Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Respiratory Viruses Augment the Adhesion of Bacterial Pathogens to Respiratory Epithelium in a Viral Species- and Cell Type-Dependent Manner

ABSTRACT Secondary bacterial infections often complicate respiratory viral infections, but the mechanisms whereby viruses predispose to bacterial disease are not completely understood. We determined the effects of infection with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), human parainfluenza virus 3 (HPIV-3), and influenza virus on the abilities of nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae and Streptococcus pneumoniae to adhere to respiratory epithelial cells and how these viruses alter the expression of known receptors for these bacteria. All viruses enhanced bacterial adhesion to primary and immortalized cell lines. RSV and HPIV-3 infection increased the expression of several known receptors for pathogenic bacteria by primary bronchial epithelial cells and A549 cells but not by primary small airway epithelial cells. Influenza virus infection did not alter receptor expression. Paramyxoviruses augmented bacterial adherence to primary bronchial epithelial cells and immortalized cell lines by up-regulating eukaryotic cell receptors for these pathogens, whereas this mechanism was less significant in primary small airway epithelial cells and in influenza virus infections. Respiratory viruses promote bacterial adhesion to respiratory epithelial cells, a process that may increase bacterial colonization and contribute to disease. These studies highlight the distinct responses of different cell types to viral infection and the need to consider this variation when interpreting studies of the interactions between respiratory cells and viral pathogens.
Multi-institutional phase I/II trial of oral bexarotene in combination with cisplatin and vinorelbine in previously untreated patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.

PURPOSE Bexarotene (Targretin; Ligand Pharmaceuticals, Inc, San Diego, CA) is a retinoid-X-receptor (RXR)-selective retinoid with preclinical antitumor activity in squamous cell cancers. In this phase I/II trial, we combined bexarotene with cisplatin and vinorelbine in the treatment of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). PATIENTS AND METHODS Forty-three patients who had stage IIIB NSCLC with pleural effusion or stage IV NSCLC and had received no prior therapy received bexarotene in combination with cisplatin (100 mg/m2) and vinorelbine (alternating doses of 30 mg/m2 and 15 mg/m2). In the phase I portion, the daily dose of bexarotene was escalated in cohorts of three patients from 150 mg/m2 to 600 mg/m2, beginning 1 week before the start of the cisplatin-vinorelbine regimen. Once the maximum-tolerated dose (MTD) of bexarotene was determined, the study entered the phase II portion. Response rate was the primary end point; median survival time and 1-year survival rate were secondary end points. RESULTS In the phase I portion, the daily MTD of bexarotene was determined to be 400 mg/m2. Eight of 43 patients exhibited major responses. Seven (25%) of the 28 patients in the phase II portion responded to treatment. The median survival time in the phase II portion was 14 months; nine (32%) of the 28 patients were still alive at a minimum follow-up of 2 years. One-year and projected 3-year survival rates were 61% and 30%, respectively. The most common grade 3 and 4 adverse events were hyperlipemia, leukopenia, nausea, vomiting, pneumonia, dyspnea, anemia, and asthenia. Grade 3 and 4 laboratory abnormalities with incidences greater than 5% were decreased hemoglobin levels and WBC, absolute neutrophil, and absolute lymphocyte counts and increased prothrombin time and creatinine and amylase levels. Of the two cases of pancreatitis, one required hospitalization and both were associated with increased triglyceride levels. There was one death secondary to renal insufficiency unrelated to bexarotene treatment. CONCLUSION In patients with advanced NSCLC, bexarotene with cisplatin and vinorelbine yielded acceptable phase II response rates (25%) and was associated with better-than-expected survival (14-month median survival time; 61% 1-year, 32% 2-year, and 30% projected 3-year survival rates). The regimen should be studied in larger clinical trials.
Reading and writing direction effects on the aesthetic appreciation of photographs

ABSTRACT Does reading and writing direction (RWD) influence the aesthetic appreciation of photography? Pérez González showed that nineteenth-century Iranian and Spanish professional photographers manifest lateral biases linked to RWD in their compositions. The present study aimed to test whether a population sample showed similar biases. Photographs with left-to-right (L–R) and right-to-left (R–L) directionality were selected from Pérez González’s collections and presented in both original and mirror-reversed forms to Spanish (L–R readers) and Moroccan (R–L readers) participants. In Experiment 1, participants rated each picture for its aesthetic pleasingness. The results showed neither effects of lateral organization nor interactions with RWD. In Experiment 2, each picture and its mirror version were presented together and participants chose the one they liked better. Spaniards preferred rightward versions and Moroccans preferred leftward versions. RWD therefore affects aesthetic impressions of photography in our participants when people pay attention to the lateral spatial dimension of pictures. The observed directional aesthetic preferences were not sensitive to the sex of the model in the photographs, failing to support expectations from the hypotheses of emotionality and agency. Preferences were attributable to the interaction between general scanning strategies and scanning habits linked to RWD.
Improved comorbidity adjustment for predicting mortality in Medicare populations.

