Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sex-Specific Predictors of Metabolic Syndrome Independent of Its Components

To what extent is the metabolic syndrome (MetS) determined beyond its recognized components? In 1702, middle-aged men and women without MetS at baseline, MetS development was identified in 546 participants at a mean of 10.1-year follow-up. Participants subsequently developing MetS had, beyond higher values of MetS traits, significantly higher total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, apolipoprotein B, C-reactive protein (CRP), γ-glutamyl transferase (GGT), and lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Females were significantly more frequent never smokers and males had lower values of total testosterone. In logistic regression analyses, adjusted for sex, age, and smoking status, MetS was predicted disparately in the sexes, whereas males exhibited, beyond abdominal obesity, CRP, GGT, and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) as independent predictors, abdominal obesity was not an independent predictor in females in whom other than age, CRP conferred MetS risk, whereas SHBG was and current smoking tended to be protective. A surrogate of hepatic steatosis proved a major mediator of abdominal obesity in determining incident MetS (relative risk, 5.6 [95% confidence interval, 3.4-9.3]) in each sex. We confirm that GGT and SHBG are novel independent MetS determinants. Hepatic steatosis is the major predictor of MetS mediating adiposity in each sex. Abdominal obesity is not an independent determinant in Turkish women in whom autoimmune activation seems to prevail before MetS development.
Public Agency Performance in the Implementation Public Information Disclosure Act in YOGYAKARTA Special Region - Kinerja Badan Publik Dalam Implementasi UU Keterbukaan Informasi Publik Di Daerah Istimewa YOGYAKARTA

Public Information Disclosure Act (UU KIP) is valid since 2010, and public bodies throughout Indonesia are required to implement it in accordance with established provisions. In essence, UU KIP is a manifestation of human rights in obtaining information which one of its aims is to encourage public participation in the process of public policy making. The United Nations (UN) states, to achieve community participation is required three stages, and information disclosure is the initial stage and for Indonesia it is identical with the implementation of UU KIP. This research will answer how far the performance of public bodies in implementing KIP Law. With the mixed method, that is quantitative (survey and content analysis) and qualitative (interview and observation), this research uses Sekuensial Eksplanatoris strategy. The results of the study mention the performance of public bodies are categorized as being. Information on public budgets is still very low, public bodies are better vertical than other public bodies. In general, public bodies have not been able to properly implement public information disclosure due to resource and commitment factors. In addition, the emergence of regulatory disharmonization among policy makers contributed to weakening the implementation performance of UU KIP. Keywords: Openness, Freedom of Information Law, Public Agencies Undang Undang Keterbukaan Informasi Publik (UU KIP) berlaku sejak tahun 2010, dan badan publik di seluruh Indonesia wajib mengimplementasikannya sesuai dengan ketentuan yang telah dibuat. Secara hakiki, UU KIP merupakan perwujudan hak asasi manusia dalam memperoleh informasi yang salah satu tujuannya adalah mendorong partisipasi masyarakat dalam proses pengambilan kebijakan publik. Perserikatan Bangsa Bangsa (PBB) menyebutkan, untuk mewujudkan partisipasi masyarakat tersebut diperlukan tiga tahapan, dan keterbukaan informasi merupakan tahap awal dan bagi Indonesia hal ini identik dengan implementasi UU KIP. Penelitian ini akan menjawab sejauhmana kinerja badan publik dalam mengimplementasikan UU KIP. Dengan metode campuran, yaitu kuantitatif (survey dan analisis isi) dan kualitatif (wawancara dan observasi), penelitian ini menggunakan strategi Eksplanatoris Sekuensial. Hasil penelitian menyebutkan kinerja badan publik dikategorikan sedang. Informasi mengenai anggaran publik masih sangat rendah, badan publik vertikal lebih baik dibanding badan publik lainnya. Secara umum badan publik belum mampu mengimplementasikan keterbukaan informasi publik secara baik karena faktor sumber daya dan komitmen. Selain itu, munculnya disharmonisasi regulasi di antara pengambil kebijakan ikut memperlemah kinerja implementasi UU KIP.
Dissection of the Role of Pili and Type 2 and 3 Secretion Systems in Adherence and Biofilm Formation of an Atypical Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli Strain

