods: Patients of different age groups presenting with orbital lesions were studied over a period of 2 years. The 38 patients selected for this study were evaluated clinically by thorough general and ophthalmological examination, and then were investigated with computed tomography (CT) scanning (both axial and coronal planes). Each patient included in this study was then subjected to FNAC under direct vision or under ultrasonography or CT guidance with a sterile 22 gauge needle without anesthesia. Results: The age of the patients varied from 2 to 72 years. On cytology, four cases were diagnosed as nonneoplastic and the remaining 34 (89.48%) as neoplastic lesions. In the neoplastic group, benign tumors (20; 58.8%) outnumbered malignant (14; 41.2%). The distribution of malignant lesions was more heterogeneous with a predominance of lymphoma involving the orbit. Surgical biopsy was done in 27 cases. Surgical biopsy report correlated with the FNAC report in 23 out of 27 cases. The sensitivity was 86.6%, specificity 100%, and positive predictive value 100%. Conclusion: FNAC is a useful, safe and cost-effective method of diagnosing orbital pathology. Image guidance is helpful especially in deeply situated nonpalpable lesions.
Over-ground walking in Parkinson's disease: A pilot study utilizing a portable metabolic analyzer

Alterations in gait biomechanics are common during early stages of Parkinson’s disease (PD), potentially elevating energy requirements of walking and leading to impaired economy of gait. Although gait economy is traditionally assessed during treadmill walking with simultaneous ox-ygen consumption (VO2) monitoring, treadmill gait mechanics, particularly in PD, may be different from over-ground walking mechanics, possibly providing a distorted picture of true gait economy. Currently, no studies have directly examined the energy cost of over-ground walking in PD patients. The purpose of this study was to test the feasibility of measuring energy expenditure during over-ground walking in mild to moderate PD using portable gas exchange monitoring technology. Additionally, we sought to determine whether energy expenditure, as assessed through VO2 measures, related to disease severity for PD. Seventeen PD patients underwent separate 6-minute walk (6MW) tests both with and without the COSMED K4b2 portable oxygen monitoring system. Gait economy was calculated as measured VO2 during 6MW divided by the predicted VO2 for non-PD age-matched subjects, according to a standard estimation equation utilizing ground speed. Distance covered during the 6MW with the portable system (420 ± 12 meters) was highly correlated (r = 0.96, p 2 peak for normal floor walking, and show impaired gait economy relative to prediction equations. Interestingly, the degree of elevated energy expenditure during gait did not relate to disease severity.
Homeostatic response to sleep/rest deprivation by constant water flow in larval zebrafish in both dark and light conditions

Sleep—or sleep‐like states—have been reported in adult and larval zebrafish using behavioural criteria. These reversible quiescent periods, displaying circadian rhythmicity, have been used in pharmacological, genetic and neuroanatomical studies of sleep–wake regulation. However, one of the important criteria for sleep, namely sleep homeostasis, has not been demonstrated unequivocally. To study rest homeostasis in zebrafish larvae, we rest‐deprived 1‐week‐old larvae with a novel, ecologically relevant method: flow of water. Stereotyped startle responses to sensory stimuli were recorded after the rest deprivation to study arousal threshold using a high‐speed camera, providing an appropriate time resolution to detect species‐specific behavioural responses occurring in a millisecond time‐scale. Rest‐deprived larvae exhibited fewer startle responses than control larvae during the remaining dark phase and the beginning of the light phase, which can be interpreted as a sign of rest homeostasis—often used as equivalent of sleep homeostasis. To address sleep homeostasis further, we probed the adenosinergic system, which in mammals regulates sleep homeostasis. The adenosine A1 receptor agonist, cyclohexyladenosine, administered during the light period, decreased startle responses and increased immobility bouts, while the adenosine antagonist, caffeine, administered during the dark period, decreased immobility bouts. These results suggest that the regulation of sleep homeostasis in zebrafish larvae consists of the same elements as that of other species.