OBJECTIVE To define and improve the performance of existing comorbidity scores in predicting mortality in Medicare enrollees. DATA SOURCES Study participants were two Medicare populations who had complete drug coverage either through Medicaid or a statewide pharmacy assistance program: New Jersey Medicare enrollees (NNJ, = 235,881) and Pennsylvania Medicare enrollees (NPA = 230,913). STUDY DESIGN Frequently used comorbidity scores were computed for all subjects during the baseline year (January 1, 1994, to December 31, 1994, and one year later in Pennsylvania). The study outcome was one-year mortality during the following year. Performance of scores was measured with the c-statistic derived from multivariate logistic regression models. Empirical weights were derived in the New Jersey population and the performance of scores with new weights was validated in the Pennsylvania population. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS A score based on ICD-9-diagnoses (Romano) performed 60 percent better than one based on patterns of medication use (Chronic Disease Score, or CDS-1) (c = 0.771 vs. c = 0.703). The performance of the Romano score was further improved slightly by inclusion of the number of different prescription drugs used during the past year. Modeling the 17 conditions included in the Romano score as separate binary indicators increased its performance by 8 percent (c = 0.781). We derived elderly-specific weights for these scores in the New Jersey sample, including negative weights for the use of some drugs, for example, lipid lowering drugs. Applying these weights, the performance of Romano and CDS-1 scores improved in an independent validation sample of Pennsylvania Medicare enrollees by 8.3 percent and 43 percent compared to the scores with the original weights. When we added an indicator of nursing home residency, age, and gender, the Romano score reached a performance of c = 0.80. CONCLUSIONS We conclude that in epidemiologic studies of the elderly, a modified diagnosis-based score using empirically derived weights provides improved adjustment for comorbidity and enhances the validity of findings.
Environment, production and social difference in the Kalahari Thornveld, c1750-1830.

This article considers the food production activities of people in the Thlaping and Tlharo chiefdoms in the present-day Northern Cape and North-West Provinces between c1750 and 1830. It considers food production methods, their environmental suitability and how food produtction related to social difference. It is arguted that the Tlhaping and Tlharo chiefdoms did not arise through the migration of agro-pastoralists, but that indigenous inihabitants began stock keeping and cultivating as the chiefdoms were established in the mid-eighteenth century. Thereafter food production remained extensive and the products of pastoralism – milk – provided the staple of the diet. Food production did not provide support for all people, and a significant class of foragers, who were not ethnically differentiated from other members of the chiefdons, lived at the bottom of the society and outside of the towns. It was possible for men to move between stock keeping and foraging in a process similar to the “ecological cycle” des.
THE COMPLEXITIES OF COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION IN ICT FOR DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS: THE CASE OF "OUR VOICES"

Community participation is often suggested as a means to a relevant, contextual rural information system (such as a telecentre). Yet, the ICT for development field has much to learn from development literature on the complexities of community participation. We first review the critical literature on participation in development and then analyze our case against this. Findings from our ethnographic study on a village community radio and IT project in south India show that even though the project is contextual (for example, it disseminates local information in an audio rather than written format) and participatory (for example, it conducted a Participatory Rural Appraisal and has a management committee drawn from the community), it faces a number of challenges ‐ participation is a top-down concept and the “insiders” learn what the “outsiders” want to hear, rather than vice versa as Chambers hoped for in his work on participation. Finally, even though the villagers are interested, they find a lack of time to participate. The research concludes that community participation in rural information systems projects is far more complex and contradictory than “ICT for development” implementers have described so far.
Altered Patterns of Sleep and Behavioral Adaptability in NPAS2-Deficient Mice

Animal behavior is synchronized to the 24-hour light:dark (LD) cycle by regulatory programs that produce circadian fluctuations in gene expression throughout the body. In mammals, the transcription factor CLOCK controls circadian oscillation in the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the brain; its paralog, neuronal PAS domain protein 2 (NPAS2), performs a similar function in other forebrain sites. To investigate the role of NPAS2 in behavioral manifestations of circadian rhythm, we studied locomotor activity, sleep patterns, and adaptability to both light- and restricted food–driven entrainment in NPAS2-deficient mice. Our results indicate that NPAS2 plays a substantive role in maintaining circadian behaviors in normal LD and feeding conditions and that NPAS2 is critical for adaptability to food restriction.
Robust stabilization of a class of singularly perturbed discrete bilinear systems

