Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Patterns of mental health care in a seaside lodging house

Much of the medical care of the long-term mentally ill falls to the general practitioner (Wilkinson et al, 1985)and, for example, a survey in Buckinghamshire showed that these patients consult their general practitioner (GP) twice as often as mental health services. Lodging house dwellers are known to show an increased prevalence of major mental illness and to suffer much secondary social handicap, presenting a challenge to helping services of all disciplines. For this reason we chose a lodging house in which to explore further the relationships between mental illness and residents' present contact with their GP,
Future directions for surgery of the pituitary region

Pituitary surgery has evolved tremendously over the past century amidst a rapidly changing landscape of medical and radiosurgical therapies. One of the principal driving forces behind this transformation has been the benefit of minimal invasiveness, which is likely to further advance the specialty as higher-definition and more miniature optic systems and cameras, the use of robotics, and enhanced neuroimaging and neuronavigation, are further translated into the operating room. The emergence of nanotechnology will likely allow tumor-specific molecular ligands and nanoparticles to identify and differentiate tumors, and may permit manipulation of neural structures on the micron level with tools currently being developed, including the nanoknife, nanotweezers and femtosecond laser. Further advances in stereotactic radiosurgery may increase the prominence and safety associated with this technique for the treatment of pituitary pathology.
A Clinical Trial of the ReSound BT2 Personal Hearing System.

The Food and Drug Administration requires that hearing aid manufacturers substantiate benefit claims in advertising with clinical research. Recently, Walden (1997) described a model protocol that might be used to assess hearing aid benefit in manufacturer-sponsored clinical trials. The Walter Reed protocol includes laboratory measures of speech recognition ability using the Continuous Speech Test (CST, Cox, Alexander, & Gilmore, 1987; Cox, Alexander, Gilmore, & Pusakulick, 1988) and the scales and subscales of the Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit (PHAB, Cox & Gilmore, 1990) to assess user benefit in four prototype listening environments.A clinical trial of the ReSound BT2 Personal Hearing System (BT2 PHS) using the Walter Reed protocol is reported here. The results for 40 adult participants with moderate-to-severe acquired sensorineural hearing losses revealed significant benefit from the BT2 PHS as compared to unaided performance on most of the CST and PHAB measures.Compared to performance (unaided) of persons with normal hearing, the individuals with hearing impairments obtained substantially poorer performance on the CST and reported slightly poorer BT2-aided performance on the PHAB. Finally, on average, participants reported significantly more success on the PHAB with the BT2 PHS as compared to their own linear hearing aids, and 70% of the participants preferred the BT2 PHS enough to be willing to purchase it rather than to continue to use their own government-issued linear hearing aids.
Effect of rate-alteration on speech perception in noise in older adults with normal hearing and hearing impairment.

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of using slow and fast speaking rates in competing noise on older adults with normal hearing (NH) and those with hearing impairment (HI). METHOD Thirty-four older adults (56-85 years) were grouped based on hearing ability-NH (N = 15) and HI (N = 19). Rate-altered Quick Speech-in-Noise Test (QuickSIN; Etymotic Research, 2001) stimuli were presented at 3 speech rates (slow, average, and fast), and the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) loss was calculated for each. RESULTS The older participants with HI had significantly higher SNR loss than the NH participants at all 3 speech rates. The NH participants showed improved speech perception in noise when a slow rate of speech was used. This benefit was not observed for the participants with HI. Both groups performed poorly with the fastest speech rate. CONCLUSION Results suggest that older adults with HI who are not wearing hearing aids are not able to take advantage of additional processing time afforded by the use of slow speaking rates when speech (70-75 dB HL) is presented in competing noise. Additionally, the use of a fast speaking rate significantly reduces an individual's ability to perceive speech in noise, regardless of hearing status. Decreasing from a fast speaking rate to an average rate is beneficial and should be recommended by audiologists to increase the likelihood of older adults understanding speech in noise.
Development and Validation of an Arthropod Maceration Protocol for Zoonotic Pathogen Detection in Mosquitoes and Fleas

