Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Vitamin A deficiency disorders: international efforts to control a preventable "pox".

Visual symptoms (night blindness) of vitamin A deficiency (VAD) were among the earliest diet-related deficiencies documented. Knowledge of vitamin A chemistry, metabolism and deficiency consequences accrued rapidly during the first eight decades of the 20th century. A series of disorders were described in animals, including impaired growth, reproduction, epithelial integrity, and disease resistance that were relieved by consumption of both animal and plant sources of the vitamin. Identification of the intestinal beta-carotene cleavage enzyme in the laboratory of James Allen Olson was seminal to understanding the mechanism for formation of vitamin A from ingested carotenoids. WHO's 1990 estimate of about 40 million children annually with clinical eye signs of VAD was revised upward to 140-250 million at risk of vitamin A deficiency disorders (VADD) when epidemiological and clinical trials demonstrated morbidity and mortality risk even in the absence of ocular signs. Alternative methods for VAD status assessment and more reliable analytical techniques were developed, several in Dr. Olson's laboratory. The last decade has seen global progress in VADD control by expanding distribution of medicinal supplements, fortification of foods and dietary diversification through horticulture and education programs. Experience shows that achievements gained through narrowly focused interventions are fragile and vulnerable to national political and economic instability. Contextually relevant, community-centered strategies that improve household food and nutrition security and self-reliance are critical to sustaining international efforts to control the VADD "pox. "
Vitamin D receptor genotypes influence quadriceps strength in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

BACKGROUND Quadriceps weakness is an important complication of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and is associated with impaired exercise capacity and greater mortality. Its etiology is multifactorial, and evidence is growing that it is partly determined by genetic susceptibility. OBJECTIVE Using an established cohort, we tested whether quadriceps weakness in patients with COPD is influenced by common variations in the gene for the vitamin D receptor. DESIGN Vitamin D receptor FokI and BsmI genotypes and the (I/D) angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) and bradykinin receptor (+9/-9) genotypes were identified in 107 patients with stable COPD [x +/- SD forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV(1)): 34.5 +/- 16.5] and 104 healthy, age-matched control subjects. Quadriceps maximum voluntary contraction force and fat-free mass assessed by bioelectrical impedance analysis were measured. RESULTS After adjustment for covariables, both patients and control subjects who were homozygous for the C allele of the FokI polymorphism had less quadriceps strength than did those with > or =1 T allele [41.0 +/- 11.8 compared with 46.0 +/- 13.2 kg (P = 0.01) and 32.5 +/- 11.2 compared with 36.2 +/- 13.1 kg (P = 0.005), respectively]. The b allele of the BsmI polymorphism was associated with greater quadriceps strength in patients-37.0 +/- 13.3, 33.8 +/- 11.6, and 33.8 +/- 11.6 kg for bb, bB, and BB, respectively (P = 0.0005)-but had no effect in healthy control subjects. The effect of BsmI on quadriceps strength was least apparent in patients with the ACE II genotype (P = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS The FokI common variants in the VDR gene are associated with skeletal muscle strength in both patients and control subjects, whereas the BsmI polymorphism is associated with strength only in patients.
Learning Indexing Patterns from One Language for the Benefit of Others

Using language technology for text analysis and light-weight ontologies as a content-mediating level, we acquire indexing patterns from vast amounts of indexing data for English-language medical documents. This is achieved by statistically relating interlingual representations of these documents (based on text token bigrams) to their associated index terms. From these 'English' indexing patterns, we then induce the associated index terms for German and Portuguese documents when their interlingual representations match those of English documents. Thus, we learn from past English indexing experience and transfer it in an unsupervised way to non-English texts, without ever having seen concrete indexing data for languages other than English.
Total potentially available nucleosides of human milk by stage of lactation.