This paper presents two kinds of robust controllers for stabilizing singularly perturbed discrete bilinear systems. The first one is an /spl epsi/-dependent controller that stabilizes the closed-loop system for all /spl epsi//spl isin/(0, /spl epsi//sub 0/*), where /spl epsi//sub 0/* is the prespecified upper bound of the singular perturbation parameter. The second one is an /spl epsi/-independent controller, which is able to stabilize the system in the entire state space for all /spl epsi//spl isin/(0, /spl epsi/*), where /spl epsi/* is the exact upper /spl epsi/-bound. The /spl epsi/* can be calculated by the critical stability criterion once the robust controller is determined. An example is presented to illustrate the proposed schemes.
The metabolic costs of fighting and host exploitation in a seed-drilling parasitic wasp

ABSTRACT Oviposition sites may be challenging and energetically costly to access for females in the presence of competitors contesting that resource. Additionally, oviposition sites may be difficult to reach, and penetrating a hard substrate can raise energy costs. In the seed-drilling parasitic wasp Eupelmus vuilleti, females actively fight with conspecific competitors over access to hosts. They are often observed laying eggs on already parasitized hosts (superparasitism) living inside cowpea seeds despite the resulting larval competition. Using flow-through respirometry, we quantified the metabolic costs of fighting and of drilling through the seed to access the host, to understand the wasp’s fighting strategies and the occurrence of superparasitism. Agonistic interactions such as kicks or pushes generated very small instantaneous costs, but the females that won their contests had higher pre-contest metabolic rates, suggesting a potential long-term cost associated with dominance. We also found that drilling holes through the seed accounted for approximately 15% of a wasp's estimated daily energy budget, and that females can reduce these drilling costs by reusing existing holes. Because exploiting new seeds incurs both drilling costs and the risk of fights, it appears cost effective in some situations for females to avoid confrontations and lay eggs in existing holes, on already parasitized hosts. Our study helps explain the evolution of superparasitism in this system. Editors' Choice: Fights between parasitoid females require little energy, but drilling through seeds to access hosts is expensive. Females avoid metabolic costs by reusing holes drilled by rivals (superparasitism).
Motorcycle Exhaust Particles Augment Antigen-Induced Airway Inflammation in BALB/c Mice

Evidence indicates that environment pollutants from fossil fuel combustion compromise the immune system by enhancing allergic reactions and damaging the respiratory tract. This study was performed to investigate the effects of motorcycle exhaust particles (MEP), a major air pollutant especially in the urban areas of Taiwan, on allergen-induced airway inflammatory reactions in lab animals. BALB/c mice were intratracheally instilled with ovalbumin (OVA), MEP, or phosphate-buffered saline, 3 times every 2 wk. Airway hyperresponsiveness was measured in unrestrained mice by barometric plethsmography. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and serum from treated animals were collected for cytokine and antibody determination by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Lung tissue stained with hematoxylin/eosin was examined. Data showed that MEP augmented OVA-induced airway inflammation; characterized by infiltration of eosinophils and neutrophils in BALF and lung tissue inflammation. The combination of OVA and MEP markedly increased interleukin-4 (IL-4), interleukin-5 (IL-5), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) protein levels in BALF. In addition, MEP also augmented OVA-induced rise in OVA-specific immunoglobulin (Ig) G1 and IgE and airway hyperresponsiveness. Pretreated lavage cells with mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) inhibitors showed that TNF-α release was significantly inhibited. This study found that MEP augmented antigen-induced allergic airway inflammation and airway hyperresponsiveness through a Th2-dominant pathway.
Cost-effectiveness of collaborative care for depression in a primary care veteran population.

OBJECTIVE This study examined the incremental cost-effectiveness of a collaborative care intervention for depression compared with consult-liaison care. METHODS A total of 354 patients in a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) primary care clinic who met the criteria for major depression or dysthymia were randomly assigned to one of the two care models. Under the collaborative care model, a mental health team provided a treatment plan to primary care providers, telephoned patients to encourage adherence, reviewed treatment results, and suggested modifications. Outcomes were assessed at three and nine months by telephone interviews. Health care use and costs were also assessed. RESULTS A significantly greater number of collaborative care patients were treated for depression and given prescriptions for antidepressants. The collaborative care patients experienced an average of 14.6 additional depression-free days over the nine months. The mean incremental cost of the intervention per patient was $237 US dollars for depression treatment and $519 US dollars for total outpatient costs. A majority of the additional expenditures were accounted for by the intervention. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was $24 US dollars per depression-free day for depression treatment costs and $33 US dollars for total outpatient cost. CONCLUSIONS Better coordination and communication under collaborative care was associated with a greater number of patients being treated for depression and with moderate increases in days free of depression and in treatment cost. Additional resources are needed for effective collaborative care models for depression treatment in primary care.
Pseudolayering artefact on postcontrast magnetic resonance images of the bladder of 18 dogs and three cats