ABSTRACT: Arthropod-borne diseases remain a pressing international public health concern. While progress has been made in the rapid detection of arthropod-borne pathogens via quantitative real-time (qPCR), or even hand-held detection devices, a simple and robust maceration and nucleic acid extraction method is necessary to implement biosurveillance capabilities. In this study, a comparison of maceration techniques using five types of beads followed by nucleic acid extraction and detection were tested using two morphologically disparate arthropods, the Aedes aegypti mosquito and Xenopsylla spp. flea, to detect the zoonotic diseases dengue virus serotype-1 and Yersinia pestis. Post-maceration nucleic acid extraction was carried out using the 1-2-3 Platinum-Path-Sample-Purification (PPSP) kit followed by qPCR detection using the Joint Biological Agent Identification and Diagnostic System (JBAIDS). We found that the 5mm stainless steel beads added to the beads provided in the PPSP kit were successful in macerating the exoskeleton for both Ae. aegypti and Xenopsylla spp. Replicates in the maceration/extraction/detection protocol were increased in a stepwise fashion until a final 128 replicates were obtained. For dengue virus detection there was a 99% positivity rate and for Y. pestis detection there was a 95% positive detection rate. In the examination of both pathogens, there were no significant differences between qPCR instruments, days ran, time of day ran, or operators.
Skin barrier repair after contact burns. electrometric evaluation using the passive sustainable hydration test

Corrosive compounds and burns destroy the skin barrier function. Little is known about the dynamics of repair of this function during the healing process. The passive sustainable hydration test was performed as a non-invasive approach to measure water loss through the skin using electrometric evaluations under continuous occlusion by the sensor probe. Evaluations were made in 10 patients suffering from recent second- and third-degree contact burns. Skin sites corresponding to burned and unburned areas, and to healing sites following grafts or not were compared. The data show that the skin barrier function improves progressively and often irregularly after contact burn, and may remain altered for more than 2 months after epithelialisation. Therefore, maturation of the stratum corneum appears to be a slow process. The consequences of this during the healing phase following contact burns are twofold: the resistance of the water barrier remains impaired and the risk of transcutaneous penetration of various xenobiotics including toxic products is increased. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Comparison of word-, sentence-, and phoneme-based training strategies in improving the perception of spectrally distorted speech.

PURPOSE To compare the effectiveness of 3 self-administered strategies for auditory training that might improve speech perception by adult users of cochlear implants. The strategies are based, respectively, on discriminating isolated words, words in sentences, and phonemes in nonsense syllables. METHOD Participants were 18 normal-hearing adults who listened to speech processed by a noise-excited vocoder to simulate the information provided by a cochlear implant. They were assigned randomly to word-, sentence-, or phoneme-based training and underwent 9 training sessions (20 min each) on separate days over a 2- to 3-week period. The effectiveness of training was assessed as the improvement in accuracy of discriminating vowels and consonants, as well as identifying words in sentences, relative to participants' best performance in repeated tests prior to training. RESULTS Word- and sentence-based training led to significant improvements in the ability to identify words in sentences that were significantly larger than the improvements produced by phoneme-based training. There were no significant differences between the effectiveness of word- and sentence-based training. No significant improvements in consonant or vowel discrimination were found for the sentence- or phoneme-based training groups, but some improvements were found for the word-based training group. CONCLUSION The word- and sentence-based training strategies were more effective than the phoneme-based strategy at improving the perception of spectrally distorted speech.
Role of hepatitis C virus substitutions and interleukin‐28B polymorphism on response to peginterferon plus ribavirin in a prospective study of response‐guided therapy