Human milk-borne ribonucleotides reportedly have important physiological roles in breast-fed infants. Previous studies measured the free nucleotide content of human milk. To more fully evaluate the physiological capacity of nucleotides in human milk, we determined the monomeric and polymeric ribonucleotide and ribonucleoside content of milk pooled from 11 American women. Subsequently, we determined the total potentially available nucleosides (TPAN) of pooled and individual milk samples segregated by stage of lactation from 100 women in three European countries to test for effect of culture and diet. The methodology simulated in vivo digestion. Polymeric ribonucleotide (primarily RNA), monomeric ribonucleotide, and ribonucleoside-containing adducts (eg, uridine diphosphate hexose) were enzymatically hydrolyzed to their constituent ribonucleosides, the preferred form for absorption. Free and enzymatically liberated nucleosides were then measured by HPLC to yield the TPAN value. The mean (+/- SD) TPAN concentration of the 16 pooled European samples, derived from the 100 individual samples, was 189 +/- 70 mumol nucleoside/L human milk (range 82-402 mumol/L). The means (mumol/L human milk) of each nucleoside were 38 for uridine, 88 for cytidine, 31 for guanosine, and 32 for adenosine. These values included the contribution from the cellular portion of human milk. Only one of the 16 pooled samples contained a measurable amount of inosine (4 mumol/L). The potentially available ribonucleosides in the human milk samples were predominantly present as monomeric (36 +/- 10%) and polymeric (48 +/- 8%) nucleotides. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Influence of Passive Joint Stiffness on Proprioceptive Acuity in Individuals With Functional Instability of the Ankle

STUDY DESIGN: Controlled laboratory study, cross‐sectional. BACKGROUND: Deficits in ankle proprioceptive acuity have been reported in persons with functional instability of the ankle. Passive stiffness has been proposed as a possible mechanism underlying proprioceptive acuity. OBJECTIVE: To compare proprioceptive acuity and passive ankle stiffness in persons with and without functional ankle instability, and to assess the influence of passive joint stiffness on proprioceptive acuity in persons with functional ankle instability. METHODS: A sample of 18 subjects with and 18 without complaints of functional ankle instability following lateral ankle sprain participated. An isokinetic dynamometer was used to compare motion perception threshold, passive position sense, and passive ankle stiffness between groups. To evaluate the influence of passive stiffness on proprioceptive acuity, individuals in the lateral functional ankle instability group were divided into 2 subgroups: “high” and “low” passive ankle stiffness. RESULTS: The functional ankle instability group exhibited increased motion perception threshold when compared with the corresponding limb of the control group. Between‐group differences were not found for passive position sense and passive ankle stiffness. Those in the functional ankle instability group with higher passive ankle stiffness had smaller motion perception thresholds than those with lower passive ankle stiffness. CONCLUSION: Unlike motion perception threshold, passive position sense is not affected by the presence of functional ankle instability. Passive ankle stiffness appears to influence proprioceptive acuity in persons with functional ankle instability.
Signs of impaired cognitive function in adolescents with marginal cobalamin status.

BACKGROUND Lack of cobalamin may lead to neurologic disorders, which have been reported in strict vegetarians. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to investigate whether cognitive functioning is affected in adolescents (aged 10-16 y) with marginal cobalamin status as a result of being fed a macrobiotic diet up to an average age of 6 y. DESIGN Data on dietary intake, psychological test performance, and biochemical variables of cobalamin status were collected from 48 adolescents who consumed macrobiotic (vegan type) diets up to the age of 6 y, subsequently followed by lactovegetarian or omnivorous diets, and from 24 subjects (aged 10-18 y) who were fed omnivorous diets from birth onward. Thirty-one subjects from the previously macrobiotic group were cobalamin deficient according to their plasma methylmalonic acid concentrations. Seventeen previously macrobiotic subjects and all control subjects had normal cobalamin status. RESULTS The control subjects performed better on most psychological tests than did macrobiotic subjects with low or normal cobalamin status. A significant relation between test score and cobalamin deficiency (P: = 0.01) was observed for a test measuring fluid intelligence (correlation coefficient: -0.28; 95% CI: -0.48, -0.08). This effect became more pronounced (P: = 0.003) within the subgroup of macrobiotic subjects (correlation coefficient: -0.38; 95% CI: -0.62, - 0.14). CONCLUSION Our data suggest that cobalamin deficiency, in the absence of hematologic signs, may lead to impaired cognitive performance in adolescents.
Effects of Grain Boundary Precipitates on Long-Term Creep Rupture Properties of SUS347H Steel