An artefact was observed on postcontrast magnetic resonance imaging (mri) of the urinary bladder of several small animals; it took the form of a dark layer in the dependent (dorsal) part of the bladder, with a thin hyperintense layer on top of it, and a hypointense signal in the rest of the non-dependent (ventral) part. The mri database was searched for animals with T1-weighted images of the urinary bladder after the injection of gadolinium. Eighteen dogs and three cats were included in the study. The artefact was observed in 16 of the animals on the postcontrast images but not on the T1-weighted and T2-weighted precontrast images. A phantom experiment showed that the signal intensity observed on T1-weighted images decreased rapidly as the concentration of gadolinium increased from 6·25 mmol/l to 25 mmol/l. It is hypothesised that the early excretion of concentrated gadolinium into the bladder causes the pseudolayering artefact observed, which has also been reported in human patients.
What are the prevalence and incidence of tooth loss in the adult and elderly population in Europe?

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this review was to study the prevalence and incidence of edentulism and tooth loss in European countries. MATERIAL AND METHOD A literature search was performed by means of Medline/PubMed using various combinations of keywords concerning prevalence and incidence of tooth loss and edentulism, complemented by a hand search. Inclusion criteria were cross-sectional and longitudinal clinical and questionnaire studies of representative or random samples of >/=100 subjects at the initial examination. Sixty articles were identified; the hand search gave 13 more references. RESULTS This literature review demonstrated that there is a lack of epidemiological studies on edentulism and tooth loss in many countries in Europe. The quality of available data varied considerably. There is a documented decline of edentulism with still great differences in prevalence between countries, between geographical regions within countries and between groups with various backgrounds. The mean number of lost teeth increases with age. In several countries many dentate subjects aged 60 years and over still have reduced dentitions possibly needing prosthodontic treatment. The incidence of tooth loss is low but with geographical variation between age groups, and there is a trend for decreasing incidence over the last decades. A great number of variables are associated with tooth loss, and there is no consensus whether dental disease related or socio-behavioural factors are the most important risk factors. Institutionalised elderly people have, in general, more compromised oral health, including fewer teeth, than those at the same age living freely. CONCLUSION Tooth loss and edentulism are declining at least in those European countries where reliable data are available. However, the WHO goal of retaining at least 20 teeth at the age of 80 years has not yet been met but is being approached in some countries.
Home as Place for Healing

Although environment is a core concept in nursing, it has had little theoretical or empirical attention, especially related to healing. This article explores the following aspects of the meaning of healing as they relate to environment as place: (a) healing is grounded in suffering; (b) healing is active and requires presence of the patient and the nurse; and (c) healing is private, spiritual, and profound. Home is explored as a place for healing. The article explores implications for the study of meaning of home, when home is not a place for healing, and future directions for theory and research.
Indicators for the forecasting of malaria epidemics.

The entomological inoculation rate is presented as a comprehensive indicator of malaria transmission level, its relative changes reflecting the risk of potential epidemic development. This rate is a known function of several epidemiological direct factors and is particularly sensitive to the survival rate and the sporogonic cycle of the vector. Although not yet fully quantifiable, relationships exist between direct factors responsible for the transmission of infection and certain meteorological and environmental indirect factors like air temperature, relative humidity, or importation of malaria parasites.The establishment of a two-stage monitoring system is suggested: the first stage would involve setting up a warning system based on the surveillance of the relevant indirect factors; at the appropriate time, this would trigger the second stage monitoring of the epidemiological direct factors having a definite bearing on the development of malaria outbreaks. It is recognized that the gain in reliability of the proposed approach depends largely on the progress still to be achieved in the quantification of the complex system of relations connecting the main direct factors with single or combined indirect factors. It is also noted that the proposed monitoring system should, in due course, provide the decision-makers with the epidemiological information required for the selection and implementation of intervention measures designed to prevent epidemic resurgences.
Constructing a Model to Evaluate the Purchase Intention of Environmentally Friendly Products

Recently, the environmental disasters worldwide made the people to put more emphasis on the environmental protection. Therefore, the invisible pressure from these people made a paradigm shift on the economic structure as well as the business strategies. Even if these pressure from the environmentally friendly people are not forceful, it is nevertheless inevitable to put more strategic importance on the environment. This study tried to develop a model to evaluate the acceptance of environmentally friendly products. In the proposed model, attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, environmental awareness, and environmental ethics are the exogenous variables, and purchase intention is the endogenous variable. In the near future, we will collect samples to verify the proposed model and demonstrate the implications for academics and practitioners.