ABSTRACT Atypical enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (aEPEC) strains are diarrheal pathogens that lack bundle-forming pilus production but possess the virulence-associated locus of enterocyte effacement. aEPEC strain 1551-2 produces localized adherence (LA) on HeLa cells; however, its isogenic intimin (eae) mutant produces a diffuse-adherence (DA) pattern. In this study, we aimed to identify the DA-associated adhesin of the 1551-2 eae mutant. Electron microscopy of 1551-2 identified rigid rod-like pili composed of an 18-kDa protein, which was identified as the major pilin subunit of type 1 pilus (T1P) by mass spectrometry analysis. Deletion of fimA in 1551-2 affected biofilm formation but had no effect on adherence properties. Analysis of secreted proteins in supernatants of this strain identified a 150-kDa protein corresponding to SslE, a type 2 secreted protein that was recently reported to be involved in biofilm formation of rabbit and human EPEC strains. However, neither adherence nor biofilm formation was affected in a 1551-2 sslE mutant. We then investigated the role of the EspA filament associated with the type 3 secretion system (T3SS) in DA by generating a double eae espA mutant. This strain was no longer adherent, strongly suggesting that the T3SS translocon is the DA adhesin. In agreement with these results, specific anti-EspA antibodies blocked adherence of the 1551-2 eae mutant. Our data support a role for intimin in LA, for the T3SS translocon in DA, and for T1P in biofilm formation, all of which may act in concert to facilitate host intestinal colonization by aEPEC strains.
Activational Effects of Gonadal Steroids on Hypothalamo‐Pituitary‐Adrenal Regulation in the Rat Disclosed by Response to Dexamethasone Suppression

Previous studies demonstrated that gonadal steroids secreted during perinatal life permanently ‘organize’ the mechanisms governing hypothalamo‐pituitary‐adrenal (HPA) function, leading to sexually differentiated patterns of pituitary‐adrenal activity under basal and stress conditions. In this paper, we show that gonadal steroids can also exert ‘activational’ effects upon the HPA system. Examination of the ability of different doses of dexamethasone to suppress the nocturnal increase in corticosterone secretion and to attenuate the gene expression of CRH in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus of intact and gonadectomized male and female rats revealed that ovarian steroids make an important contribution to the higher sensitivity of the pituitary‐adrenal axis in females to glucocorticoid suppression, whereas testicular steroids may be causal to the male’s moderate responsiveness to glucocorticoid feedback. These findings may be implicated in a number of psychiatric and neurological disease states commonly associated with impaired HPA regulation, but which may be primarily rooted in altered gonadal steroid secretion.
Smoking and the risk of gastric cancer in the European Prospective Investigation Into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)

Smoking has recently been recognised as causally associated with the development of gastric cancer (GC). However, evidence on the effect by sex, duration and intensity of smoking, anatomic subsite and cessation of smoking is limited. Our objective was to assess the relation between tobacco use and GC incidence in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). We studied data from 521,468 individuals recruited from 10 European countries taking part in the EPIC study. Participants completed lifestyle questionnaires that included questions on lifetime consumption of tobacco and diet in 1991–1998. Participants were followed until September 2002, and during that period 305 cases of stomach cancer were identified. After exclusions, 274 were eligible for the analysis, using the Cox proportional hazard model. After adjustment for educational level, consumption of fresh fruit, vegetables and preserved meat, alcohol intake and body mass index (BMI), there was a significant association between cigarette smoking and gastric cancer risk: the hazard ratio (HR) for ever smokers was 1.45 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.08–1.94). The HR of current cigarette smoking was 1.73 (95% CI = 1.06–2.83) in males and 1.87 (95% CI = 1.12–3.12) in females. Hazard ratios increased with intensity and duration of cigarette smoked. A significant decrease of risk was observed after 10 years of quitting smoking. A preliminary analysis of 121 cases with identified anatomic site showed that current cigarette smokers had a higher HR of GC in the cardia (HR = 4.10) than in the distal part of the stomach (HR = 1.94). In this cohort, 17.6 % (95% CI = 10.5–29.5 %) of GC cases may be attributable to smoking. Findings from this large study support the causal relation between smoking and gastric cancer in this European population. Stomach cancer should be added to the burden of diseases caused by smoking. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Adiabatic inversion pulses for myocardial T1 mapping