18-8系 オーステナイ トステンレス鋼のSUS 347H鋼 は,本 来,粒 界腐食あるいは応力腐食割れを抑制することを目的 として開発された鋼である1)。 すなわち,Crよ りも炭素 との 親和力の強いNbを 炭素濃度に見合 う化学量論以上添加する ことによって,粒 界へのCr炭 化物の析出を抑制 し粒界腐食 感受性 を低 くすることが計 られている。 微細で安定な NbC の析出によ り粒界腐食性のみならず高温強度が改善 される ため,こ の鋼はまた耐熱鋼 として も広 く用 いられている。 クリープ破断強度は,18-8系 オーステナイ トステンレス鋼 の中で最 も高い水準 にある。 しか しその反面,ク リープ破 断延性が低 いという欠点 も有 している。 SUS347H鋼 については金属材料技術研究所において多数 ヒー トのクリープ破断試験 を実施 し,10万 時間に及ぶクリ 。 本鋼のクリープ破断 特性 は,基 本的にはSUS304H,316Hお よび321H鋼 に比べ てク リープ破断強度が高 く,そ の反面,ク リープ破断延性 が低い という傾向を示すが,ヒ ー ト間ではかなり大 きな違 いが生 じてお り,ク リープ破断強度のみならず破断延性 も 比較的高いヒー トや両者 ともに低 いヒー トなどば らつ きが み られる。 このようなクリープ破断特性に違いを生 じさせ る原因,特 に破断強度 と破断延性が ともに高 くなる原因を 明 らかにで きれば,ク リープ 破断特性の改善につなが り, さらには材料開発の指針 となる。 著者 らはこれまでに, SUS304H, 316H および 321H 鋼の クリープ破断特性 は,い ずれ も粒界析出物の種類や析出形 態の違いに起因するクリープ損傷の生成挙動の違 いに大き な影響 を受 けることを明らかにしている3-6)。 SUS347H鋼 に おいて もCr炭 化物の粒界析出の抑制など,高 温クリープ中 に粒界の析 出形態が複雑に変化す ると考 えられるため, こ の変化 によるクリープ破断特性への影響が少なからず予想 される。 そこで本報告では,SUS347H鋼 の長時間クリープ破断特 性を明らかにする目的で,ク リープ破断特性に大 きな違い がみ られるヒー トを抽出し,ク リープ破壊様式,破 壊に導 くクリープ損傷の生成挙動及び微細組織等を調べ,特 に粒 界析出物の形態 に注目して,ヒ ー ト間に違いを生 じさせる 原因について検討 した。
Increased Volume of Lumbar Surgeries for Herniated Intervertebral Disc Disease and Cost-Effectiveness Analysis: A Nationwide Cohort Study

Study Design. Retrospective cohort study of a nationwide database. Objective. The primary objective was to summarize the use of surgical methods for lumbar herniated intervertebral disc disease (HIVD) at two different time periods under the national health insurance system. The secondary objective was to perform a cost-effectiveness analysis by utilizing incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER). Summary of Background Data. The selection of surgical method for HIVD may or may not be consistent with cost effectiveness under national health insurance system, but this issue has rarely been analyzed. Methods. The data of all patients who underwent surgeries for HIVD in 2003 (n = 17,997) and 2008 (n = 38,264) were retrieved. The surgical methods included open discectomy (OD), fusion surgery, laminectomy, and percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy (PELD). The hospitals were classified as tertiary-referral hospitals (≥300 beds), medium-sized hospitals (30–300 beds), or clinics (<30 beds). ICER showed the difference in the mean total cost per 1% decrease in the reoperation probability among surgical methods. The total cost included the costs of the index surgery and the reoperation. Results. In 2008, the number of surgeries increased by 2.13-fold. The number of hospitals increased by 34.75% (731 in 2003 and 985 in 2008). The proportion of medium-sized hospitals increased from 62.79% to 70.86%, but the proportion of surgeries performed at those hospitals increased from 61.31% to 85.08%. The probability of reoperation was highest after laminectomy (10.77%), followed by OD (10.50%), PELD (9.20%), and fusion surgery (7.56%). The ICERs indicated that PELD was a cost-effective surgical method. The proportion of OD increased from 71.21% to 84.12%, but that of PELD decreased from 16.68% to 4.57%. Conclusion. The choice of surgical method might not always be consistent with cost-effectiveness strategies, and a high proportion of medium-sized hospitals may be responsible for this change. Level of Evidence: 4
Tibiofemoral Contact Forces in the Anterior Cruciate Ligament-Reconstructed Knee.