Recent studies have indicated that amino acid (aa) substitutions in the core region and NS5A interferon sensitivity‐determining region (ISDR) of hepatitis C virus (HCV) as well as genetic polymorphisms in the interleukin‐28B (IL‐28B) locus affect the outcome of interferon (IFN)‐based therapies. We aimed to investigate the role of these factors on response to peginterferon plus ribavirin in a prospective study of response‐guided therapy. The aa sequences in core region and ISDR and rs12979860 genotypes were analysed in 115 HCV‐1 patients. The treatment was 24 weeks for patients achieving a rapid virological response (RVR), 48 weeks for those with an early virological response (EVR) and early terminated in those without an EVR. A sustained virological response (SVR) was achieved in 82% of 34 RVR patients, 45% of 74 EVR patients and 0% of seven non‐EVR patients. Logistic regression analysis showed that ISDR mutation (≥2) [odds ratio(OR): 6.024], double core 70/91 mutations (OR: 0.136), and platelet counts ≥ 15 × 104/μL (OR: 3.119) were independent pretreatment factors associated with SVR. Apart from rs12979860 CC genotype, low viral load and ISDR mutation (≥2) were significant factors predictive of RVR. Combination of rs12979860 genotype and baseline viral characteristics (viral load and core/ISDR mutations) could predict RVR and SVR with positive predictive value of 100% and 91%, and negative predictive value of 80% and 54%, respectively. In conclusion, pretreatment screening rs12979860 genotype and aa substitutions in the core region and ISDR could help identifying patients who are good candidates for peginterferon plus ribavirin therapy.
Plasma Kinetics of a Cholesterol-Rich Microemulsion in Patients Submitted to Heart Transplantation

Background. Development of coronary graft disease is currently the main cause of late heart-transplantation (HT) failure. HT patients frequently show hypercholesterolemia as well as alterations in chylomicron metabolism. These postHT changes may be important in coronary graft disease development. To clarify whether hypercholesterolemia is caused by decreased low-density lipoprotein (LDL) removal from the plasma, we studied the plasma kinetics of a cholesterol-rich emulsion that binds to LDL receptor. Methods. We studied 13 HT patients and 13 healthy normolipidemic subjects paired for sex, age, and body mass index. An emulsion labeled with 14C-cholesteryl oleate was injected intravenously, and blood samples were collected in predetermined intervals (5 minutes, 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8 hours) to determine the radioactivity decay curves and to calculate the fractional clearance rates (FCR). Results. The plasma level of total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and apo B were greater in HT group than in the control group (P<0.005). FCR 14C-cholesteryl oleate was smaller in HT patients when compared with the control group (P=0.02). Conclusion. The results showed that HT patients have a deficiency in the mechanisms of LDL removal from the plasma, as tested by the cholesterol-rich emulsion, and this may be important in the development of coronary graft disease.
Nebulized isotonic saline versus water following a laryngeal desiccation challenge in classically trained sopranos.

PURPOSE To examine the effects of nebulized isotonic saline (IS) versus sterile water (SW) on self-perceived phonatory effort (PPE) and phonation threshold pressure (PTP) following a surface laryngeal dehydration challenge in classically trained sopranos. METHOD In a double-blind, within-subject crossover design, 34 sopranos breathed dry air (relative humidity < 1%) transorally for 15 min and then nebulized 3 mL of IS or SW, or experienced a no-treatment control condition over 3 consecutive weeks. PPE and PTP were measured every 15 min from baseline through 2 hr postdesiccation. RESULTS PPE increased significantly following the laryngeal desiccation challenge in all 3 treatment conditions (p < .01). After nebulization, PPE returned to baseline for the IS condition only. For the SW and control conditions, PPE remained above baseline during the 2 hr after desiccation. No statistically significant changes in PTP following laryngeal desiccation were observed, although values for the IS condition remained below baseline for nearly 2 hr after nebulization. PPE and PTP were not significantly correlated. CONCLUSIONS Following a laryngeal surface dehydration challenge, classically trained sopranos reported increased vocal effort that persisted for at least 2 hr. Compared with SW, nebulized IS showed promise as an effective way to remediate the adverse, self-perceived effects of laryngeal desiccation.
An acoustic study of the relationships among neurologic disease, dysarthria type, and severity of dysarthria.