To evaluate the error in T1 estimates using inversion‐recovery‐based T1 mapping due to imperfect inversion and to perform a systematic study of adiabatic inversion pulse designs in order to maximize inversion efficiency for values of transverse relaxation (T2) in the myocardium subject to a peak power constraint.
Protease Inhibitors and Indolamines Selectively Inhibit Cholinesterases in the Histopathologic Structures of Alzheimer's Disease a

Neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid plaques express acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) activity in Alzheimer's disease. We had found that traditional AChE inhibitors such as BW284C51, tacrine and physostigmine were more potent inhibitors of the AChE in normal axons and cell bodies than of the AChE in plaques and tangles (1). We now report that the reverse pattern is seen with indolamines, carboxypeptidase inhibitor, and the nonspecific protease inhibitor bacitracin. These substances are more potent inhibitors of the cholinesterases in plaques and tangles than of those in normal axons and cell bodies. These results show that the enzymatic properties of plaque and tangle‐associated cholinesterases diverge from those of normal axons and cell bodies. The selective susceptibility to bacitracin and carboxypeptidase inhibitor indicates that the catalytic sites of plaque and tangle‐bound cholinesterases are more closely associated with peptidase or protease‐like properties than the catalytic sites of cholinesterases in normal neurons and axons. This shift in enzymatic affinity may lead to the abnormal protein processing which is thought to play a major role in the pathogenesis of AD. The availability of pharmacological and dietary means for altering brain indolamines raises novel therapeutic possibilities for inhibiting the abnormal cholinesterase activity associated with Alzheimer's disease.
on-a-chip based immunosensor principles and technologies for the detection of cardiac biomarkers

This review examines the current state of the art lab-on-a-chip and microﬂuidic based biosensor technologies used in the detection of cardiac biomarkers. The determination and quantiﬁcation of blood based, cardiac biomarkers are crucial in the triage and management of a range of cardiac related conditions, where time delay has a major impact on short and longer-term outcomes of a patient. The design and manufacturing of biomarker detection systems are multi-disciplinary in nature and require researchers to have knowledge of both life sciences and engineering for the full potential of this ﬁeld to be realised. This review will therefore provide a comprehensive overview of chip based immunosensing technology as applied to cardiac biomarker detection, while discussing the potential suitability and limitations of each conﬁguration for incorporation within a clinical diagnostics device suitable for point-of-care applications
Why do participants initiate free recall of short lists of words with the first list item? Toward a general episodic memory explanation.

Participants who are presented with a short list of words for immediate free recall (IFR) show a strong tendency to initiate their recall with the 1st list item and then proceed in forward serial order. We report 2 experiments that examined whether this tendency was underpinned by a short-term memory store, of the type that is argued by some to underpin recency effects in IFR. In Experiment 1, we presented 3 groups of participants with lists of between 2 and 12 words for IFR, delayed free recall, and continuous-distractor free recall. The to-be-remembered words were simultaneously spoken and presented visually, and the distractor task involved silently solving a series of self-paced, visually presented mathematical equations (e.g., 3 + 2 + 4 = ? ). The tendency to initiate recall at the start of short lists was greatest in IFR but was also present in the 2 other recall conditions. This finding was replicated in Experiment 2, where the to-be-remembered items were presented visually in silence and the participants spoke aloud their answers to computer-paced mathematical equations. Our results necessitate that a short-term buffer cannot be fully responsible for the tendency to initiate recall from the beginning of a short list; rather, they suggest that the tendency represents a general property of episodic memory that occurs across a range of time scales.
Human papillomavirus infection as a prognostic factor in carcinomas of the oral cavity and oropharynx