PURPOSE To investigate differences in anterior cruciate ligament-reconstructed (ACLR) and healthy individuals in terms of the magnitude of the tibiofemoral contact forces, as well as the relative muscle and external load contributions to those contact forces, during walking, running, and sidestepping gait tasks. METHODS A computational EMG-driven neuromusculoskeletal model was used to estimate the muscle and tibiofemoral contact forces in those with single-bundle combined semitendinosus and gracilis tendon autograft ACLR (n = 104, 29.7 ± 6.5 yr, 78.1 ± 14.4 kg) and healthy controls (n = 60, 27.5 ± 5.4 yr, 67.8 ± 14.0 kg) during walking (1.4 ± 0.2 m·s), running (4.5 ± 0.5 m·s) and sidestepping (3.7 ± 0.6 m·s). Within the computational model, the semitendinosus of ACLR participants was adjusted to account for literature reported strength deficits and morphological changes subsequent to autograft harvesting. RESULTS ACLR had smaller maximum total and medial tibiofemoral contact forces (~80% of control values, scaled to bodyweight) during the different gait tasks. Compared with controls, ACLR were found to have a smaller maximum knee flexion moment, which explained the smaller tibiofemoral contact forces. Similarly, compared with controls, ACLR had both a smaller maximum knee flexion angle and knee flexion excursion during running and sidestepping, which may have concentrated the articular contact forces to smaller areas within the tibiofemoral joint. Mean relative muscle and external load contributions to the tibiofemoral contact forces were not significantly different between ACLR and controls. CONCLUSIONS ACLR had lower bodyweight-scaled tibiofemoral contact forces during walking, running, and sidestepping, likely due to lower knee flexion moments and straighter knee during the different gait tasks. The relative contributions of muscles and external loads to the contact forces were equivalent between groups.
Glycemic load and the risk of coronary heart disease.

eaten raw). Meal patterns may affect the absolute glycemic response but do not affect the relative differences between foods (3–5). Metabolic studies using standardized methods indicated that the correlation between the glycemic index of mixed meals and the average glycemic indexes of individual component foods ranges from 0.84 to 0.99 (5–7). Even though the total quantity of the glycemic and insulinemic effects of foods may not be fully captured by dietary glycemic load, these measurement errors were likely to have been modest and unrelated to CHD because diets were assessed before disease occurred. Recently, in a random sample of 185 postmenopausal women in the Nurses’ Health Study who provided fasting blood samples, we found a strong positive relation between dietary glycemic load assessed by a food-frequency questionnaire and fasting triacylglycerol concentrations (8), a well-established relation from metabolic studies (9). Metabolic experiments suggested that the adverse metabolic responses to a high dietary glycemic load, including hyperinsulinemia, hypertriglyceridemia, and low HDL-cholesterol concentrations, are strongly related to an individual’s underlying degree of insulin resistance (10). Thus, our observation of a stronger positive association between dietary glycemic load and CHD risk in overweight women highlights the importance of considering the physiologic effects of carbohydrate quality in the context of other metabolic variables. Judged by its abilities to predict physiologic responses as well as clinical endpoints, glycemic index appears to represent a more informative means than the conventional simple versus complex approach in classifying carbohydrates.
Varied effects of age-related neuropathologies on the trajectory of late life cognitive decline

The objective of this study was to examine whether the effects of age-related neuropathologies on cognition change over time. Participants were 1096 deceased persons from two clinical-pathologic studies. All were without dementia at baseline, completed a detailed battery of cognitive tests annually over up to 21 years, died, and underwent detailed neuropathologic examinations to identify Alzheimer's disease pathology, vascular pathologies (i.e. macro- and microscopic infarcts, atherosclerosis, arteriolar sclerosis, and cerebral amyloid angiopathy), Lewy bodies, transactive response DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43) pathology, and hippocampal sclerosis. A time-varying effects model was used to flexibly characterize the trajectory of global cognition and assess whether the effects of demographics and each neuropathologic index on cognition changed over time. Results indicated that the mean trajectory of global cognition was characterized by gradual cognitive decline beginning ∼15 years before death and accelerated decline in the last few years. With the exception of microinfarcts and arteriolar sclerosis, all neuropathologies were associated with the cognitive trajectory. However, the nature of their associations varied. Alzheimer's disease pathology, macroscopic infarcts, Lewy bodies, TDP-43 pathology, and hippocampal sclerosis were associated with progressive cognitive decline, with their deleterious effects increasing over time. By contrast, atherosclerosis and cerebral amyloid angiopathy pathology were associated with a lower level of cognition but their effects were relatively stable over time. These results suggest that age-related neuropathologies are differentially related to late life cognitive trajectories. Whereas some contribute to progressive cognitive deterioration, others lower the level of cognition but exert relatively stable effects over time.
Dose-dependent effects of folic acid on blood concentrations of homocysteine: a meta-analysis of the randomized trials.