PURPOSE This study examined acoustic predictors of speech intelligibility in speakers with several types of dysarthria secondary to different diseases and conducted classification analysis solely by acoustic measures according to 3 variables (disease, speech severity, and dysarthria type). METHOD Speech recordings from 107 speakers with dysarthria due to Parkinson's disease, stroke, traumatic brain injury, and multiple system atrophy were used for acoustic analysis and for perceptual judgment of speech intelligibility. Acoustic analysis included 8 segmental/suprasegmental features: 2nd formant frequency slope, articulation rate, voiceless interval duration, 1st moment analysis for fricatives, vowel space, F0, intensity range, and Pairwise Variability Index. RESULTS The results showed that (a) acoustic predictors of speech intelligibility differed slightly across diseases and (b) classification accuracy by dysarthria type was typically worse than by disease type or severity. CONCLUSIONS These findings were discussed with respect to (a) the relationship between acoustic characteristics and speech intelligibility and (b) dysarthria classification.
Limnochorda pilosa gen. nov., sp. nov., a moderately thermophilic, facultatively anaerobic, pleomorphic bacterium and proposal of Limnochordaceae fam. nov., Limnochordales ord. nov. and Limnochordia classis nov. in the phylum Firmicutes.

A novel facultatively anaerobic bacterium, strain HC45T, was isolated from sediment of a brackish meromictic lake in Japan, Lake Harutori. Cells were pleomorphic, and filamentous bodies were 5-100 μm in length. For growth, the optimum pH was 7.0 and the optimum temperature was 45-50 °C. The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 71 mol%. iso-C15 : 0 and anteiso-C15 : 0 were the major components in the cellular fatty acid profile. The predominant respiratory quinone was MK-7. Strain HC45T shared very low 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity with cultivated strains ( ≤ 85%). Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that the isolate was distantly related to members of the family Symbiobacteriaceae and family XVII Incertae Sedis in the class Clostridia, and they formed a cluster separate from canonical species of the phylum Firmicutes. These results indicated that strain HC45T should not be placed in any existing class of the phylum Firmicutes. On the basis of phylogenetic and phenotypic characterization, Limnochorda pilosa gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed with HC45T ( = NBRC 110152T = DSM 28787T) as the type strain, as the first representative of novel taxa, Limnochordales ord. nov., Limnochordaceae fam. nov. in Limnochordia classis. nov.
Endemicity Of Malaria Among Primary School Children In Ebonyi State, Nigeria

A study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of malaria among primary school children in Ebonyi State. The degree of malaria parasite, infection and species of the parasite isolated were used to determine the level of endemicity of the disease. Out of one thousand and two hundred (1,200) primary school children aged between 5 –16 years sampled, the prevalence rate of 40.08 % was recorded. The species of the parasite associated with the disease was Plasmodium falciparum. It was observed that the rate of malaria parasitaemia was higher in younger (aged 5-10 years) than those of older (aged 11-16 years) children. A X 2- test conducted on the infection rate according to ages of the pupils showed significant difference between the age groups indicating that infection was age dependent (P 0.05). Among the Local Government Areas, Ivo had the highest prevalence rate. This was followed by Ishielu and Abakaliki local government areas of Ebonyi State. The results showed that malaria is endemic in the state and a major health problem for school children. The possible effect on academic performance was discussed.
Transnational Migration, State Policy and Local Clinician Treatment of Asylum Seekers and Resettled Migrants

Based on interviews conducted at five Finnish reception centers and in two municipal communes during summer 2002 with 93 migrants, mainly from a variety of Southern and Eastern countries of origin, and their ethnoculturally discordant clinicians, the article compares asylum seekers and foreign-born residents in terms of health care treatment and outcome perspectives. Comparative analysis suggests that context makes a difference in post-migration medical encounters. The legally admitted foreign nationals consulted at community facilities were considerably more likely than were asylum seekers assisted at reception centers to be satisfied with the health care they had received and to be confident that the attending physician's recommendations would serve them well in the future. Policy implications related to the study's findings are explored. In Finland and elsewhere, the education of general practitioners for transnational medical encounters needs to be enhanced. International and national efforts to promote health also need to encompass political asylum and third country resettlement policies. In Finland and other migrantreceiving states, prolonged insecure immigration status can be debilitating for both asylum seeker and host society. Expedited admission to legal residence and expanded choice of physician are likely to result in improved health outcomes.
Single‐nucleotide substitution of Hepatitis B virus in intrauterine infection