Although studies have established human papillomaviruses (HPVs) as a risk factor for oral and oropharyngeal cancer, it is not clear whether viral infection affects survival in head and neck malignancies. This investigation examined the relationship between HPV and survival in carcinomas of the oral cavity and oropharynx. Formalin‐fixed, paraffin‐embedded tumor specimens from 139 newly diagnosed cases were tested for HPVs by PCR and DNA sequencing. Patient and tumor characteristics were obtained from questionnaires, pathology reports and cancer registries. Odds ratios (ORs) and relative risks (RRs) were based on logistic and Cox regression models, respectively. HPVs were detected in 21% of the tumors; 83% were HPV‐16. Greater risk of HPV infection was associated with males (OR = 2.9, 95% CI = 1.0–8.6), a history of oral‐genital sex (OR = 4.2, 95% CI = 1.5–11.7), and oropharyngeal tumors (OR = 10.4, 95% CI = 3.5–31.2). As tobacco usage increased, the odds of HPV detection decreased (OR = 0.97/pack‐year, 95% CI = 0.96–0.99). HPV infected patients had better overall survival (RR = 0.3, 95% CI = 0.1–0.8) than those with HPV‐negative tumors. There was an interaction between gender and HPV for overall (p = 0.05) and disease‐specific (p = 0.03) survival that suggested that HPV infected males had better prognosis than HPV‐negative males, but this was not the case among females. HPV status was identified as an independent prognostic factor in oral and oropharyngeal cancers. This result appeared to be gender‐specific, suggesting the need for further study of the interaction between HPV and gender on survival. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The Jak1 SH2 Domain Does Not Fulfill a Classical SH2 Function in Jak/STAT Signaling but Plays a Structural Role for Receptor Interaction and Up-regulation of Receptor Surface Expression*

The presence of a Src homology 2 (SH2) domain sequence similarity in the sequence of Janus kinases (Jaks) has been discussed since the first descriptions of these enzymes. We performed an in depth study to determine the function of the Jak1 SH2 domain. We investigated the functionality of the Jak1 SH2 domain by stably reconstituting Jak1-defective human fibrosarcoma cells U4C with endogenous amounts of Jak1 in which the crucial arginine residue Arg466 within the SH2 domain has been replaced by lysine. This mutant still binds to the receptor subunits gp130 and OSMR. Moreover, the SH2 R466K mutation does not affect the subcellular distribution of Jak1 as assessed by cell fractionation and confocal microscopy of cells expressing endogenous levels of non-tagged or a yellow fluorescent protein (YFP)-tagged Jak1-R466K, respectively. Likewise, the signaling capacity of Jak1 was not affected by this point mutation. However, we found that the SH2 domain is structurally important for cytokine receptor binding and surface expression of the OSMR.
Anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects of egg yolk: a comparison between organic and machine made.

OBJECTIVES Yolk composition may be influenced by the bird's dietary intake. Quality of egg yolk from different sources is also varied. Especially egg yolk from organic sources, those prepared by the hen and duck were naturally fed. Traditional medicine users in north of Iran believe the oil extracted by direct heat from egg yolk has analgesic activity. In this work anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive activities of organic and machine made hen yolk and duck yolk were evaluated. MATERIALS AND METHODS Three various sources of egg yolk (organic hens, duck and machine made) were chosen. Each yolk was extracted by two methods, solvent extraction (hexane) and direct heating. In order to investigate the analgesic and anti-inflammatory activity, carageenan, hot plate and writhing tests were carried out. RESULTS The organic hen and duck oil extracted by direct heat method showed the highest activity compared to other types. Organic sources may contain some special components which are not existed in machine made eggs. Oil samples obtained by direct heat from three different kinds of egg yolk showed significant anti-inflammatory activity at 100-300 mg/kg compared to controls (p < 0.001). All samples indicated analgesic properties at all doses in writhing test. The highest activity was seen at 300 mg/kg of organic hen egg yolk oil prepared by heat (HO) and hexane extract of duck egg yolk (ED) which was similar to 5 mg/kg morphine (p > 0.001). In hot plate test all of the oil samples did not show significant difference with controls. Hexane extract of organic egg yolk (EO) (300 mg/kg) and ED (200 and 300 mg/kg) showed significant analgesic activity in hot plate test. CONCLUSIONS This study confirms anti-inflammatory and analgesic scheme of yolk. We can also claim environmental and dietary condition is very important in yolk contents. In order to improve life quality of human beings and better efficiency for egg yolk components we suggest considering the way of feeding for poultry. We can propose organic yolk oil prepared by direct heat as an alternative remedy for inflammatory joint conditions.
Reliability and Validity of the Pediatric Palliative Care Questionnaire for Measuring Self-Efficacy, Knowledge, and Adequacy of Prior Medical Education among Pediatric Fellows.