BACKGROUND Dietary supplementation with B vitamins that lower blood homocysteine concentrations is expected to reduce cardiovascular disease risk, but there has been uncertainty about the optimum regimen to use for this purpose. OBJECTIVE The objectives were to ascertain the lowest dose of folic acid associated with the maximum reduction in homocysteine concentrations and to determine the additional relevance of vitamins B-12 and B-6. DESIGN A meta-analysis of 25 randomized controlled trials involving individual data on 2596 subjects assessed the effect on plasma homocysteine concentrations of different doses of folic acid and of the addition of vitamins B-12 and B-6. RESULTS The proportional reductions in plasma homocysteine concentrations produced by folic acid were greater at higher homocysteine (P < 0.001) and lower folate (P < 0.001) pretreatment concentrations; they were also greater in women than in men (P < 0.001). After standardization for sex and to pretreatment plasma concentrations of 12 micromol homocysteine/L and 12 nmol folate/L, daily doses of 0.2, 0.4, 0.8, 2.0, and 5.0 mg folic acid were associated with reductions in homocysteine of 13% (95% CI: 10%, 16%), 20% (17%, 22%), 23% (21%, 26%), 23% (20%, 26%), and 25% (22%, 28%), respectively. Vitamin B-12 (x: 0.4 mg/d) produced 7% (95% CI: 4%, 9%) further reduction in homocysteine concentrations, but vitamin B-6 had no significant effect. CONCLUSIONS Daily doses of > or =0.8 mg folic acid are typically required to achieve the maximal reduction in plasma homocysteine concentrations produced by folic acid supplementation. Doses of 0.2 and 0.4 mg are associated with 60% and 90%, respectively, of this maximal effect.
Genetic Heterogeneity of Alzheimer’s Disease: Embracing Research Partnerships

Studies on the genetics of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) have revealed the complexity and heterogeneity of the disease. All our studies have supported this evidence and contribute to the current understanding of the genetic architecture of AD. This report reviews the success of our investigations, focusing on the implications and importance of the genetics of AD, and demonstrates the relevance of research strategies embracing partnerships.
S-equol, a potent ligand for estrogen receptor beta, is the exclusive enantiomeric form of the soy isoflavone metabolite produced by human intestinal bacterial flora.

BACKGROUND The discovery of equol in human urine more than 2 decades ago and the finding that it is bacterially derived from daidzin, an isoflavone abundant in soy foods, led to the current nutritional interest in soy foods. Equol, unlike the soy isoflavones daidzein or genistein, has a chiral center and therefore can occur as 2 distinct diastereoisomers. OBJECTIVE Because it was unclear which enantiomer was present in humans, our objectives were to characterize the exact structure of equol, to examine whether the S- and R-equol enantiomers are bioavailable, and to ascertain whether the differences in their conformational structure translate to significant differences in affinity for estrogen receptors. DESIGN With the use of chiral-phase HPLC and mass spectrometry, equol was isolated from human urine and plasma, and its enantiomeric structure was defined. Human fecal flora were cultured in vitro and incubated with daidzein to ascertain the stereospecificity of the bacterial production of equol. The pharmacokinetics of S- and R- equol were determined in 3 healthy adults after single-bolus oral administration of both enantiomers, and the affinity of each equol enantiomer for estrogen receptors was measured. RESULTS Our studies definitively establish S-equol as the exclusive product of human intestinal bacterial synthesis from soy isoflavones and also show that both enantiomers are bioavailable. S-equol has a high affinity for estrogen receptor beta (K(i) = 0.73 nmol/L), whereas R-equol is relatively inactive. CONCLUSIONS Humans have acquired an ability to exclusively synthesize S-equol from the precursor soy isoflavone daidzein, and it is significant that, unlike R-equol, this enantiomer has a relatively high affinity for estrogen receptor beta.
Population Normative Data for the CERAD Word List and Victoria Stroop Test in Younger- and Middle-Aged Adults: Cross-Sectional Analyses from the Framingham Heart Study

Background/Study Context: To provide baseline normative data on tests of verbal memory and executive function for nondemented younger- and middle-aged adults. Methods: The Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer’s Disease word list memory task (CERAD-WL) and Victoria Stroop Test (VST) were administered to 3362 Framingham Heart Study (FHS) volunteer participants aged 24–78 years. Analyses of the effects of age, gender, and education were conducted. Normative data on traditional measures and error responses are reported for each test. Results: Traditional measures were significantly associated with both age and education in this cohort. Error responses also evidenced significant age and education effects. Conclusion: These data provide a normative comparison for assessment of verbal memory and executive functioning capabilities in younger- and middle-aged adults and may be utilized as a tool for preclinical studies of disease in this population.