The relationship between hepatitis B virus (HBV) gene polymorphism and intrauterine infection has not been completely illuminated. Six pairs of mother and infant from intrauterine infection group and six mothers from nonintrauterine infection group in the previous study were randomly selected and separately divided into group M (Mother group), group N (Neonate group) and group NM (Negative‐mother group) in this study. We found that age, gestational weeks, HBsAg titre, HBeAg titre and HBV DNA level of mothers from group M and group NM were not significantly different. Pre‐S1/S2 and S regions in HBV genome were amplified, inserted into pUC19 plasmid and sequenced. It was found that all clone sequences clustered into genotype C (AY123041) through the Genotyping tool in NCBI and phylogenetic trees. Compared with AY123041, there were 20 (11 plus 9) mutations significantly different in the three groups. Most of the mutations were synonymous in pre‐S1/S2/S region, while mutations of C2990T, T3205A, A167G, C407A, A667T and A680C resulted in amino acid substitution of A90V, S162T, T47A, P127T, L213F and I218L, respectively. In addition, most of the 20 mutations caused amino acid substitution in polymerase region for the tight structure of HBV genome. The occurrence and location of mutations indicated that mutation of C2990T only existing in group NM may serve as an index for nonintrauterine infection. In contrast, the incidence of intrauterine HBV infection from mothers with mutation of T3205A was lower. Then, mutations of G403A, T670G, A673G, A167G, C407A, A667T and A680C may be closely related to intrauterine HBV infection.
Enduring advantages of early cochlear implantation for spoken language development.

PURPOSE In this article, the authors sought to determine whether the precise age of implantation (AOI) remains an important predictor of spoken language outcomes in later childhood for those who received a cochlear implant (CI) between 12 and 38 months of age. Relative advantages of receiving a bilateral CI after age 4.5 years, better pre-CI-aided hearing, and longer CI experience were also examined. METHOD Sixty children participated in a prospective longitudinal study of outcomes at 4.5 and 10.5 years of age. Twenty-nine children received a sequential second CI. Test scores were compared with normative samples of hearing age mates, and predictors of outcomes were identified. RESULTS Standard scores on language tests at 10.5 years of age remained significantly correlated with age of first cochlear implantation. Scores were not associated with receipt of a second, sequentially acquired CI. Significantly higher scores were achieved for vocabulary as compared with overall language, a finding not evident when the children were tested at younger ages. CONCLUSION Age-appropriate spoken language skills continued to be more likely with younger AOI, even after an average of 8.6 years of additional CI use. Receipt of a second implant between ages 4 and 10 years and longer duration of device use did not provide significant added benefit.
Access to therapy and therapy outcomes in the Swiss Hepatitis C Cohort Study: a person‐centred approach

Socio‐demographic and behavioural characteristics are associated with delayed diagnosis and disease progression in HCV‐infected persons. However, many analyses focused on single variables rather than groups defined by several variables. We used latent class analysis to study all 4488 persons enrolled in the Swiss Hepatitis C Cohort Study. Groups were identified using predefined variables at enrolment. The number of groups was selected using the Bayesian information criterion. Mortality, loss to follow‐up, cirrhosis, treatment status and response to antivirals were analysed using Laplace and logistic regressions. We identified five groups and named them according to their characteristics: persons who inject drugs, male drinkers, Swiss employees, foreign employees and retirees. Two groups did not conform to common assumptions about persons with chronic hepatitis C and were already in an advanced stage of the disease at enrolment: ‘male drinkers’ and ‘retirees’ had a high proportion of cirrhosis at enrolment (15% and 16% vs <10.3%), and the shortest time to death (adjusted median time 8.7 years and 8.8 years vs >9.0). ‘Male drinkers’ also had high substance use, but they were well educated and were likely to be employed. This analysis may help identifying high‐risk groups which may benefit from targeted interventions.