BACKGROUND Interventions to improve pediatric trainee education in palliative care have been limited by a lack of reliable and valid tools for measuring effectiveness. OBJECTIVE We developed a questionnaire to measure pediatric fellows' self-efficacy (comfort), knowledge, and perceived adequacy of prior medical education. We measured the questionnaire's reliability and validity. METHODS The questionnaire contains questions regarding self-efficacy (23), knowledge (10), fellow's perceived adequacy of prior medical education (6), and demographics. The survey was developed with palliative care experts, and sent to fellows in U.S. pediatric cardiology, critical care, hematology/ oncology, and neonatal-perinatal medicine programs. Measures of reliability, internal consistency, and validity were calculated. RESULTS One hundred forty-seven fellows completed the survey at test and retest. The self-efficacy and medical education questionnaires showed high internal consistency of 0.95 and 0.84. The test-retest reliability for the Self-Efficacy Summary Score, measured by intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and weighted kappa, was 0.78 (item range 0.44-0.81) and 0.61 (item range 0.36-0.70), respectively. For the Adequacy of Medical Education Summary Score, ICC was 0.85 (item range 0.6-0.78) and weighted kappa was 0.63 (item range 0.47-0.62). Validity coefficients for these two questionnaires were 0.88 and 0.92. Fellows answered a mean of 8.8/10 knowledge questions correctly; percentage agreement ranged from 65% to 99%. CONCLUSIONS This questionnaire is capable of assessing self-efficacy and fellow-perceived adequacy of their prior palliative care training. We recommend use of this tool for fellowship programs seeking to evaluate fellow education in palliative care, or for research studies assessing the effectiveness of a palliative care educational intervention.
Treatment of pyogenic liver abscess: Prospective randomized comparison of catheter drainage and needle aspiration

This study aims to compare the therapeutic effectiveness of continuous catheter drainage versus intermittent needle aspiration in the percutaneous treatment of pyogenic liver abscesses. Over a 5‐year period, 64 consecutive patients with pyogenic liver abscess were treated with intravenous antibiotics (ampicillin, cefuroxime, and metronidazole) and randomized into two percutaneous treatment groups: continuous catheter drainage (with an 8F multi‐sidehole pigtail catheter); and intermittent needle aspiration (18G disposable trocar needle). There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups regarding patient demographics, underlying coexisting disease, abscess size, abscess number, number of loculation of abscess, the presenting clinical symptoms such as fever, abdominal pain, and pretreatment liver function test. Although not statistically significant, the duration of intravenous antibiotics treatment before percutaneous treatment was longer with the catheter group, and the change of antibiotics after the sensitivity test was more frequent with the needle group. The needle group was associated with a higher treatment success rate, a shorter duration of hospital stay, and a lower mortality rate, although this did not reach statistical significance. In conclusion, this study suggests that intermittent needle aspiration is probably as effective as continuous catheter drainage for the treatment of pyogenic liver abscess, although further proof with a large‐scale study is necessary. Due to the additional advantages of procedure simplicity, patient comfort, and reduced price, needle aspiration deserves to be considered as a first‐line drainage approach. (HEPATOLOGY 2004;39:932–938.)
Tuning interaction in motion planning with contact

This work deals with planning processes for the assistance to manipulation in order to simulate industrial tasks such as assembly, maintenance or disassembly in Virtual Reality. This paper presents a novel interactive path planning algorithm with contact based on an BiRRT approach. First, we propose a real-time interactive planner where both a computer and a human operator simultaneously search the workspace therefore largely speeding up the process. An authority sharing parameter can control the autonomy of the computer. Then we present a novel contact-space algorithm able to sample on the surface of obstacles. This method helps finding paths in cluttered environments or solving specific contact tasks such as insertion or sliding operations. We finish by presenting the results of our interactive path planner with contact through three examples showing significant improvement over usual methods in both free and contact space.